Katmai Half Day Bear Viewing Tour
$525
per person
(Price includes the bush plane air fare & Naturalist Guide)
Katmai Half Day Bear Viewing Tours are available
from May 15 to Sept 25
Booking Information Request Form
Hallo Bay
Hallo Bay is located on the Pacific Coast of Katmai National Park specializing only in guided bear viewing and photography trips. Because our naturalist guides live and work in this high bear concentration area 24 hours a day, every day from May to October, we are very aware of where the bears are and what they are doing at any given time.
The Half Day Bear Trip groups, with our naturalist guide, do not get flown to our base wilderness camp in Katmai but are flown to a different bear viewing area approximately five miles from the camp. The reason for this is that the Half Day Tours land near the areas where the bears are concentrated at any given time to best insure visitors the opportunity to observe them in the very limited time offered by the Half Day Trips. There are, however, no buildings or platforms or walkways in this entire area so please be prepared to experience a wilderness area. Our overnight camp does have full facilities and is reserved for our guests that wish to spend anywhere from 2-7 days with us.
The Flight To Katmai
The aircraft flight departs Homer on a route taking
you across the Cook Inlet past Mount
Augustine Volcano (which is visible from Homer) and then follows the lush
green coastline of the Alaska Peninsula which is capped with active volcanoes
and massive glaciers terminating in iceberg filled lakes. This is the
habitat of one of the largest natural concentrations of Brown Bears in
the world.
Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park located 83 air miles from
Homer on the Alaska Peninsula, is 6400 square miles in size. Katmai is
very isolated as there are no roads leading to this Park and access available
is only by bush plane or boat. No bear or wolf hunting has been allowed
in Katmai National Park since its designation in 1917.
The Walking Required
The walking distance from where the aircraft lands
to the bear viewing areas can vary with the season and what the bears
are doing. Katmai National Park regulations require that aircraft land
a minimum of 500 yards from bears so not to disturb them. In the course
of the bear viewing trip it is reasonable to assume you may walk a total
distance of one to one and one-half miles. The walking is at a relatively
slow pace so as not to disturb
the bears. The grassy terrain is natural
and fairly level with only wildlife trails.
Your Guides
Hallo Bay guides are special people who love their
work and enjoy sharing their knowledge. Our guides guides are very safety
conscious and experienced in working
in a wilderness environment.
The Bears
The brown bears living along the Pacific Coast
of Katmai are for the most part, mild mannered toward humans. One of two
main reasons for this is the rich bounty of natural foods available to
the bears in this natural habitat. The second reason is the diligence
of the guides to deny the bears the opportunity to associate humans with
food. (A single unopened candy bar with human scent on the wrapper falling
from a poorly closed day pack can sign the death warrant of a bear) In
16 years of working with the bears of Katmai, Hallo Bay guides have never
had a client injured by a bear, had to destroy a bear for any reason or
had their camp damaged by a bear. Few come close to this operating record.
Sample Itinerary
The departure time will be anytime between 7:00am-10:00am depending on the tides and
the weather. The below is only a sample itinerary.
7:00 AM Depart Homer on a scenic
flight across the Cook Inlet over volcanoes, glaciers, and along the Alaska
Peninsula
8:00 AM Arrive at Katmai National
Park
A bear safety orientation will be given before
entering into the bear viewing areas
8:00 AM-11:00 AM Bear viewing
with your naturalist guide
12:00 PM Depart Katmai for Homer
1:00 PM Arrive back in Homer
to enjoy our local hospitality
What Is Included
• 1 Hour scenic flight from Homer to the
Pacific coast of Katmai National Park
• 3-4 Hours of guided bear viewing with a Hallo Bay naturalist guide
• 1 Hour scenic flight returning from Katmai to Homer
• FREE lodging and meals at our Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp in Katmai
if unusual
weather should prevent a safe return flight
Special Trip Options
Handicapped guest trips (availability based on ability limitations, usually
no additional cost)
What To Bring and What to Wear
__ Packed Lunch (please avoid bringing tuna, salmon or fish sandwiches)
__ Bottles of water to last the day
__ Small day-pack large enough to carry your equipment & lunch
__ Binoculars
__ Camera with LOTS of film
__ Warm clothing and Hiking boots
__ Light weight rain gear
__ Insect repellent and Sun block
__ Medications - any that you regularly take, bring enough for two days. If the weather prevents us from returning to Homer from Katmai, we will spend the night at the wilderness camp. This way you will have your extra medication with you which could prevent a medical emergency or at a minimum, prevent undue stress.
***Clothing and rain gear should be dark colored. We prefer that you do not wear whites, yellows or any bright colors. Also please make sure that you bring rain jackets and rain pants as we will be sitting on the wet tidal flats and meadows.
***We supply the knee high rubber boots to our Half Day bear trip guests.
We have boot sizes between 4-13. Any guest with a foot size smaller or larger than
this will have to supply their own rubber boots for the trip.
Bathroom facilities at the bear viewing areas at the Katmai Coast
There are no bathroom facilities at the bear viewing areas. Feel free to use the washroom at the bush plane hanger in Homer before you are to fly. We abide to the Katmai National Park "Leave No Trace" Programs. While out on location, if you feel the need to use a bathroom, we will dig a 'cat hole' in the ground for you to then cover up after you are finished. No bathroom tissue will be allowed to be placed into the cat hole. Make sure that you bring a ziplock bag to place your bathroom tissue in as we do not want to leave anything out in the wilderness. You can then dispose of your ziplock bag when you return to Homer.
What Not To Bring
Please avoid bringing tuna, salmon or any fish based sandwiches for your lunch.
Absolutely do not bring any type of Bear spray, pepper spray or Bear mace (possession
of any pepper spray/mace type products on the aircraft or in the field with Hallo Bay guides will cause the trip to be terminated immediately without refund).
The nature of
the flight from Homer to Katmai may require the aircraft to fly at 10,000 feet at which point pepper spray/mace containers may discharge without warning incapacitating the pilot thus placing the aircraft and all passengers in a deadly situation.
Payment
Trip Booking Deposit
A $125 Non-refundable deposit per person payable by personal check within 14 days
of booking your trip will be required to confirm your dates and services.
Trip Balance Payment
Trip Balance due to be paid by travelers checks, money order, credit card or cash on trip date, prior
to trip departure.
If paid by personal check, must be received by our office 30 days prior
to trip date.
Cancellation-Rescheduling-Refunds
Trip cancellation for any reason by a
guest (except rescheduling*) prior to trip date
will forfeit
the $125 booking deposit. We suggest trip insurance for this possibility.
*There shall be no penalty/forfeiture of deposit
for trip rescheduling by guest 30 days
or more prior to the original scheduled trip date. *Trip rescheduling
(except weather caused) 30 days or less
prior to trip date will be charged a $50 reschedule fee.
Trip cancellation by our Aircraft Transportation
Company because of adverse weather conditions on the scheduled
trip date will allow a 100% refund on any payment you made on your trip, which will be paid back to the client at the end of the camp season.
The above payment/cancellation/refund policy
pertains only to the Half Day Bear Viewing Trips and is not applicable to
any other trips offered by Hallo Bay.
Hallo Bay retains the right to change this itinerary without notice due to weather,
tides, animal behavior, arriving or departing aircraft schedules and client safety.
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Bears digging for clams
Bear
fishing for salmon
