This tour was a complete waste of time and expense. We had a very nice experienced native guide, who really knew the island, however, we did not see one bear, nor any other animal in the three hour time we spent going up and down every imaginable road.

We took this tour in Sept 2023. We drove around in a van for 3 hours to search for bears. We only saw 1 bear poop. We understand there is no guarantee with wildlife, however the driver drove so fast that we couldn’t have spotted bears unless they were right by the road. The trees and foliage were thick by the roads and you could not see into the trees as quickly as we were going. The driver also took us on the same roads over and over and stopped at the same streams over and over. I’m sure bears frequent those areas but there were none to be seen. The driver was friendly and informative on Icy Strait Point but it was a pretty blah trip with no bears to be seen. I wouldn’t do it again.

Very nice tour, although we did not spot any bears (guide went to several spots in search of one) it was still a very nice tour. Saw lots of other wildlife. Really liked all the Salmon running, this was our 12th time in alaska and first time we got to see them run.

This was a lovely excursion from Icy Strait; we took the free gondola from the terminal to the meeting place, located near the end of the gondola ride. I'm sorry that we don't have our driver/guide's name, but she was based at the souvenir store near the waterfront. She was really pleasant and informative and did her best to find places where we might see bears. We spent some time at a lovely spot on a bridge above a river where there was evidence that bears had been, but, unfortunately on this occasion, it didn't happen. it was still a really nice trip tho' and I would thoroughly recommend. It was good to ride along logging trails and see the surrounding countryside and learn about life in this lovely little community. Chichagof Island was probably our favourite stop on the cruise. Hoonah is a lovely, unspoilt, laid back township, and the walk back to the cruise ship made even better by the appearance of whales in the nearby waters. Just hope that the residents don't allow it to become overtaken with tourism and get spoilt, like some of the other cruise stops.

Although the bears eluded us, it sure wasn’t for lack of effort on Cora’s part! She was so patient, and persistent, in trying to sight bears for us. She provided wonderful information and commentary for us.

I didn’t want to believe the previous reviews that said it was very boring since there were a few other reviews that said the complete opposite. Well I guess I have to agree with the former, it was extremely boring. It’s basically 3 hours in a van riding fast through a road in the woods pretending we are looking for bears. It seems you will only see bears if they show up on the road because they don’t seem to be actively looking for them. We actually were very lucky that one of the tourists with us saw a bear and pointed it out to the rest. After that we never saw a bear again. I understand we are in the wild and it’s up to the animals to show up, but I have been in safaris and they do actually do an effort to try to find the animals, not in this tour though unfortunately.

However, this was a very boring tour, 3 hours trough the woods and little to see. The tour was too expensive. I would not suggest this tour.

This was a fabulous tour, lead by the extremely knowledgeable and passionate Cora. We visited three sites and saw bears at each stop. Some close, others further away, but all fantastic and a joy to behold, seeing them enjoy their natural habitat, in the supreme beauty of the island. We are on a ship and chose to use Viator, it was the best decision!

The landscape was beautiful but there were no BEARS to be seen. You basically stand on 3 different platforms, You are definitely timed so if bears don’t come walking by within that time you are basically on a high priced nature walk. I also felt like our guide could care less if we saw a bear or not. Maybe give some kind of refund if you don’t see bears ….give the guides more incentive or label the tour differently. I basically felt like our guide was just going through the motions. First tour in Alaska we felt a little “hoodwinked”. We were on the 12:15PM tour on 8/29 booked through Princess Cruises.

This tour was the highlight of our trip. Cora was so knowledgeable. Highly recommend to anyone traveling to Icy Strait Point.

We booked this given the good reviews and high chances of seeing some bears. Unfortunately we saw none although we heard that the tours ahead of us had seen some. The guide did try to find bears and went to and fro between various little bridges but we saw nothing other than lots of salmon. We were also 15 minutes late getting back to the cruise terminal which caused some real anxiety and meant that it was a mad dash to make it back for all aboard. Despite being late, the tour guide took us to see the icy strait point airfield on the way back to the terminal. None of us had asked about this nor were remotely interested. We paid over $600 for a 3.5 hour drive around a forest and saw no wildlife whatsoever other than lots of fish.

Whilst we completely appreciate that wildlife has a mind of its own, we paid an awful lot of money for what was essentially a mini bus ride in silence for the most part. We got some very interesting commentary on the local area and its culture for the first half an hour from our guide which we enjoyed, but after that nothing at all whilst we searched for bears that we didn't find. It was honestly the most disappointing day we have had in almost 2 weeks in alaska and the least amount of wildlife we have seen, even just driving around ourselves we have seen more. The guide implied that lunch time tours don't have as much success so not sure why they run them at that time if thats the case, my advice would be to not do the 11-2pm tour and choose another time in the hope you have more luck than we did.

Our guide/driver was very informative and even checks the streams on his day off to locate where bears are frequently passing through. We were thrilled to see a mama bear and her cub at one crossing and saw lots of salmon.

This is a very tough trip to evaluate. If you see bears, I am sure it would be excellent although even then I think it would be from a distance. If you don’t see bears as was our case it was a mindless 3 hours of driving around an otherwise uninteresting forest. Our guide did her best but it was hopeless. I do not recommend this excursion especially if you have limited time as we did. There are easier ways to see bears in Alaska and this trip is basically all or nothing and too risky. Also if you do do it - better in am or late afternoon versus mid day. The bears eat early and late.

This was an amazing trip. We were able to see bears on the streams eating and playing Gary was a great guide who had a lot of information to share.

Gary was a great guide. However, this was a very boring tour. We saw no bears and the tour was expensive. I would not suggest this tour.

Cora was an excellent guide and was very knowledgeable about the island. We felt very safe with her and she taught us how to spot bear tracks. We saw 6 bears on our trip. It was so amazing.

Gary was great and relentless in finding a bear to see. Gary was friendly and informative as well about the area national forest.

Our guide was extremely informative for the whole trip. Giving us a lot of interesting information about the way of life & traditions in Alaska. The bears we saw were due to the knowledge & persistence of our guide.

Just driving through the rain forest and learning about the ways of the bears that inhabit the island