Bear Viewing Alaska (affiliated with Alaska Ocean Pros) is THE WAY TO GO for Bear viewing! Hands down. Actually hands up and a round of applause for these folks!
For visitors on a tight schedule who do not have time to wait out the rain or the fog or the stormy skies, this is your BEST BET almost guaranteed to see bears. Here's why. Crappy skies and visibility in a small plane - NO flying. Crappy skies and visibility in a boat - NO problem! These guys can go out in almost any weather. Planes, it feels like almost any weather stops them. For us, if we had missed out today, we would have missed out period because we are hitting the road tomorrow. This has been one of the biggest lessons of our Alaska journey.
Next most important. All these tours say 5, 6, 7 hours and I feel like you are often done in 2/3 to 3/4 of the time. Or they count the hour you have to get there early and wait around. This was called for 7:30. We left the dock probably 7:45 and were actively engaged with the tour until 3/3:30. It was an actual full day tour. Most importantly, we were ON THE SHORE FOR TWO HOURS AND 45 MINUTES! The flight tours arrive, have you walk around a bit, and then they load you back up.
Now, put these things together and hope for a cloudy day. This is where the true magic is. It means you have 2:45 ALONE in an intimate group of the 10 people on your small boat! This also means QUIET! All this means the bears stick around.
We were 30 feet from a mom and her two babies on a rock and she was totally unimpressed by us. Because we were a small, quiet, respectful group. This does not happen when another 100 people and 10 planes are buzzing around.
I have no relationship with this folks. That is, before today! I have no interest in selling their trip. I have interest in sharing an amazing travel/life/nature experience with other people interested in doing the same.
While I had no relationship with these folks, I do now! They are delightful. It's a family run business and the owner's daughter, Fiona (Fi-nomenal!) was one of our guides, along with Debbie and captain Jimmy. They were all excellent, capable, managed safety and every eventuality, and were clearly dedicated to delivering a top notch experience. The people made the experience even better!
In case you are concerned about sea sickness, I am prone to sea sickness and I did just fine. Did a Dramamine the night before and morning of and I did ok. They are well equipped if you do get sick. All I'm saying is it is worth it.
If you want a trip unlikely to get cancelled due to weather, and so likely to deliver the bear experience of a lifetime, go with Bear Viewing Alaska operated by Alaska Ocean Pros. You will be happy you did! read more