Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier & Whale Watching Small Group Tour

4.63

(139 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

It started with a grin from our driver—she asked if we’d ever seen a glacier up close before. I admitted I hadn’t, and she just winked like she knew something I didn’t. At the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, the air was sharp and fresh, almost minty (is that just what Alaska smells like?). Walking along the boardwalk over those salmon streams, I kept glancing around for bears—our guide had joked about them being “the real locals.” Didn’t see one, but I did catch a flash of red as someone pointed out the spawning salmon. The visitor center had these old photos of the glacier shrinking back over time; it made me weirdly quiet for a second.

After that we piled into a small bus and zipped off to Auke Bay Harbor. Our captain was this guy named Mark who’s apparently been spotting whales since before I was born—he told us where to stand for the best view but also said “just keep your eyes open, they surprise you.” The jet boat felt low to the water and fast but not loud—no oil smell or anything. When we finally saw that first humpback’s back arching out of the water… honestly, it’s hard to describe. Everyone went silent except one little kid who whispered “whoa.” It was raining lightly but nobody cared; my jacket got damp and my hands smelled like coffee from the thermos they handed out. Someone passed around a snack bag (I grabbed pretzels) and we all just watched the water together.

I tried asking Mark how he finds whales every day—he just laughed and said “they find us.” There’s something about being out there in Juneau’s gray light with strangers who suddenly feel like friends. Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was just Alaska doing its thing. On the way back I kept thinking about how small we all seemed next to those animals—and how glad I was that someone else drove us home so I could just stare out at all that green and blue sliding past.