Alaska in early May

[overeasy]

I have never been to Alaska and will be be on the Legend April 29 - May 6. The ports are Jeneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Glacier Bay.  What are our chances of seeing Bears, whales, eagles, other wild life and the Northern Lights? Thank you

[Coral]

There are too many daylight hours to see Northern Lights.

 

Bears, whales and eagles are all possible. I would do a whale excursion in Juneau if you are interested in that, bears are less predictable but I always see 1 or 2 and eagles should be in Juneau and Ketchikan.

[martincath]

Basically agree with Coral - the odds of the aurora making a (visible) appearance are negligible, don't even factor that in to your plans at all. Bears are awake, but no big salmon runs yet so you just have maximize your time on deck and on excursions and keep your eyes peeled. Whales are 100% guaranteed to be seen on whalewatch trips out of Juneau - but 'seen' means 'backs & blows' with anything more spectacular a bonus. Stay on deck, make use of decent binocs (~7x50 ideal if you can handle the weight, field of view is more important than a big zoom from a ship) and scan, scan, scan your surroundings especially in Glacier Bay - if you pay attention you have a good chance of seeing seals, dolphins, more whales (though not as well as from a whale-watch boat), mountain goats, and if you don't see eagles then you must have kept your eyes closed the entire trip...

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We have a Whale Watch/Bear Search combo tour booked in Icy Strait Point in mid May.  Hopefully we will get to see both!  I understand we will have a better chance of seeing bears in that port vs others.  So, fingers are crossed!

[Mediterranean_Honeymooner]

No advice, but we will be on the same cruise.  Looking forward to it!

[Budget Queen]

On 3/4/2019 at 11:54 AM, Sunny AZ Girl said:

We have a Whale Watch/Bear Search combo tour booked in Icy Strait Point in mid May.  Hopefully we will get to see both!  I understand we will have a better chance of seeing bears in that port vs others.  So, fingers are crossed!

Slim  chance of successful bear viewing in Hoonah.    

 

To max your chances-   I also suggest you rent a car and transit the South Klondike Highway,  eyes continuously,  peeled,   out of Skagway.     I have far more success there in May-   far greater expansive viewing.  My stats are close to 100%  on my multiple May trips.    Hoonah,  is all wooded,  dense limited viewing-  the  salmon runs,  have superior predictable areas.