Ultimate Juneau Whale Watch and Mendenhall Glacier View

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Juneau, USA

Trending

Booked 10+ times in 12 hours.

3 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· Jane_H ·

Dec 2025

Travel to boat was terrific. Captain and Crew were knowledgeable. We got to see Humpback whales and see Sea Lions. The boat was clean. We also enjoyed seeing many many eagles. We had fantastic weather and I’d highly recommend this company and book again through Viator

· HV_N ·

Oct 2025

Great tour, the captain and mate got the boat in a spot to see 8 different humpback whales and a couple of killer whales. Then on the way back some eagles. They told us all about the whales and how to spot them.

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Overview

Spend 2 hours out on the Auke Bay Harbor's waters searching for humpback whales during this boat tour from Juneau. Listen to commentary from your guide and keep a lookout for other marine animals such as orca, bald eagles, and sea lions. Cap off the cruise with a 5-minute stop to snap photos of Mendenhall Glacier. Snacks, refreshments, and round-trip transportation from the Mt. Roberts Tramway in Juneau provided.

A naturalist guide on board for insights into the local flora and fauna
Spot bald eagles, seals, sea lions, black bear, and more Alaskan wildlife
Enjoy great photo opportunities of the Mendenhall Glacier
An express tour, ideal for cruisers pressed for time

What's Included

Round-trip transportation between port and boat harbor
3 hour tour time, 2 hours on the water on a custom 24-passenger jet boat or 49-passenger catamaran
Heated cabin with wide viewing windows, spacious decks for whale watching, and bathrooms on board
Naturalist on whale tour
Informative professional driver guide during transfers
Filtered water and trail mix bars available aboard the whale boat
Multiple tour times for flexibility
A photo stop on the water of the Mendenhall Glacier (weather dependent)

Gratuities (greatly appreciated)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

490 S Franklin St, Juneau, AK 99801, USA
JUNEAU TOURS & WHALE WATCH Representatives are standing under the cables of the Goldbelt Tramway wearing bright blue hats and holding signs that say "Juneau Tours and Whale Watch."

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Tour time is a check-in time; departure is within 10 to 15 minutes.
The meeting place is under the cables in front of the Mt. Roberts Tramway.

All ports or docks are within 10 minutes walking distances, except one - the A Dock - which provides a “Downtown” shuttle to the Mt. Roberts Tramway.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the name of their ship.
Tour operates in all weather conditions, so please dress appropriately in layers and for the likely chance of rain. It is recommended that you wear warm layered clothing, a waterproof jacket and comfortable slip-proof shoes.
THIS TOUR IS OPERATED BY JUNEAU TOURS & WHALE WATCH
Whale sightings are guaranteed between May 15th-September 15th.
We cannot accommodate any kind of electric scooter or electric wheelchair, even very small ones.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 49 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

PetrinIssy_I

Ford, Nate, and Chriss were absolutely spectacular! I was a solo traveller at the end of the season yet we had such an amazing time. We saw orcas, a whale and her calf. The crew was funny, educative, caring and so informative. I can’t wait to be back on a better season, will definitely be sailing with them

Reviews

4.9

based on 918 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Weather and nature uncooperative but still fun

Joe_G, Feb 2026

Rainy day and barely a sighting, but tou can't control weather or nature. The crew was good and you can tell that they felt bad and a bit embarrassed about the disasterous trip, esp when we uor to see a huge whale breaching rihht next to our cruise ship the next day!

Whale of a tale was bucket list worthy.

Jane_H, Dec 2025

Ford, Nate, and Chriss...

PetrinIssy_I, Nov 2025

Nice Staff/Saved money

Elizabeth_B, Oct 2025

We went on a whale watch this past week. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any whales. The staff coordinated with other boats to spread out to try to find whales in the area. They did their best and were very friendly and knowledgeable. This just gives us another reason to return to try again a different time of the year. Oh, and booking here saved us about $200 from the cruise sponsored excursions.

Whale tour

HV_N, Oct 2025

Nice crew, safe boat

Jonas_J, Oct 2025

The crew was very funny and professional. Unfortunately we have not seen any whales, which causes a little frustration. This is not the fault of the operator or the crew.

we found the whales!

neil_r, Oct 2025

very knowledable people..we went looking and found our whales in different parts of the bay. it was a really good experience

A must do!!!

Teri_J, Oct 2025

Noah and Sarah were amazing!! If you are looking for an amazing trip with very knowledgeable and personable hosts, go through them! I can’t say enough good things about our trip!

Excellent your a must do..

Stephanie_a, Oct 2025

Excellent from start to finish.. very well organised the bus driver “Randy” was informative and funny.. Chris and Ben on the boat were great we got to see 4 whales

Whale watching adventure

Ellen_H, Oct 2025

The team is fully committed to making sure everyone is safe and they see whales. We had to drive further because migration had begun, but that was fine with the crew.

Great experience

Elizabeth_S, Oct 2025

Wonderful time on the boat, with the crew, and seeing beautiful humpback whales! Such a fun experience.

Disappointed!

Jimmy_D, Oct 2025

Noah, Sara and Chris were a very knowledgeable crew! We didn't have great weather, which was no fault of the crew. We did see some orcas way far away and were disappointed we didn't try to get closer to allow us to get good photos. We were so far away that even zoomed in we couldn’t see them in our photos. We understand that the law does not allow the whale boats to get closer than 100 yards to the whales but we were more like 500+ yards away and other boats were much closer but still the 100 yards away. We just felt like there wasn't much effort in trying to get us good views. We were also very disappointed that we did not get the Mendenhall Glacier photo stop (didn’t even go by it) as described in the name of the excursion – “Ultimate Juneau Whale Watch Plus Mendenhall Glacier Photo Stop“. When asked about it after we got back to the marina, we were told it was never part of the tour! We felt like the tour was pretty much a waste of time and money.

Response from Host, Oct 2025

We are very sorry you didn't get close sightings! It is well passed peak season and our whale sighting guarantee ends September 15th. When the weather is poor, the photo stop cannot happen as there is no way to see the glacier from the water when the clouds sock it in. We do state that in the tour description. The only way to guarantee to see the glacier is to book the Combo tour which is 5 hours instead of 3. That way we drive you to the Mendenhall glacier park. We want every guest too have a great time, if you end up lucky enough to come back to Juneau, please call us directly and we will set you up with a free tour because we want you to go away with great memories!

Trip of a Lifetime!

TRACEY_J, Oct 2025

Chris, Nate, and Gracie were FANTASTIC, and boy, did they deliver on the whales. I mean, we had a convo before we departed with Magma, and he was a little cagey on whether or not he'd be able to get his whale friends to perform because they've eaten well this season and they're fat an happy, but perform they did! We weren't even there ten minutes before we heard, "BREACH! BREACH! BREACH!" Trip of a lifetime, and we didn't care that we were soaked through and freezing.

Whale watch

Sandy_M, Oct 2025

The boat is small but holds about 50 people. The viewing area is efficient. Crew of 3 were great. The weather was perfect and were able to see several whales.

Great whale watching tour

Whitney_S, Sep 2025

Great experience! Highly recommend Came in on a cruise ship and this experience was amazing. We saw lots of whales and the guides were extremely knowledgeable.

Whale Tour Juneau

steve_w, Sep 2025

This type of tour is dependent on time of year. Late septmebr had vey little activity in the water for whales. Found it expensive for what you got. Had to try it though.

We had a great trip! Saw...

Barbara_C, Sep 2025

We had a great trip! Saw multiple whales. The whole crew were so knowledgeable and motivated in making sure we had the full experience. Great job Mack, Ford and Jayden!!

Noah, Sarah and Chris...

Erin_M, Sep 2025

Noah, Sarah and Chris were great! We saw several whales during our tour and the views were breathtaking.

Unforgettable experience

lindsay_m, Sep 2025

We did this tour 5th September and were fortunate enough to see many whales and sea lions. Unfortunately we didn’t witness any breaches but got plenty of fin tails and a fin wave. We decided to sit on open deck for the entire tour because it was a bucket list dream of mine to witness whales in their natural habitat so didn’t want to miss anything. It was a bit chilly but was fine with scarf, hat & winter coat. The tour guides were lovely, very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Would definitely recommend this tour and we’ll be doing it again when we return to Juneau in the future.

Great tour operator

Kathy_W, Sep 2025

Top notch crew!! Saw several whales !! I would recommend to anyone looking for a whale watching tour. Noah, Sara and Chris were awesome!’

Precise, timely...

Jill_W, Sep 2025

Precise, timely comprehensive communication about the experience! Receptive and ensured we knew everything we needed to know to prepare for and to have the best experience Amazing knowledge friendly staff. Fabulous whale watching experience Life time memories created.

Whale watching in Juneau

Rebecca_F, Sep 2025

Seen orka and hump backs. Great fun. Thought from ad we would have a photo op at mendenhal glacier. not sure what they meant by that because the ad shows up close and personal which was not case. But all in all great excursion

Unmissable experience

Fiona_B, Sep 2025

Amazing guides staff and Captain. Ben Carrie and Jayden were very knowledgable and not only did we see hump back but also some Orcas x boat was clean and well set out with huge picture windows for a 360 view while driving out to the whale grounds x loads of excellent viewing specs outside from the front of the boat to the very back and the whole of the open top deck x or if not as mobile, got young children or just don’t want to get cold - stay inside in the warmth with those incredible 360 views x The boats all work together to give everyone the best opportunity to see whales and they didn’t disappoint x bucket list experience made by Carrie and Jayden and their in depth knowledge delivered with warmth and humour x very happy British party of 6 !

Whale Watching Wonders!

Tabatha_P, Sep 2025

Dustin, Haylee, and Lauren were the best Whale Watching Guides! Really enjoyed this tour. We were lucky enough to see Orcas and Humpbacks. This tour was truly a gem! I would def recommend if seeing some whales is on your agenda.

Whale watching family

Reema_K, Sep 2025

We had a really nice time. We were lucky enough to see some orcas. The weather was rainy but the boat was great.

Great whale watching tour and tour group.

Glen_K, Sep 2025

Captain Chris, Dani and Ethan did a great job. Kept us comfortable on a cold rainey day. Saw 4 humpbacks.

Great tour with fun guides

Teresa_S, Sep 2025

Perfect boat size to see whales and not be overcrowded. Be prepared for cold rainy weather as this is normal for Juneau. Whales are seen anyway!! Fun guides. We did NOT get to view the glacier from the boat though...it wasn't even mentioned.

Can Not Recommend - Make Your Excursion Thru Your Cruise Ship!!

Lisa_P, Sep 2025

Us plus others on this particular excursion were confused where to meet. We were given a ticket to hold on to. After the whale watch part they divided us up by ticket color. I think ours may have been green? We got on the shuttle like told. Come to find out we were not with the Mendenhall Glacier group we were to be with. I am quite upset that we were screwed out of that half of our excursion package. I'm sure you can understand. I find that I can not recommend your excursion package. I paid $315 and received half the excursion. Not well organized at begining and end. I believe you owe me a refund for the second half of the excursion of missing the Mendenhall Glacier.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

We are sorry this didn't live up to your expectations. We feel a great responsibility to do so since many of our guests come to Juneau just once in their lives. Our phone number is on everything we give you and we could have helped you understand at any point what you booked. You did indeed book the whale watch tour, not the actual combo tour. You saved money by not paying to go to the park, but since you booked so late in the season, i would image the views of the glacier for the photo stop from the water were greatly limited due to weather.

saw a lot of whales today...

Joseph_W, Sep 2025

saw a lot of whales today despite the rainy weather. Fun ! Great crew from Juneau Whale Watch. Hoghly recommend it.

The tour was on a nice...

Linda_H, Sep 2025

The tour was on a nice size boat--not too big so you can't get close to the whales and not too small to make you feel sick. We saw several whales and even had one 'wave' a large fin at us. The sea lions hanging out on the buoy were a nice bonus.