Just returned; Alaska trip report
 

Just got back from a my first trip to Alaska. <BR>We flew into Anchorage and from there we went to Brooks Falls and spent the night at the lodge.This was one of the highlights of the trip. If you what to see Brown Bears,and lots of them, this is a great place to go.It is a bit expensive but worth it.You can watch the Bears fishing at the Falls from not very far away.<BR> From Brooks we had to fly back to Anchorage.We rented a car here and made our way to Seward and Homer.<BR> We took a day cruise out of Seward, with Major Marine,that was very nice.If you go to this area take the time to drive to Exit Glacier.I think this is the best thing to see while in Seward.<BR> Homer is beautiful and I really liked it.<BR>We did a couple of very note worthy tours here.We took a Whale watching trip with Rainbow Tours that was amazing.We saw at least 45(we lost count)Humpback Whales.There were several that jumped out of the water very close to the boat.I thought it was right out of National Geographic. I was very suprised how good it was because not to many people seemed to know much about it, or how good the Whale viewing is here.July is one of the best months for this I am told. <BR> I also must note that out of Seward we only saw 1 Whale from very far away.So if you really want to see Humpback Whales go to Homer in July.Rainbow tours is the only one offering these day trip at this time.<BR> The other good tour we took here was a trip on the Danny J( very cute old wooden boat) to Halibut Cove across the Bay. Very nice relaxing thing to do.<BR> I hope this trip report helps some in your trip planning.<BR> Alaska is Beautiful.<BR> <BR><BR>

Thanks Joan! Hope to get back to Alaska and take a day cruise. The trip out of Homer sounded terrific. Glad you posted.

I would suggest to anyone driving to Homer to stop @ Normal Lowell's Gallery and homestead located in Anchor Point. Large gallery filled with his beautiful paintings of the surrounding area. Make sure you walk the ground to view the gardens and his original homestead.<BR><BR>I would also recommend Mariah Tours for a small boat wildlife tour out Seward. The smaller boat allows close up viewing of the wildlife and glaciers.

You could have traveled on the Alaska Marine Hyway ships for a tenth the price and seen everything you payed top dollar for.

To: How Much; You are right in some ways. Parts of the trip was not cheap. I had to save a couple of years to take this trip.And I am sure you could see Whales and Bears from the Ferry deck.Not to mention the beautiful scenary that is so common in Alaska.I would like to take the ferry trip up one day. I think it would be a lot of fun if I had more time for a trip like that.But we only had two weeks.<BR><BR>The main thing you are paying for with places like Brooks Falls, ( www.bearviewing.com ), is the Chance to view Brown Bears( lots of them) at fairly close range( about 50 yards).We had two days to watch them. We watched them catching salmon at the falls and in the river.Saw a mother playing with her two cubs(priceless momment).Many times the bears were right under the observation platform we were standing on.<BR><BR>The thing that set the Whale trip ( www.rainbowtour.com ) apart, from viewing them as you pass by on a ferry, is the fact that we could stop the boat and watch them. No one was on a schedule here.The day was for the Whales only. The Captain did stop the motor in fact and some whales came right up to the boat to check us out.Both these experiences will stay with me for a long time. I can say I felt I got my money's worth,plus some.<BR><BR>