What to do at Icy Strait Point?

[Look2Sea]

Any suggestions on shore excursions at Icy Strait Point?

I plan to stick with ship excursions.

[nothriver]

We are using Icy Straight as a bit of a rest day. A few of the guys are doing a private fishing trip, but the rest of us are going to sleep in, catch the Native Dance/storytelling, and do some shopping. I didn't want to be in a rush to go anywhere early in the morning becasue I don't want to get stuck in a long line for the tenders.

[G&PT]

Thats a shame because some very honest locals offer enjoyable bear watching or airplane views for a much lesser price. We were there last week and had a great time!

[Look2Sea]

What kind of things can you do on your own?

 

Is it easy to arrange tours once you are at port?

[Look2Sea]

How do you arrange to see the Native Dance/storytelling?

[trixietx]

I went on the whale watching excursion and my DH went halibut fishing and we both had a great time. Afterward we ate, shopped and enjoyed the quaint little town of ISP. If you like canned salmon you can order it at ISP and have it shipped home.

[GranMona]

Any suggestions on shore excursions at Icy Strait Point?

I plan to stick with ship excursions.

I would think the ship excursion director could answer all your questions about the ship excursions. We never take ship tours. They are too crowded. ISP was our favorite port, only one ship allowed at a time in port. Hoonah is a small fishing village about a mile walk (or shuttle) from the Point. You can get a real taste of Alaska there. The Office Bar serves fresh Dungeness Crab. Our first time there we took a bear tour, when we were standing on the stream bank getting good pictures of the 2 bears we saw, the ship tour bus came by and the 50 or so people were jostling for a window to get a picture. We've done whale watching, bear tour, fishing, sightseeing and just hanging out with the locals in our 3 trips there. We plan to be there again in August, can't wait.

[MediterreanBound]

Thats a shame because some very honest locals offer enjoyable bear watching or airplane views for a much lesser price. We were there last week and had a great time!

 

 

I read about the locals doing airplane views on another board and I couldnt find it again ... so I was glad to see your post.. Where did you find them? I seem to remember it was at some restaurant? Most of the flight excursions are way out of our price range. .so something from a local would be awesome... What was the name of the person you went went?

 

Leaving in 2 days ..and Im pumped!

[larmaro]

Thats a shame because some very honest locals offer enjoyable bear watching or airplane views for a much lesser price. We were there last week and had a great time!

 

 

What did you do there?

[OnVacation11]

Any suggestions on shore excursions at Icy Strait Point?

I plan to stick with ship excursions.

 

ICP is supposed to be one of the best spots to do whale watching (even from the shore) so we are taking a ships' excursion (I don't like small boats of the private operators) and in the afternoon we are planning to wander through Hoonan and sample some local food.

[janines]

I am trying to decide where best to book a floatplane or helio excursion. I checked out Wings Airways in Juneau and their floatplane excursion has the best price and good reviews . What was the company and price you used in ISP? Or if you can give me the website that would be great.

I guess I haven't researched enough to know what Hoonan is.Can someone tell me?

We are in ISP from 7-5.

thanks,

janines

[MercedMike]

The ship offers some nice excursions in ISP, but we chose to go with Keith of Teckk Tours on a Bear Search. It was a great tour. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/volendam.html

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!

[Dirty Hobbit]

The GF and I are scheduled via the Ship to do the Zip Line and then the kayaking excursion. Full day for us. :D

[Let's Get Goin]

We were at Icy Strait Point the first part of May and went on a bear search with Keith of Teckk Outfitters and my husband, brother and his father in law went halibut fishing on his boat. It was just three of us on the bear search and Keith. He showed us all around the town and we covered many miles looking for bear. There was still quite a bit of snow in the mountains and it was just a little too early for bear. He sure did look hard though. We passed the ship excursion bus where they had driven straight to a drop off point and didn't see a bear either. We paid less with Keith than the ship excursion and received so much more for our money. The guys also really enjoyed the fishing trip and caught several halibut (even though they were small). They seen alot of whales, even seeing one breech. He is a really nice friendly local guy and wants to give his customers the most for their money. I would definitely book with him again. There is really not much shopping in this town, so is a great place to just walk along the beach and enjoy the scenery and the people.

[Breezey]

As we went in May, we knew it was too early for bears and had already booked whale watching in Juneau and sea otter and whale watching in Sitka, so we decided to wander ICP. I had heard this is the ideal place for whale watching so maybe next time (if there is one we would try whale watching there). In the end it was the only port we had no plans. They have a really nice nature walk along the pier and into a rain forrest which takes very little time. We are not souvenir shoppers, so impulsively we decided to check out the ziplining and DID IT. Fantastic. The only way we got to see Hoonah (which seems like a sleepy little little town) is the bus ride up to the top of the zipline.

 

We did Island Wings in Juneau and had a fantastic trip through the Misty Fjords.

[sandhillwings]

I guess I haven't researched enough to know what Hoonan is.

Hey Janines - as the other poster noted, Hoonah is the fishing village at Icy Strait Point...

[coach_cruiser]

The ship offers some nice excursions in ISP, but we chose to go with Keith of Teckk Tours on a Bear Search. It was a great tour. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/volendam.html

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!

 

We also used Teckk Outfitters, just last week - we were there on 5/27/09.

We went whale watching. We saw many whales. Keith told us that he was able to find bears every day during the previous two weeks, but we also chose whales because it was still May. Though we did see a bear coming down on the bus from the White Pass train in Skagway the day before. I highly recommend Keith and Teckk Outfitters.

 

See his website at http://www.teckkoutfittersicystrait.com/

 

Phil

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi, went with FISHES last sept, thought i would see some whales as i had been reading alot of good reviews about the company, well, all the whales had gone south, except one, the other folks on the tour with me, agreed that the tour wasnt so hot, did see a few bald eagles.

[seahawkfan]

Any good places to eat?

[G&PT]

If the weather is nice walk to Hoonah, we did and saw a whale and also a bald eagle, stoped by The Office (on the right) a bar with food. I had a Jim Beam & Coke, smoked my cigg at the bar while I played $1 pull tabs....I enjoyed it so much I bought a t-shirt.

 

Then we walked a little further to The Galley (on the Left). The owner has the plane, sorry I have his info at home and feel awful he treated us like family and his name slips my mind... Ken??

 

Also the Bear man is there and if the bears are out he will book you and take you if the bears are not out he won't take you.

 

Try the halibut pizza made right there. It was yummy, not even fishy tasting.

 

The Owners Mother works there also and is a sweetie to all.

[G&PT]

Sorry I do not know the bear tour price but the plane ride was $95 each, yes they take debit or credit, or cash. Plane seats 3 plus the pilot.

 

We saw bears and eagles and had a wonderful time. He is a safe pilot, very friendly, the best thing we did the whole cruise!

 

We even visited with his black Lab that loves to fly with him! Her name is Mia.

[Disney Girl 202]

We have a whale watching excursions booked with FISHES in September, and the previous poster is scaring me! We really don't want to spend $600 (4 of us) if there is not much to see! Anyone else have any experience with FISHES or September?

[lindalo5032]

We are booked with FISHES for late July (this year). They are highly recommended on this board.

 

When we were at ISP two years ago, we saw a whale from the tender boat. We had our 5 year old granddaughter with us and enjoyed walking the trail that is very near the tender point.

 

It's also fun to watch the people coming down the zip line. Good free entertainment, especially if you are not the adventurous type (like me)! :)

[MercedMike]

Any good places to eat?

 

In ISP, be sure to drop in at The Office Bar! You can walk into town if you are in good shape, or probably arrange a ride with some of the guys just outside the gate. It is a local place, totally UN fancy, and basically serves nothing but local beer and fresh crab! (one of our friends tried the so called Philly cheese steak and got a microwaved mess ... stick with the crab!)

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/volendam.html

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!

[kathynorth]

We went on a semi-private whale watch with Glacier Wind Charters g-wind last August. The 6 passenger boat drove us out to Point Adolphus, one of the top whale areas in AK. It was fabulous. There were so many whales out there we were nervous that we might drift in their way. It really was a surreal experience. The owner, Shawn, was quite informative. His boat was spotless and the complimentary salmon dip was delicious. Just google them if you are interested. They have a calendar to let you know if they have availability for the day that you're in port.

 

Oh yes, I'm not sure what ship you are on, but we didn't have any trouble with tendering. We were on the Millenium and our tenders held quite a few people. We went to the land on the 3rd tender out, which was less than 20 mins from the time of anticipated by the crew for the start. All the tour operators were waiting leisurely by the gated fence just down the road from the dock. Yes, they did take last minute requests to join tours but of course on a space available basis. After our extended by request whale watch we spent time walking around Hoonah, had lunch at the Office Bar, walked back to the ship, then wandered around the cannery at ISP and purchased souveniers. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we took the last tender back to the ship without any worry. The cannery staff actually made a visual check to be sure that no-one was left at the cannery and found 2 women leisurely walking the beach!