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Whales, Wildlife & Drones

Whales, Wildlife & Drones - Image 1
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Trip Highlights

Unique aerial perspective you won’t find anywhere else is SE Alaska!
Humpback whale feeding and migration location near The Port of Icy Strait
Comfortable boat with heated cabin & restroom
Live broadcast of our drone footage onbaord

Description

This whale watching tour is personalized, as it takes out a maximum of 14 guests at a time. This allows for a great crew to guest ratio, ensuring your experience is personal. The areas we search near in Hoonah near The Port of Icy Strait and Point Adolphus are known Humpback whale feeding grounds. Josh has captained in this area for many years and knows the area well! He know how to find the whales! Add in the communication he has with other captains on the other boats, and it's a perfect whale finding system! What really makes this tour unique is the Drone imagery. Drones are able to see below the water surface and broadcast live video back to the boat. View pods of orcas effortlessly gliding under the waves, on rare occasions, see humpback calfs playing with their mothers, on rare occasions, the amazing phenomenon of "bubble-net" feeding by groups of humpbacks is seen. Your personal view of the whales is not repaced with drones; just supplemented! You will experience seeing and hearing these amazing animals with your own eyes and ears, and then we take you to the next level with our displays onboard.

Tour info

Duration
3 hours
Group Size
Up to 14 people
Price starts at
$210
Languages
English
Meeting Point
The Port of Icy Strait Excursions Hub
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Why take this tour?

Your Captain, Captain Josh, is a USA certified Drone pilot with a state of the art drone. Your personal views of wildlife with your own eyes, is always the primary focus, drone views just makes the experience incredible. We fly our the drone in a legal manner, a safe distance from the wildlife, in a fashion where we we can safely view them without disturbance, broadcasting the footage live while underway. The imagery the drone captures is just incredible and can not be gotten through normal photography. 

 

Not only will our guests be thrilled by incredible sightings they will also take home an "unique" souvenir. We download our drone footage before we even make it back to the dock! Each booking will recieve an immediate copy! You won’t find another company in Alaska who is using technology to bring you this amazing perspective of marine wildlife! 

Included

  • Round Trip Transfers from The Port of Icy Strait
  • Heated Cabin & Clean Restroom
  • Return to ship “Anytime Shuttle Pass” on regular shuttle from Hoonah to The Port of Icy Strait

Frequently asked questions

The National Marine Fisheries Service whale watching guidelines require us to maintain a 100 yard spacing from the whales when we are approaching the whales or maneuvering in the whale watching areas. Once we have stopped moving and begin to drift and enjoy the whales they frequently approach the boat at a much closer distance. It is likely that during the trip you will find yourself very close to one or more humpback whales and will get some excellent photos.
Humpback whales in Icy Strait have one primary focus for their time spent here – eating. There really is no period during the day during which you can predict when the whales will be more active. We really have not noticed a difference in behavior during different times of the day. Most of the time we are out on the water we observe them feeding and enjoying some exercise between meals. They feed as often as they are able and rest and play a bit between meals. We tell guests to pick the times that work best with their schedule
Yes, we have a clean marine head on board.
This boat takes a maximum of 14 guest.
Aside from humpback whales that come to feed on Icy Strait nutrient-rich waters, you might also get to feast your eyes on harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises and sea otters. Bald eagles and a myriad of birdlife soaring overhead also populate our skies so don’t forget to look up. Sometimes, brown bears can be seen on the shoreline.
This is a common, but not a common occurrence! Becoming seasick is always an extremely remote possibility. The waters are generally calm during the summer months and on the days when the wind and tide do make the water choppy, the motion of the boat is not of the kind that induces motion sickness. If you are prone to seasickness we recommend Dramamine or a wristband.
As the only charter boat in the Hoonah area to offer drone footage of whale sightings during your tour, this souvenir is unique and will truly enhance your experience! The cost is $25.00 and the footage will be downloaded onto a USB drive formatted to either PC or Mac.
There are times, due to weather circumstances that would prevent us from putting up the drones, namely constant rain. We cannot fly these devices in full-downpours as they are not totally waterproof, but it’s a rare tour that doesn’t give us some window of opportunity to view from the drone. We estimate that on average, we are able to fly them over ninety-five percent of our tours but we can’t guarantee they will go up.

Things to know

COVID - Health & Safety

Your health is our top priority! All of our boat crews, drivers and guides are fully vaccinated. Stringent Cleaning – We’ve increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces and high traffic areas during those tours that allow and between all tours. Aside from the increased cleaning above, our boats and vehicles are now deep cleaned at the end of each day. Wellness Checks – Employees receive daily wellness checks, to include temperature to ensure they are healthy and symptom-free. If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms, we will work directly with you to cancel or reschedule your tour.

Cancellation Policy

To receive a full refund guests may cancel up to 24hrs before the experience. If for some reason your cruise ship does not make it to port, or we have to cancel due to weather, this would also be a 100% refund. No refund for cancelations less than 24hrs. This policy does not apply to Private Charters, please email for details.***There is a booking fee applied to all online bookings. This fee will not be refunded on partial cancellations. It is refunded on full cancellations. We unfortunately have no control over this as a business.***

What to Wear

The weather in Hoonah is often wet (we live in a rainforest.) Bring layered clothing, a waterproof jacket, a camera and/or video camera, and comfortable shoes. Keep food and flavored drinks packed tightly away. Water is permitted.

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From
$210
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  • Worry-free flexible cancellation policy
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