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.
Connaissance locale fantastique et sympathique Bernie possède une mine de connaissances locales, elle est née et a été la quatrième génération de Ketchikan et vous accueille chaleureusement dans la région de Ketchikan. J'ai réservé en privé et j'ai été si heureux, évitant les foules des croisières que vous pouvez voir beaucoup plus de la ville que Bernie adapte à vos besoins familiaux. Merci pour cette belle journée Bernie!
Chanson orca frappé un home run Je suis allé voir des orques. Nous avons vu deux familles de baleines orques. Plus les baleines à bosse et les otaries. Plus un oiseau macareux. Très sympa toute femme équipage. Je recommande de les utiliser pour l'observation des baleines.
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. 
Outstanding Tour Outstanding tour/guide. Bernie had us on a bear eating a live salmon within 5 minutes of the tour. She is very knowledgeable and in her element here in her home Alaska. Some of our best memories of this cruise are here with Orca Song Tours. Can't wait to get back to Alaska again. Thank you so much for sharing your hometown/state.
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.
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!
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!


4th generation local Tour guide Magic happens when you learn about a place with a 4th generation local. Bernie (Bernadette) was outstanding: patient, knowledgeable, attentive and super proud of her community/city. With that we learned, enjoyed the city, saw bears, salmos, eagles and learned about the Totem in craftsmanship and story. Ended the day with of where to eat and again a great recommendation! Look no further and experience Ketchikan with a local that lives, breathes and loves what she does!
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.
Tour de Ketchikan Nous avons tous aimé Bernie! Elle nous a donné une merveilleuse visite personnelle du point de vue des habitants. Nous avons beaucoup appris et passé des moments inoubliables. Je la recommanderais à 100%!
Ketchikan Excursion We had a wonderful time, and our guide Jason was very knowledgeable and made the experience special. We all enjoyed the views and want to come back to Ketchikan to spend more time.
Awesome Wildlife Experience Bernie, our guide, really knew the best local places to view wildlife. She made our experience very special and memorable as she shared stories and information about the local sites. I highly recommend you get a private tour. It was so much more personable than our other larger excursions we later did at other sites.
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.
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.
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.
Exceeded expectations Best way to get out of town to see cultural and natural highlights of your choice. Rick took us to the end of the road both north and south of town to visit lakes, waterfalls, pristine rain forest and, best of all, to Totem Bight Historical State Park (not to be missed). He was accommodating, knowledgeable and willing to go above and beyond to get in as many highlights as possible. Quality, well maintained van and professional service all the way.
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.
Great price, great tour guide, and way better than a cruise line excursion! Great tour. We saw bears, humpback whales, salmon, and seals. Rick took us to a stand that sold homemade jam and smoked salmon. He was knowledgeable about the islands history and culture. The totem pole park was very cool. You won’t get to see and do all of that on a normal cruise ship tour. This is the way to go!
A wonderful day! We had been to Ketchikan a few times and this trip we wanted to get out of town and see something different. Bernie took us all around and showed us all the local spots. We loved Settlers Cove State Park and our hike there. It was just gorgeous. It was a great day, and Bernie was flexible and gave us just the day we wanted. I would highly recommend Orca Song Tours.