Icy Strait Point: whales on a port day
Your ship ties up beside a restored cannery about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from a Tlingit village, and the whales feed a short boat ride beyond it. A 3-hour whale tour fits most port calls here with time to spare, provided you know which dock you are on and where your operator meets you. This guide walks from the gangway to the boat and back again, with the timing that keeps you clear of all-aboard.
From salmon cannery to cruise dock
Icy Strait Point belongs to Huna Totem Corporation, the village corporation of Hoonah's Tlingit people. It opened in 2004 around a salmon cannery built in 1912 and since restored, and it lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town of Hoonah. Most visitors know it for the long ZipRider zipline and the free gondola between the docks. The whale boats mostly leave from the harbor in town, which is why nearly every tour begins with a few minutes in a van.
Everything below comes from the operators' own listings on GetYourGuide and Viator. Confirm the meeting point on your booking, since operators can change it.
Two docks, one Excursions Hub
The listings describe two cruise docks. From Adventure Landing you leave the Adventure Center by door 2 and follow a gravel path to the Excursions Hub, about 6–8 minutes on foot. From Wilderness Landing the free green gondola takes about 4 minutes, and the Hub is roughly 3 minutes to the left once you step off.
Find out from your ship which dock it is using before you go ashore. If your ship anchors offshore instead, tenders bring passengers to land, which can add time at both ends of the day. Your ship's daily program is the place to check.
Where each tour meets you
| Tour | From | Meeting point | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Whales & Drones (our pick) | ~$250 | Excursions Hub, or Hoonah town by arrangement with the captain | Short van ride to the harbor |
| Hoonah Travel Adventures | ~$225 | Excursions Hub, rep in a blue shirt or raincoat | Van about 7 minutes to Hoonah |
| Catch of the Day | ~$236 | The port's main entrance, not the Hub | Drive of 5–10 minutes to the harbor |
| Glacier Wind Charters | ~$285 | Excursions Hub, follow the signs | Van about 5 minutes to the harbor |
| Icy Strait Whale Adventures | ~$302 | Excursions Hub, 30 minutes before the start | Transfer to its own dock at the port, no van |
| Hoonah Whale Tours | ~$314 | Port pickup, or anywhere in town | About 5 minutes to the marina |
The one that catches people out is Catch of the Day, from ~$236. Its pickup is at the port's main entrance, on the far side of the port from the ship docks, so allow 10–15 minutes for the flat walk. The port runs a shuttle cart for anyone who needs one.
Hoonah Travel Adventures, from ~$225, posts a rep at the Hub in a blue shirt or raincoat. Hoonah Whale Tours, from ~$314, collects at the port or anywhere in town, which helps if you have already wandered into Hoonah. Alaska Whales & Drones, from ~$250, can also meet you in town if you arrange it with Captain Josh beforehand.
Phones go quiet at the dock
According to Hoonah Travel Adventures, you will find neither wifi nor a cell signal around the port. Print your confirmation and the meeting directions before the ship arrives, or save screenshots while the ship's connection still works. GetYourGuide's review summary for the drone tour raises the same issue, saying its meeting directions could be clearer for guests without coverage.
Check in 15 minutes before your start time, or 30 where the listing asks for it, as Icy Strait Whale Adventures does. The vans leave on schedule, so a passenger who turns up late can miss the boat altogether.
A boat that leaves from the port itself
Icy Strait Whale Adventures has no van ride, because its boat departs from its own dock at Icy Strait Point. Its listing also refunds you in full when your ship is cancelled or delayed, from ~$302. Meet at the Excursions Hub half an hour before the start.
Fitting 3 hours into a port day
Most tours run 3 hours from pickup to drop-off, with about 2.5 hours on the water. That fits a typical port call with room to spare, but a ship sails on time even if a tour it did not sell is still out on the water. Choose a start that brings you back well before all-aboard, and keep a buffer of time for anything that slows the return.
Hoonah Travel Adventures runs several departures through the day, so it is the simplest to match to your ship's hours. A whale excursion sold by the cruise line runs on the ship's clock, while a booking of your own puts that clock in your hands. Two of the six, Glacier Wind and Hoonah Whale Tours, are non-refundable, and what a Hoonah whale watching tour costs sets out the refund rules for each.
After the boat, an hour in Hoonah
With Hoonah Travel Adventures you can stay in town after the tour, with about 30 minutes of free time and a shuttle back to the port every 30 minutes. Hoonah is the largest Tlingit village in Alaska, home to under a thousand people, with a small harbor and a few cafes. A fire in 1944 destroyed much of the old village, and fishing and logging built the town you walk through now. The Huna Tlingit trace their homeland to Glacier Bay, across the water.
For a slower half day ashore, a village tour and crab feast with Hoonah Beach House, from ~$195, lets you watch crab come up on a local fishing boat, then walks you through the village to a crab meal. Its catch is plain enough, as there is no whale watching at all, so it suits a second visit or someone who would rather stay close to land.
Hoonah Travel Adventures' brown bear search, from ~$164, takes a small group by van into the forest of Chichagof Island for 3 hours. Its ratings are mixed, 3.9 on Viator and 4.2 on GetYourGuide, and bears are never certain, so book it for the forest rather than a promised bear.
Book before you sail
The boats are small and every port day is fixed in advance, so seats go early. Viator's listings show travelers booking these tours about 100–170 days ahead on average. The four refundable tours let you reserve now and pay later, which keeps an early booking low in risk. For the two non-refundable boats, wait until your ship's schedule looks settled.
The best time for whales in Hoonah covers the months, and what to wear whale watching in Alaska deals with the chill on deck. Parents should read whale watching in Hoonah with kids before picking a tour that starts with a walk. If your ship also calls at Juneau, Hoonah or Juneau for whale watching weighs the two ports.