Private Cruise Shore Excursions in Ketchikan Ketchikan is Alaska’s Gateway City and is perhaps most famous for its reputation as the Salmon Fishing Capital of the World. It is also home to a large population of Alaska’s Native people. The surrounding wilderness is blessed with lush rainforest, dramatic fjords, abundant salmon and equally abundant bears and eagles which dine on the salmon feast. We have organized these extraordinary private experiences in Ketchikan to allow you to meet with the Native people and to enjoy the salmon, bears and majestic surroundings. Few natural places in North America offer the wildlife viewing opportunities found at remote and beautiful Anan Creek. Bears are near the top of almost everyone’s list of things to see when they visit Alaska, but the opportunities are very limited – especially for cruising visitors. We have designed this private and exclusive adventure for those who want to see bears in their natural habitat. Fly in your private floatplane with an experienced bush pilot deep into the vast Tongass National Forest – one of the most spectacular natural wilderness areas in this part of Alaska – to one of Alaska’s premier bear viewing areas. This premier bear viewing location is one of a few sights in the world where you can watch both brown and black bear feed on spawning salmon. This once in a lifetime experience is only available to a select few as access to Anan Creek is restricted by U.S. Forest Service Permit. Anan Creek is an ancient Tlingit native fishing site that has the largest pink salmon run in Southeast Alaska, attracting significant numbers of black and brown bears to feast on the bounty. After landing on serene Anan Bay, you will receive a personal briefing from a U.S. Forest Service Park Ranger. Your naturalist bear guide will escort you on a pleasant half-mile hike, along a groomed trail bordering a creek, to a secure bear observatory overlooking a beautiful waterfall. Once on the viewing platform, you can look down on stunning rapids as the fast flowing creek cascades towards the sea and the large numbers of salmon in the stream congregate to complete their spawning journey. Bears gather here to feed on the large run of pink salmon, as they head upstream to spawn. Ample time is allowed to observe the wildlife activity in this forest ecosystem before the hike back to your awaiting aircraft. Interpretation by your pilot and guide will enhance this truly intimate natural experience, perfect for the nature lover and photographer. Duration: Approximately 4 Hours. Rate: $910 per person based on 6 Guests Includes: All transportation, permits, roundtrip floatplane flight and guided tour into the Observatory. Note: For most reliable bear viewing, this tour is offered only from early July to mid-late August. Space is regulated by USFS permits – book early to get your spot! To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Each Spring 700,000 King Salmon smolt leave the Herring Cove estuary for the open ocean. These young salmon spend the next five to seven years circumnavigate the Gulf of Alaska growing stronger and powerful. The surviving Kings returning to Herring Cove can achieve weights of up to seventy pounds. Herring Cove, just south of Ketchikan, is recognized by the Alaska Fish and Game as the most productive King Salmon fishing grounds in the state. The extraordinary nature of this King run at Herring Cove, attracts an abundance of bears, seals and eagles, making this fishing destination a truly Alaskan experience. (Tour available May – Early July only. Based on King Salmon runs each year) Duration: Approximately 5-6 Hours. Rate: $500 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: Foul weather gear including boots, rain gear, gloves and hats. A picnic lunch is served on board with beverages. Fishing license is required and can be purchased onboard your boat. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Experience an authentic fishing excursion in the unspoiled wilderness of Alaska’s coastline. You will be outfitted with waterproof boots, bib overalls, hooded jacket, hat and gloves. Glide into a breathtaking landscape aboard a stable, open-air, 20-foot skiff. Cast a line, and what you catch will become the fresh center piece of a gourmet campsite picnic. Your professional guide customizes the excursion to fit your interests and skill level, ideal for small groups and families. Along the way, you may view seals, eagles, whales, birds, porpoise, spawning salmon, and possibly even bears. With quality fishing gear, hone your skills landing rockfish, red snapper, ling cod or halibut. Perhaps even a world – class salmon. After fishing, the skiff heads to shore and a wilderness campsite, where a crackling fire awaits in the rain forest of ancient cedars and spruce. You will enjoy a gourmet camp meal of your own freshly caught fish, served atop a saffron infused, bouillabaisse-inspired stew. Savor fire-warmed sourdough rolls, dessert and steaming mugs of coffee or hot chocolate. This meal was rated by Food and Wine magazine as “The best camp meal ever”. Take part in a lively discussion with knowledgeable guides who will recount Alaska’s early days – from its ice–age past, native culture, European and Russian explorers, gold seekers, and the early days of fishing and logging. Duration: Approximately 6 Hours. Rate: $480 per person based on 3 Guests Includes: All equipment, outer wear and gourmet camp style lunch. Fishing license additional. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Anyone can put a line in the water, but it takes special skill to catch a salmon. After spending most of their lives unraveling the mysteries of salmon behavior, your experienced guides have all the skills to assist you to catch one. What’s more, they are ready to spend a day teaching you what they know. Designed by one of Ketchikan’s top guides, this comprehensive adventure is intended for the avid fisherman who wants to learn the finer points of salmon fishing. Your tour begins a short block away from the cruise terminal, so you have a full day to learn the tricks of the salmon fishing trade. After a full day of trolling and mooching, you will know the difference between a spoon and a hoochie, as well as the best way to catch a King, a Coho or a Pink. Best of all, whatever you catch is yours to keep. Arrangements can be made to ship your catch back home (at additional cost.) While we can’t guarantee fish, this tour only operates during peak salmon season and boasts on e of the highest catch rates in Southeast Alaska. Duration: Approximately 4 Hours. Rate: $380 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: All transportation, smoked salmon snack with beverages and fishing gear. Fishing license is required and can be purchased onboard your boat. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Kayaks were invented by Alaska’s native people, and there is still no better way in the world to explore than by means of these sleek and maneuverable crafts! At the dockside location in town, you will don rain jackets and pants and travel by fast power craft for twenty minutes to a remote location in the offshore islands near Ketchikan. There you meet the guides and kayaks in a protected cove and, after an orientation, paddle through a chain of islands stopping to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. All around, mountains rise out of the ocean and the rainforest presses right down to the shoreline. Several Bald Eagle nesting sites are active here. Along the shore you may see river otters, bear and Sitka Black Tail Deer. The water is inhabited by seals, sea lions, Dall’s porpoise, Orcas and Humpback whales. On occasion you will see Minke whales. Sea birds are numerous and Cormorants dry off their wings on the rocks around you. The intertidal marine life visible at low tide or underneath the kayaks in the clear water offers a colorful display of starfish, sun stars and sea cucumbers. Excellent opportunities exist for photographing exceptional scenery and wildlife. Dry bags are provided to protect your camera or video recorder and we encourage you to bring along plenty of film. During the trip you can pass your cameras to the guides to get spectacular pictures of yourself paddling. At the end of the trip, you will enjoy a smoked salmon snack and soft drinks before the return to town. Duration: Approximately 4 hours. Rate: $310 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: All transportation, wilderness boat cruise to remote Orcas Cove, high quality fiberglass double touring kayaks, private instructional guides and naturalists. Tours allows for 12 Maximum per departure. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. The Misty Fjords National Monument has been carved to impressive perfection by millions of years of glacial activity. On this most popular air tour, it will take you only a blink of an eye to appreciate natures’ handy work. The Misty Fjords National Monument is 2.3 million acres of pristine wilderness that is best viewed by floatplane; it is the only way to truly take in its majesty – soaring cliffs, saw tooth ridges blanketed in trademark mist, sky-blue lakes, endless waterfalls, icy saltwater fjords and miles of glacier carved gorges. While you take in the enormity of the Misty Fjords National Monument from above, your pilot will be busy checking for wildlife below, a closer look at creatures big and small, from burly brown bears to agile mountain goats and from harbor seals to humpback whales. Both brown and black bears gorge themselves on spawning salmon in the many streams and rivers in the Misty Fjords National Monument. The spectacular Misty Fjords Tour is a must –see Flightseeing experience that will provide a lifetime of memories. Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours. Additional hours can also be added. Rate: $445 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: All private transportation to and from the cruise terminal. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Today you will have the unique opportunity to meet local guide and Tlingit elder, Mr. Joe Williams. Joe Williams is the former Borough Mayor of Ketchikan and the former Mayor of the Saxman Village. Through his stories, you will learn about the Tlingit people and their traditions. Joe’s commitment to keeping his culture alive not only for visitors, but for his own people is inspiring. This is what differentiates this tour from others! With his cultural dress and inspiring personality, people of all ages are drawn to him and his wealth of knowledge. Meet Mr. William’s dockside for a one-hour walking tour of Ketchikan, including the main sights and remnants of the early days, with a focus on historic Creek Street and the importance of the creek to the early Native and white settlers. Travel from Creek Street by tram to the Cape Fox Lodge, a rustic hotel owned by the Tlingit where your guide will give a narration of Tlingit customs and traditions you’ll enjoy a delicious Tlingit-style snack of Indian fried bread, smoked salmon, reindeer sausage, blue berry jam and assorted beverages. From Cape Fox Lodge, you will travel by car to Saxman Village, a Tlingit village three miles from Ketchikan. Your guide will show you around the village, including Totem Row (where your guide will relate the legends behind the poles), the carving shed (where you may be able to see the carvers in action) and the Tribal House (where festivals and dances are held). Saxman’s carvers are world-famous and include Nathan Jackson, whose totems grace the entrances of the Bundestag in Germany and the Field Museum in Chicago. Duration: Approximately 3 hours. Rate: $480 per person based on 2 Guests Includes: All transportation to and from the cruise terminal, private interpretive tour and Tlingit style snack. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. From the solitude and peace of paddling Orcas Cove, to sightseeing by sea plane over the Misty Fjords National Monument, this is the ultimate Ketchikan shore excursion adventure! Your 5 hour combination trip allows you to make the most of your time in Ketchikan by taking 2 tours in one. Boarding a floatplane from a boat in the wilderness is an Alaskan experience not to be missed and the 3000 cliffs and waterfalls of Misty Fjords National Monument are a sight not soon forgotten. After paddling Orcas Cove you will enjoy a smoked salmon picnic on the back deck of M/V Sea Spree, but instead of taking a cruise back to Ketchikan by boat, a seaplane lands, taxis to the mother ship and takes you on a flight seeing tour of Misty Fjord’s most dramatic scenery. An experienced Alaskan bush pilot helps you aboard the float-plane. On board, you will have headsets so you can listen to your pilot as he explains the wilderness and wildlife below. The opportunity to take photos is exquisite – flying over Orcas Cove you can get spectacular photos showing where you spent the morning paddling, and later, the scenery of Misty Fjords. An exhilarating part of the trip is landing in the Misty Fjords and stepping out onto the floats for photo opportunities. Flying low, back to Ketchikan, picture perfect landscapes reveal views you can only imagine. Closer to town you can see the totem poles of Saxman Native Village, the town perched along the shore line and the cruise ships waiting at the dock. Landing in the protected harbor, alongside Ketchikan’s historic waterfront, offers great photos of the town and ships. Transportation from the sea plane base to your ship or downtown is provided at the end of your bush plane adventure. Our combined trip truly shows you the Alaska you came so far to see, with wild open spaces, endless mountain vistas, remote bays, secret passages and wildlife in their natural habitat. Immerse yourself in the wilderness of Orcas Cove, listen to the hiss of water as your kayak glides along the shore line beneath the rainforest, hear the blow of a Humpback whale and look up in wonder at Bald Eagles nesting above you. Then join the skies and let the magnificence of the Misty Fjords unveil itself as it passes beneath your wings. This is our back yard, our home, and we encourage you to come and share it with us. Duration: Approximately 5.5 hours. Rate: $755 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: All transportation, wilderness boat cruise to remote Orcas Cove, high quality fiberglass double touring kayaks, private instructional guides and naturalists, private floatplane and picnic snack with beverages. Please note: Tours allows for a maximum of 12 Guests. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. This is the experience many anglers dream of when planning an Alaskan vacation – fishing for the largest flatfish in the world, the Pacific Halibut. Imagine catching your first wild halibut with your friends or family and the bragging rights that will come with sharing this delectable fish back home. Unlike many other Alaska destinations, Ketchikan fishing is in protected waters, a short ride from the cruise ship dock. Whatever your skill level, you will fish like a local, with a Penn rod and Penn 114 reel in your own two hands working the sandy flats, drifting with the current and jigging in waters as deep as 300 feet. Spend the day with an experienced Alaskan guide in pursuit of the elusive halibut, learning the secrets of fishing circle hooks and working the tides. Although the 15 to 30 lb “chicken” halibut are the most delectable, halibut over 100 lbs grace the docks in Ketchikan regularly. You can choose to custom process your halibut, as well as purchase a selection of local Alaskan seafood to include with the shipment of your bounty home. Duration: Approximately 6 hours. Rate: $500 per person based on 4 Guests Includes: Foul weather gear including boots, rain gear, gloves and hats. A picnic lunch is served on board with beverages. Fishing license is required and can be purchased onboard your boat. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Your Alaska fishing guides will show you trout fishing and steelhead fishing at its finest. You will fish by permit from the USFS in the untapped waters of the Tongass National Forest and the Misty Fjord National Monument. Fly in a seaplane through the Tongass National Forest to one of the many remote wilderness lakes that team with Cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden, Rainbow trout, Arctic Greyling and early or late season Steelhead runs. This is an outfitted wildlife tour and guided fishing trip. Includes fly fishing/spinning gear with inflatable skiff and outboard motor, and packed lunch. Duration: Approximately 4.5 Hours Rate: $760 per person based on 2 – 10 Guests. Includes: All transportation, roundtrip floatplane flight, fishing gear, waders and a picnic lunch. Fishing license additional. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Your cruise ship tour would not be complete without a bear watching safari adventure! According to Alaska wildlife biologists, bear watching shore excursions in Ketchikan are one of your best opportunities. In fact the highest Black Bear population is found on Prince of Wales Island. Only a twenty minute floatplane flight from Ketchikan, the Black Bear population is the highest in North America. Prince of Wales Island will serve as your remote destination for a guided bear tour. Your pilot/guide will take you on a flying safari over a quiet watershed where you may see bears fishing for spawning salmon. These spawning salmon serve as a summer staple for all Alaskan mammals. This remote island is not yet a popular destination so your party and your pilot/guide will have an opportunity to enjoy these pristine surroundings without the crowds. The island’s overgrown logging areas and many salmon streams are exactly the habitat that bears require to flourish. Enjoy this ultimate private shore excursion and experience lasting memories of Southeast Alaska’s remote wilderness. Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours. Rate: $460 per person based on 2 – 10 Guests. Includes: All transportation and private interpretive flight. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. Today you will meet your escort / guide who will accompany you to the Fish House on the Wharf. Dust off your fondest memory of an exquisite meal highlighted by an entertaining host by stepping out of the ordinary. Today you will be an honored guest for a meal that will not only please your palate, but will entertain you by highlighting Ketchikan’s individual epicurean culture. Whether you rank yourself as a true gourmet, or are simply a fine dining connoisseur, this is a tour to savour. Entering the private club room overlooking the harbor, you will feel an immediate sense of intimacy with just a handful of guests as you settle in with your host. Hear of Norwegian grandmothers in the Lutheran church basement, competing to cook up the best fish cakes in town. Relive tales of stormy nights at sea while comparing the rich tastes of King or Dungeness crab. A five-course tasting menu is planned to highlight Alaska’s sustainable, wild bounty. Your personal chef serves a succulent meal while sharing secret methods of brining, roasting, smoking and grilling. Leave with the recipes and knowledge to duplicate your sumptuous meal for friends and family at home. Duration: Approximately 2 hours. Rate: $140 per person based on 5 — 11 Guests Includes: Private dining room, host and a spectacular 5 course tasting menu. Each Guest will receive a recipe booklet with tips and tricks on how to create the meal at home. To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners. |