Ketchikan - Why no glowing excursion recommendations?

[Itzhotstang]

We did the Wilderness boat ride & crab feast at George Inlet Lodge. We loved it. Fun boat ride, very informative guide and GREAT food. We want to go back since we did not have much time to look round town. I do recommend Salmon Inc if you plan on buying any salmon. Best deal in town. I bought a fillet and shipped a case of smoked salmon back home. I should have bought more!

[ILoveScotland]

We've just booked a tour with Northern Tours that will take us to Saxman Village and then out to Herring Bay in order to see some wild life. DH is in a wheelchair, so taking local transportation is not an option.

 

The tour we're taking is only 2.5 hours so we'll still have time to walk around the town. I'm good and pretty exprienced at pushing the wheelchair over all kinds of surfaces.

[Saintpat]

I'm on Westerdam in 2 weeks, and the Ketchikan one that sounded good to me (also not a small plane enthusiast, never mind the cost), was Misty Fjords and Wildnerness Explorer by boat with Allen Marine Tours, allenmarinetours.com. They promise a warm, comfortable cabin, a fast trip to Misty Fjords, then a slow guide through the cliffs of the Fjord, a look for sea life on the way back, and a native speaker or film. I always find I enjoy these "boat" excursions a lot. And I want to be warm and dry; I have a strict no-suffering policy. Allso, I know many of these "float plane/helicopter" things get cancelled for weather, fog, etc. Ketchikan is bad flight weather a lot of the time.

 

On my ship, this tour is $159, but there's no reason why you couldn't call them up or email and negotiate a better rate. It leaves at 7:30 a.m., and is, I think, 4.5 hours. It's definitely a slow season in Alaska; too many Americans are out of disposable money, supporting their grown kids, or had their investments tank, or lost their jobs! And it's late in the season; everybody should negotiate. Good luck!!!

[dbhome]

Loved SE Sea Kayaks Orca Cove tour. I'd never kayaked before and it was easy. The scenery was beautiful and we didn't pass any other kayakers. Only six of us and a guide - so you really felt like you were in the wilderness.

[KW_cruiser]

Loved SE Sea Kayaks Orca Cove tour. I'd never kayaked before and it was easy. The scenery was beautiful and we didn't pass any other kayakers. Only six of us and a guide - so you really felt like you were in the wilderness.

 

 

We're booked for the SE Sea Kayaks Orca Cove tour on our 8/22 cruise. My parents have done this particular tour a few times and highly reccomended it to me and my FI.

[PennyAgain]

Late August is late in the season (especially this year!) for any hope of decent weather in Ketchikan. The locals will already be in pre-winter depression.

 

A boat trip has a much better chance of going than a flight seeing trip.

 

Negotiate price? Why not!

 

Avoid the cruise ship company owned shops that sell junk from China.

[Budget Queen]

 

On my ship, this tour is $159, but there's no reason why you couldn't call them up or email and negotiate a better rate. It leaves at 7:30 a.m., and is, I think, 4.5 hours. It's definitely a slow season in Alaska; too many Americans are out of disposable money, supporting their grown kids, or had their investments tank, or lost their jobs! And it's late in the season; everybody should negotiate. Good luck!!!

 

Not sure how much Alaska touring you've done, but this would be a rare success story. First off, Allen Marine is a ship contractor, usually fully booked. They usually do not take independent ship passengers. They also have never been known to "negotiate" on any of their boat tours, out of Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan. I definately would never expect them to not be fixed on their contracts and prices.

 

End of August is also not "late season". That's mid/and later Sept.

 

Is anyone getting discounted rates on any Alaska tours this season???

[Cruisin Rick]

I thought the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen tour was great. I recommmend it highly and if you want to see Eagles, this excusion is a bonus for you. This is the only excursion I know of that's allowed to toss Herring into the waters to feed the Eagles. Watching them swarm in, tallons down, grabbing the Herring is a sight most have never experianced.

 

I can't say enough good things about this excursion.

[Mimi39]

Has anyone done the Princess "Wildlife Sanctuary" tour? We are going to be on the Star Princess leaving Seattle on August 31. We booked this tour because a friend traveling with us thought there should be some great photo ops.

[inkmahm]

I thought the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen tour was great. I recommmend it highly and if you want to see Eagles, this excusion is a bonus for you. This is the only excursion I know of that's allowed to toss Herring into the waters to feed the Eagles. Watching them swarm in, tallons down, grabbing the Herring is a sight most have never experianced.

 

I can't say enough good things about this excursion.

The jet boat excursion we took also fed the eagles. They leave from a fishing camp and the eagles just wait at the dock area for the leftover fish heads, etc. that the fishing resort feeds to them. They do swarm to get the fish food. Lots and lots of eagles close up. If we weren't doing the Traitors Cove/Misty Fjords trip this time around I'd definitely be doing the jet boat again.

[Daphne0218]

My parents highly recommend the Ketchikan by Land and Sea excursion. They did this a few years ago and had a great time. We just returned from the Island Princess cruise (NB 7/28/08) and they took the Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer excursion which they also enjoyed. My Dad did say he enjoyed the land and sea tour more.

 

A few of us made the mistake of not booking an excursion in this port and walked through town. The weather was horrible (but we were prepared and stayed dry) and while I found Creek Street fun, I did not prepare enough and was a bit bored.

 

Friends had their bear excursion cancelled and took a tour of the city which they booked at the pier. They seemed to enjoy the tour, although not as much as they would have enjoyed the bear excursion.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[grannybee]

Just got home today from a b2b and so had two slices of Ketchikan. We did the Aleutian Ballad (crab fishermans boat excursion) on the way up and we cannot say enough about it. The people were genuine and not out for your money. They took us around an island and threw fish into water and then 20-30 bald eagles performed for us swooping for the food. An extra delight on top of the explanation regarding the boat and their lihe aboard. As you can tell we sooooo enjoyed it.

 

On our way back we walked creek strret and married mans walk.The weather was fantastic and we enjoyed the town. Helped by finding a large scrapbooking store with internet. The large jewellery stores spoil all Alaskan towns but no one HAS to go in...just walk on by and perhaps they will go home!

[brunolvr]

The jet boat excursion we took also fed the eagles. They leave from a fishing camp and the eagles just wait at the dock area for the leftover fish heads, etc. that the fishing resort feeds to them. They do swarm to get the fish food. Lots and lots of eagles close up. If we weren't doing the Traitors Cove/Misty Fjords trip this time around I'd definitely be doing the jet boat again.

 

Was the excursion you took called "Back Country Jet Boat" that left from Salmon Falls Resort? We had booked this excursion on our May 25th cruise, but it was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it.

[country traveler]

We were booked on the Wilderness Explorer boat trip to Misty Fjords July 19,2008. They do cancel the trip. We were about a half hour out and had to turn around because the water was too rough.

 

I'm not sure how often that happens

[gg3]

Totally agree with Budget Queen re: Ketchikan. As with any tourist towns, you will find junk stores. But Ketchikan is a beautiful little place, with some wonderful stores further back on Creek Street. Lots of local, Alaskan made items. And if the salmon are running when you are there, the creek will be full of them....fascinating to see. You mentioned wanting to stay on budget of $200, so I think the float plane trips to Anan Creek to see brown and black bear, or to Traitor's Cove to see black bear feeding, or flying to Misty Fjords is out of budget, but I have read good reviews about the zip lines and kayaking. Also, BQ's walking tour is excellent. Read, read, read these boards, and the books rec. gg

[daisy7889]

We just returned from our cruise on July 20th and had an absolutely wonderful time fishing with Jerry Meacham of AAA Sportfishing in Ketchican. www.fishketchican.com. It might be a bit more than the $200 you have left but not alot and it is a 4 hour trip. My son who is 22 said it was the highlight of his trip. Anyways not sure if you enjoy fishing but there you have it.:)

[Budget Queen]

Has anyone done the Princess "Wildlife Sanctuary" tour? We are going to be on the Star Princess leaving Seattle on August 31. We booked this tour because a friend traveling with us thought there should be some great photo ops.

 

Overall, you have a very slim chance of seeing bears. Much too populated and noisy with the zip lines. They did have some captive animals???

 

Not a raved about tour, overall.

[mcbain]

I sincerely appreciate you all taking the time to share your experience. Kind of ironic that the last tour we would have thought of, the Crab Fisherman's tour, since we have never fished nor watched the show, is one that many of you speak of as terrific. Something to think about since this idea of a budget seems to be like going on a diet-the more we talk about sticking to it, the easier it is to forget the whole thing! :) Also ironic is that the kayaking was the first tour we thought of when we booked about 5 months ago until a recent (minor) knee injury to my wife had the dr. recommend she pass on that and any bike rides. Gee, I remember being an age where everything healed after 10 days, now it's 10 weeks!.

 

Aside to inkmham, we are on the Star Princess out of Seattle, 8/24.

 

Thanks again!

[RaptorMom]

The best tour we did was in Ketchikan. We took the Bering Sea Crab Tour. The boat is nicely done with seats, heaters and hot drinks available. They pull up all sorts of creatures from the sea and you can hold them. My daughter loved it - so did we. I have pictures of us all holding different types of crabs, shrimp, octopus, sea snails, etc... And that's not all. At one point they stop and feed the eagles (not against the law because they are in Indian reserve land) and you are surrounded by bald eagles flying so close you can feel the wind. And to top that off, the boat was followed by a pod of Orcas back to the dock. We loved this tour and would do it again.

[floridafamily]

We just returned from our SB cruise off the Spirit a few weeks ago and I have to say that Ketchikan was my favorite day. The weather was nasty-pouring, windy and cold; however, we did the Bear Creek Zip Line Tour and absolutley loved it! It made our trip. We were a group of 9, including ages from 8 to 50, and we all loved this excursion. Whatever you choose to do I'm sure you will have fun.

[ddeprez]

The jet boat excursion we took also fed the eagles. They leave from a fishing camp and the eagles just wait at the dock area for the leftover fish heads, etc. that the fishing resort feeds to them. They do swarm to get the fish food. Lots and lots of eagles close up. If we weren't doing the Traitors Cove/Misty Fjords trip this time around I'd definitely be doing the jet boat again.

 

Inkmahm- is this the "Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer" tour with Allen Marine? If so, can you comment more about it? I've reserved this, just want to be sure it's worth the $ as we're officially blowing the budget now!! :)

[inkmahm]

Inkmahm- is this the "Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer" tour with Allen Marine? If so, can you comment more about it? I've reserved this, just want to be sure it's worth the $ as we're officially blowing the budget now!! :)

No, we are doing the combo tour with Island Wings on a float plane.

[Coconet]

Hi,

 

We loved Ketchikan but did 2 tours that took up our day! The first was the Bering Sea Crab Tour...great and what a way to see eagles. They feed them off the boat and WOW! We saw countless eagles, grabbing fish, flying so close we were told to hang on to our hats! This tour is well run, informative and the sights are beautiful. My family of 4 loved it!

 

We then took the Adventure Kart Tour - 30 - 40 minute boat ride and then you arrive at a old logging area. We rode these Adventure Karts (kind of like a dune buggy) and had a great time! This is about 1 hour long. Saw some beautiful sites, waterfalls, rushing streams, ate wild blueberries and the best part...the thrill of the ride. Warning though...this is a true "adventure" and I would not reccomend this tour for anyone with neck or back issues ;) .

 

We booked both tours through Princess and were not sorry...it was a GREAT day.

 

For anyone that would like more specifics...just ask!

 

Kathy:)

[gg3]

The key is to get past the shopping and stores in the immediate downtown. I've written about a walking tour, that has been enjoyed by many. In August you should have some salmon running, take a look perhaps?? Native culture is a highlight, with Saxman Village enjoyable, also Totem Bight, with the option for a cheap city bus ride being your only expense. (print out and take the guidesheet with you. Totem Heritage Museum is about the history and preservation. The Public Lands, Discovery Center, also an interesting look.

 

Request their visitor guide www.visit-ketchikan.com Head to your library and take out Frommer's Alaska and Fodor's Alaska, both have some detail for Ketchikan and walking tour maps.

 

BQ - can you point me in the right direction to find your walking tour of Ketchikan ?? Thanks.....gg

[Budget Queen]

BQ - can you point me in the right direction to find your walking tour of Ketchikan ?? Thanks.....gg

 

Walk though downtown, take the Fox lodge funicular up, go out the back for a look at the Totems, walk back down the Married Man's Trail, to Park, turn right, follow Creek, and a look at the salmon Ladder if of interest. Turn right at Totem Heritage/Hatchery sign, uphill, enter if of interest, combo tickets available in the past.

 

Walk through the city park to Deermont, turn right, to end, turn right again, to other end of Creek St, and stop at Dolly's House- take a look at the shower. :)