Mid-May – Jun
Everything arriving
Humpbacks arrive and feed hard, puffins come ashore to nest, sea lions are already on the rocks, and the snow is still low on the mountains. The best combination of the season, and the cheapest weeks.
Wildlife
Alaska wildlife cruise: every animal you can realistically expect
Listings show a breaching humpback and leave you to guess at the rest. Here is what is actually in this water, how likely each one is, which month it is likeliest in, and which boat gives you the best chance of it.
Quick answer
On an Alaska wildlife cruise out of Seward you are close to certain to see sea otters, Steller sea lions and bald eagles; likely to see harbour seals and, from late May, puffins; and in with a good chance of humpback whales between mid-May and early August. Orca are seen through the season without any pattern. Bears are seen from the shore-based Anchorage tours rather than from the fjord boats. Prices run from $116.
What you will see, and how likely
- Sea otter
- Near certainevery sailing, every month
- Steller sea lion
- Near certainrookeries on exposed rock off Caines Head
- Bald eagle
- Near certainon the channel markers within minutes of leaving
- Harbour seal
- Very likelyhauled out on floating ice at the glacier faces
- Puffins
- Likely from late Mayhorned and tufted, on the cliffs
- Humpback whale
- Good odds mid-May to early Augbest on the six-hour boats
- Dall's porpoise
- Regularfast, black and white, rides bow waves
- Orca
- Luck, all seasonno pattern, and always the highlight
- Bears
- On the Anchorage daysfrom the shore, not from the fjord boats
- Mountain goat
- Occasionalon the cliffs above the fjords, through binoculars
Why this water is so full
Cold, deep and fed from below
Upwelling, then plankton, then bait fish, then everything else. Four months of it, and then it stops.
The Gulf of Alaska in summer is one of the more productive pieces of ocean on the planet, and the mechanism is simple. Deep, cold, nutrient-rich water is pushed up against the continental shelf; long daylight does the rest. The result is an enormous bloom of plankton, then krill, then bait fish — herring, capelin, sandlance — and then everything that eats bait fish.
That is the whole reason there is anything to look at. Humpbacks come thousands of miles to be in this water for four months. Seabirds nest by the hundred thousand on cliffs within reach of it. Steller sea lions hold year-round rookeries on the exposed rock at the mouth of the bay because the food comes to them.
It also explains the shape of the season, and why the calendar for each animal is different. The whales follow the bait fish and leave when they thin out. The puffins are tied to a nesting window. The otters and the sea lions never leave at all.
Month by month
Which animal is likeliest when
The boats run one season. The animals inside it run four different calendars.
Jul
Peak
The longest days, the calmest water, seabird colonies at their noisiest and whales still feeding. Everything runs every day; everything also sells out first.
Aug
Bears and salmon
Humpback numbers thin after the first week. Salmon run, which brings bears onto the streams and is when the Anchorage wildlife days are at their best. More rain.
Sep
Quiet and short
Puffins have gone, whale sightings are less frequent, and the fjords are almost empty of people. Weather cancels more sailings, and by mid-month the season is over.
Getting more out of it
Six practical things
Small decisions that change how much you actually see.
- Bring 8×42 binoculars
The right size for a moving deck: enough magnification for a rookery half a mile off, enough field of view to find a blow. Some boats carry a few pairs to share.
- Watch the birds to find the whales
Gulls and kittiwakes working a patch of water mark bait fish, and bait fish mark whales. The crew are looking at the sky long before they are looking at the surface.
- Stand outside, especially near the headland
Windows salt over within an hour. Everything worth seeing is spotted from the open deck, and the crew are up there for a reason.
- Look at the ice, not just past it
Harbour seals haul out on the floating pieces in front of the glacier faces. They are well camouflaged, they are often there, and most people miss them entirely.
- Book a six-hour boat if whales matter
It covers two to three times the water of a four-hour trip and crosses the open Gulf where humpbacks feed.
- Take the Anchorage day if you want bears
Brown and black bears are seen from the shore-based wildlife tours out of Anchorage in August, when the salmon run. The fjord boats are the wrong tool for bears.
Humpbacks feed in this water rather than passing through it, which is why the odds from Seward are better than most whale-watching regions.
Whale watching in full→Common questions
Alaska wildlife cruises, answered
What wildlife can be seen on an Alaska cruise?
Sea otters, Steller sea lions and bald eagles are near certain. Harbour seals are very likely, puffins likely from late May, humpback whales in good odds from mid-May to early August, and orca through the season as a matter of luck.
What is the best time to cruise Alaska for wildlife?
Mid-May to July for the widest combination: whales feeding, puffins nesting and long daylight. August is better specifically for bears, because the salmon are running.
Will I see bears on a glacier cruise?
Rarely. Bears are a shore animal, and the fjord boats are usually too far off. The Anchorage-based wildlife days are the ones built around them, particularly in August.
Are sea otters guaranteed?
Nothing is guaranteed, but they are as close as this gets. Resurrection Bay holds rafts of them and they are seen on effectively every sailing in every month of the season.
Do I need binoculars?
They make a real difference. Rookeries are watched from a distance and a whale blow often happens half a mile off. Some boats carry a few pairs; your own 8×42 is better.
Which cruise is best for wildlife?
The six-hour Kenai Fjords sailings, because they cover the bay, the rookeries, the seabird cliffs and the open feeding water in one trip. The four-hour bay cruise sees a lot of it for less, but covers much less ground.
Go deeper
More on cruising to a glacier in Alaska
Prices
What an Alaska glacier cruise costs
Fifteen departures priced per person and per hour, from $116 to $1,334.
Kenai FjordsThe Kenai Fjords glacier cruise
Aialik, Holgate and Northwestern — which boat reaches which face, and for how long.
VerdictThe best Alaska glacier cruise
Fifteen departures ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
WhalesWhale watching on an Alaska cruise
Humpbacks feed here rather than pass through — what that means for your odds.
SewardGlacier cruises from Seward
Every sailing out of the small boat harbour, and how to get there from Anchorage.
WhittierThe 26 Glacier Cruise
Prince William Sound, twenty-six named glaciers, and the tunnel you have to time.
