AMAZING!!!!! We are visiting from California and have…read morevisited several places with a variety of companies promising whale sightings for a hefty fee. As soon as I heard the price for this place, we were ALL IN, and I'm so glad we did! Bryan was a great captain! He was knowledgeable in identifying all the wildlife we came across too. During our (extended) whale watching tour we saw: sea otters, puffins, seagulls (and full island), and MANY WHALE!!! We had so much fun, and appreciate the kindness and hospitality that we were shown during our trip. Definitely the highlight of our Alaskan vacation!

Awesome day with Captain John and Christy. Booked the simple 2-hr wildlife tour but Captain John…read moregot sidetracked and took us searching for whales after we saw birds (including puffin) and otters. Found a mama and her baby humpback. Captain John kept us in the area for an extra 40-mins to watch them breach repeatedly. What an experience. Even Captain John and Christy were excited.

With a group of about 15, it cost about $45 each way for a ~20 minute ride from Homer, AK, across…read morethe bay to Kachemak Bay State Park. If you have a big group, be aware they allow about 6 people at a time on their boats. Coming back, we were scheduled for a 3pm pickup. We ran late due to some issues while rafting and messaged them on our InReach, easily rescheduling for a 7pm pickup. We finished early and with only about 45 minute's notice, they came and got us at 5:45pm instead! The captains have all been friendly. You can sit outside or in their cabin. They're also knowledgeable about the trails in the area; some are not very well maintained and they will give you a head's up on those.

Be careful if you use this company or plan on using them. if you have ever left them a bad…read morereview-four years old. They may choose to leave you on the side of a mountain in November with a storm approaching. After agreeing to a price and a pick up time and location.

I am from Arizona, but lead a wildlife photography workshop and tour in Alaska each summer since…read more2009. I used Bay Excursions Water Taxi and Tours for the first time this summer and was thrilled to get two "life birds" that day that I'd been wanting for ages (Aleutian Tern and Brandt). Karl Stoltzfus, the guide/owner, was kind, down-to-earth (not arrogant, like some birders can be), and extremely knowledgeable about where to find the birds (elusive) that I was looking for---as well as many additional sightings for my group. The boat was clean and in excellent condition. He was recommended to me by Marlow's on the Kenai, another excellent organization for lodging and guides/tours in the Kenai Peninsula. I can see why---Karl was a great asset to our trip and gave us great looks at birds for a reasonable tour rate!

We combined a wildlife tour with a self-led hike to Glacier Lake for a fabulous all day outing with…read morethe utmost care provided by Bay Excursion: Gareth and Indigo. We saw dozens of puffins, otters with pups, eaglets, and thousands of nesting birds on Gull Island. It was a private tour and a delightful day all around! Couldn't recommend them more.

I wouldn't support this business due to the owners disregard for the safety of pilots and…read morepassengers. They think they own the water and put others in harms way for their personal gain. NTSB or Costal needs to step in.

Exclusive passenger ferry service between Homer and Halibut Cove, this experienced, friendly mostly…read moreall woman crew will get you there safely and comfortably, in the best looking small fishing craft in the harbor. All this while being surrounded by one of the most beautiful places on earth, with much of the beauty, nature, and wildlife explained to you by your intelligent and entertaining crew and skipper. We made a day of it, driving to Homer from Kenai, making our way through beautiful country, till the vista opens up and you see the breathtaking 180 degree view of the Kenai Mountains - jagged iron black mountains covered with snow and glaciers over the blue Kachemak Bay. A short drive through town and you end up on the Homer Spit, reaching far out into the Bay. With tours and artisan stores abounding, we opted for our reservation on the Danny J. The staff, many of whom are talented artists in their own right, were friendly, talented, and knowledgeable. In addition to skillful ocean navigation, one of the deck crew navigated around a full fledged two-year-old tantrum by carefully working her through wearing a life vest. The one hour ride across the bay to Halibut Cove included a full circle of Bird Rock, where Murres, Cormerants, Gulls, and even Puffins abound. We also saw sea otters playing. Hike and picnics in Halibut Cove if your budget is tight, or go ahead and eat at the Saltry - the food is fresh, home grown, home baked, with a big focus on sea food - but a bit spendy. Many artist studios and stores are within walking distance - all on the multi-level board walk - so enjoy and buy a few things. Get back on the boat at 4 pm for a quick half hour trip back to Homer (sans bird tour). This adventure as up there as one of our most memorable, most perfect travel days ever. Can't recommend them more!

I had a great experience using True North Kayak. The night my friend and I arrived in Homer, we…read morewent to the Truth North office to see what type of hiking we could do the following day. The lady working the office (can't remember her name), was very helpful and suggested that we do the hike to the Grewingk Glacier. The following morning, August 16, we started at 8 a.m., and Forrest, the boat captain, dropped us off across Kachemak Bay. We hiked to the tram first and then the glacier. The tram is an awesome detour. The tram is a metal cart attached to a pulley system and goes over a river. In order to get to the other side, you have to pull a rope by hand. It's best taking turns if you have a partner so you don't burn out. The hike was pretty flat for the majority of the time until you start descending down to where the boat picks you up. If it's raining, which it wasn't on that day, I can see how muddy and wet the hike could become. Grewingk Glacier was probably the fifth glacier that I saw on my trip and the sight was still breathtaking. We took our lunch and relaxed by the glacier for probably an hour before hiking again. The hike itself did not take that long. Our pace was pretty slow yet deliberate, we stopped to take a lot of pictures, relaxed during lunch, and still made it back to be picked up at around 2:30 p.m. The following day, we went on the Elephant Rock ¾ day Kayaking trip, with guides Shannon and Brad. It had been a while since I've used a kayak, but it was pretty much like riding a bike; you'll pick it up again pretty fast. As opposed to ice climbing, you really don't need that much physical strength to kayak. The Kayaking trip was picturesque to say the least. The calm waters (fortunately it wasn't windy), the mountain ranges, and the lush green vegetation are something to behold. We also saw a lot of wild life including jellyfish, sea otters, whales, multiple bald eagles, and even baby eagles squawking and practicing flight. I could have spent all day hanging out and kayaking the area. Moreover, I had a great experience with the staff. Forrest, the captain of the boat, was very personable and reliable. For the hike, we were supposed to have been picked up at 5:30 p.m., but we called the office and asked to be picked up a few hours earlier. Forrest was very accommodating and picked us up not long after the call. On our trips across the bay, he would also stop to allow us to whale watch, which was an added bonus. Brad, one of the guides for the kayaking trip, was also a pleasure to talk with. He was always willing to answer any questions regarding Alaskan history and made sure we were taken care of and were having a good time. He seemed to be very knowledgeable about rock formation and plate tectonics. Also an avid collector of several types of seaweed, he discussed how seaweed can attribute to more nutrients and minerals than your average diet. Finally, our other guide from the kayaking trip was Shannon. Although this lady hails from relatively large family, she definitely stands out as a guide and a person. In the best possible way, Shannon is full of shann-anigans and her attitude, energy, and humor are very infectious. She was always attentively looking for wild life to make sure that we didn't miss anything. Quite often, she checked in on everyone to make sure that we were doing okay. Lastly, her smile matched the scenery, as they were both lovely. All in all, I had a great time during the glacier hike and the kayaking trip. The Truth North outfit gets my two thumbs up! If it's your first time visiting Homer, I highly recommend these trips and of course a halibut fishing charter! On my return trip, I plan to do more hiking and kayaking again. =)

Our guides were Ave and Ella. They were great. Both were knowledgeable about the area we kayaked…read morein, the wildlife and geology. As a novice paddler I felt completely safe with them watching over us .

What an experience! I booked an all day halibut fishing trip through Inlet charters who is…read moreprimarily a booking company on the Whistler boat with captain Jack, and two amazing female deck hands. It was me my husband, our two teenage kids and toddler. My daughter hooked a halibut within the first couple of minutes of dropping her line at the first spot, which got us all very excited. We all really enjoyed ourselves, especially the kids. We went to multiple spots to maximize the amount of fish which we all caught our limit without any problems and also was able to hook a handful of cods. Being that it was a slightly larger boat none of us got seasick, which I was really concerned for being that we are very prone to motion sickness. It was a beautiful day on the sea and we were blessed with beautiful sunny weather. We even got to witness orcas, puffins and sea otters. Overall thank you for such a great experience one that we will remember forever.

Helpful crew, we caught our limit. All was good until we got back in port and they were filleting…read morethe days catch. Captain Tasha said that we could go and they would turn our catch over to the processor for us. We left but another in the party stayed to insure his catch got packaged for the processor. Out of 2 large Halibut, 2 small Halibut, and 2 large Cod we had 16 pounds of fish when we got to the processor. We called inlet and said we were missing most of our catch. Inlet blamed the processor for losing the fish. We talked to the other member of the party who stayed and he said that when he left that our catch was still on the deck and we had twice what he had (37 lbs). He thinks the Captain and Deckhand missed most of our fish, Inlet screwed up, but basically blew us off. Such a poor ending to what had been a great day. If you use them, do not leave your fish with them until you are sure they have properly passed it off to the processor. No integrity and poor business ethics.

Did the Halibut/Ling Cod/ Rockfish Combo Charter on Saturday & it was so great I booked the long…read morerange halibut the next day! I was amazed as over 2 days 20 halibut over 80# were caught (3 over 100 & 1 @ 200#). A dozen Ling Cod over 30# & limited out each day! Captain Gabe & Austin were helpful, knowledgeable & hard working (especially when landing the 200 pounder!) The boat is fast, smooth & built to fish! You cannot go wrong with these guys!

Large family group chartered a custom trip with Captain Gabe. We had a great time and the weather…read morewas phenomenal. We appreciate that Alaska Ocean Pros put the guest's safety as a top priority. We were on the Casino which was really nice and comfortable. Special shout out to deck hand Sam who did a great job.

We had a group of four on it tour today. Davey and Lindsey were absolutely great! Personable and…read morewelcoming to everyone on the boat. Davey smoothly guided the boat throughout the tour while giving time to view the wildlife. Lindsey shared a wealth of knowledge about the wildlife, geology and history of the Kachemak Bay, Gull Island and Halibut Cove. Equipped with binoculars to share, Lindsey pointed out many species of birds and ducks including puffins and Eagles and many otters and their babies. We totally recommend this tour and would do it again!!

My friend and I booked directly with Seabird Ventures vs using a third party. Highly recommend…read morebooking directly. We had great weather, June 2024. It's a 2-hour tour. Dave was a great, knowledgeable guide. The boat is very basic and it was great not having too any ppl on board so we could easily move around to take photos. We saw an otter, puffins, a sea lion, porpoise, eagles and other birds. Highly recommend taking this tour. 9 30am to 11 30am.

We caught our limit on the Sizzler!! The Captain was very accommodating to everyone and ensured…read morethat everyone caught their limit. I'd highly recommend going on the Sizzler.

The Fish Connection Souvenir shop is a great place to stop and get cute Alaskan souvenirs for your…read moreentire family! Each of my children were able to pick out items that were reasonably priced and they each loved, magnets with their names, Alaskan themed coloring books, and of course a fox stuffed animal. I found a cute fleece sweatshirt that said Homer on it, a Silipint, with Halibut on it and fun s'more kits to bring home for relatives. The new owner was extremely helpful and the employees were so kind to my kids!

Captain Mike and First Mate Holland provided an amazing, bucket list experience viewing the brown…read moreBears at Lake Clark National Park. It was unbelievable to see so many bears in their natural habitat so close. The sets of mamas and cubs were our favorites

Beware the Catch-a-Lot Bear Viewing rip-off! My wife and I…read morewere duped by the false advertising inn their website and in conversation with the owner/captain. He suggested that we should be prepared to walk up to a mile to see the bears at the Clark reserve. What he neglected to tell us was that the walk would be from the boat to the shore through deep mud and muck in chest-high water as the boat anchored off shore. My wife trudged to shore with the group and encountered an unpleasant surprise: The guide was terrified of bears!!! While other tours arrived and approached a rather tame bear within 20 feet, our guide kept the group a quarter of a mile away from the bear, threatening them with being attacked if they approached any closer. My wife returned after 2-3 hours on shore (famished--not permitted to bring a snack along) and showed me a picture of the bear she had taken--It was a tiny brown dot on the shoreline! She confirmed that this was the closest they were allowed by the guide. He also spent a great deal of time in a panic trying to contact the boat via radio without reply--He had neglected to turn on the receiver. I was unable to accompany my wife on shore, though I was charged for the tour. Before we boarded the boat for the tour I told the owner/captain that my right foot is prosthetic, and he said that would not be an obstacle. I regularly walk and hike more than a mile, so I accepted his invitation to join the group. However, . I was unable to maintain my footing in the muck (not surprising) and was forced to stay on the boat, viewing a couple of bears through binoculars at a great distance. The website also suggested exciting wildlife viewing of many marine mammals during the trip--In fact, we sped full-speed to and from with no sign of marine mammals. Prior to the trip, during the collect-your-money phase, the owner/captain was frequently available via phone and email to answer all questions. After the trip, he refused to reply to any of several attempts to discuss compensation for the scam advertising. We learned later from folks who lodged at Clark reserve that the bears there are quite tame--the residents greet them by name, and one can approach without fear. We later saw, close, marvelous brown bears at Eagle River nature center, north of Anchorage, where they run wild, fish for salmon in the streams, and thereby reward a beautiful hike. The fee there is 5 dollars. NOTE: The owner/manager's replied to my previous review by claiming that we did not book and participate in the awful tour. We DID book and participate in the tour and have a payment receipt and booking confirmation to prove that. Shame on him for trying to cover up with a lie.