Exclusive Wildlife and Bear Search

Absolutely loved this excursion mainly due to our host Ray and his knowledge of the country and the stories he shared with us. Saw one brown bear which was exciting - I think we would have been disappointed if we hadn’t spotted this guy 🐻

Had very knowledgeable guide despite his only 24 years of age. Loved every minute on this tour. Started on time and was back to the ship with no issues.

Mike was an excellent tour guide - very knowledgeable and about the area history and wildlife. Areas we toured were amazing and teeming with wildlife.

We had an excellent tour guide and even when we did not see bears, we learned a lot. But when we saw the bears it was even better. Had one walk right down the street toward us.

Friendly , really knowledgeable guide. We found a Bear coming about 10-15ft from our van.

This tour was amazing we got to see a mated pair of coastal brown bears up close and we saw another bear just lounging in the distance. We also saw bald eagles and beautiful scenery. Our guide was awesome. He patiently answered our daughter and all the guests questions. He knew about all the local history and great spots to see wildlife. He taught us about the local plants and culture. Definitely worth the time.

You see a lot of nature, wild Alaska, off the beaten path. We did not see bears because it was probably a little too early in the season but we saw lots of other wildlife. Guide was a male tribal leader so had a very authentic experience with him showing us Alaska.

Our group of 8 enjoyed this tour with our local Tlingit guide. He shared a lot of local knowledge of the community and the flora and fauna. He gave his best effort, but even though we were unable to find any bears, our group thoroughly enjoyed the day!

This was a very nice, small group excursion. Although we only saw 1 bear, our guide provided information on the area and his native culture. We walked a trail that was beautiful. We went where the bears are often seen, but, it wasn't our day. We were very please with our tour and hightly recommend this excursion. If we get to Icy Strait, again, we will definitely book this excursion.

We had as guide a tribal leader who knew a lot of the wildlife and the local culture which he loved to share. He was in contact with other people who had seen bears earlier in the day and checked out those locations. Unfortunately did we not see any bears as it was aready late in the season. It was a small group of 8 people in a nice comfortable van. The only negative is that NCL is not on the main pier in Icy Strait Point and the directions to get to the meeting point were only from the main pier whch caused some confusion as you needed to do a walk of over 15 minutes through the woods to get to the meeting point (the cable cars were not functioning which would have made all a lot easier). So I suggest to include that in the meeting instructions. The guide was very patient and waited until all had arrived at the meeting point and did not cut short the excursion but instead extended the excursion time after he asked if everybody was okay with it. So overall a very positive experience.

My seven year old daughter and I took this tour while visiting in Aug 2022. We had the best day ever! We saw a mama bear with her two cubs and then saw a bear come out of the woods, catch a salmon, eat the salmon and then explore the stream right below the bridge we were standing on! We also saw eagles, Sitka deer and whales on our tour! Kimberly was a great guide - so knowledgeable about the wildlife, culture, plant life and life in Alaska! She even knew where to stop to get us fresh blueberries for a snack. This tour was the icing on the cake of a great time in Alaska!

We had a truly excellent time - even though we did not see any bear - it was not for lack of trying! The tour conductor, kimberly was fantasic! we had a great time- next time lets see a bear!

Our guide was a local young man who knew exactly where to take us. Very informative. We watched a Momma and cub for about an hour. Fascinating! Then we saw 4 bears on the way back, just walking down the dirt road. Several bald eagles and the scenery was beautiful.

Frank was absolutely hands down the best tour guide ever! We saw six or seven Bears, I actually lost count! Also we got to see two deer! Frank is so familiar with the island he knew all the best places to go! The group was small which was wonderful! Frank was very knowledgeable about all the wildlife and vegetation! This excursion was the BEST one out of all of them we did! Thank you SO very much for making our cruise spectacular!

This small group tour gave us an excellent chance to get up close with the bears. The guide knew the area very well, and had a series of vantage points lined up for optimum sighting opportunities. Our first bear sighting was from a bridge overlook, which allowed the group to safely obtain numerous close up photos and video footage, while feeling completely secure around the wildlife. We also hiked down to the river's edge for an opportunity for a more intimate bear encounter. The guide was very conscientious and safety-oriented, which was reassuring considering the unpredictability of these large bears. Wouldn't hesitate to book this again on the next visit!

THE TRIP WAS EXCITING. WE SAW A BEAR IN A SHORT DISTANCE!

The driver spent 4-1/2 hours taking us all over the area. We saw some great country, some tracks and scat but no bears. He did his best but is wasn’t our day.

While we only saw one bear on this tour, our guide was so knowledgeable and was full of interesting information about the way of life they lead. Our guide truly made this enjoyable.

This was a wonderful excursion. The guide told us we had a 50% chance to see a bear, so we were prepared to be unlucky. We didn't see any bears for 2/3 of the tour, but the guide kept us well entertained about bears, the village, nature and his own story. He was great. Then, we saw a huge bear in a river; and then a cub at the bottom of a bridge. And finally, going back to town, we saw a bear just walking down the road! He didn't seem to mind we were behind him. It was an amazing experience. My only recommendation: the guide should tell people that if they see a bear, they should not move and be quiet. The first bear ran away because one lady started running and screaming "there's a bear!!!". I'm sure she meant well but it kind of ruined the experience for others. Other than that, great tour!

This tour was great. We saw 6 bears, eagles, deer. Our guide Luke was very informative and fun. I highly recommend. Also recommend Fisherman's Daughter to eat.

Our guide Luke did his best but the lack of rain in this whole area of Alaska has meant the salmon streams are too low and the salmon are waiting to go upstream ... no salmon means very few bears at the prime viewing points ... a long drive through the bush with no photos ... an earlier group in the early morning saw the bears before they went back into the bush.

So, we never did see a bear … lots of evidence of bear activity, but no actual bears. Now, that being said … our guide was a local with a LOT of information, and we did get to see a lot of Hoonah (Icy Strait). And, he did his best … talking and coordinating with other drivers, but NO ONE was seeing bears that day. It was also warmer than normal, and that could have been a factor. We would take this tour again.

Our tour guide Levi was excellent. He kept us entertained with stories about the area and the wildlife. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon with him. We saw some beautiful scenery and lots of bald eagles, unfortunately no bear but we did see "evidence" of bears. We would do this tour again any time.

Our guide(Hot shot) did a great job and worked very hard to finally find us a bear. Along the way we enjoyed his descriptions of the terrain and the abundance of salmon berries he found for us. We would definitely do it again.

Never saw a bear but did see black tailed deer and eagles. Spent over 4 hours riding through woods. The native tour guide was outstanding.

Learned a great deal about plants, animals, and Native American traditions in Hoonah. Learned what kinds of trail bears leave in the woods, and along the side of the road. I wished I had known to bring a lunch along to eat as we explored Icy Strait Point! I also wish there had been more than 1 bathroom stop in 5 hours!

Well organized, more enjoyable as it was a small group; driver was in constant contact with other vehicles regarding sightings and stayed out longer to ensure we had sight of a bear. I was able to sit in the front seat of the vehicle which meant when we did finally see a bear, I had an awesome view of it resulting in great pictures. Highly recommended! guide was well informed but would have been helpful to have more information from the guide about the bears

Mike was an excellent guide. He had all kinds of stories and information regarding plants, wildlife and native customs to share with us. We saw bears on 2 separate occasions, albeit they were about 400 yards away, and also saw a deer from about 50 feet at one point. I would recommend this tour.

Yes, we really did see bears! They were from a distance, but we could easily recognize them. Toward the end of our tour, there was on right at the edge of the road. Wow!

Our lovely guide,Mike ,with help from his brother and nephew, was able to locate 5 bears for us to observe in their natural habitat. We sat in his van for 30 minutes, watching 2 ,2yr old siblings eating only 10 metres away! We also saw a very big male bear, running down the road in front of the van, chasing a female. Mike's local knowledge also taught us lot's about the flora and diets of the indigenous people. I would highly recommend this trip.

We had a wonderful time on this small group shore excursion. There were 6 of us in a range vehicle with our driver/guide, who was very knowledgeable . We saw several bears in their natural habitat, and learned the cues to watch them .

Our guide had fully prepared us in how to stay safe when we reached our first stop. Our group adhered to all of his instructions and we were always the first van to arrive. We saw several bears and he got us close enough to get some really great photos. Recommend this tour to everyone!

What a great outing!!! Our guide, Mike knew where to find bears and taught us not only about bears but also Alaska. He has lived in and raised a family in Alaska. We saw 2 male brown bears as well as a female brown bear with her two cubs. We watched and photographed them for a long time. We also saw Eagles. Definitely a top choice for excursions.

Our guide Mike was very knowledgeable. We saw six bears total great day. Loved the small group.

"Mike" was our tour guide and local resident of Hoonah this was a wonderful tour, a total of 5 bears were seen,one feeding on salmon in a creek the others down by a river we walked down to and saw a mother and 2 cubs and another large male. Fantastic tour !!

Our tour guide Luke was extraordinary!! His ability to locate where the bears would be active was exceptional! I especially appreciated that the tour group was not a large group of people on a bus. Luke was able to caterer to our needs and wants given the size of our group! I would HIGHLY recommend this excursion to anyone that wants to see bears up close. However, we were always safe and secure.

Loved the flexibility and guide for our small group. He went to where the bears had been spotted so we saw lots of bears, and learned a lot about them and the island. I'm so glad we did this tour instead of the big bus cruise line tour that only goes to pre-determined viewpoints. Got some great photos

Our guide Mike did a great job and made our day. The bears were not as plentiful due to a late salmon run but he found us one. We saw other wildlife and also saw salmon spooning. After hearing from others on the ship that had taken the Princess excursion we were very glad we chose this one.

We enjoyed the trip and saw adult and "teenage" bears foraging or fishing. The youngster provided great movie material, with his inexperience at catching fish. The sample of home smoked salmon provided by the guide was really tasty.

Our guide Mike was great. He shared a great deal of knowledge with us. We were lucky enough to see a mother bear and her two cubs. We were briefed on safety procedures and we felt safe with the knowledge that our guide displayed.

Excellent tour. We found three bears. We are a small group of five people. The guide is very friendly and tried his best to find the bears. All of us on the vehicle like him. Highly recommend!

Luke was our guide and he was great. He was very knowledgeable about the area and entertaining with his stories. We first went to a bridge where they had been seeing bears, when we didn't see any our group piled into the cab and went hiking. Luke, armed with a gun for our protection, took us to a trail up river where we hiked then to a stream. A mother and her two cubs came wandering up, they were 30 feet from us. Highlight of our trip.

Our guide Jeff was extremely knowledgeable about the area and we were able to see 8 bears. The water levels were low and the salmon were not as plentiful so we did not see as many bears as I had hoped, but we were able to get some amazing photos of a Mom and her cub.

Our small group of 6 was led by Jeff and did not disappoint!!! Stopped in several locations and was fortunate to see Bears each time!! Very knowledgeable guide about local culture and history. Please stop by his shop in Icy Strait to experience his totem carving skills and his wife Lisa’s beautiful artwork!!