TOURS
Marine Wildlife, Specialized Birding and Ride Along
Bay Excursions offers three types of tours; the 2 hour Marine Wildlife Tour, the 3 hour Birding Tour, and Ride Along tours.
Your guide for every tour will be one of Bay Excursions two longtime, local captains, Karl and Gareth, who have guided these exact trips for 25+ and 15+ years respectively. In addition to our experience, our smaller, custom built vessels allow us to subtly approach wildlife and then take the time to watch it in its natural setting.
We are passionate about sharing our little corner of the world with each of our clients and strive to make each trip a unique experience.
Marine Wildlife Tour
Watch Sea Otters, Puffins, and more...
$ 75/Person (2 hours)
The Marine Wildlife Tour is by far our most popular tour. A one sentence summary of the tour could be "We look at cute Sea Otters, awesome puffins and other cool stuff in a beautiful place"
The tour has two basic elements (further details below); marine mammal viewing and visiting the Gull Island seabird nesting colony.
Our Marine Wildlife Tours generally depart at 10:00 am. We also offer afternoon options depending on the day.
Marine Mammals
One highlight of every trip is Sea Otter viewing. These expressive and unbelievably cute critters are the focus of the first part of the tour. We have been watching them for years and they still make us smile every trip. We take the time to join them as they go about the tasks of of their day which primarily consist of eating copious amounts of food and napping (sometimes we feel a little envious).
Kachemak Bay is also home to additional mammals such as Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoise, and, occasionally, whales and Steller Sea Lions. It is easy to imply that we see everything on every trip but our philosophy is that it is best to deliver a realistic and honest description of our trips.
The reality is that each day and each section of the season is different and that wild animals are unpredictable. Our guarantee to our clients is to keep a keen eye out so that we can find the unique, wonderful and unexpected in each and every trip.
Gull Island
The Gull Island rookery is a top attraction of Kachemak Bay. What is a rookery one might ask? It is a nesting colony for sea birds. Each summer, birds who spend the rest of their lives at sea, converge on offshore rocks or islands to produce their next generation of offspring. Gull Island hosts over 13,000 birds each summer and is a never ceasing hive of activity and abundant life.
One tour favorite at Gull Island are Puffins. The island plays host to both the Tufted and Horned varieties and their bizarre and gaudy plumage is a sight to behold in person.
Birding Tour
Hunt for Kittlitz's Murrelets, Aleutian Terns and more...
$ 90/Person (3 hours)
Kachemak Bay is home to many unique and wonderful sea birds and our company specialty is sharing them with our clients. Captain Karl is a passionate, life long birder and has been guiding our trips for almost a quarter of a century. Each trip is a wide ranging survey of sea birds in the bay and we delight in finding the odd and unexpected. We enjoy sharing our enthusiasm for birding with our clients whether they are new to the hobby or have been birding for years. We could go on but we'd rather be birding.
Each portion of the season offers unique opportunities so if you are interested in specific species feel free to contact us and we can offer our suggestions for the best times to look for them.
Ride Along Tours
There is rarely a dull day on the bay...come along and see for yourself...
$ 60/Person (varies ~1-3 hours)
During the course of a normal day we go many unique places and see lots of interesting things. The concept behind the Ride Along Tour is that clients can join an existing water taxi trip. This a great way to see the widest array of locations in the bay as well as to get a feel for everyday operations in semi-rural Alaska.
Obviously, every ride along is different but we always make a point to track down some Sea Otters along the way and will visit Gull Island if the routing permits. Also, we can often find a trip which will allow us to accommodate special requests such as taking a quick cruise through the community of Halibut Cove.
Custom
Charters
Have a specific idea in mind? Let us know and we can create a custom charter to accommodate you
Whether you are a professional photographer or simply want a custom tour with a boat to yourself we are happy to work with you to meet your needs. Our many years of experience allow us make the most of your time on the bay.
