Your Travel Guide to Whale Watching in Southeast Alaska
Southeast Alaska is a beautiful area that includes many of the state’s most popular tourist destinations, including Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan.
While the area is known for many things, it’s also one of the best places in the US for whale watching. Here’s your guide to whale watching across the Southeast Alaska region.
About Southeast Alaska.
Southeast Alaska includes an area called the Inside Passage, which is a network of marine water and coastal land that stretches over 500 miles long. The waters are calm and teeming with marine life, which attracts whales every summer to feed.
One unique feature of Southeast Alaska is that most communities in the area are completely off the road system, so they must be accessed by either boat or air. Most “Alaska cruises” will also sail the Inside Passage.
To visit Southeast Alaska, your best bet is typically to start by traveling to Juneau. If you’d like to visit another town while you’re in the area, there are daily flights and boats to most other smaller communities in the region. For example, you can reach Ketchikan, Sitka, and Gustavus relatively easily from Juneau—all of which are wonderful whale watching destinations!
Whale Populations Around Southeast Alaska.
Southeast Alaska is the place to be if you want to see whales. Many tours in this area even have a money-back guarantee if you don’t see a whale during a summertime visit—that’s how prevalent the whales are!
You’re most likely to see humpback whales and orcas, but you may also see minke whales and grey whales. You may also come across dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions, and a number of other creatures from your boat.
The best time to visit is late spring to early fall, anytime between roughly April and November. During this time, the whale populations abound in Alaska waters to feed.
How to Book a Whale watching Tour in Southeast Alaska
Your first choice when booking a tour in Southeast Alaska is to decide where you’d like to tour from. There are countless wonderful whale watching tours out of Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Gustavus, and a number of other smaller SE Alaska towns. It’s up to you where you’d like to visit.
If your goal is to see as much wildlife as possible or to see other types of wilderness, you may want to visit Glacier Bay National Park outside of Gustavus. If you’d rather be in a larger city, stick with Juneau. If you’re just coming for the whales, you can’t go wrong with any of these destinations.
If you have any questions about a specific tour operator, please reach out to me here.
Whale Watching Tips.
Here are a few basic whale watching tips to get you started if you’ve never been before.
Dress warmer than you think you need to—expect the air off the water to be about 10 degrees cooler than the air on the shore. Most tours recommend wearing layers so that you’re comfortable no matter what.
Lean on the expertise of your tour guides, and listen when they tell you where to look. Keep your eyes peeled for those whales!
Last but not least, be patient. You’re very likely to see at least a few whales on your trip, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see one right away.
I hope you enjoy your trip to Southeast Alaska!