Hoonah Whale Tours - Hoonah, Alaska

David

Hoonah Whale Tours was the highlight of our Royal Caribbean cruise. We cruised at a pace that was comfortable for my wife, and Thor Too had ample seating inside or out for 8 guests, depending on a passenger's preference. On two occasions, we had a group of whales swim directly toward the boat and dive under to emerge on the opposite side. What a thrill! We also were entertained by seal lions and otters and observed bald eagles in their habitat.
Captain Jordan was insightful about the area and marine life, and his wife's blueberry muffins were delicious! This is a must-do tour when visiting Hoonah.

Jeff Van Houten

I found Hoonah Whale Tours on TripAdvisor and using Google. When I read they only took 6 people, I was immediately intrigued. I knew after some research that the cruise ship excursions would take dozens to more than a hundred. I read the many great reviews Hoonah already had. We chose them to be our only whale watching tour on our 11-day cruise.

Jordan's wife found us easily and picked us up in their van and brought us directly to Jordan on the pier. Jordan was an excellent guide, and he found us nearly 50 whales, even some that were bubble net feeding. We were stunned and were able to sit inside the boat or go outside and felt safe doing so. Jordan went past our tour length because it was just so exciting; I think he loved it and didn't want to miss out on the action. We took so many photographs and videos.

The blueberry muffins are real and delicious. Jordan really cared about giving the whales space to move. If you are reading this review and are wondering if this tour is for you, it is most definitely for you, and it's more than worth it. It's a glorious experience and is so worth the memories. Hands down, this was our family's favorite shore excursion. Hoonah Whale Tours delivered!

Nancy Milardo

Absolutely amazing morning spent on the water with Captain Jordan! We saw so many humpback and orca whales while on an uncrowded, very comfortable boat. Pickup and drop-off from the excursion hub was seamless and we enjoyed meeting the whole Hoonah Whale Tours family during our ride. I would love to give this adventure 10 stars - it was just magnificent!

K

Family run business and reasonably priced compared to other tours. We saw quite a few humpback whales on our tour and the owners were real nice. Another positive is since the boat is smaller, theres less people in your way to get those great videos and pictures.

Wilson Lisa

Found this tour when we were coming into town from a Royal Caribbean cruise. The port is the icy straight, but it's only like a 10 min drive to Hoonah to leave for this tour. It was great! They picked us up from close to our ship amd we had an excellent tour with lots of wildlife. The best part is we are on a smaller boat so no one gets in your way when trying to see the whales. Highly recommend.

Kristen Priddy

This was the best excursion/experience we have ever had. We booked a tour with another company that fell through due to an illness but were rebooked onto Jordan's boat. It was like our own private excursion. It was only our party on board and we were greeted with delicious homemade huckleberry muffins from Jordan's wife, and hot coffee. We then almost beelined to the whales thanks to Jordan's expertise. Those pictures on the website are completely accurate. We were so close to the whales and followed the for the entire tour getting to see them feeding, diving, jumping out of the water, and one even seemed to wave at us as it dove down into the water. Jordan was extremely knowledgeable and a great wealth of knowledge that he had no problem sharing. This was THE BEST excursion we did on the entire trip! Thanks Jordan for making our experience the best!

Joshua Cruzan

Maraiya and Jordan were amazing!! We had a ton of fun whale watching and appreciate how accommodating they were for our small kiddos. Highly recommend!

Devin Henslee

My wife and I had an outstanding time on our whale watching tour with Captain Joardan. His wife, Maraiya, picked us up from the cruise terminal at Icy Straight Point and then offered us delicious, freshly baked muffins after our excursion ended. We boarded their 6 person boat, which was comfortable and in excellent condition and set off to find whales. I'm still in awe of how many humpbacks we found, and how closely they came to our boat. It's important to note that Joardan is very respectful of the whales and never got too close to them, but they came right up to our boat as they were feeding. Have you ever been close enough to a humpback to see the texture of their skin? Have you ever heard them communicating with each other through the bottom of the boat? I have and it's not something I'll ever forget. With nature, you're never guaranteed to see anything and that's fine by us, but what a day we had. You'll have a MUCH better experience in a small group setting with a relaxed atmosphere as opposed to a ship tour. Book with Joardan and Maraiya, support local small business, and have a blast!