Sitka - Raptor Center, Totem Park & Tlingit Dance

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi guys, am thinkin bout doin the Grand Princess, 10 day cruise to Alaska next Sept, an was wonderin if anyone has done the Raptor Center, Totem Park & Tlingit Dance tour. Any suggestions, course having been to Alaska before, I'm sure it will be rainin then, so... Would the tour be worth it. Thanks.

 

Virginia

[oaktreerb]

You can do the Raptor Center,  Fortress of the Bears, and the Totem park on your own.  The dance would be included as part of a tour.  I guess if it is raining the tour would be worth it!

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi thanks!!

[Northern Aurora]

We have simply walked from the Sitka National Historical Park (commonly called Totem Pole Park) to the raptor center.  Unless you have mobility issues it is an easy walk.

[Melinda Brasher]

I really enjoyed walking around Totem Park on my own, so I could spend as much time as I wanted, and it's an easy walk from where you get dropped off.  I've heard mixed reviews on the raptor center.

[Photofinish4]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:46 PM, oaktreerb said:

You can do the Raptor Center,  Fortress of the Bears, and the Totem park on your own.  The dance would be included as part of a tour.  I guess if it is raining the tour would be worth it!

I have walked to raptor center and totem park but did not know about the Fortress of the Bears.  Please tell me how you did this on your own? Is it walkable or did you take some type of transportation.

[DogLover]

We just visited Sitka last month on the Celebrity Eclipse. We had been to Sitka before (land trip, not on a cruise) but had not visited Fortress of the Bear. Would highly recommend going.

 

I do not know about getting there independently. We booked a premium tour with Sitka Wildlife tours, visiting the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear and the Totem Park. It was a small group (10 passenger van) and I would book with them again.

 

Here's the link: https://www.sitkawildlifetours.com/sitka-tours/sitka-scenic-tour-premium/

[oaktreerb]

Assuming that you are docked in Sitka you will be bussed from your ship to town.  There will be another bus where they drop you off that will take you to the Fortress of the Bears and will also stop at the Raptor Center.....for a reasonable fee (around $10 pp, I think).  It ran throughout the day and will return you to the pick up location......where you will meet the bus to take you back to the ship.

[Photofinish4]

On 9/11/2019 at 5:18 PM, oaktreerb said:

Assuming that you are docked in Sitka you will be bussed from your ship to town.  There will be another bus where they drop you off that will take you to the Fortress of the Bears and will also stop at the Raptor Center.....for a reasonable fee (around $10 pp, I think).  It ran throughout the day and will return you to the pick up location......where you will meet the bus to take you back to the ship.

Would that be some kind of city bus or does it say that it is going to Fortress of the bears

[oaktreerb]

4 hours ago, Photofinish4 said:

Would that be some kind of city bus or does it say that it is going to Fortress of the bears

It is a bus that just makes the loop for those attractions.  We did the fortress and skipped the raptor center since we had been there before.  It will say Fortress of the Bears.

[Photofinish4]

On 9/13/2019 at 4:04 PM, oaktreerb said:

It is a bus that just makes the loop for those attractions.  We did the fortress and skipped the raptor center since we had been there before.  It will say Fortress of the Bears.

thank you

 

[DeputyDan]

We attended the Tlingit dance in Sitka in late July 2019.

Don't bother.  They had small children  including infants on stage.  Those kids did not want to be there and it created a poor experience.

[LMADAMS91]

We were in Sitka for a few days before a cruise in May of 2018 and visited Fortress of the Bears, Raptor Center and the totem park.  If you are there during the week, there is a local bus that stops near the town center (near the visitor's center) that will get you close to the Fortress of the Bears and Raptor Center (you will have to walk a little bit but not far. They don't drop you right at the entrance.)  I don't remember the price but was very inexpensive and you'll get a wonderful free tour of Sitka.  We got on at the same time as another couple visiting the area and it was just the two couples.  The bus driver told us all about the town as we traveled.  As he made other stops, the "regulars" got on and off-the bus driver greeted them by name, asked about their families and they his.  The other couple got off the bus as someone was getting on....the driver was giving the other couple directions so one of the other passengers got the new rider her ticket. When we got off, he made sure to tell us when he would be back (it's a loop drive and he was there at basically the same time every hour.)  He also gave us directions to the park. 

 

We loved Fortress of the Bear.  When we were there, there were 15-20 bald eagles in the trees around the site that were trying to steal food from the bears.  We got great pictures of the bears and eagles-definitely worth a trip.   When we left, the bus driver was right on time and took us close to the Raptor Center.  He also suggested we could easily walk through the Totem Park after the Raptors and gave us directions on how to get there from the Raptor Center.

 

We weren't as impressed with the Raptor Center but it was still worth a visit.  If you sit in on a tour, they bring out one of the resident birds to get a good view of them.  We saw a young bald eagle; my brother and his wife visited a couple of days later and saw a snowy owl.  

 

After the raptors, we walked through a beautiful park to reach the Totems (very easy walk over nice trails.} We had plenty of time to see everything inside and out.  After we finished there, we walked back to town-again, a very easy walk.  And yes, it was raining for most of the time we were there.    

Edited September 17, 2019 by LMADAMS91