Whale watching in Hoonah with kids

Age rules, tour by tour

Each operator sets its own limits, and two of them leave young children at the dock. The table shows what the six listings say, with the lower "from" price per adult.

Glacier Wind Charters also turns away anyone with heart problems or another serious medical condition. Its bookings are non-refundable and cannot be changed, so check every member of the party against those rules before paying. Catch of the Day takes no children under 5. Hoonah Travel Adventures asks that children travel with an adult and says most travelers can take part. Where a listing is silent about restrooms, ask the operator before putting a toddler on a three-hour trip.

Babies and toddlers

Two of the six go out of their way for the smallest guests. Alaska Whales & Drones, from ~$250, lets infants ride on a parent's lap at a discounted rate, and its listing calls the tour stroller accessible. Its small custom boats carry 14 passengers at most and have an inside cabin as well as an outside deck, so a parent can duck in with a baby and still see out. Snack bars and bottled water come with the ticket.

Hoonah Whale Tours, from ~$314, has infant seats available and bills itself as friendly to families and groups. Its catamaran has a heated cabin with a restroom on board, and the snacks include homemade wild blueberry muffins. The catch is the booking terms. You cannot cancel or change it, and the only refund the listing describes comes if the operator calls the trip off for weather, so a feverish child on port morning means losing the fare.

Keeping a child happy for three hours

Three hours is a long stretch for a small child, and reviewers say the first 40 minutes or so are a boat ride with little to see but water and shoreline. Plan for that part as much as for the whales.

• Snacks. Every main tour includes some, from snack bars on the drone tour to muffins on Hoonah Whale Tours, but pack the foods your child will actually eat;
• A restroom. Glacier Wind and Hoonah Whale Tours list one on board. The others do not say, so ask, and have everyone use a restroom at the port before the van leaves;
• Warmth. Hoonah Travel Adventures and Catch of the Day both have heated cabins, as does Hoonah Whale Tours. Pack a warm hat and gloves for each child even in July; what to wear whale watching in Alaska lists the layers;
• Binoculars. Icy Strait Whale Adventures lends them. On other boats, a light pair of children's binoculars gives a restless child a job;
• Seasickness. Children can feel queasy on the run out. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before giving a child any medication, and read seasickness on Icy Strait whale tours for the common-sense steps.

What children remember

Adults come for the humpbacks, yet children often talk afterwards about the smaller animals, which tend to stay in view longer. Sea otters drift belly-up among the kelp, sometimes not far from the boat, and Steller sea lions haul out on navigation buoys in a noisy brown heap. On the drone tour the crew plays its footage on board, so children can see their own boat from above, along with any whales the day brings, and the day's video includes the passengers. Families take it home on a USB drive.

Whales are never guaranteed, and slow days happen on every boat. Tell children before the trip that the animals decide where to be, and turn the search into a game of who spots the first blow. Humpbacks, orcas and Icy Strait wildlife lists what else lives in the strait, and photographing whales from the boat has phone tips that older kids can use.

Strollers and limited mobility

None of the six main tours is wheelchair accessible. The drone tour allows strollers but rules out electric wheelchairs and does not suit people with mobility impairments. Icy Strait Whale Adventures, from ~$302, helps in another way. Its boat leaves from its own dock at Icy Strait Point, so nobody climbs into a van, and it arranges a care cart from the gangway for guests with limited mobility (allow 20 extra minutes). It has a discounted children's rate as well, though with up to 24 guests it carries the largest group of the six. Catch of the Day, from ~$236, starts with a flat 10–15-minute walk to the port's main entrance, and the port runs a shuttle cart for those who need one. With a grandparent or a stroller in the party, Icy Strait Point: whales on a port day shows the route from each dock.

A boat of your own, or a day ashore

Two families traveling together can take a boat for themselves. Hoonah Whale Tours' private boat, from ~$314 per person, gives your party about 2.5 hours on the water with nobody else aboard, so snack breaks and nap time follow your own schedule. Its catch is the terms. The booking is non-refundable, and since the price is per person, check the total for your group size before you commit.

If one child dreads boats, Hoonah Beach House's crab feast and village walk, from ~$195, fills the morning differently. Guests step briefly onto a local fishing boat to watch the crab come up and then walk through the village, with a crab feast at the end. The catch is plain enough. It is a crab and village outing, not a whale tour. It takes 14 guests at most and cancels free up to 24 hours ahead.

Matching a tour to your family

• A baby on board. The drone tour, with lap infants at a discount and strollers allowed, or Hoonah Whale Tours, with infant seats and a restroom;
• Children under 5. Any tour except Catch of the Day and Glacier Wind;
• Ages 5 to 8. Every tour except Glacier Wind, which starts at 9;
• Nine and older. All six. Glacier Wind's boat for 13 guests with a restroom suits a family whose dates are fixed;
• Budget first. Hoonah Travel Adventures at ~$225, with several departures a day; what a Hoonah whale watching tour costs adds up a family of four.

For cabin size and deck space on each boat, small boats, big boats, whale guarantees goes boat by boat.