Kenai Fjords or Juneau whales

[In-the-Glade]

My fellow travelers think they might forgo the Kenai fjord whales to see the Juneau whales. I would like to do both. Can anyone tell me if one is better than the other and why?

 

Also, they are thinking of kayaking out of Seward and I think PWS is better for that. I am open to more experienced suggestions.

 

Thank you all for all the help. I am sure we will have a "whale" of a time whatever we do!

 

Angie

[AkSusan]

I can honestly say on all the Kenai Fjords trips I have been on I've never seen a whale. Haven't been out on a whale trip in Juneau because when I'm down there I'm usually working but the boss lives there and he encounters them off and on.

 

Last year he and some of his friends got caught in a bubble feed and the man only has a 16 ft skiff. To say the least they got a bit of a thrill :eek: . His son in the past has captained for Allen Marine and they were seeing whales all the time.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[GMoney]

IMO, it's great to do both tours because they are different. Juneau is more about whales; KNP is more about glaciers / calving and maybe some wildlife. Your cruise ship may have a glacier stop; but seeing things from a small boat, up close, for a longer period of time is generally a better experience.

 

The kayaking question depends on exactly where you go, but in general, I think both places have good kayaking. IMO, kayaking Resurrection Bay in Seward is not the best way to spend your time, but kayaking Bear Glacier, Aialik Glacier or NW Fjords definitely is.

[NancyIL]

I did a whale watch in Juneau and a Kenai Fjords cruise in Seward. We saw as many whales in Seward as in Juneau - but didn't see that many in Juneau. I enjoyed the whale watch, but not enough to do it again in Juneau this summer. Maybe we'll see whales on our wildlife cruise in Sitka.

[stired]

We went on both trips this past June. We didn't see any whales on our Kenai Fjords trip (although the weather was so bad that we never got out of Resurrection Bay). We saw scores of whales in Juneau (both humpbacks and orcas). It was a highlight of our trip!

[Budget Queen]

Juneau is 100% humpbacks, orcas on average only being seen every 5-10 days.

 

Kenai Fjords is varied wildlife and NOT a whale watch, my average over many trips is only about 50%.

 

I absolutely always do both, as my priority. :)

 

Here is a photo sample of some Kenai Fjords wildlife. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen