Two bear trips from Homer?
 

I'm in the early stages of trip-planning for next summer. Bear-viewing is a priority for us and it looks like Homer is the best place to base ourselves. Initially I was looking at Hallo Bay but I'm not so sure now, given the mixed reviews I've seen and the fact that being in camp may be restrictive. As an alternative I was thinking of doing two daytrips. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this is a good idea, and if so, would it be better to do two trips with one operator (I'm thinking Emerald Air at the moment), or do one trip with Emerald Air and one with Bald Mountain? Any opinions gratefully received.

Hi Miss Kitty
In 2005 we planned a one day trip with Emerald Air. Unfortunately, there was bad weather that day and we did not get to fly out to Katmai.

I like your idea about 2 day trips. That way, if one day is cancelled, you have a back up day.

By the way, we rearranged our itinerary to try again, but got fogged out that day. So.....we are trying again this year. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will finally get to Katmai!

Two day trips would work well, either both with Emerald Air or splitting between Em Air and Bald Mountain. If you're in Homer long enough maybe book the trips on non-adjacent days to a) unwind and b) give yourself a wider weather window.

What have you heard negative about Hallo Bay? I'll be up there soon, if we can fly in :)

Bill

Thank you both for your replies - seems to confirm what I was thinking. Bill, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. I've read some reviews (I think in tripadvisor) saying that Hallo Bay had high staff turnover and this may have affected the quality of the guiding, but these things have to be taken with a pinch of salt. I'm just keen to minimise any risk because I'm coming from the UK and this is likely to be a once in a lifetime trip, so looking for "safer" alternatives.

Best wishes

I can't recommend Emerald Air highly enough. Great people. Great trip. It's all day. Not sure you'd need to do a second trip either with them or someone else. Emerald Air goes where the bears are and that could mean you'd be going to the same area on your 2 trips, which seems excessive.

Unfortunately, the Alaskan weather is very unpredictable, meaning these trips may or may not go. That's the only reason I'd think of booking 2 of them. But Emerald Air requires 50% deposit within 10 days of booking to reserve a seat, which is refunable only if you cancel within 30 days of the trip or they cancel due to weather. So you can't book 2 trips and then wait until you're in Homer to cancel the one with the iffy weather report without losing your deposit.

Hi Miss Kitty,

I was at Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp a few years back and had a great time.

Two nonconsecutive days, as BillH suggests, would be good for day trips. You never know about the weather.

Emerald Air gets great reviews.

Here is a link to a trip I did with Katmai Coastal, out of Kodiak.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35143602

Anderson Air, which flew me to the boat for the Katmai Costal trip, also does day-long bear trips out of Kodiak that do bear viewing in Hallo Bay.

Good luck.

I just got back from Hallo Bay where we stayed for 4 nights. We had a great guide (Phil) and loved our time out with the bears. I read the same reviews and after being at Hallo Bay I can tell you that there has been some guide turnover. But overall, worth every penny!

I will have tons of details in my trip report, but if you want to know anything specific, please let me know.

<b>I just got back from Hallo Bay</b>

Hi Monica, thanks for the upbeat report. We're watching all these weather reports showing rain and hoping our flights to and from HB go smoothly with no delays.

Looking forward to your more detailed report!

Bill

Hi Bill-

We were delayed about 3 hours or so getting in. One other couple didn't end up coming back out until 7 in the evening when normally you come out around 9:30 am. I was hoping the weather would prevent me from leaving on time, but just my luck it was a bright, sunny day :-)

When are you going so I could make sure to post the HB portion of the trip before you leave?

Also, tell Phil, the guide, that Monica and Wes said hello!

Monica

I posted this in another forum, but i'd really try to find Brad Josephs in Homer and get a Bear Viewing trip planned with him. HE is amazing. I used to work at Hallo Bay and mgmt is odd, turnover is BIG and although it is an amazing place, it's hit or miss with the staff.

We had a great experience with Bald Mountain in summer 2007. I would book 2 bear trips a couple of days apart with diffferent tour operators so you can try to beat the weather issue and hopefully, see 2 different areas.

Brad Josephs was working for Katmai Coastal Tours in Summer 08. I had a great time with him as my guide for several days the end of June.

I hope to go back in 2010, same trip, slightly different timing.

I have two trips booked with Emerald. Bald Montain gets good reviews too but I wouldn't go with Hallo Bay because of a terrible turnover and not the best reputation among local tour operators

We flew with Emerald last summer and recommend them enthusiastically. I would make them my first choice.