The Fascinating Marine Life of Alaska

For animal enthusiasts, nature lovers and casual travelers, experiencing Alaska’s diverse marine wildlife can be as exciting as viewing its majestic, only-in-Alaska landscapes. And you don’t need to fly to get a bird’s eye view of Alaska adventure when seeking memorable marine life experiences. Charter boats, kayaks, and on-foot beach strolls get visitors as close to Alaska’s extraordinary marine life as the pretty puffins, adventurous oystercatchers and other seabirds and shorebirds who frequent Alaska’s beaches and bays.

Marine Wildlife: What to Expect

Alaska’s waterways teem with wildlife: most notable, visible, massive and majestic are humpback and gray whales that sing, breach, and feed to a traveler’s delight. The elusive orcas travel in pods, a chilling and exciting sight. Playful sea otters bob along the water’s surface, often on their back, crunching on ocean snacks or obsessively caring for their pups. Harbor seals like to appear and disappear along Alaska’s coastlines, though if there’s a glacier or iceberg nearby, they’re happy to hang out there for rest and safety. Stellar sea lions are rarer sights, but if they are nearby, you’ll likely hear them and their powerful barks. Along beaches and marsh areas at low tide, gaze deep into the tidepools of coastal areas, and you’ll discover the smaller, surprising and colorful marine life like jellyfish, sea stars, and tiny crabs.

Alaska Tours offers easy access to Alaska’s marine life stars with cruises or tours that give unique and intimate views into Alaska’s diverse and lively marine animals and ecosystems. These trips blend adventure with education as guides share insights about these fascinating creatures, their habitats and lifestyles. While whale watching cruises top the list, here are many other exciting ways to experience Alaska marine wildlife that will bring you face-to-fin-or-flipper with some of Alaska’s wildest wet residents.

Alaska Sealife Center

Funny enough, the most popular place to witness and best understand Alaska’s marine wildlife is in an urban location: the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. This renowned research center and state-of-the-art public aquarium offers exhibits and encounters with its diverse marine residents and passionate staff who work at Alaska’s only permanent marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation facility. Visitors can observe sea lions, seals, octopuses, seabirds and many famous fish, all while learning about the animals’ lives and homes around Alaska and the Center’s conservation efforts dedicated to preserving Alaska’s marine biodiversity. It’s a unique introduction to Alaska’s underwater world and a perfect complement to any outdoor marine life adventure. Many Alaska Tours packages on the Kenai Peninsula and Seward include SeaLife Center stops. With its blend of hands-on education and tours, including a touch tank filled with sea stars, it’s no surprise that the SeaLife Center is also one of Alaska’s most popular family-friendly excursions.

Epic Whale Watching

Of course, whale watching is the big-ticket, bucket-list marine wildlife viewing experience for most Alaska visitors. Seeing and hearing humpback whales, orcas and beluga whales up close create instant chills, mainly when they breach – sometimes for a quick, subtle breath, sometimes for a spectacular splash. There’s something special about being close to a breaching whale: you can hear it exhale, smell its fishy breath, or feel your vessel shake in the wake of a crashing wave created by their large fins. Starting in the spring, gray whales migrate thousands of miles to spend their summers along Alaska’s coasts and draw attention from visitors who want to witness part of their dramatic journeys to northern feeding grounds.

Seward & Kenai Fjords National Park

Some of the most accessible and exciting whale watching day trips take place out of Seward and Resurrection Bay, the gateway to the world-famous Kenai Fjords National Park. There are many whale and wildlife cruises across the Kenai Fjords, from fantastic day trips to immersive overnights, so let Alaska Tours recommend the whale-watching day tours that best align with your trip and your must-see experiences. These tours may include journeys into the fjords for action-packed sightings of humpback whales, orcas, marine birds and wildlife (and some bonus glaciers). Extend your fun with a wilderness lodging experience at Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge, which offers private cabins, Alaska-inspired cuisine, and warm, welcoming hospitality after a day on the water.

Every spring, the Gray Whale Watch Cruise out of Seward tracks Alaska’s gray whale migration after their long journey from warmer waters. Gray whales are known for their “heart-shaped” blow, and spotting these gentle giants in Resurrection Bay is exciting. Of course, a day on the water watching gray whales often includes other wildlife sightings like humpback whales, harbor seals, otters and maybe even a sea lion, eagles or puffins.

Inside Passage

Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage is renowned for its scenery, the world-famous and wildlife-packed Glacier Bay National Park, and sightings of the area’s whale population. Multiday explorations of this unforgettable area offer all of the best Insider Passage experiences, including plenty of epic wildlife sightings: check out the Alaska Fjords and Glaciers Cruise, Glacier Bay National Park Adventure Cruise, Glacier Bay Inside Passage Adventure Cruise, and the Alaska’s Inside Passage Cruise which includes Glacier Bay and Icy Strait visits and kayaking excursions.

Prince William Sound

Southcentral Alaska’s Prince William Sound and some of its popular port communities like Whittier and Valdez also offer prime-time marine wildlife watching and many other adventures. A trip to Valdez can include kayaking to Shoup Glacier or a day cruise to Meares Glacier, which offers ample opportunities to encounter wildlife. A day cruise into College and Harriman fjords out of Whittier, just an hour’s drive from Anchorage, can also include sightings of whales and other popular marine life.

Homer & Kachemak Bay

And Kenai Peninsula’s Kachemak Bay, across the bay from the fun and funky town of Homer, offers kayaking adventures that can include marine life sightings from the cute (otters and seals) to the surprising (porpoises and whales).

Though less exciting than witnessing bellyflopping whales or seeing a curious otter watch you watch them, exploring some of Alaska’s marine ecosystems can be filled with discoveries. Alaska’s beachcombing best is peerless along the countless miles of seacoast corridors and tidepools. Be ready to see low-tide critters like hermit crabs and sea stars. Meanwhile, freshwater-saltwater estuaries are home to an array of wildlife and waterfowl that can fill a day with delight.

The prime months for marine wildlife viewing in Alaska are May through September, when migratory species like whales and seabirds are around and other critters are most active. Tour operators offer the broadest range of excursions. The best tour guides follow ethical viewing guidelines to ensure minimal disruption to the animals’ natural behaviors, and Alaska Tours has the local expertise to ensure the tours on your itinerary are environmentally sustainable for the wildlife you see.

From the seal and otter habitats in Kenai Fjords National Park to the whale-rich waters of the Inside Passage, an Alaska marine life experience awaits you. Contact Alaska Tours today to help you create an unforgettable itinerary of adventures, including marine wildlife sightings and encounters.