Experience Ketchikan As a Local
Ketchikan is full of unique and fascinating things to see. We show you the best of it! Tour an Alaskan Native Totem park and learn about our fascinating cultures. Stop at a picturesque beach and view occasional passing by Orca, seals, or eagles. Make another stop at a beautiful river teeming with salmon while keeping a keen eye out for bears.
Our tours are small and personal with a maximum of 7 Guests per vehicle touring Ketchikan in a comfortable spacious vehicle. We can fill our time with what you are most interested in, or rely on our expert local guidance.
*Ward Cove Arrivals must take the shuttle to downtown Ketchikan's Berth 4.
Note: Please specify your cruise ship for pickup location at booking. For passengers arriving on ships docked at Ward Cove (incl. NCL), pickup is at Berth 4 in downtown Ketchikan where the shuttle drops you off.”
*Call for tours over 7 people
*Call for tours over 6 people
Experience luxury travel in Ketchikan in one of our two top-of-the-line luxury vans. Our spacious and comfortable vehicles offer the perfect transportation solution for your group of up to 7 guests per vehicle. Book your tour now and indulge in the ultimate travel experience.
We never mix and match parties. It’s just you, your family and your local tour guide.
We can easily accommodate groups who are a little less than mobile. Each trip is catered to your interests and limitations. We also have room for collapsible wheelchairs.
I’m Bernie, a 4th generation Alaskan native from the Tshimsian tribe and I’ve lived in Ketchikan all but 7 years of my life. I’ve commercial fished for 35 years and for the past 30 years if I’m not out fishing I’ve been doing sightseeing tours. I’ve grown up here in Ketchikan and boy do I have some great stories to tell! Can’t wait to meet you and show you around my hometown.
Wonderful Tour for Families! Our private tour of Ketchikan for our family of 6 was perfect! Jason was an excellent tour guide and customized the tour based on our interests. We saw bears, salmon, and eagles; we visited waterfalls and totem poles; we picked salmon berries and stopped at a beach in search of whales. Jason's knowledge of the area is amazing. Thank you, Jason!
Ketchikan with Jason Jason was very knowledgeable, accommodating and thoughtful. He offered water and bathroom stops as needed.
Great Tour with Orca Song! We had so much fun with Bernie the owner of Orca Song Tours! She has lived in Ketchikan her whole life and shared so much about growing up here. In addition to tours, she fishes commercially and give us a good background on the industry; showing us the plant that processes her salmon. Our first stop in the morning was at Herring Cove which ended up being one of our favorite spots on our 18-day Alaskan vacation. Being a private tour, Bernie could give us as much time as we wanted here. We watched lots of young eagles (learning to hunt), a harbor seal and salmon hanging out at the mouth of the cove getting close to spawning. She estimated most at 15 pounds. AND WE SAW BEARS! We stood and watched a mama bear and three cubs for such a long time. Those babies were adorable swimming and playing while mama kept a close watch. Because we were docked at Ward Cove (yes, she does pick up and/or drop off from here!), Bernie took us to Potlatch Park last. Here she shared lots of information about the native American totem poles. It was a great tour and Bernie is just so much fun to be around!


Great tour of wildlife in Ketchikan and other local interest sights. Our guide was Bernadette. She was fun and informative. The van was roomy and comfortable. We saw Orca Killer whales, bald eagles fighting for salmon and so much of Ketchikan, including a waterfall and a house being lifted and moved to a new location. I highly recommend this tour and our guide Bernadette.
Best tour of our cruise. Bernie picked up us close to our ship and took us on a three-hour adventure. She was able to get us to sites before other groups got there so we beat the crowds. Because she is a native of Ketchikan, she was able to give us first and experiences. Listening to the stories about the history of Ketchikan was the best part. . 
Le meilleur de Ketchikan en peu de temps Bernie est chaleureux et amical. connaître sa culture et sa ville; est connu et respecté par tous les autres guides touristiques. Elle savait exactement où trouver toute la faune sauvage. Passionné d'histoire et de culture. Vraiment comment battre les foules. Elle était le meilleur guide. J'ai bien aimé aller au stand de confiture local. Voir les aigles à tête blanche, les cerfs, les cascades, surtout - - les totems. Entendre parler de la spiritualité et du caractère sacré des personnes et de l'environnement. Endroit magnifique. Je recommande vivement Bernie.
Le meilleur voyage de tous les temps Je n'ai jamais réservé d'excursion en dehors de nos excursions en croisière. Nous avions un budget et malheureusement aucune des excursions à bord de notre bateau ne faisait partie de notre budget et mes 16 et 14 ans n’aimaient pas ceux de notre bateau. J'ai décidé de jeter un coup d'œil sur TripAdvisor et j'ai lu d'excellentes critiques pour Orca Song Tours. J'ai envoyé un courriel à Bernie. Bernie est resté en contact avec moi jusqu'à notre arrivée le 13 août.


Beautiful Ketchikan and Bears We had an amazing experience! We saw two bears feasting on salmon! Our tour was our own and tailored to just us! We spent most of our time watching the bears. I highly recommend this tour for anybody wanting to see bears in their natural habitat!
Great cruise ship side tour Great tour for our short stop in Port on a cruise. We really enjoyed hearing about the town from a local, especially getting a great explanation of the totems at the totem park. Rick had lots of information and stories to share and we all enjoyed our tour with him. We didn't see a bear, but we did see deer and lots of lovely views. We especially enjoyed stopping to pick and sample Salmon Berries! 3 hours was a good length of time - Ketchikan is pretty small but it was great not to be in a hurry.


Fun tour of Ketchikan The private tour we received was fantastic and our tour guide Rick was awesome. His knowledge of the area was incredibe and we enjoyed the education and pretty views. The only downside was the crowds at some of the stops to see bears and eagles but that was somewhat expected.
Lovely Tour Cut Short We were instructed to meet the tour operator at birth 2 which meant we had to take a shuttle from our boat to birth 4 then walk at least 10 minutes to get to north 2. Our driver then told us he could have picked us up at our boat which would have saved us about 30 minutes. Poor communication between aviator and the tour guide. We enjoyed the tour and the guide was knowledgeable but the tour was only 2 hours instead of 3 hours because of the miscommunication about the pickup location.
Loved the tour and loved Bernie Our extended family had a great trip with Bernie. She knows the area so well since she has lived here her entire life. She also has a Native American background so adds a lot of color around that. We were able to get to a few highlights in just under 3 hours including the history of totems at Potlach Park and seeing some beautiful wildlife including eagles and bears. Bernie is tied into the community so when they saw a pod of orcas- we were on it! Unfortunately we just missed them but Bernie has a practical positive spirit and we pivoted to something else. She also was very helpful with one of our moms who currently is having difficulty walking by altering approaches to certain places for her- she can take you into more hiking if your group wants - just let her know ahead of time and she will work with your group. Highly recommend!


Amazing!! The tour was amazing! If Bernie is available you’ll do more than well to book her. We were on an Alaska cruise and had been booking our excursions through the cruise line. Those excursions were good, but the guides were always transplants to the area working summer jobs in Alaska. Bernie was different - she’s a fourth generation local to the area and knows it extremely well! Everyone knows her everywhere and she knows everyone - including the wildlife. She found us a mother bear and her three cubs that had been frequenting an area. It genuinely had to be one of the greatest experiences of our Iives to watch them frolic in a field. She got us close enough to an eagle that I could have literally hit it with a stick (obviously I didn’t). She also knows a group that tracks the local pod of orcas and tells each other where the orcas are headed. Wildlife is wild so there’s no guarantee you’ll see something, but I think Bernie gives you the best chance to see it if it can be seen during your stay. She’s friendly, accommodative, and really just a delight to spend time with. I highly recommend.
Fun tour of Ketchikan The private tour we received was fantastic and our tour guide Rick was awesome. His knowledge of the area was incredibe and we enjoyed the education and pretty views. The only downside was the crowds at some of the stops to see bears and eagles but that was somewhat expected.
Loved the tour and loved Bernie Our extended family had a great trip with Bernie. She knows the area so well since she has lived here her entire life. She also has a Native American background so adds a lot of color around that. We were able to get to a few highlights in just under 3 hours including the history of totems at Potlach Park and seeing some beautiful wildlife including eagles and bears. Bernie is tied into the community so when they saw a pod of orcas- we were on it! Unfortunately we just missed them but Bernie has a practical positive spirit and we pivoted to something else. She also was very helpful with one of our moms who currently is having difficulty walking by altering approaches to certain places for her- she can take you into more hiking if your group wants - just let her know ahead of time and she will work with your group. Highly recommend!


The personal touch So special to hear the stories about the totems, see the real Ketchikan away from the tourist shops and see bears in the wild. 
Wonderfull expereience We had a wonderful experience. Rick was very knowledgeable and kind. He took us to some tourist places and other beautiful places that were not as crowded. He explained and showed us the salmon at different stages. Also took us to the area where we were able to spot about 5 bears. He also told us were to go after his tour.
Fantastic Trip We had an incredible experience with Bernie. Bernie took us around the area and explained about different plants and animals. We saw a bear with 3 cubs, eagles, and went down to a beach and saw sea stars, crabs, ect. 
Visite guidée privée. Tout d'abord, un grand cri merci à Bernie. Excellente visite: nous avons visité des cascades, vu du saumon, des oiseaux, des aigles et des ours et un mât totémique. Nous avons déménagé à un rythme qui répond à nos besoins et nous avons également fait une belle visite de la ville. Bernie a partagé ses connaissances et son histoire familiale avec nous. Recommande vraiment.
Best way to spend 4 hours in Ketchikan Rick was awesome. He showed us places and let us explore at our own pace and was informative. We saw a black bear, a totem pole park/museum, salmon run, a tidal pool, walked in a rainforest, saw a waterfall it was great! Highly recommend.