astein12

Help! In need some suggestions...

I'm working on my Alaska itinerary. We're going the 1st 2 weeks of September and are flying into and out of Anchorage and are planning to rent a car.

We're planning on going to up Denali first and then heading back south and are currently thinking of Valdez, Homer and a few other stops.

I've been debating going to Katmai and staying at Hallo Bay. Budget it my only real concern. Any good alternatives?

I'm looking for suggestions as to a good 2 day or so sea kayaking 'adventure'. Anyone have any suggestions as to where to go from or any specific tours?

Thanks in advance!

oleg

There are no budget alternatives for bear watching trips.
If you want to do multi-day bear watch, then Brooks Fall might be an alternative to Hallo Bay. If you want to do just a day trip, then there are many alternatives. Two of them are from Homer: Emerald Air and Bald Mountain Air.

Sea kayaking is good in calm waters of Kachemak Bay. There are outfitters at Homer Spit to accomodate you. Do NOT kayak in Seward. Resurrection Bay is not a calm place, especially in September.

jq

As Oleg mentioned, the one day flyins to Hallo Bay area from Homer are about as cheap as you can get for coastal brown bear tours. The one day tours from Emerald, Bald Mtn, or Hallo Bay,or Hallo Bay's new 5hr tour for $375 is about it. If you are going to Denali and will be taking the shuttle to at least Fish Creek or Wonder Lake, you may get to see inland grizzly close up. On all three of our trips, we have seen close to bus, but you are shooting thru windows with 20-36 other people and your time is limited to about 15-20 min max per stop. You should see caribou, moose, sheep, and maybe wolves. Allow at least two nights in area.

jujubean

astein,
Is bear watching your only reason for going over to Katmai? if so, I agree with the previous post. We saw dozens of grizzly on our trip through Denali. Though we did get off the bus and hike in a bit. We hiked for hours, then got back on the bus. If you do get off the bus, and come into the vicinity of bears - please stay far away - you'd be amazed at how close some people get to these animals - a bad move for you and them! have fun!

astein12

Thanks for all of the advice. We are definitely going to spend a couple of nights in/around Denali and will do a lot of hiking, so hopefully that will give us some good bear sightings.

I've also found a couple of interesting places around Kodiak that I might consider.

Thanks for the kayaking advice. If anyone has a specific outfitter in Homer, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again!