Can you do this cruise port on your own?
Icy Strait Point
DIY Score
Easy DIY
Walk off for the free trails and cannery; book whale watching ahead.
Tender or Docked?
Docked, no tender, at one of two floating piers. You walk straight off into the Icy Strait Point resort.
How to Get Into Town
The resort is at your feet; the cannery and trails are free. Hoonah village is a 30-min walk or a low-cost shuttle.
Main Attractions
Free trails, a cannery museum, and shoreline wildlife anchor the day. Whale watching and the giant zipline are the paid highlights.
How Much Time You Need
A half day covers the free resort easily. Add a boat or bus tour and you will use most of a standard call.
Keep in Mind
Book whale watching and the zipline ahead. The best tours sell out, and buying direct is often cheaper than the ship.
Safety & Comfort
About as safe and easy as a cruise port gets. English-speaking, tiny, and welcoming, with wildlife the only real caution.
Tips from Cruisers
"We were standing on the shoreline path just past the cannery, not on any tour, and a humpback surfaced maybe a hundred yards out.…" — by Gail S.
We were standing on the shoreline path just past the cannery, not on any tour, and a humpback surfaced maybe a hundred yards out. Everyone went quiet. Then it did it again. Didn't spend a dollar and it was the moment of the whole cruise...
Rained sideways the whole time we were there and the whale tour was rough enough that my wife felt green. Saw whales at least. Just know Alaska weather can flatten your plans and pack real rain gear, not a flimsy poncho.
Booked whale watching direct through Icy Strait Point instead of the ship and saved a good chunk each. Same boat, same naturalist. If you've done a few Alaska ports you learn to book the local operator.
Lovely that you can walk right off into it, no tender fuss. We took the little gondola between the docks a couple of times just for fun and stayed on the flat boardwalk. My knees thanked me.
Kids did the zipline and talked about nothing else for days. We walked off, did the free museum and trails while we waited, grabbed fish and chips with a view. Genuinely easy port for a family.
honestly just wandered the trails and watched eagles for a few hours. free, quiet, gorgeous. didnt need any excursion at all