Ketchikan Kayaking - 3 different tours - any recommendations?

[jezz086]

We are in Ketchikan on Star Princess in July and are looking at kayaking tours. There are 3 that have really stood out for me and I am having trouble deciding because they all have great reviews. Has anyone been on one or more of these tours? How do they compare in terms of scenery, wildlife, areas they visit, value for money etc.? Any recommendations will be appreciated, thanks.

Southeast Exposure - Tatoosh Islands Sea Kayaking 4.5hrs $125

Southeast Sea Kayaks - Orcas Cove 4hrs $159

Ketchikan Kayak Company - Eco tour in Clover Pass 4hrs $129

[ntvsdgrl]

When I was in Ketchikan 2 years ago, I did the kayaking through the ship which was Eagle Island Kayaking (not sure of the actual company). They were wonderful. It as absolutely beautiful and they give you everything you need out on the water. There were some smart ass motor boaters that enjoyed making big wakes around us but other than that it was perfect.

[Mare10]

I went a few years ago and booked with Southeast Kayaks... The Orca Cove tour. It was fantastic! I had never kayaked before but loved it and recommend them! We're leaving next week with the family and I booked us with them again! This is the first time for most of them to Alaska and first time kayaking. I'm so happy to get to experience this again.

 

Marilyn

[Gregg1615]

Great activity with the 2 owners, Vicki and Amber, who were nothing less than fantastic. They are professional, experienced, skilled, safety oriented, and they run an excellent company. The Sea Cycles are very solid and comfortable and easy to use. There is no danger in tipping over. This "tour activity" is in a nice area where we saw bald eagles and their nests, small islands where some locals live, and toured into the headwaters of the bay to where we viewed seals and where the salmon run up the stream in season. I couldn't give a higher rating to their company. Vicki and Amber are literally a delight to be around. It seems like most tours from a cruise ship are geared for the masses and this is just the opposite. Very small groups and a very enjoyable activity. I own kayaks and these Sea Cycles are super easy to function. Just imagine riding a cruiser bike on the water. And their salmon spread on crackers at the end is very yummy.

[illiniwahoo]

We used Ketchican Kayak Co. last week. It was great! The owner doesn't like to have more than 4 people (2 kayaks) per guide. My husband and I, as well as a group of eight booked. It would have been easy to throw us together as a group of 10 with two guides, but instead the owner and another guide took out the group of eight, and we got our own private tour guide! Devon was great, and even e-mailed us some pics he had snapped of us with his cell phone. We didn't see much wildlife (eagles, starfish, other birds, jumping fish), but the guide said seeing whales and other sea life was definitely possible. We had no close encounters with other boats as another person described.

[bonandmick]

Has anyone ever done the 2.5 hour trip through ketchikan with Southeast kayaks that goes around creek street and then out in the harbor. I have an 11 year old child who has never kayaked before. I would prefer the eagle island, or orcas cove tour for the more remote nature experience, but I don't know if the shorter tour is good too for a first timer. The folks who work there seem really, really nice on the phone.

[janerbg]

We did Orcas cove with our just barely 9 year old and he loved it. We were in a three person boat with the three of us in one boat and another couple in a second and a guide. There is something really special about getting away from the cruise ships and the feeling of really being out in the middle of islands. I would not hesitate to take an 11 year old to Orcas cove as his first kayak...my son really liked the hieroglyphics (misspelled) and there are a lot of little coves that are easy to kayak in if he gets nervous. (Southeast Sea kayaks was phenomenal and one owner was out on the boat in the cove and the other took us back in the speed boat.).

[bonandmick]

We did Orcas cove with our just barely 9 year old and he loved it. We were in a three person boat with the three of us in one boat and another couple in a second and a guide. There is something really special about getting away from the cruise ships and the feeling of really being out in the middle of islands. I would not hesitate to take an 11 year old to Orcas cove as his first kayak...my son really liked the hieroglyphics (misspelled) and there are a lot of little coves that are easy to kayak in if he gets nervous. (Southeast Sea kayaks was phenomenal and one owner was out on the boat in the cove and the other took us back in the speed boat.).

Wow, sounds great. What are the heiroglyphics? My son and I would be in a two person kayak, I would just hope that he could help me paddle if I needed it. He does get lazy pretty quickly.

[janerbg]

There are native hieroglyphics written in a native red ink on one of the rocky outcroppings we went by. We did not seem to take any pictures of them, though.

 

I think that the trips vary a little bit depending on the tide, but we explored a cove, kayaked around the island and explored another cove and went back. In the cove the kayaking was easy...it was stiller than a lake with other boats on it. When going around the island you did need to paddle reasonably hard. I think that this is a bit of a matter of personality...my son can be very lazy, but for the sections that paddling was important he understood that and contributed. The wildlife we saw...salmon jumping to relief their eggs, several bald eagles and their nests, jellyfish, were not large marine mammals but also gave you the sense of being totally "in nature". My son also liked looking at the various jellyfish and similar creatures.

 

It is also a 4 hour trip, but it is not 4 hours of paddling, because you have to get to the cove, kayak, have a delicious salmon snack and then get back to Ketchikan.

[bonandmick]

Thanks for the detailed description, appreciate it. Those heiroglyphics sound interesting, wonder what they used for red ink?

[study19kda]

Has anyone ever done the 2.5 hour trip through ketchikan with Southeast kayaks that goes around creek street and then out in the harbor. I have an 11 year old child who has never kayaked before. I would prefer the eagle island, or orcas cove tour for the more remote nature experience, but I don't know if the shorter tour is good too for a first timer. The folks who work there seem really, really nice on the phone.

 

My husband and I did the 2.5-hour Ketichikan kayak tour with them a few years ago. We had a 2-year old (with the grandparents while we kayaked), so the longer tours weren't feasible. We really loved the short trip. You paddle through Creek St. and then across the cruise ships to some scenic islands and then back. We really loved the tour--it was our first kayaking experience, and it was a perfect length. I'm sure it would be great for an 11-year-old. It also gives you a bit more time to just see Ketichikan before or after the tour. The company was really great as well! If your child is really outdoorsy and active though, I'm sure he would also do well with the longer tour, and depending on what he's into, he might like the longer outdoor/nature time with the Orca Cove tour versus more time in Ketchikan. I think you wouldn't regret either option you choose!

[Dancer9933]

Has anyone seen whales on a kayaking excursion in Ketchikan or Icy strait?