If you’re looking for a wildlife and glacier cruise close to Anchorage, there are a few options. For a smaller, more intimate adventure, Lazy Otter Tours does a great trip to Blackstone Bay and the surrounding inlets. Running smaller boats that the Phillips glacier cruises, Lazy Otter is a fun alternative to the grand catamarans you’ll see in Whittier. We’ll answer all your questions about going out with Lazy Otter Tours and what to expect on a glacier cruise out of Whittier.
Highlights of Lazy Otter Tours Glacier Cruises
Lazy Otter offers a very different sort of experience from the larger glacier cruise boats. In addition to the small boats and more intimate setting with your captain and naturalist, Lazy Otter also does shore landings. Not everyone who comes to Alaska is planning adventures away from the towns. With the shore landing during the Blackstone Bay glacier cruise you actually get to disembark at a beautiful cove and explore a bit. This is unusual for a glacier cruise and provides a nice break amidst boat time.
Something else I liked about Lazy Otter’s glacier cruise was fun environment onboard. If you’re not a social person, you may not like this, but on my sailing it was great to be able to chat with other guests and hear about their Alaska trips. It added a sense of comradery to a touristy activity. Really fun.
Note: lunch is included on all tours and you’ll have the chance to clarify dietary needs at the time of booking. Coffee, tea and hot cocoa are available throughout all tours as well.
Being Prepared for a Lazy Otter Glacier Cruise
When you’re doing a glacier cruise out of Whittier, you’ll want to be prepared for rain, wind and cold. If you’re lucky you’ll have some beautiful blue sky for some of your trip, but that’s not always the case. It’s best to be prepared with warm waterproof jackets, scarves and gloves, and warm hats. Yes, even in peak summer, the weather can be chilly and damp. Sometimes though, the sun breaks through and the glaciers and bergy bits glisten in the sun, but it’s best to be ready for the worse weather. Lazy Otter Tours boats don’t offer a ton of under cover space, so bringing a small umbrella can be helpful if you’re on the front of the boat enjoying the glacier sights in the rain.
Camera gear is also important to bring. Not everyone is a professional photographer, and that’s okay. If you want to capture photos with a phone or a simple point and shoot camera, that’s absolutely fine. If you are bringing bigger photography gear, you won’t need a tripod for your shots. The boat is always moving at least a little bit and using a tripod on a rocking boat is pointless. For wildlife, a 250mm lens is great for capturing the otters and whales in a broad shot, but a 600mm or 800mm does the best for snapping photos much closer. And yes, the boat is moving, but even with the motion the bigger lenses are still easy enough to manage to get great photos.
Pro-Tips for Lazy Otter Tours out of Whittier
Like I’ve said, this is a very intimate sort of tour in that it’s cozy onboard. For a great experience with Lazy Otter out of Whittier, be prepared to share space with like-minded strangers who share your interests in glaciers and wildlife. Be ready to listen to the naturalist and feel comfortable asking about the nature and wildlife. There are no dumb questions.
If you are a person who gets seasick, I don’t think you have much to worry about here. Lazy Otter goes of of Whittier onto Prince William Sound and into sheltered fjords. The waters tend to be very calm, including on rainy/stormy days. I’ve been out here on beautiful days and wild weather days and have not had an issue with the motion. And yes, I do get motion sickness when it’s rough on the water. The crew is kind and ready to help if you aren’t feeling great, but I feel like any glacier cruise that goes out of Whittier, such as the Phillips 26 Glacier Cruise, is by nature more calm than those going out of Seward, like a Kenai Fjords tour.
Parking for Lazy Otter Tours
There is quite a bit of parking very near the Lazy Otter Cafe and where the tours go out from. When you check in for your tour, they’ll give you the best instructions for parking THAT DAY. Expect to pay for it, but usually not more than $15 for all day parking. Whittier isn’t a huge town so you can park wherever you find legal parking and enjoy a little walk to your glacier cruise if you like.
Tour Operating Info
To complete your planning, here is all the information to plan and book your adventure.
- Operating Dates/Season: March through October, tours adjusted by season/weather
- Tour office phone number: 907-694-6887
- Company website: Lazy Otter Tours
- Tour check-in address: East Boat Ramp – if you’re confused, go into the Lazy Otter Cafe to get instructions
More Things to Do in Whittier, Portage and Girdwood
Whittier is a port town, through and through. It’s famous for being the town where everyone lives in one building, and for those of us who’ve lived in Alaska, we always like to say “It’s, um, prettier in Whittier…” but exchange “prettier” for a rhyming word that means crappy weather. It’s true that Whittier tends to get much worse weather on the regular than the Portage side of the tunnel or up in Anchorage, but it is still beautiful. When you’re doing a glacier cruise or fishing out of Whittier, the weather often improves as you enter Prince William Sound, so have hope! Portage and Girdwood are both off the Seward Highway, so it’s easy to plan activities or stops on the way to Whittier or the Kenai Peninsula from the Anchorage area. Here are a few additional things you can add to your time in Whittier to make the most of your visit:
- wildlife watching in the marina – otters, seals and eagles frequent the marina in all weather
- Prince William Sound Salt Co – great sea salts for cooking and baths with salt production viewing
- walk the row of shops and vendors – there are some unique souvenir shops and vendors in Whittier, and several cafes that stay open until mid-September
- Portage Glacier – stop into the visitor center or do the short boat tour to the glacier on the lake
- Trail of Blue Ice – easy trail that you can join anywhere along the Portage Glacier Road
- Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center – a good place to see rescued animals and learn about Alaska wildlife
Dining in Whittier and Girdwood
Whittier is a small town, and so is Girdwood, but there is good food to be had. If you’re heading to Whittier for the day, during peak summer months you’ll have quite a few options for meals… not so in the off-season. Girdwood stays pretty open all year as it’s got the Alyeska Resort in town that attracts people from all over the state in both summer and winter. Here are our picks for where to eat in both Whittier and Girdwood:
- Lazy Otter Cafe – in the marina for coffee and snacks
- Wild Catch Cafe – perfectly Whittier, great for lunch
- Varly’s Swiftwater Seafood Cafe – easy and delicious, good standard
- Girdwood Brewing Co – food trucks and great local beers
- Forte at the Alyeska Prince Resort – really good Italian food that you’re not expecting in Alaska
- Chair 5 – burgers and such, chill vibe and delicious
- Double Musky Inn – in Girdwood, pricey but very good
Where to Stay in Portage / Girdwood / Whittier
If you’re thinking you don’t want to stay in Anchorage to drive down to activities in the Portage Valley, Girdwood or over in Whittier, there are actually lots of places to choose from down here along the Turnagain Arm and up the valley. There are not a ton of hotels, but lots of private rentals. Stays in Whittier are few and far between, so planning to be on the west side of the tunnel is a good idea.
More ideas for your visit to Whittier, Portage and Girdwood:
I hope you’re excited to experience Lazy Otter Tours and their version of Prince William Sound’s glaciers. Between the beautiful views and sense of Alaskan adventure, I know you’ll love it. If you have any questions about visiting Whittier, going through the tunnel, or Southcentral Alaska please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to help with travel planning for an Alaska Trip!
