Katmai Bears Photo Workshop

This tour offers opportunities to photograph wildlife. We'll maximize our chances of encountering wildlife, but we want to remind you that we don't control wildlife and cannot guarantee encounters with particular species. Itineraries for wildlife trips are subject to change based on wildlife activity.

Day 1: Arrive in Kodiak

Arrive at Kodiak (ADQ) before 4:00 PM on this day. Air travel delays are possible, so please consider arriving early, possibly the day prior. We don't want you to miss out on trip activities.

The group will meet at our local area hotel for a group dinner and discuss the tour we are about to embark upon.

Day 2: Transport to yacht

Transport to St. Herman Harbor, board our yacht and settle into your stateroom. Join the captain and crew in the pilot house for orientation and safety briefing. Cruise from Kodiak. Along the way, we will stop at a massive puffin and kittiwake rookery. See sea lions, seals, eagles, and much more while cruising. Anchor in the calm, protected waters of one of the many protected bays of Marmot Bay or Kupreanof Straits.

Day 3: Sailing

Anchor up. We’ll have breakfast while cruising through the steep-walled shores of Kupreanof Straits. We’ll take time to view and photograph sea otters and whales and watch for bears walking the rocky shorelines at low tides. You will cross Shelikoff Strait, hopefully catching a glimpse of whales, puffins, Dahl porpoises, and sea birds. We will arrive at Katmai National Park, anchor down, and eat lunch. From there, we will launch a skiff and set off to shore to explore for brown bears and more wildlife. In the evening, we will return to the boat for dinner.

Day 4–7: Photographing brown bears

We will be anchored in protected bays. Each day, you will have two shore excursions in our 21-ft. landing craft-style boat and be accompanied by our guides to observe the bears and wildlife in their natural habitat.

The Captain will choose the bays emphasizing bear activity, weather, and tide conditions. These bays may include:

Hallo Bay – A spectacular wide open bay with large meadows and a glacial mountainous background. Bears eat sedges in the meadows and dig clams along the shoreline during low tides.

Kukak Bay – A large, deep, wide bay, the site of an abandoned clam cannery circa 1923-36, provides hiking along game trails and opportunities to photograph bears eating berries from low bushes, eating sedges along the shoreline, or digging clams. Marine mammals, eagles, and wolves may be sighted.

Kuliak Bay – A deep, narrow, scenic, and secluded bay with close bear activity along the stream and outer shoreline.

Kaflia Bay – Rocky shoreline where bears roll over and pick up rocks to find small crabs and other edibles before salmon arrive in late July.

Geographic Harbor – Deep natural harbor lined with tall basalt cliffs and visible volcanic ash fields from the 1912 Novarupta volcanic eruption. This harbor has spectacular scenery with a large open delta for viewing and photographing bears, birds, and other wildlife.

These bays have rivers or streams with salmon returning from late July through September.

These daily guided shore-based activities include a short skiff ride to the beach. They may include photography, bear viewing, wildlife viewing, birding, beach combing, tidal pool exploration, plus coastal cruising aboard Single Star. Each day’s activities are based on the current weather, tide, currents, and wildlife activity. All shore-based excursions are guided.

Day 8: Flight back to Kodiak

After an early morning shore excursion, a seaplane will pick us up for a flight back to Kodiak. Delays are frequent when traveling via seaplane in Alaska, so we’ve included one more night of lodging in Kodiak this night. We will have a farewell dinner to reminisce about our time with the bears.

Day 9: Depart for home

You can book your return flight for anytime this day.