What to do in Ketchikan?

[mkfan87]

Can anyone recommend an excursion in Ketchikan? We are planning to do a whale watching thing in Juneau and the White Pass RR in Skagway. I don't want anything too rigourous because my grandparents are coming.

[lmcd]

A wide variety of excursions are available in Ketchikan. Try http://www.visit-ketchikan.com Lot of links to independent tours.

Try http://www.skagway.org for Skagway, http://www.traveljuneau.com for Juneau

 

Larry

[Luanne]

We did the Ketchikan Duck tour for $34 pp and it was fun. You get a nice land tour of Ketchikan and then into the water for a water portion. If you are familair with "Ducks" you will know what I mean about the water portion. It was a nice 1.5 hour trip. It familiarized us with the town, then afterwards we walked around. The people have also said that the lumberjack show is great too.

 

Luanne

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Ketchikan - Totem Bight - the lumber jack show.

 

Or just walk around the town - lots to see - and walk along Creek Street and see Dolly's House.

 

:)

[dustyroad]

ketchikan has the best shopping as far as what i was looking for. it is easy to get around and see creek street within a few blocks of the dock also.

 

 

www.rainbirdtours.com and www.dollyvarden.com have great trips to saxman village and totom bright park. we are going to take one of these trips. good luck and have a great time. also ketchikan is the place to take a floatplane ride to the fjords.

[sboh]

I'm doing the tour to Saxman to get a little native culture. A friend and his family went a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.

[dustyroad]

sboh

 

 

can you tell us what tour group they used and any thing else about the tour that they liked. i have been checking on tours for the village and it seems that the rainbird tour is the best for the money and what they give you. the saxman tour is $30 but for $5 more you can go to totom bright also. it sounds pretty good.

[Coral]

Becareful about booking Saxman independently. I spoke with several who had booked this tour independently and they did not see the Native dancers in the clan house and also was not allowed in the carving shed (not sure if shed is the right word) - to see the carvers. For the difference in price, it may be worth booking it with the ship and having these 2 things included in the tour.

 

I did the duck tour and overall, was not impressed.

 

Ketchikan is always a toss up for me as to what to do - I have done the Guard Light house tour, Saxman Village, Duck tour, lumberjack show and truthfully - the funniest time I have had is walking around Creek Street. I have yet to do a float plane and I am sure this would be wonderful. Maybe next time.

[ute_fan]

We booked the Saxman Village/Totem Bight tour independently in Ketchikan. No, you don't get to see the clan dancers, or go inside the carving shed, but we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the two different sites. You get to walk outside the carving shed, and can watch the carvers at work through the glass.

 

Between the two, I preferred Totem Bight, which wasn't what I was expecting from the descriptions of the tours. It is situated right on the shore line, in the middle of a rain forest, and I thought it was gorgeous. We were able to pick it out once the cruise ship left Ketchikan, and got some good photos from our balcony as we went past.

 

We used Sourdough Tours and our tour guide was excellent. He was a native of Ketchikan, and had a lot of historical background about the town. In addition to the two totem locations, the tour included a a trip through the city. We were able to see bald eagles from the van. Our tour only had six people, our family of 4, and two more ladies from the Sun, and I think we enjoyed it much more than we would have done a tour through the ship as it was so easy to carry on a conversation with the guide. The tour ends by dropping you off at Dolly's house, and then we walked back to the ship, shopping a little as we returned to the Sun.

[dustyroad]

coral and ute fan

 

 

thanks so much for the post. i will have to check it all out. i would like to see the dancers. i will give it some more research. cant wait.

[bdoster]

Misty Fjords Floatplane, have heard nothing but great reviews...have booked & cannot wait!

[Budget Queen]

I have "heard" but with no confirmation- that tours can be purchased in the Saxman gift shop that includes the dancers??? The carving shed is open for anyone when tour groups are NOT in there.

[diego]

bdoster-

 

Did you book the Misty Fjords Floatplane through the cruiseline or on your own?

[lmcd]

We did the Saxmen Village as part of a tour with Classic Tours. Tour is done in a restored 1955 Chevy. We did not get to see the dancers, but we were shown the theater were the dancers perform. We would have gone inside the carving shed had any of them been present. So unless some showed up later, the tour bus groups didn't see them either. This tour allowed the guide to tell us the history and meaning of the totem poles at the side. We asked all the questions and then left when we were ready, not having to wait on the whole group. Would be hard to do with a large group that comes on a tour bus. We finished our tour just as 4 tour busses entered the parking lot. Glad we missed that big crowd.

 

Larry

[AGonzalez]

I would highly recommend the Misty Fjords floatplane. We used Carlin Air and were very satisfied. There was still a few hours left, so we did the walking tour of Ketchikan. You can pick up a brochure at the visitor's center.

[sboh]

dusty, my friend did book the tour to Saxman thru Princess. He, his wife, and 7 year-old daughter went and she took a picture of her dad in cape dancing at the end of the show.

[dustyroad]

thanks sboh

 

i know there will a bigger crowd with the ship tour but it sounds like you get a better tour threw them. we will keep this in mind when the time comes to really decide and pick on.

[tn1728]

I agree with Luanne- the Duck Tour was great! It gave us a nice tour of the city and harbor, and since there are basically no windows, you didn't feel like you were on a crowded bus.

 

Our adult kids went on the Back Country Jeep Safari and said it was very bumpy, but they did have a good time.

[dogladyjw]

We did the Misty Fjord Float Plane..not to be missed. Also, not to be misseed is the Duck tour. Lots of local color learned on that last one including the drive thru restaurant that they can't drive thru and why!

[ore-ee-gun]

We did the duck tour - our guide was a 20 year old local who was very charming and entertaining. A good overview of the town, and the harbor portion of the tour provided us plenty of bald eagle photo ops. I heard the lumberjack show is also great.

[unvrknow]

We just came back from Alaska. We did the Misty Fjord floatplane with Island Wings. Michelle was fabulous. I would highly reccommend her.

[Aggie95]

We really enjoyed the lighthouse and eagles excursion. Not only did we see tons and tons of bald eagles, but you get a nice boat ride along the coast of town, past Totem Bright, old logging areas, and some beautiful homes. Very relaxing and lots of great photo ops.

[BobbiJane]

We also did the Lighthouse and Eagles tour last week. There were only 11 people on the boat, and we had plenty of room to spread out. The boat even supplies binoculars if you didn't bring your own! The views were terrific, and we saw lots of eagles and their magnificent nests!

 

Afterwards, we walked around Ketchikan, saw salmon on the fish ladders, and salmon that people had caught.

 

I agree, too... The shopping was great.

 

Our weather was hot and sunny. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Something very unusual for Ketchikan, I believe!

 

Bobbi

[redphoenyx]

We booked a snorkeling trip! I will let you know what it's like when we return! We leave in 9 days! WOOOO HOOO!!:D

[whenzuc]

we just took the misty fjords floatplane with Southeast and used the 2 for 1 coupons so you save $200. You can get it in the Toursaver book that is for sale on the above posts. you can call today and make the reservations with the coupon before you get there.