Juneau Whale Watching

[Rambler5678]

Family of four planning on taking a private or semi private whale watching tour. Would you recommend 4 hours of watching or the standard 2.5/hr. Going in Mid-July. If we take a private tour, how much do you tip the mate and captain?

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• I forgot how long my tour was.... but I don't think it was 2 hrs. For some... after 30 minutes was enough.
• do you stay in the same area for 4 hours observing the same set of whales? Or does the 4hr boat explore other feeding areas besides Juneau's Favourite Channel?
• I prefer combo tours where it combines with other activities like Mendenhall.

 

[psac]

We did the DCL excursion with the whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier. Thought it was fantastic seeing both. Our whale watching was great, we saw two humpbacks from far away, and then a family of orcas up close. The ships can't get within 100 years of the whales, but the orcas broke the rules and came to us. Then even put a hydrophone mic in the water so we could hear the orcas talking to each other. It was amazing. The guide said it was only the second time they were able to do that on one of her tours in the four years she's been doing them.

Also the ships can't stay in the vicinity of any spotted whales for more than 30 minutes to avoid disturbing the whales too badly.

 

[saxmangeoff]

I would say the longer the better. You're talking about wild animals. As such, they are unpredictable. More time increases your chances to see something great.

 

[sdjen]

I think I tipped about 20% total. We used Rum Runner Charters and would recommend them. They will drop you at the glacier on the way back if you want. If I remember correctly, our excursion was about 3 hours total. Have fun!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I used to work with a whale watching company in AK and saxmangeoff is right. The longer the tour, the better chance of seeing something amazing.

 

[beek17]

My family had the pleasure of taking an Alaskan cruise last year. Best vacation ever! We booked outside of DCL with Rum Runners out of Juneau. We did a combination Halibut fishing and whale watch tour. It was fantastic. It was really foggy that day and Rum Runners had equipment the larger whale watching boats did not so we were able to go out in the fog. By the time the fog lifted we limited out on halibut and got to enjoy 30 minutes of whales before the other boats got out. It was fantastic. Best excursion we've taken.