KetchikanAlaska
Floatplanes moored at a dock on the Ketchikan waterfront

Ketchikan Tours & Shore Excursions

Sixteen real, bookable Ketchikan experiences — compared, priced and timed for a port day.

Ketchikan is one of the best-supplied excursion ports in Alaska, and almost everything worth doing beyond downtown needs a boat, a floatplane or a van. The list below covers the classics — Misty Fjords, the lumberjack show, the totem parks, bear viewing — plus smaller-group adventures in the rainforest and on the water.

Everything here is booked through GetYourGuide — live availability, free cancellation on most options and often reserve-now-pay-later. If you are arriving by ship, check the tour’s start time and meeting point against your all-aboard time, and whether your ship docks downtown or at Ward Cove. Prices are indicative US-dollar “from” prices; tap any card for the live price in your currency.

Pick by what you want from the day

The once-in-a-lifetime splurge

A floatplane over the granite walls and waterfalls of Misty Fjords, or a boat-and-trail trip to watch black bears fishing at Neets Bay. Expensive, weather-dependent and unforgettable.

A floatplane moored beside a remote lake near Ketchikan Flightseeing from $389
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Ketchikan waterfront ⭐ 4.6 (63)

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords National Monument Floatplane Tour

The signature Ketchikan excursion. A floatplane lifts off from the Tongass Narrows and within minutes you are over roadless wilderness: granite walls, hanging valleys and the dark forest of the Tongass. Your pilot explains what you are seeing. Flights are weather-dependent, so book early in your stay if you can.

  • Fly over the cliffs, waterfalls and lakes of Misty Fjords
  • Commentary from your pilot
  • Small group, with an optional audio guide
Check price & availability
A black bear on streamside rocks with the remains of a salmon in the Tongass National Forest Wildlife tour from $399
🕒 5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.2 (13)

Ketchikan: Neets Bay Black Bear Viewing Tour with Cruise

A half-day trip by land and sea to Neets Bay, where salmon returning to a hatchery draw black bears to the creek. You walk forest trails to viewing platforms and cruise through sheltered channels looking for eagles, seals and whales. Go when the salmon are running for the best chance of bears.

  • Bear-viewing platforms above a salmon stream
  • Forest trail walk with a guide
  • Scenic wildlife cruise through island waterways
Check price & availability

Totem poles and Native culture

Guided visits to Totem Bight, Saxman, Potlatch Park and the Totem Heritage Center, with transport from the docks — the easiest way to understand what the poles mean.

The painted clan house at Totem Bight State Historical Park Guided tour from $84
🕒 3 hours 📍 From Ketchikan cruise docks ⭐ 4.1 (227)

Ketchikan: Alaska Native Cultural and Scenic Shore Excursion

A good-value introduction to the Native cultures of Southeast Alaska. You travel north along the coast to Totem Bight State Historical Park, where a guide explains the poles and the clan house, with stops for scenery and wildlife on the way. The most-reviewed Ketchikan tour on the platform.

  • Totem Bight State Historical Park with a guide
  • Stories of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples
  • Chances to spot eagles, salmon and bears along the way
Check price & availability
Carved totem poles in Saxman Totem Park Guided tour from $99
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 3.7 (19)

Ketchikan: City Tour, Saxman Village & Salmon Tasting

A guided overview of Ketchikan’s history and landmarks, with a visit to Saxman Native Village to see its famous collection of totem poles and a tasting of smoked salmon. Reviews are more mixed than for other tours, so read the latest before booking.

  • Narrated tour of Ketchikan’s landmarks
  • Saxman Native Village and its totem poles
  • Smoked salmon tasting
Check price & availability
A weathered original totem pole inside the Totem Heritage Center Guided tour
🕒 Half day 📍 From Ketchikan / Ward Cove

Ketchikan: Town Tour, Totem Heritage Center & Trail Hike

A guided tour that combines a narrated drive around Ketchikan with a visit to the Totem Heritage Center and its original 19th-century poles, and a hike on a trail in the Tongass National Forest. Check the product page for the current price and pickup point.

  • Narrated tour of the town
  • Visit to the Totem Heritage Center
  • Hike in the Tongass National Forest
Check price & availability

Classic Ketchikan, close to the ship

Axes, log rolling and all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab, or three hours on a real Bering Sea crab boat. Both start within a short walk of the downtown berths.

Two lumberjacks with a crosscut saw at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show Show & meal from $158
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Downtown Ketchikan ⭐ 4.8 (41)

Ketchikan: Lumberjack Show & Crab Feast

Two Ketchikan traditions in one ticket. First the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, where timber athletes race through axe, saw and tree-climbing events in a covered arena; then a sit-down feast of Dungeness crab, served until you have had enough. Easy, fun and weatherproof.

  • An hour of chopping, sawing, climbing and log rolling
  • All-you-can-eat Dungeness crab feast
  • A short walk from the downtown cruise berths
Check price & availability
The crab-fishing vessel Aleutian Ballad moored at a wharf in Southeast Alaska Boat tour from $249
🕒 3 hours 📍 From Downtown Ketchikan docks ⭐ 4.6 (16)

Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour

Sail out on a working crab boat with a crew of commercial fishermen. They haul pots of crab, octopus and prawns onto the deck, share first-hand stories of survival on the Bering Sea, and bald eagles swoop to snatch fish from the water. Educational, interactive and surprisingly moving.

  • Watch crab pots hauled aboard a real crab-fishing vessel
  • See crab, octopus and prawns up close on deck
  • Bald eagles diving for fish beside the boat
Check price & availability
A Dungeness crab Boat tour & meal from $194
🕒 3 h 45 min 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.4 (11)

Ketchikan: Jet Boat Tour with Rainforest Walk & Seafood Boil

A jet boat carries you through the bays and inlets around Ketchikan, followed by a walk on an elevated boardwalk trail through the rainforest and a seafood boil featuring Dungeness crab. Three experiences in under four hours.

  • Jet-boat ride through bays and inlets
  • Walk on an elevated rainforest boardwalk
  • Seafood boil with Dungeness crab
Check price & availability

Rainforest, wildlife and adventure

Boardwalks through the Tongass, ziplines in the canopy, sea kayaks, e-bikes, ATVs and whale watching — for travellers who would rather be outside, whatever the weather.

A bald eagle at the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary near Ketchikan Nature walk from $110
🕒 2 h 45 min 📍 From Ketchikan cruise docks ⭐ 4.4 (58)

Ketchikan: Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary and Totem Park Walk

A naturalist leads you along trails and boardwalks through the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary at Herring Cove, explaining the forest, the salmon stream and the animals that depend on it. The walk ends at a historic sawmill and a small totem park. Gentle, and worthwhile in any weather.

  • Guided walk in a 40-acre private rainforest reserve
  • Historic sawmill and totem park
  • Look for bears, eagles and salmon in season
Check price & availability
Moss-draped spruce branches in the Tongass rainforest Guided tour from $129
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.3 (61)

Premium Rainforest Experience in Ketchikan

A guided tour from Ketchikan into the Tongass National Forest, visiting waterfalls and salmon spawning streams and watching for black bears, eagles and seals along the way. A compact way to see the forest without a long hike.

  • Guided exploration of the Tongass National Forest
  • Waterfalls and salmon spawning grounds
  • Look for black bears, eagles and seals
Check price & availability
View over Ketchikan and the Tongass Narrows from the Rainbird Trail Bike & hike from $164
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Ketchikan (pickup available) ⭐ 4.8 (41)

Ketchikan: E-Bike and Hike Tour

Explore beyond town on an electric bike, then leave the saddle for a hike through the rainforest with local guides. The motor takes the sting out of the hills, snacks are included and reviews are consistently excellent.

  • Guided e-bike ride through Alaskan scenery
  • Rainforest hike with a local guide
  • Snacks included
Check price & availability
Live availability

More Ketchikan experiences — real-time prices

Straight from GetYourGuide, updated continuously for Ketchikan.

Powered by GetYourGuide
The full list

Every experience we recommend

Sixteen excursions we would happily book ourselves, from a two-hour show to a five-hour bear-viewing trip.

A floatplane moored beside a remote lake near Ketchikan Flightseeing from $389
🕒 2 hours 📍 From Ketchikan waterfront ⭐ 4.6 (63)

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords National Monument Floatplane Tour

The signature Ketchikan excursion. A floatplane lifts off from the Tongass Narrows and within minutes you are over roadless wilderness: granite walls, hanging valleys and the dark forest of the Tongass. Your pilot explains what you are seeing. Flights are weather-dependent, so book early in your stay if you can.

  • Fly over the cliffs, waterfalls and lakes of Misty Fjords
  • Commentary from your pilot
  • Small group, with an optional audio guide
Check price & availability
Two lumberjacks with a crosscut saw at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show Show & meal from $158
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Downtown Ketchikan ⭐ 4.8 (41)

Ketchikan: Lumberjack Show & Crab Feast

Two Ketchikan traditions in one ticket. First the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, where timber athletes race through axe, saw and tree-climbing events in a covered arena; then a sit-down feast of Dungeness crab, served until you have had enough. Easy, fun and weatherproof.

  • An hour of chopping, sawing, climbing and log rolling
  • All-you-can-eat Dungeness crab feast
  • A short walk from the downtown cruise berths
Check price & availability
The crab-fishing vessel Aleutian Ballad moored at a wharf in Southeast Alaska Boat tour from $249
🕒 3 hours 📍 From Downtown Ketchikan docks ⭐ 4.6 (16)

Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour

Sail out on a working crab boat with a crew of commercial fishermen. They haul pots of crab, octopus and prawns onto the deck, share first-hand stories of survival on the Bering Sea, and bald eagles swoop to snatch fish from the water. Educational, interactive and surprisingly moving.

  • Watch crab pots hauled aboard a real crab-fishing vessel
  • See crab, octopus and prawns up close on deck
  • Bald eagles diving for fish beside the boat
Check price & availability
The painted clan house at Totem Bight State Historical Park Guided tour from $84
🕒 3 hours 📍 From Ketchikan cruise docks ⭐ 4.1 (227)

Ketchikan: Alaska Native Cultural and Scenic Shore Excursion

A good-value introduction to the Native cultures of Southeast Alaska. You travel north along the coast to Totem Bight State Historical Park, where a guide explains the poles and the clan house, with stops for scenery and wildlife on the way. The most-reviewed Ketchikan tour on the platform.

  • Totem Bight State Historical Park with a guide
  • Stories of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples
  • Chances to spot eagles, salmon and bears along the way
Check price & availability
A black bear on streamside rocks with the remains of a salmon in the Tongass National Forest Wildlife tour from $399
🕒 5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.2 (13)

Ketchikan: Neets Bay Black Bear Viewing Tour with Cruise

A half-day trip by land and sea to Neets Bay, where salmon returning to a hatchery draw black bears to the creek. You walk forest trails to viewing platforms and cruise through sheltered channels looking for eagles, seals and whales. Go when the salmon are running for the best chance of bears.

  • Bear-viewing platforms above a salmon stream
  • Forest trail walk with a guide
  • Scenic wildlife cruise through island waterways
Check price & availability
A bald eagle at the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary near Ketchikan Nature walk from $110
🕒 2 h 45 min 📍 From Ketchikan cruise docks ⭐ 4.4 (58)

Ketchikan: Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary and Totem Park Walk

A naturalist leads you along trails and boardwalks through the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary at Herring Cove, explaining the forest, the salmon stream and the animals that depend on it. The walk ends at a historic sawmill and a small totem park. Gentle, and worthwhile in any weather.

  • Guided walk in a 40-acre private rainforest reserve
  • Historic sawmill and totem park
  • Look for bears, eagles and salmon in season
Check price & availability
View over Ketchikan and the Tongass Narrows from the Rainbird Trail Bike & hike from $164
🕒 4 hours 📍 From Ketchikan (pickup available) ⭐ 4.8 (41)

Ketchikan: E-Bike and Hike Tour

Explore beyond town on an electric bike, then leave the saddle for a hike through the rainforest with local guides. The motor takes the sting out of the hills, snacks are included and reviews are consistently excellent.

  • Guided e-bike ride through Alaskan scenery
  • Rainforest hike with a local guide
  • Snacks included
Check price & availability
Moss-draped spruce branches in the Tongass rainforest Guided tour from $129
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.3 (61)

Premium Rainforest Experience in Ketchikan

A guided tour from Ketchikan into the Tongass National Forest, visiting waterfalls and salmon spawning streams and watching for black bears, eagles and seals along the way. A compact way to see the forest without a long hike.

  • Guided exploration of the Tongass National Forest
  • Waterfalls and salmon spawning grounds
  • Look for black bears, eagles and seals
Check price & availability
Carved totem poles in Saxman Totem Park Guided tour from $99
🕒 2.5 hours 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 3.7 (19)

Ketchikan: City Tour, Saxman Village & Salmon Tasting

A guided overview of Ketchikan’s history and landmarks, with a visit to Saxman Native Village to see its famous collection of totem poles and a tasting of smoked salmon. Reviews are more mixed than for other tours, so read the latest before booking.

  • Narrated tour of Ketchikan’s landmarks
  • Saxman Native Village and its totem poles
  • Smoked salmon tasting
Check price & availability
A weathered original totem pole inside the Totem Heritage Center Guided tour
🕒 Half day 📍 From Ketchikan / Ward Cove

Ketchikan: Town Tour, Totem Heritage Center & Trail Hike

A guided tour that combines a narrated drive around Ketchikan with a visit to the Totem Heritage Center and its original 19th-century poles, and a hike on a trail in the Tongass National Forest. Check the product page for the current price and pickup point.

  • Narrated tour of the town
  • Visit to the Totem Heritage Center
  • Hike in the Tongass National Forest
Check price & availability
A Dungeness crab Boat tour & meal from $194
🕒 3 h 45 min 📍 From Ketchikan ⭐ 4.4 (11)

Ketchikan: Jet Boat Tour with Rainforest Walk & Seafood Boil

A jet boat carries you through the bays and inlets around Ketchikan, followed by a walk on an elevated boardwalk trail through the rainforest and a seafood boil featuring Dungeness crab. Three experiences in under four hours.

  • Jet-boat ride through bays and inlets
  • Walk on an elevated rainforest boardwalk
  • Seafood boil with Dungeness crab
Check price & availability
Plan your day

Fjords, totems and salmon — make the hours count

Seats on floatplanes, crab boats and bear-viewing trips are limited and sell out on busy ship days. Compare the best Ketchikan excursions and book in a couple of taps.

Browse Ketchikan tours Compare our picks
Good to know

Booking questions

Will an independent tour get me back to the ship on time?

Ketchikan operators live off cruise visitors and plan around ship schedules, but the responsibility is yours. Choose a start time that leaves at least an hour between the tour’s end and your all-aboard time, and remember ship time may differ from local Alaska time.

What happens if the weather is bad?

Most tours run in rain — it is normal here. Floatplane flights are the exception: they can be cancelled or rerouted for low cloud or wind, in which case operators normally refund or rebook. Check each product’s cancellation terms before paying.

Can I cancel a tour booked through these links?

Most experiences on GetYourGuide can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start. The exact policy is shown on each product page before you pay.

My ship docks at Ward Cove. Can I still do these tours?

Yes, but check the meeting point. Some tours pick up at Ward Cove; most start downtown, which is a shuttle ride of roughly 20 minutes away. Allow extra time in both directions.

Are the prices shown in US dollars?

Yes, prices on our cards are indicative starting prices in US dollars. GetYourGuide shows the live price in your chosen currency when you open a product.