Alaska Whale Watching with Drone
5.0
230 Ratings
Hoonah
Experience Alaska's unique drone-integrated whale watching tour with Captain Josh. Witness Humpback whales, Orcas, and more in Icy Strait's pristine waters.
Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Icy Strait - You will travel out into Icy Strait with company owner Captain Josh in his small 14-passenger boat, and seek out wildlife, such as Humpback Whales, Orcas, Coastal Brown Bears, Sea lions, seals, and more! He has a 100% success rate with finding Humpback Whales on tours! His custom boat is also designed to give you excellent indoor and outdoor viewing of wildlife.

During the course of our 3-hour tour, while you are enjoying views of marine life from the boat, we will ADD to your viewing experience by deploying a professional filmography drone from the boat, and film the wildlife from above. You can be watching a mother whale and her calf from the boat, and on our way in watch what they and all the other wildlife was doing from above! We understand how incredible the connection with the wildlife is, and that’s why we try to give you an additional viewing perspective, but one that doesn’t detract from what’s happening. It adds to the tour, without losing anything! Seeing the whole whale swimming through its environment, watching calves playing with their mothers, or orcas swimming in their pods, is only made better with the extra drone’s perspective!

What's Included
  • Carbonated beverages
  • USB drive with Drone Shots of Whales! (one per group)
  • Snacks
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Whale watching in the wild and pristine waters of Icy Strait, where Humpback whales are abundant and sighted on every trip, with small business owner Captain Josh! Otter and Steller Sea Lions are also very common, with Orcas, Brown Bears, and other wildlife frequently sighted!

Owned and operated by our own Captain Josh, he will be your personal guide as he navigates the wilderness waters of Icy strait. What makes his tours special is the energy he has and the creative ways he finds to show you his beloved wildlife, so that you can really see and appreciate these creatures with him, and to make every tour amazing.

His 14 passenger vessel was designed specifically for whale watching on Alaska’s waters, and will provide a safe and stable viewing platform for you. He also provides the one truly Drone-integrated whale watching tour in the world, providing you with views and videos of wildlife that are truly unique, and at the end of it, you get to take the footage from your tour home!

Location
Excursions Hub
If you are meeting us in town, please head to The Shops by HTA at 335 Harbor Drive and check in inside at the tour desk. It's located right in front of the harbor with big signs and flags saying "tours and gifts." Again, please check in 15 minutes early.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(230 Ratings)
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Shaunteab2023
Nov 9, 2023
Best tour ever - Had an awesome time. Would recommend josh over any other whale watching company. He was super easy to work with
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amy
Oct 23, 2023
Best excursion ever - It rained the whole time we were there. We were wet and cold, but it was still the best excursion I have ever done. Captain Josh was phenomenal! He knew exactly where the whales would be. He was so knowledgeable and informative. We saw so many whales and got amazing pictures. We also saw sea lions, sea otters, and a couple of bears. As an extra bonus, at the end, we received incredible drone footage. I can not say enough good things about this experience. You just need to go and see for yourself!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M8271yjkatiee
Oct 11, 2023
The best experience! - We had an absolute blast with Captain Josh on our whale watching tour! He provided a lot of information and was very entertaining. The drone footage is an awesome souvenir to have.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelal2497dg
Oct 7, 2023
One of the most amazing experiences of my life. Definitely bucket list worthy! - One of the most incredible life changing experiences I ever had. Icy Strait Point is one of those rare special gems in the world that hardly anybody knows about. Humpback whales are known to live there in the summer and from the moment our cruise ship docked these whales put on a show for us. They greeted us as soon as we arrived showing tails in front of the ship and even bubble feeding. I got some amazing views from my balcony and I knew that this whale watching trip would be life changing. From the moment Josh picked us up he was an encyclopedia of information. I love seeing someone who is so dedicated to what he does. He truly enjoys showing people amazing animals of all kinds. The weather was a little too cloudy to use the drone for whales but Josh was able to find some bears on one of the islands so he used the drone for the bears instead. You really didn’t even need the drone for the whales there was one point where they came right behind the boat. We could smell their breath!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Northernprarie
Sep 26, 2023
Family With Small Kids - BEST tour of our trip to Alaska! Thank You So Much for an AMAZING day on the water! The USB of videos is priceless. See you next time we are in Alaska!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Megan_k
Sep 25, 2023
Unique small-group exprience - Awesome tour, way better than any whale watching excursion we would have had through the cruise line! Our group was only about 12 people, which gave everyone a great view of the whales and opportunities to ask the crew questions. The drone footage was a great touch not only for the unique visual, but because having the aerial view helped the captain to see where a whale was about to pop up and he could tell us where to look. This was well worth the money, and we walked away with amazing photos and video we took as well as the memory-stick with the drone footage.
Review provided by Viator
210krisn
Sep 25, 2023
WHALES WHALES WHALES 🐳 - We had a group of 8. Thoroughly enjoyed our adventure! The weather was fabulous-sunny and cool. Josh and his brother were awesome tour guides. The drone was amazing to see and the images were terrific! Got to share a first with them-spotted a Minke whale - that was very exciting! Lots of humpback whales, otters, sea lions Bald Eagle and a bear! All the best in your future endeavors guys! ❤️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
522georgen
Sep 25, 2023
This was a great experience - We saw a bunch of whales, sea otters, sea lions and a couple of bears on the water edge. The icing on the cake was the video taken by the drone. Well worth every penny.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ross_t
Sep 22, 2023
Just awesome! - The best whale tour ever. Easy booking- clear directions to and from the excursion. Easy going and very professional couple of guys that managed our small group well. Went out of their way to accommodate and we got some super pics despite the weather. If you have the opportunity, book this. It’s fantastic.
Review provided by Viator
James_l
Sep 18, 2023
Great excursion! - Enjoyed this tour! The drone views were awesome! We saw a good number of whales! I would recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
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up to 14 guests
1 Adult
July 2024
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