Icy Strait Shore Excursion: Small Group Bear Hunt

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,…
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Driver/guide
  • Port pickup and drop-off
  • Small Group size of max 12 people
What's Not Included
  • 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.
Location
Hoonah
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(15 Ratings)
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1 star
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
Sightseer68644063275
Jul 19, 2024
The Best! - We had a Awesome Experience. Boat Captain Justin, Naturalist Kacie, and Taylor did a great job in making sure we all had a wonderful time. We even got in on a group of Orcas, that is usually hard to find. Great Experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mercymoi2
Jun 2, 2024
Excellent tour of Hoonah, Culture and Wild Life - Read about the tour on a Cruise Critic message board. Very glad we did. It was a great tour from Jack and Howard. They picked us up outside Icy Strait Point and took us around Hoonah including their home and the surrounding area. They made sure we saw lots of wildlife. Both Jack and Howard have a passion for their culture and town. An excellent tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregaustex
Aug 15, 2022
Great bear watching experience! - This was one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide Gary took us to "bridge #3" and we watched a mama grizzly and her cub catch four salmon. I know that not everyone will see a bear on this excursion, but we were very fortunate to watch this pair for over 20 minutes just a few feet away. A fantastic experience!
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
U2054idnancya
Jul 20, 2022
Disappointed! - We paid $129/1 person for the Icy Strait Bear & Wildlife Tour. It was a 3 hour ride in a van on very rough (washboard) roads. The tour was too long and no refreshments given. We did not see any bears and only 2 deer. That is a lot of money for basically nothing. The driver and asst. were nice but it got old riding w/o seeing anything but trees. It seemed like since the salmon had not arrived, it would be very hard to find bears and it was . Like I said, we no none! Don't waste your money on this excursion.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Phuketfoody
Jul 11, 2022
Unbelievable - Could not believe boyfriend of owner hit disabled man. I was totally shocked when boyfriend of owner struck disabled deaf man of 77.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $369
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).