Juneau - Whale Watching

Looking to book for 2 adults/2 kids (ages 12 and 9) - would like a small boat but don't want to pay for 6 passengers. What do people recommend for companies? Harv and Marv won't take under 13 without paying for the full boat...

With kids, I would recommend Gastineau Guiding's Discover Alaska Whales tour. The boat is small, around 20 pax I think. The tour is not only to watch whales but to do some citizen science as well. Volunteers from the passengers collect data about temperature, salinity, do a plankton tow, photo id the whales, and enter the sightings into a log book. We had several kids on the trip I was on and they had a great time collecting samples in addition to seeing lots of whales.

We just booked one for 7 people, but there were several for smaller groups, 6 and under. One very nice guy was "The Local Guy" he wasn't able to accommodate 7 people, but he recommended a few other people, took the time to call and email me and was extremely nice and the most reasonable if you really want to have a private group.

We. Booked Harv and Marv and only had 4 of us the boat held 6 people and another couple we didn’t know booked!

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We had the same problem. I was going to bite the bullet and get the private tour then they ended up being sold out for the date I needed anyways.

I ended up booking with Alaska Galore Tours. Harv and Marv recommended them and they allow children on the 18 passenger boat which is what I booked. It was also about $300 less than the private boat would have been with Harv and Marv.

Mendy at Alaska Galore was very quick to respond by phone or email.

I am going with captain Steve, who used to work for Harv and marv, in a 6 person boat- and he was happy to take me even if I was the only one to book. He had been so helpful and nice so far. I can report back after May 1st :)

https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com

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Are Harv and Marv's public tours booked for your day? If not, I'm sure you can book for 4 people and pay for 4 people on either their 6 person or 18 person public tours. If you book a private tour then you pay a set price regardless of the number of people.

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The problem is Harv and Marv will only take kids under 13 on a private tour. So whether there are 2 of you, 4 of you, or 6 of you, you pay the same price. I think it was $890 for the private tour for the boat. That’s what the OP is saying. They don’t want to pay for the whole boat when it’s just the 4 of them.

Has anyone booked tours through viator.com?

Yes we have! Have had not problems!

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Looking to book for 2 adults/2 kids (ages 12 and 9) - would like a small boat but don't want to pay for 6 passengers. What do people recommend for companies? Harv and Marv won't take under 13 without paying for the full boat...

Another vote for Gastineau Guiding. They did an excellent job of including all passengers on our trip in all ages including a few middle aged “children”. We were all made to feel a part of the crew and both the captain and our tour guide where focused on giving us the experience of a lifetime. I think they delivered. It wasn’t a private tour but it sure felt like one and while we didn’t know our traveling companions when we boarded we sure felt like we did when we disembarked.

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Alaskahumpbackadventures dot com. Captain Steve comes from a long line of whale watching tour guides, was once a favorite with Harv and Marv’s, and really goes above and beyond. Very personalized attention. He just started his own company and I can’t recommend him enough.

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The problem is Harv and Marv will only take kids under 13 on a private tour. So whether there are 2 of you, 4 of you, or 6 of you, you pay the same price. I think it was $890 for the private tour for the boat. That’s what the OP is saying. They don’t want to pay for the whole boat when it’s just the 4 of them.

Check out captain Steve. He was great.

Www dot alaskahumpbackadventures dot com

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Check out captain Steve. He was great.

 

Www dot alaskahumpbackadventures dot com

 

 

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Whoops I am getting old, I replied to this twice. Sorry!

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I am going with captain Steve, who used to work for Harv and marv, in a 6 person boat- and he was happy to take me even if I was the only one to book. He had been so helpful and nice so far. I can report back after May 1st :)

 

https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com

 

 

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he piloted the boat when i did a harv and marv tour a few years ago. he was wonderful and very intuitive about where the whales would breach next.

I concur completely with the reviews of Captain Steve (Alaska Humpback Adventures)! Hubby and I have booked with him on our two Juneau visits during our first ever B2B Alaska cruises in July. Lost track of him after he left Harv & Marv and were thrilled to discover he started his own company this year! He's the absolute best whale watch captain (out of approx. 7 captains) we've had in over a dozen excursions out of Juneau. We have complete confidence in his competence as a captain. He's lived and captained in Juneau for decades and knows those waters intimately. On his trips, you not only see whales but he also will point out all the other wildlife you observe along the way. His boat, the Merlin, has a hydrophone, which means you may be able to hear the whales communicating with each other. One year when the Auke Bay area humpbacks were in a bubble-net feeding period, we knew when they were about to surface because we could actually hear the "signal" via the hydrophone. Spectacular wildlife experience!

There is no mention of minimum age requirements on his website www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com. If you want the intimate whale watching experience of a 6-passenger boat, there is no reason to go with anyone but Captain Steve. While on his site, check out the breathtaking photos in the Gallery.