This excursion was outstanding from beginning to end! Our boat captain was extremely knowledgeable and in constant contact with other vessel captains in the area who were sharing information about whale sightings, eagle sightings, sea otter sightings, and more. He was very observant and slowed/stopped the boat on numerous occasions to be sure we saw what he was looking at. We encountered DOZENS of humpback whales, several sea otters and sea lions, several bald eagles and one active nest, a small black-tailed deer, and saw tons of bright orange jellyfish in the water. On our way back, he stopped so we could watch a fishing boat haul in a huge catch of salmon. Additionally, he motored us around to several spots that were simply fantastic photo opportunities. When we got back to port, we started our land portion of the tour and again, had a very knowledgeable and congenial guide reminded me of Amy Farrah Fowler on Big Bang! who took us to all the sights around Sitka. She also pointed out several bald eagles, one sea otter having a crab snack, and she also managed to take us to see a pod of whales breaching in the bay. We also saw several rescued bears, a totem pole area, and hiked into a forest. One of the best parts of our tour was her interaction with an excited, curious 9-year-old boy who talked the entire time. She was patient with him and her excitement about the things he was experiencing for the first time was apparent. She is a natural-born tour guide and absolutely made this trip for us! Outstanding tour and HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
Review by: focusedfp, July 2017
THIS IS FOR SITKA TOUR, but the review also shows up under Juneau in error!!_br/_ The first part of this tour was fabulous! We were on a small boat with Sonny with another couple. It was a cloudy day but Sonny met the challenge and we saw about a dozen whales! It was spectacular! Sonny was friendly, welcomed questions... a great host._br/_ The second part was by bus. It was drizzly now and about 12 folks in the van can determine where you go as some don't want to get off in the drizzle inappropriate attire or have limited mobility. That was unfortunate. We did make it to the Fortress of the Bear and did a very small part of Totem Park. Wish we'd done the full Totem Park trail and the Raptor Center thankfully we were able to visit Raptor on our own another day. All in all, Aakatchaq did her best given the large diverse group -- and particularly since she was a last minute fill-in for the tour.
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