Ketchikan help

We are on the last cruise of the season in Sept and we are looking for ideas and recommendations for Ketchikan. We will be there on Sat 30th Sept. Anyone help??

Thanks

Did you look thru your ships excursion list? nothing of interest? Hard to recommend something when we have no idea about your interests, budget or physical abilities.

The town web site has lots of info on tours, sights, activities, walking tour maps, totem locations, etc.

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/

As does the town visitor guide,,,, downloadable here. http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/About-Ketchikan/Free-Guide

Look at past trip reports to get ideas. Some people just enjoy a walk thru town ..... it has a colorful history and the visitor centers provide free walking tour maps to include Married Mans Trail, Creek St, totems.

Tried something new in Ketchikan a week ago today. Took city bus Silver route North from across the street from Tongass Trading Dock store ($2pp) to Totem Bight State Park (about 10 miles out of town) and had a great visit. They started charging admission at the park a few days before we got there but it is only $5pp and well worth it. They have a brochure that describes all the totem poles and the lodge house. Very scenic place and some cool rainforest trails. Surprise find was the gift shop next door for Alaska Totem Trading and their antique firearms museum (free!) with some amazing old guns and the poster below that I found amusing. Bus back (again $2) runs once an hour (so watch the time) and involves a bus change at the Mall to get back to downtown. An hour was plenty of time for the totems and the HUGE gift shop. So for $9 each it was a bargain "excursion" and very interesting both for Totem Bight and the ride.

Tried something new in Ketchikan a week ago today. Took city bus Silver route North from across the street from Tongass Trading Dock store ($2pp) to Totem Bight State Park (about 10 miles out of town) and had a great visit. They started charging admission at the park a few days before we got there but it is only $5pp and well worth it. They have a brochure that describes all the totem poles and the lodge house. Very scenic place and some cool rainforest trails. Surprise find was the gift shop next door for Alaska Totem Trading and their antique firearms museum (free!) with some amazing old guns and the poster below that I found amusing. Bus back (again $2) runs once an hour (so watch the time) and involves a bus change at the Mall to get back to downtown. An hour was plenty of time for the totems and the HUGE gift shop. So for $9 each it was a bargain "excursion" and very interesting both for Totem Bight and the ride.

 

I've been recommending this option for years. Some further details to keep in mind. There is only one city bus, best option for getting there is if you have an early port arrival. I've been the only one on the 6:25a but, BUT if you have one of the later port times, this bus does fill up at the Dock St pick up and they deny further loading. In those cases, I'd suggest getting on at the first stop at the Museum. Again- when I was there a few weeks ago, this happened with the 11a+ bus. Verify times directly with the website.

The "museum" noted above is Potlatch Park, I'd also suggest taking a look and see if the Carving Shed- out back is open. Even if it's not- you can look in the window, or ask if it can be opened for you. This year they are still doing this as I had some new visitors with me a few weeks ago.

You can also use the bus to get to Saxman, another interesting area.

I just booked with Dyea Dave Tours and I think I'm going to love it! Google them!

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I just booked with Dyea Dave Tours and I think I'm going to love it! Google them!

 

 

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Dyea Dave is in Skagway. The OP is asking about Ketchikan. :confused:

Dyea Dave is in Skagway. The OP is asking about Ketchikan. :confused:

Whoops!!

My bad.

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We did the Island Wings Float Plane with pilot Michelle. It was amazing.

We just got back and did the Alaska Hummer Adventures, we got to choose what we wanted to do and we did a downtown tour, Potlatch Park tour and we hiked at Lunch creek. They will cater to what you would like to do. It was a wonderful day in Ketchikan!

There's plenty to do in Ketchikan on your own. We did the self-guided walking tour (found it online), visited the local Totem Heritage Center and then did a hike on the Rainbird Trail through a rainforest (had it all to ourselves!). Total cost was $5 pp for the museum.

I highly recommend Wild Wolf Tours. They were great!

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We don't talk about it much anymore but there used to be a program called Blue Tickets. If you were a despicable person that the town could no longer tolerate the police would escort you to the ferry, hand you over to the purser with a city paid "blue ticket" and you would be gone, to Ketchikan. Where you'd probably be a model citizen.

I absolutely recommend the snorkeling excursion. You can find them online listed as Snorkel Alaska. Both times I have gone was in September, and you don't get cold. The wet suits are really thick and you are covered from head to toe. The only part not covered is just a little area around your mouth where the snorkel goes. It's an amazing adventure and you will see huge starfish, and lots of them, as well as other sea life. The guides will bring up things for you to see. Due to the thickness of the wet suit, it's hard to go underwater. The guides have weight belts, and if you are an experienced snorkeler, they will let you use them as well. They also have life preservers for people that are unsure about it.....we had a guy in our group that couldn't even swim, yet he snorkeled!

I absolutely recommend the snorkeling excursion. You can find them online listed as Snorkel Alaska. Both times I have gone was in September, and you don't get cold. The wet suits are really thick and you are covered from head to toe. The only part not covered is just a little area around your mouth where the snorkel goes. It's an amazing adventure and you will see huge starfish, and lots of them, as well as other sea life. The guides will bring up things for you to see. Due to the thickness of the wet suit, it's hard to go underwater. The guides have weight belts, and if you are an experienced snorkeler, they will let you use them as well. They also have life preservers for people that are unsure about it.....we had a guy in our group that couldn't even swim, yet he snorkeled!

This sounds sooo cold!

We enjoyed snorkeling in Ketchikan on our first cruise to Alaska. It was great. On another cruise, I booked us a kayaking excursion, which was also enjoyable. The last time we took the public bus to Totem Bight. We walked a little bit away from the port to catch the bus as Budget Queen recommends. Our bus did not fill up to where the driver stopped letting more folks on, but a lot of folks had to stand a good part of the way until some locals got off at Walmart. On all three trips we had time to walk around Creek Street. We had time to walk up the Married Man's Trail a couple of times. We took the funicular down on our last trip.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour. If one ever had any interest in the TV series Deadliest Catch, this tour would be of major interest.

I also can recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour if only to see the bald eagles at Annette Island. Amazing.

This sounds sooo cold!

You would think so, but it's really not. Read up on Snorkel Alaska. Look at websites like Trip Advisor for things to do. That's how I found out about the snorkeling, btw.

The worst part---and it only lasts about 15 seconds---is when you first get in the water. You suit up at their office, and a bus takes you to the snorkeling site. By the time you get there, you're already very warm. As soon as you get in the water (I think it was around 60 degrees or so), some of it enters the wetsuit and your body temp heats it up quickly. From that point on, it's very comfortable, or it was to me. I don't get cold easily. Both times we went to Alaska, the only time I wore a jacket was when we were in the glacier passage.