So what one is better - Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound ?
I really want to see the glaciers and the cascading ice into the Sea, but a bonus whale etc would be great. I鈥檓 torn and can鈥檛 decide.
Some people have told me Whittier the town is not worth the time 鈥?thoughts?
Glacier tours %26ndash; Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound
Sorry Ken, but no one can guarantee you%26#39;ll see whales on either tour. Nor can we guarantee you%26#39;ll see good calving from the glaciers, though you should see calving. Will chunks the size of a house fall off? Probably. Will half the face of the glacier fall off? Only if you are reeeeeeally lucky.
Which one is better? Neither. Both. If you%26#39;re only going on one, we usually recommend Kenai Fjords tours. They tend to see more wildlife and spend a bit of time at a calving glacier, while the Prince William Sound tours focus more on glaciers, but you might see wildlife too.
My own experiences? On the glacier tour out of Whittier, I saw no marine wildlife at all, and just a handful birds. However, the glacier we went to (Blackstone) calved like crazy. Though apparently it had hardly calved at all the previous 2 days, so those visitors had been disappointed....
My first Kenai Fjords trip I saw everything--good glacier calving, humpbacks, orcas, porpoises, sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, eagles, puffins, all sorts of other birds. It was fabulous! My second Kenai Fjords trip I saw no humpbacks, no orcas, no porpoises, no sea lions, 1 sea otter, and the colony of harbor seals. Lots of birds. The captain also took us into a little cove to see millions of jellyfish, I guess to try to make up for the lack of wildlife. He tried his best--the wildlife just had other things on their agendas.
One thing you could try is to go on one of the small-boats (as few as 6 people) out of Seward. Then you get some say as to what to look for (maybe spend more time looking for whales). The boat captains let each other know if one spots wildlife so that all can enjoy. But if whales aren%26#39;t in the area, well, they aren%26#39;t in the area.
I%26#39;d recommend you take both tours. Double your chances. That%26#39;s what I%26#39;m doing my next trip. If you have good viewings on both tours, what a wonderful bonus!
As for Whittier, it is the Alaska port for Princess Cruiselines, etc., and offers fishing, kayaking, glacier and wildlife tours. You can walk along the beach, or hike Portage Pass for a nice view of Portage Glacier. But as for the town itself...well...the population is 170. In half an hour you%26#39;ll have seen everything there is to see. And probably have time for a cup of coffee, lol.
Glacier tours %26ndash; Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound
Hi KBK,
Kenai Fjords wins this one hands down. I have been to Whittier for several reasons including sight seeing and I work in the Kenai Fjords National Park.
I definitely see much more of everything over here, not predjudiced, but honest. Also it rained every single time I was there..maybe that also had a impression on my view. It does rain in Seward as well but it really seams to rain in Whittier more.
Saltwater Lodge runs Deltas boats out into the Kenai Fjords and everyone that I have recommended has given me great reviews. Happy Travels....
Rick
Adventure 60 North
I%26#39;m a local and can tell you both are great. Whittier/Prince William Sound (1.5 hours from Anchorage) has many, many tidewater glaciers - very active so lots of calving into the sea. Also has an amazing population of sea otters. One of the company%26#39;s has stops at a salmon cannery which is pretty cool when the fish are in - thousands of samon jumping everywhere. Another plus about PWS is the water is usually very calm.
Seward/Kenai Fjords (about 2.5 hours from Anchorage) has a lot of wildlife and glaciers - and is the place for whales. There are many species, but my favorite is the resident orca pods. Many times I%26#39;ve seen these animals swim right up to the boat as if to check us out. Amazing. Go to Fox Island if you can - its a great lunch stop on a ';wilderness'; island.
Do you take the Kenai tour only out of Seward. I think you have convinced me to go to Kenai and PWS. Thanks. Marlyne
';Do you take the Kenai tour only out of Seward';
Yup. There are several available: http://www.sewardak.org/dir_todo.asp?ID=77 . Take at least a 6 hour tour (they go up to 9).
PWS can be done out of Whittier (whittieralaskachamber.org/business_directory鈥?/a>) and Valdez (http://www.valdezalaska.org/activities/toursAttractions.html ).
We were debating this same question. For us, we had a concern about time. Everything I%26#39;ve read about the Kenai Fjords tours suggested you needed to be on at least a 6-hour tour to see the best stuff, and that longer was even better. But I was traveling with a restless child with special dietary needs, and I didn%26#39;t relish the idea of being on a boat all day. The other factor was seasicknesses--I wasn%26#39;t sure how I or the kid would do.
So in our case, Prince William Sound tours were a good choice. Calmer water, shorter tour. You do reduce your chances of seeing some wildlife (i.e. I think whales are a surer bet on Kenai fjord tours) but I could live with that. On our PWS tour we saw tons of sea otters. No whales. We were pretty happy with our choice; the tour was wonderful. If we go back (and I hope to!) and my child is older, I%26#39;ll try a Kenai fjords tour as well.
My husband and I are not tour people but for once in our lives we decided to take Capt. Fred%26#39;s Lu-Lu Belle from Valdez into Prince William Sound. We saw ENDLESS whales, along with the seals, Puffin birds, etc. etc. Capt. Fred takes his vessel right up into the mouths of the caves and he is an experienced man with quite the gift of Gab. He took us right up and into the icebergs of the glacier too, which meant we got pretty cold but fabulous pictures. His crew kept a ready supply of hot coffee and brownies on hand and as the vessel is not huge there were not hundreds of people. This made it personal as well as memorable, as a matter of fact a good half of the people on board were repeaters.
We also got up close to salmon fishing operations, and after watching the local wheels at Chitnia the day before, watching the more commercial activity was fascinating.
We are in the same quandry and these posts have been helpful. The lu lu belle looks great but how to get from whittier to valdez and back again to board the ship?
Any suggestions appreciated.
PS...also ...will be staying at the Kenai Princess. Are there shuttles or buses from the lodge to seward for activities there does anyone know? thanks
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