Prince William Sound, Alaska Wildlife, glaciers, wilderness Personalized, value-added tours Casually informative Departing Whittier "the western gateway to Prince Wm. Sound"

Background

These trips focus on wildlife hotspots, many of them little known and seldom visited. Capt. Gerry's expertise, plus our boat's fore deck, covered aft deck, shallow water capabilities and quiet engines provide excellent opportunities to see and photograph wildlife without disturbing them. Our careful adherence to protection guidelines assures that your trip will have a minimal affect on the wildlife's natural behavior. Whale watching is our specialty and we have been quite successful at finding humpbacks during our full day whale watching trips far into the southern Sound (over 90% success rate since 1999). Orcas are usually less common, but we see them on many of our whale trips. In 2008 we are again offering exploratory spring gray whale trips at a bargain price. Our Glacier & Wildlife tours in the northwestern part of the Sound feature the same glaciers and wildlife visited by larger tour boats that operate from Whittier, but whales are seen infrequently in that part of the Sound. However, our full day whale trip may be extended to see Icy Bay's magificent Chenega Glacier (see below). This black bear was too busy eating pink salmon near a small stream in late August to notice our boat drifting just offshore. Salmon carcasses are an important food source for a variety of wildlife like these glaucous-winged gulls.

Humpback whales are often seen in groups of two or more, and sometimes as many as 15-20 feed in the same general area. We saw this cow and her calf near Montague Island in late August, 2001. These four humpbacks repeatedly surfaced and dove together during one of our 2002 whale trips. . . SCHEDULING We use open scheduling. Book any tour on any open date or join a booked tour with your 50% deposit. Toll-free: 1-888-471-2312

PLEASE NOTE: Due to unstable fuel costs, prices below may fluctuate.
However, they will not exceed the price advertised when you book.

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Wilderness Whale Watching

Book Your Whale Trip! Full Day Whale Trip Whales Plus Icy Bay Gray Whale Explorer Season mid-May through Sept mid-June through Sept April to mid-may Dates Available? See schedule See schedule See schedule How Long? About 9 - 10 hr 150-180 mi 11 - 12 hr 180-200 mi About 10 hr & 150 mi Cost $219 (3-person min) $244 (3-person min) $164 (2-person min) Sorry, no discounts for this tour.

On All Whale Trips: Snacks, fruit juice and beach stop included $6 each Whittier taxes added to all prices $1 of each fare will be donated to the North Gulf Oceanic Society and Eye of the Whale Research to help support their long-term work on the whales of Prince William Sound. Discounts: 10% off if 6 total passengers 10% off early & late season . (4-passenger minimum). Kids under 12, 50% off if at least 4 adults

What to Expect Full-Day Trip . This is a true wilderness whale watching experience -- we seldom see other boats of any kind, let alone other whale-watching boats. We cruise feeding grounds in the southern Sound with good chances for humpbacks, and sometimes orcas as well. We travel 150 miles or more through spectacular scenery and we usually see a variety of other wildlife too, which may include, Dall's porpoises, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, puffins, and occasionally black bears. Icy Bay Option . At extra cost, this trip may be extended 1-2 hrs to visit Icy Bay and magnificent Chenega Glacier. This option is unavailable May and early June due to excessive ice. No two whale trips are exactly alike and this unknown dimension adds a flavor of adventure. We carefully honor the minimum 100-yd approach regulation, but humpbacks and orcas often approach our boat closer (photo galleries). We take up to an hour break for lunch at a remote beach, where Capt. Gerry stays with the beached boat in the intertidal zone, leaving you free to explore in the immediate vicinity on your own.

Chenega Glacier is a mile wide and rises to 1,200' in elevation a mere mile from its face. 100's of harbor seals are found here.

. A pod of orcas cruises alongside our boat during a whale trip, September 2006.

Gray Whale Explorer . Gray whales pass Prince William Sound during their spring migration from their calving grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. They rarely wander into the inner Sound, so this trip thus provides a chance to see these gentle giants in an area that is seldom-visited in spring. At $164, this is a bargain for a 10-hr trip. Good chance of seeing humpback whales too. Please note: In early April the 8:30AM - 5:00PM winter Whittier tunnel schedule is in effect, so to do this 10-hr tour, you will need to spend the night in Whittier either before or after their trip. Click here for links to Whittier lodging. Beginning mid-April, the last tunnel opening out of Whittier will be extended to 8:00 PM.

Marine Wildlife Tour

When: Any open date, May - September . . . . How Long? Minimum 8 hours and over 100 miles.
Cost: $189 plus tax
. . . . . . . 2-passenger minimum if booked more than a month ahead,
. . . . . . . 4-passenger minimum if booked less than a month ahead.
Discounts: 10% off when either a single party or combined parties equal 6 passengers.
. . . . . . . See details at previously-booked trips.

This is a good all-round wildlife trip. We'll keep a lookout for whales and porpoises as we travel to the Sound's biggest Steller sea lion rookery. We'll also visit the Sound's biggest waterfall and will likely encounter harbor seals, sea otters, bald eagles, both horned and tufted puffins, Arctic terns and other marine birds. We take a break at a remote beach, where Capt. Gerry stays with the beached boat in the intertidal zone, leaving you free to explore in the immediate vicinity on your own. Steller sea lions are most common at this haulout from fall through spring. Biologists brand a few sea lions like the one in the top-center of this photo to follow their travels among several traditional haulouts.

Tufted puffins usually nest in earthen burrows, but a few nest in crevices in the side of a sea cliff like this pair. U. S. Fish & Wildlife ServicePhoto.

Marine Wildlife -- half-day

When: Any open date, May - September . . . . How Long? About 5 hrs. and 50 miles
Cost: $119 plus tax
. . . . . . . 2-passenger minimum if booked more than a month ahead,
. . . . . . . 4-passenger minimum if booked less than a month ahead.
Discounts: When either a single party or combined parties equal 6 passengers, 10% off.
. . . . . . . See details at previously-booked trips.

This tour follows much of the route of the Marine Wildlife trip, with some chance for whales and porpoises in early season. We visit harbor seal and Steller sea lion haulouts, and will likely see puffins, auklets (lower left photo), pigeon guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, Arctic terns, jaegers, cormorants, black oystercatchers, and a variety of other seabirds. Harbor seals at rocks that we visit on this tour. Parakeet auklet photo by USFWS.

A group from the Audubon Society, Anchorage Chapter enjoyed a perfect day for this tour in June 2001. Parasitic jaegers ambush black-legged kittiwakes headed for the nesting colony near Whittier to rob them of fish intended for their chicks. Bottom left photo: Parakeet auklets are seen at their nesting colonies only in the morning, so they are missed by the tourboats.

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