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Icy Strait Shore Excursion: Small Group Bear Hunt
3.7
20 Ratings
Hoonah
When you dock at Icy Strait, close to Hoonah, you’re in for a memorable shore excursion. Ready for a bear hunt? This four-hour tour gives you the opportunity to see brown bears, Sitka black-tail deer, and other wildlife in their natural environment, against the stunning backdrop of the final frontier.
When you dock at Icy Strait, close to Hoonah, you’re in for a memorable shore excursion. Ready for a bear hunt? This four-hour tour gives you the opportunity to see brown bears, Sitka black-tail deer, and other wildlife in their natural environment, against the stunning backdrop of the final frontier.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Hoonah - National Geographic has dubbed this area “Bear Island,” offering the highest density of bears globally, with 1-2 brown bears per square mile. To enhance your experience, this tour is conducted in small groups, ensuring a more enjoyable outing.
- Icy Strait - The island boasts ten varieties of edible berries, a breathtaking muskeg view,…
- Hoonah - National Geographic has dubbed this area “Bear Island,” offering the highest density of bears globally, with 1-2 brown bears per square mile. To enhance your experience, this tour is conducted in small groups, ensuring a more enjoyable outing.
- Icy Strait - The island boasts ten varieties of edible berries, a breathtaking muskeg view, an old-growth forest, and potential sightings of the island’s king: brown bears. By utilizing current data on bear movements, feeding habits, and daily temperatures, the tour includes brief stops at strategic locations to provide an incredible view of these fascinating animals.
Our esteemed guides will share insights about the region and the Tlingit Native community. During the tour, you are almost certain to encounter a variety of other wildlife frequently seen on our tours, such as mink, marten, bald eagles, sea birds, red squirrels, otters, beavers, ducks, and Sitka black-tail deer. Don’t forget to bring your camera.
Please note: While wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed, this tour can quickly adjust its position, offering a significantly higher chance of sightings compared to slower, larger tour groups.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Driver/guide
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Small Group size of max 12 people
- Local guide
- Driver/guide
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Small Group size of max 12 people
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Food and drinks
Additional Information
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- We can also accept hotel guests on this tour.
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- We can also accept hotel guests on this tour.
Location
Hoonah
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.7
(20 Ratings)
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Feigley65
Jul 31, 2026
Bear Watch - This outing was really neat. They take you to where they know the bears are. We saw two that day. Guide was great too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tyler_t
Jul 17, 2026
Amazing - Was amazing. Would definitely recommend. Guide was very helpful, we saw 2 bears, even if we didn’t see any we got to go out and get to see beautiful scenery.
Review provided by Viator
Janete317
May 18, 2026
Holme Lacy House - We had a brilliant week The staff were Amazing The food was great we dined in the Market Kitchen it’s a buffet so help yourself The waiter x waitresses were brilliant nothing to much trouble big thanks to Jo.Aga. Beta.Caro .Beckie .Ben. Tracy . And John the porter he is so helpful There are far to many to name Thank You to all the Staff They are brilliant We will see you in July
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jozoj977
May 7, 2026
Amazing Alaska wildlife tour - This was hands down one of the best excursions on our Alaska cruise. Our guide was fantastic and clearly knew exactly where to look based on recent bear activity. We were lucky enough to spot two brown bears fishin for salmon, along with bald eagles and eautiful scenery throughout the drive. The small group made it eel much more personal than the large cruise tours. Highly recommend if you want a real Alaskan wildlife experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amy_b
Jul 21, 2025
The guide was extremely... - The guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He helped us find 4 bears and knew a lot about bears. It was my husband’s favorite tour though out alaska
Review provided by Viator
Faraway30298339447
Nov 9, 2024
My wife and I enjoyed this tour, - My wife and I enjoyed this tour, saw the bears and we learned a lot much our guide. Loved the small group feel compared to what we were looking at on offer from our cruise. Thanks guys loved it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_g
Jun 20, 2025
Dalen our tour guide was... - Dalen our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the experience interesting and entertaining. Sadly on this occasion we didn’t see any bears, probably as we are a little early in the year. Having said that, we had the opportunity to see the amazing countryside and beautiful views.
Review provided by Viator
Glenna_g
Aug 17, 2026
My primary feedback is... - My primary feedback is for Viator (not Luke - our guide). Two days out from the trip Viator had sent me a voucher but all the information it contained was what was in the confirmation booking. No specifics about timing or where to meet. For that I had to What's App the local guide and fortunately he responded with the correct voucher which had much more detailed information needed. So, I rate the tour a 3 only because the logistics leading up to the experience were poorly handled by Viator. I would actually recommend to others that they book directly with the local guide Wild Bear Safari.
Luke our guide was great. Told us stories, and extended our tour time taking us to further out places where we did finally see two mother bears each with dubs along the beach. Because of the draught and less water and consequently salmon in the streams where bears fish we had to travel further. We were successful at the end. My only wish would have been to get a bit closer to the bears - we were roughly 200 yards away and without binoculars it was difficult to make them out. So, yes, bring your binoculars!
Review provided by Viator
Mariano_g
Aug 24, 2026
A rip-off - It turned out to be a rip-off; we didn't see any bears, nor was that a safari. The driver who acted as a guide and his companion were armed; they acted out an adventure movie along a forest path and that was it. To see bears, there are much better options, such as the small boat tour to see whales and nature, or a van excursion in Kenchica.
Review provided by Viator
Jill_h
Jun 16, 2026
Overcrowded, disappointing - Small group tour - yes - but it was 14 crammed into a transit van with every seat taken - 4 adults squashed in a back seat did not make it pleasant for 5 hours driving. At over $500 each not enjoyable. No bottle of water or snack just driving around aimlessly. Thought it may have been drive to a spot and watch for bears - no literally drive around and hope they pop out on the road.
Review provided by Viator
