Captain Dan and first mate Dane were terrific. Interesting and knowledgeable commentary; found and…read morefollowed several orcas and humpbacks. Top it off with good weather and calm seas.

We had an amazing experience with Ben as our tour guide on. 6-person tour. Ben was knowledgeable…read moreabout everything. The company was way to work with regarding changes to our group. Everything was punctual and well communicated. Would highly recommend and go again myself.

I loved this tour duo. There was so much natural beauty and history along the trail and the big…read morefinish at the glacier. Having three whales leaping in unison took my breath away. The seals finished in second place as they cavorted on the rocks. I have to mention that I signed up for a moderate tour and it was definitely a challenge on the hike to keep up. But Tristan and Sam encouraged me all the way and to their credit and my astonishment, I was able to say I did it!

Absolutely Outstanding! One of the Best Excursions We've Ever Taken!…read more If you're visiting Juneau, this is the excursion to book! Our Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier tour with Gastineau Guiding was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. It was easily one of the best shore excursions we've ever experienced. Our guide, Collin Taylor, was exceptional. He was friendly, knowledgeable, engaging, and made the entire day so much fun. Throughout the tour, he shared fascinating information about Juneau, Alaska's wildlife, humpback whales, the Mendenhall Glacier, and even photography. His passion for Alaska was contagious. Our captain, Ron, was equally outstanding. He and Collin knew exactly where to find the whales, and they delivered! We saw at least a dozen humpback whales, including adults and a calf. We watched countless whale blows, multiple tail flukes, and even witnessed a breach in the distance. As a bonus, we got incredibly close to a group of sea lions relaxing on a navigation buoy. The Mendenhall Glacier portion of the tour was just as impressive. The hike through the rainforest was beautiful, and Collin explained how the glacier has retreated over the years and how an entirely new forest has grown in its place. It gave us a whole new appreciation for the landscape. We came away with some incredible photos and unforgettable memories. The icing on the cake is that Collin is also a professional photographer and shares his photos with the group afterward. That allowed us to stay in the moment while knowing we'd still have amazing professional-quality memories to take home. Five stars without hesitation. Gastineau Guiding exceeded every expectation, and if you can, request Collin Taylor. You won't regret it!

We went on an Alaskan cruise and decided not to book any excursions through the cruise line. When…read morewe docked in Juneau, we decided to wing it and find a whale-watching tour and a way to see the glacier. There were several options available when we got off the ship, and luckily, we chose the right one! The bus was nice, and the whale-watching boat was great. It was clean, had plenty of seating, and the staff was incredibly friendly. They made the experience fun and interesting, and we were lucky enough to see whales! Our bus driver was also fantastic. He was very friendly, shared lots of history about the area, and pointed out bald eagles along the way. The captain of the boat was also super friendly, and they even provided snacks during the tour. The tour also took us to see the glacier. They dropped us off and gave us a specific time to meet back up, then picked us up and brought us back to the ship. We made it back to the ship on time, which was important since we were on a cruise. If I ever come back to Juneau, I will definitely use this company again. Next time, I'll know exactly who to book with in advance! Five stars all around! Ps. I also took pictures of whales that we've seen. We were able to see six, but I took the pictures with my other phone.

Nate & Jack were awesome during our whale watching tour. Very informative & funny. We saw about 4…read morewhales & sea lions. They were in constant communication with others about whale whereabouts. I loved that they really cared about these amazing creatures & strived to give them space at safe distance. Jack knows so much about whales and sea lions, you can ask him anything about them.

Steve was absolutely fantastic!! My family and I were visiting Juneau by way of a cruise, and…read moreJuneau was our first stop. What a first stop it was! From the very first moment, Steve was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and hospitable. He started off the tour talking about Juneau's history and giving us an origin story of the Alaskan Native Indian population known as the Tlingit. Once we got to the docks, the true wonderment began. On our way out to the heart of Auke Bay, Steve continued with information about the local wildlife population, sharing fun facts about humpback whales, harbor seals, bald eagles, and more. The highlight of the trip had to be the humpback whale breaches. We got very lucky - there must have been 10-15 separate full-body jumps out of the water! Our presence was graced with several playful whale calves, many of them performing chin straps (a term I had never heard before ) and several full-body breaches. Thanks again Steve for helping make our trip to Alaska so special. I would strongly recommend his tours to anyone looking for something special to do in Juneau!

This was the best excursion we had all week when on our cruise in May. Captain Steve was so nice,…read moreaccommodating, and knowledgeable. We saw so many humpbacks and orcas and learned a lot about them. We saw several starfish when boarding the boat, and many Stellar Sea Lions. This was a small boat with a total of 6 on the excursion. So much better than large excursions. Captain Steve also stopped by Mendenhall Glacier for a few minutes before heading back to our ship. He told us a lot about the area and the natives of the area. I thoroughly enjoyed our day!

Great customer service - Adam and Andrew are true professionals that will guide you in the best…read morepossible direction for fishing and whale watching. Adam is responsive, trustworthy and despite it not being the best time for fishing we came away with a great experience and memories to last a lifetime.

Disappointing and Overpriced Halibut Charter Experience Our…read moreexperience was poor to average. We are a family of four with two girls, ages 11 and 14, and this charter was not a good fit for us this past August, 2025. We were surprised to learn that guides were not allowed to help reel in the fish until they could actually see it at the water line. When fishing for halibut, the line is dropped over 300 feet with a two-pound weight to reach the bottom. Between the weight, the depth, and the rocky waves, it was nearly impossible for our daughters--and admittedly myself--to reel in a fish without assistance. For the price we paid, and after several conversations with the owner before booking, we were disappointed this was never explained upfront. It would have been helpful to know this charter was not ideal for families with kids or teens. We were also frustrated by the lack of basic amenities. The toilet on board was broken, leaving only a bucket with no toilet paper as the option. For almost $2,000, this felt unacceptable. No bottled water or beverages were provided, and the only snack was a single granola bar for a five-hour trip. For a premium charter, this fell far short of expectations. Another disappointment was with the fish processing. We paid the owner in advance for our three fish to be filleted and shipped home, only to be asked again for our credit card later to cover separate shipping charges. This was never made clear and felt misleading. Lastly, we did not catch our limit, and both the guide and captain repeatedly mentioned that a large fishing competition had just taken place in the area over the previous three days. Their exact words were: "It's not good fishing today, it's been way overfished the last few days and it will take about two weeks to get the halibut back to this area." It left us questioning why guests were still being booked at full price when conditions were known to be poor. In the end, we spent a lot of money for what turned out to be an average experience, with limited access to fish and very little in the way of customer service.

We took this tour while in Juneau off our cruise ship. We…read moresaw harbor seals, sea lions, and 7 whales. Our crew, Krichelle, Taylor and Sophie were all great and very knowledgeable. We both had a great time, would highly recommend!

My daughter and I headed out of Juneau on an Alaska Tales mini bus for a ride out to a marina where…read morewe would be getting on a boat and head out to a whale watch. The other people on the bus and our bus driver were all great. We all played a "Name that movie soundtrack" game out to the marina and back which was SUPER fun. Once we got on the boat, the staff were all friendly and great and once everyone was comfortably seated on board we headed out. Now the Alaskan coast line was INCREDIBLE and coming from Maine, I fully understand that you cannot predict whale activity. We were out on the water for about two hours and there were a few tail sightings, which were disappointing to me, but I completely accepted with a shrug. The interesting part though, was that everyone else on the boat was FREAKING OUT with happiness over those few tail sightings. They were running to the side of the boat and stretching over with their binoculars, they were laughing and smiling and basking in the Alaskan sun. Clearly the problem was mine! What's wrong with me?

The tour cast for this trip was, drum roll:…read more Chris, Coral are naturalists with captain Mac and Garrett was bus driver. All of them are equally amazing in their own right. Chris have had before on my very first whale watching trip and she's very very special, adorable and wealth of knowledge. Plus, hopefully, a captain in the making. Coral took the naturalist lead this trip and was amazing. What a wealth of knowledge she is. The captain kept us all safe and informed, keeping us our as long as possible before the inevitable end of our trip. Really truly amazing the whole crew has been. Highly recommend any of their tours. This was my third one and each memorable in their own right though first one was the most memorable 3 years back. Just a minor thing compared to one the well before. It would've been nice to see the whale lookup stats on happy whales. Each crew is thankfully uniquely different, really enjoy each and every time have gone out. Please keep it up and do the fantastic job you are.

Really great tour. We went out on the water in a really nice new boat. Saw loud of whales as well…read moreas sea otters, sea lions, and eagles. Then we went into the island with the lighthouse and got some great pictures and climbed up to see the light. Annie, Coral and captain Graham were all very personable and fun to be around. They were very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job making this trip educational and fun. Highly recommend

What a fun time! The captain knew where to find these creatures. We saw at least 12 gorgeous…read moreanimals. Cold rainy day but the inside seating was comfortable and the windows are perfect huge size for sightings. The naturalist guide was clearly in love with her job. She was as excited as we were at each siting. We came across a family of sea lions napping on a buoy. So cute to see the baby poke his head out from under mom. Worth the money for sure. Even though we had seen more whales off the coast of VA, these were Alaska whales!

Hannah was a great guide. Her information about the whales was very informative. Captain John did…read morea great job getting us on the whales. We really enjoyed this excursion!

Five star experience with Autumn and Captain Lee! Quite an informative and knowledgeable crew. The…read moresafety briefing was thorough and the boat was clean and organized. Autumn clearly has a passion for whales and gave us enough education to fuel our fire for the animals. We saw calves and Sasha and we were treated with the experience of a whale breaching right in front of the boat! Overall a wonderful experience and looking forward to another tour with ATA! Also to mention the wonderful salmon bake! Fresh fish and live music with covered seating and a creekside view. The short hike to the waterfall was fun too! Special shout out to our wonderful bus driver too! She drives the "sunshine" bus and while her name escapes me, her impression does not! She pointed out an eagle's nest, told stories of the legendary wolf Romeo, and gave us a quick but detailed history of the town. Bonus that she's from our neck of the woods!

Many moons ago I went on a raft ride in Alaska. I love the experience so when we were headed back…read moreas a family I felt it was a must do. The company was very efficient. Getting us immediately suited. Getting us separated in groups for the rafts. Issue: i understand the weight balance but my four year old was placed on the outside and it made for a nerve racking trip for me holding on to him for dear life! My issue- our tour guide. Nice and strong but I couldn't understand anything he was telling us because I was in the front and he has a very very thick accent. I feel like my oldest did not get the experience I hoped for because of the language barrier. Aka she didnt learn anything. Overall, it's beautiful and fun. But cold. We did get wet. It's still Alaska and still amazing. Still suggest.

Julia and Kendall were amazing! Our boat driver did an amazing job finding the whales and giving…read moreus a close, but safe experience! We love kayaking and this experience was out of this world! Just incredible. We saw humpbacks and orcas! Highly recommend this company!

Great place definitely a must do when your in the area . Or just make a point yo go to Alaska and…read moreexperience it first gand