Fish, Float or Watch Whales

[Diane In TN]

We can only afford 2 of these:

 

Harv & Marv Whale Watching Tour (in Juneau)-- $149

 

Half-Day Salmon Fishing (in Sitka) -- $243

 

Flightseeing and Taku Lodge (via floatplane in Juneau) $299

 

We are two parents, and three "kids" -- boys 15 and 19 and daughter 21.

Boys think they want to fish for salmon, dad wants to look for whales, mom thinks the aerial view of glaciers sounds way cool.

 

Could those who have been there give their opinions? All advice welcomed!

 

Thanks very much!

[mytime53]

With the ages of your kids, I'd suggest everyone choose the one they most want to do, and then make sure each group has a camera to report back on what the others missed!

 

If I'm reading correctly, each person gets 2 excursions, correct? So in Juneau, each person goes flightseeing or whale watching, and in Sitka the boys go fishing while the rest do something else.

 

I'm a strong believer in vacation time being family time. We never were concerned with "are there other kids our kids' ages"--that wasn't the point of a family trip. But, once our "children" reached the age of yours, neither did we make them do what we wanted to do. Unfortunately (moneywise) it seemed by the time they were that old, they always wanted to do what we wanted to do!

[cw2go]

Is this for 2010 Harv & Marv may be booked and that will narrow your choices... Just a thought you may want to call them and see what's available.

[kathynorth]

IMO, whether you do whale watching with Harv & Marv or another vendor out of Juneau you are very likely to see whales and have a great time. The Taku Lodge trip will provide a breath taking view of the glacier from the air that even your teens will find memorable. Doing two excursions in the same port may make for a busy day, with other days being much more sedate and possibly boring for the teens without an excursion.

 

When we visited Juneau last year we did a combo whale watch and heli glacier landing, which my kids thought was awesome. We went fishing out of Sitka last year and didn't catch a single fish, but found the trip quite scenic and thoroughly enjoyed a water show put on by a pair of whales making their way past our fishing boat.

[Diane In TN]

Kathy --

 

I see that you went on the Zandaam also -- that's what we're on, sailing June 25. My followup is on the fishless trip in Sitka. Can I ask who you booked with? My 15-year-old really has this fishing trip worked up in his head (he's never been fishing at all), and says it's "going to be the highlight of my trip!"

 

I just fear that it will be too much like the whalewatching (if they don't catch any fish!) -- and he's not particularly into nature viewing. If those are our two excursion -- whales and fishing -- do you think the 15 and 18 year old will be bored?

 

Thanks for any feedback --

 

Diane

[kathynorth]

Sorry, I can't recall the vendor. My husband thinks he was Capt Rick. The capt tried hard to find a hot spot, but no-one seemed to be catching anything that day. Personally, I found the fishing to be a bit boring. The lines were baited and poles put into a brace, so all we could do was watch the lines to see if anything was pulling on the line. The capt pulled in a line from time to time to be sure the bait was still on. Each person had just one line. As an FYI, there were lots of private vendors hawing on the pier, so a fishing trip would be easy to book on the day you are in port. The next time we go we'll have someone from home search the internet posts to see if the salmon are running in that port prior to booking a fishing trip. Have you considered the Crab Fisherman's Tour on the Allutian Ballad out of Deadliest Catch? My children are a little older than yours but they say this was one of their favorite excursions of their trip. This tour is very fast paced and entertaining.

[sparky-elpaso]

Does your son who's never gone fishing realize that the odds are he won't catch anything? Fishing can be as exciting as watching paint dry if the fish aren't biting. And if he does, what is he going to do with the fish?

 

However, most whale watching tours pretty much guarantee you'll see some of these guys:

 

[Diane In TN]

Yes, I agree with you that fishing can be VERY boring -- but the boys don't know that nor do they believe Mom. They plan to have their salmon fileted and shipped back to us - - we all love salmon so that part of it appeals to me. My husband is going along with them because he's always planned to take them deep-sea fishing in Florida and never got around to it. I, however, wil NOT be joining them ... I can think of few things I'd less rather do.

 

My daughter and I will be looking for other options in Sitka.

 

And we're all doing the Harv and Marv whale-watching in Juneau.

 

Keep your fingers crossed that the salmon are biting in Sitka next weekend!

[CALMOM]

If you haven't booked with Harv & Marv, you probably won't be able to, they are very popular and have smaller boats, so they don't hold more then 6 to 12 people, depending on the boat. If you are lucky enough to book with H&M, ask them to give you a ride to Mendenhall Glacier after the Whale Watching, so you can see Mendenhall and also have the chance to see bears. H&M will come back and pick you up & take you back to town free of charge.

 

I would say definitely the Whale Watching in Juneau and the Flight Seeing Tour. You can fish anywhere but you can't see what you will see on Whale Watching and Flight Seeing sights in Alaska, anywhere else. It is incredible and you won't regret your decision. No guarantee you will catch any Salmon but you will see Whales, Sea Lions, Bald Eagles and possibly bears on your flight seeing.

 

You can schedule the Salmon fishing on your next cruise to Alaska :D