Paddle With Whales! Kayak Adventure

Reviews

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  Grumbly 5

  19 Sep 2021

  Unsure what to write as it is possible our adventure simply had the luck of the Irish, as it was amazing. Above and Beyond Alaska is an excellent, organized, high-quality company with skilled guides. Extremely responsive and friendly to my many questions. Had done two tours with them this trip, the other a bear excursion to Admiralty Island (which was fine, though not nearly as memorable). This specific tour (5 guests) was guided by Kris, a personable and knowledgeable gal. Bused to a boat, there is then a fairly lengthy trip to where booted off. The ride offered gorgeous views, manned by a cordial captain. Saw plenty of humpback whales, and a couple of sea lions. The whales did not breach. Also, boats not allowed to get within 100 yards, though the whales could come closer (I tried to entice one with peanut butter). Doubt any got within 300 yards. I believe Kris mentioned guests get closer to whales while in the boat as opposed to kayaking, which was a bit of a bummer. Then we were dropped off for kayaking. Good thing Kris knew where we were as pretty secluded. (Swear I saw Bigfoot.) We get in two person kayaks (suited and layered). Not for the feint of heart as when away from land the currents/wakes had some size. As we are trolling along we see whales in the distance. Far, but still cool. Then...dun Dun DUN!!! Our kayaks a good distance from lan, at one point we were seeing a lot of whales, and they were coming closer and closer. Kris (fear in her voice???) ordered us to bunch our kayaks for safety and stability, a humpback headed our way, apparently in search of peanut butter. It easily got within 60’ .(Got one of those memorable trip videos, the whale fluking after it passed. After a fair amount of time gathering ourselves, Kris said to head in. Then...DUN DUN DUN... Two massive whales appeared right in front of us, easily within 10-20’, from my view appearing to almost knock one kayak over. Unknown how much Kris tipped the whales for this performance, but it was well worth it. After this adrenaline rush, we paddled a looooong distance to land. I don’t want to attempt to convey all will have this experience, as I sense this was very unique. For our tiny lil group, what a memory. If book this trip, I suggest bring some peanut butter as b

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  V5483ZDmarieb 5

  19 Sep 2019

  Not only did we get lucky with a very clear weather but the whales and sea lions were there to greet us! The guide was great and the landscape amazing (even without the whales it would at be worth it!). The snack was good, just remember it is a snack, not a lunch. Just do it!

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  amycenters 5

  13 Sep 2019

  We went whale watching and then kayaked near them with Auri. It was SO FUN! There were SO MANY WHALE PODS OUT - it was crazy. Auri (and our boat driver - I unfortunately for his name) were great; very friendly, informative, and helpful. The trip was really well-organized (with a much appreciated snack bag) and we would highly recommend this experience to anyone who wants to have a magnificient, memorable day outside of Juneau.

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  gilaanma 2

  05 Sep 2019

  the tour " paddle with whales" was less exciting than expected , and too expensive for what it offres . we should have paddled for 2 hours but was not the case . we really paddled very little , moving very little , despite having 4 adults . we than had stop for lunch on the island for 1 hour . a small excursion to the island was also planned . the stop was 15 minutes . no excursion . the lunch consisted of snack and bars . very very poor . to finish , on the way back , we waited more than 30 minutes for the driver because obviously we had arrived too early .

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  forego 5

  17 Aug 2019

  We did the tour with Arya our guide and Captain Wade and both were terrific hosts. We first stopped several times to catch views of the humpback whales and then beached with a whale about 50 yards off shore. We proceeded to jump onto the two person kayaks and padded out and observe from a safe but close enough view. Paddling in open water was fun and a nice workout. We had beautiful weather and we saw a bald eagle on the opposite shore. My only wish was that we had more time on kayaks but all in all it was great fun. Plus they give a great snack package. And for those who fear sea sickness, which I’m no stranger to, the boat ride was fine. Granted weather conditions were nice but it was a great day overall with two fun hosts.

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  golfgolfgolfdad 4

  03 Aug 2019

  We did enjoy this excursion but we never actually "Paddled with Whales". Unfortunately we caught an unusually windy day and the water was very rough so we couldn't paddle out where the whales normally are. But we still had a good time with an informative guide. We did get some close up views of humpback whales from the boat. The kayaking was fun, almost a surreal experience being miles from any sort of civilization (or probably other people for that matter). Just an FYI for future paddlers, they do provide rain gear including boots, which I never saw mentioned on their website. We had packed additional rain gear which turned out to be unnecessary. They also provided a food bag and water bottle which was plenty of nourishment for our approximately 4 hours on the water.

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  justintime1017 5

  21 May 2019

  We had an amazing time with Miles, Arie, Chelsea and Captain Wade on our kayaking adventure in Juneau! From the time that Miles picked us up at the cruise ship to the time we were kayaking in the water with wildlife, everyone was so friendly and full of information about Alaska. I’m hard of hearing, and Miles was especially accommodating and made sure that I heard him when he spoke. My husband and I are from Florida and were just amazed at the views and wildlife that we saw. We even saw a black bear walking on the side of the road on our way to the dock. It was still early in the season, so we only saw one whale and didn’t get any good photos of it. We didn’t have any whales close to the kayaks when we were out kayaking, but we did have numerous harbor seals and curious sea lions close by and even had bald eagles flying overhead and on the island that we took off from. Overall, we would absolutely recommend ABAK for this fun excursion! Our only thought was that it should be named “Paddle with Wildlife! Kayak Adventure” since paddling with whales isn’t guaranteed. We know you can’t ever guarantee what wildlife will do, so we were very understanding about this. Thanks for an amazing experience Miles, Arie, Chelsea and Captain Wade! 😃🐾🐻🦅👬

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