Ketchikan, great place to visit great tour to take. We had an amazing tour with Art. He was perfect and explaining everything, and making sure that we did not miss seeing a thing in the Ketchikan area. We saw running salmon, bears fishing for salmon, waterfalls, and a fabulous collection of totem poles. This also included arts, authentic local narration in information about his life in the local people of the area.
I cannot recommend highly enough spending some time in Ketchikan with Art

Really fun tour Bernie drove us around Ketchikan and showed us the sites while talking about growing up and living in Ketchikan. My daughter and I had a great time on the tour, were so excited to see bears wandering around, and were amazed at one of the beautiful waterfalls Bernie took us to. One of our last stops was at a stand that sold jellies and fudge. My daughter and I both agreed that it was the best fudge we’ve ever had and were saddened that we didn’t buy more.
Thank you, Bernie; we enjoyed the tour, the stories, and the conversation immensely.

Bernie is THE best! Book with confidence! We’ve used Bernie 2x now - 2018 and again this summer! She’s friendly and knows all the best spots! This year was that of the bald eagles and seals! 😀 Such a fun day!

BEARS, EAGLES, TOTEM POLES!! Bernie takes you to the action!! We did not have one dull moment during our tour. She was able to work with us and incorporate all of the things we wanted to see, including bears and eagles! The tour felt very personal and not rushed at all. No long lines, no shuttle, no packed bus, no nonsense; she picked us up immediately off of the ship and dropped us off wherever was most convenient for us. She will get you to viewing places that are not possible to reach with cruise tours. We are also very happy to support a native Ketchikanian. Will book again with Bernie!! -Annette & Mike

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!

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.

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.

Unforgettable Experience When looking at excursions that best suited our needs, Orca Song Tours checked all of the boxes of what we were looking to do in Ketchikan. I want to note that our main goal was to see bears fishing for salmon, so to give my family the best opportunity, we booked back to back tours with Orca Song, and were with them for six hours instead of three.
Throughout the process of booking and traveling, Bernie was an excellent communicator, responding in a timely manner when I'd pester her with questions, but more importantly, reaching out to me before we left, that helped soothe any fears we had. Upon arrival in Ketchikan, we saw that Orca Song was waiting for us well before the gangways were lowered, and when we met, we had a spacious Honda Odyssey minivan for our private tour. Jason was our driver and met all of our questions, quirks and conversation head on, he was a great match for my 14 and 15 year old (knowledgeable) boys.
Bernie, and Orca Song knew our goals, and accommodated us accordingly, on the way to Herring Cove, we stopped to see some salmon ladders, but didn't linger too long as the primary objective was to see bears. Jason took us to the Salmon hatchery (which was off limits), but there were viewing spots to watch Bald Eagles, Deer, and Salmon - and of course Bears, when they decide to eat We were also close to the shore, so after a bit and no luck, we meandered to the coast where the black sands shown in receded tide. Jason took us around the point where we were able to explore, look for crabs, and dig for clams; a real hands on tide-poolish experience! After a bit of tinkering, we walked back to the spot to look for bears and boy did we find them There were plenty of highlights to this, but yes, indeed, we were fortunate enough to see some.
I think it's critical to mention that we were very willing to sit for the entire 6 hours until we saw bears, BUT Bernie and Orca Song also knew that when/if we did, they could take us on an adventure of their choosing to see the Ketchikan beyond the cruise excursions, and Jason did not disappoint (Salmon Berries, blueberries, huckleberries, hiking in a rain forest, beach combing, etc.).
As much as I would love to share all of the details of what we saw and did, Ketchikan is a remarkable town with so much to offer. I feel very fortunate to have connected with Bernie and Orca Song - our visit far exceeded our expectations, and they are solely responsible for our enjoyment. Relative to cost per person for other excursions, the price point was affordable, communication was frequent and timely, and the experiences were unforgettable. The attached photos really don't do justice, so we've already started to look at traveling back to Ketchikan because of what they provided for us. It's obvious Orca Song takes great care and pride in their business, but more importantly put their best foot forward to let Ketchikan be the star. Thank you!!!!

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!

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.

Massive thanks to Berni for taking us on a tour of her home town and sharing her stories with us.

Highly recommend this tour to receive personal service in a very comfortable vehicle with a local expert.

Excellent service this tour was fantastic value. Jason was prompt and very well equipped with binoculars and water. Very knowled Excellent value. Knowledgeable guide. Couldn't ask for more. Comfortable vehicle. Nothing too much trouble. Delivered everything we asked for and more. We fully recommend them. Would definitely use again. Jason asked what we would like to see bear was a big ask. But he definitely delivered. Fantastic knowledge of the salmon cycle which will stay with us. Seals and sea otters. Fantastic wildlife, waterfalls etc. brilliant pictures and memories from this. Delivered back to ship safely and on time. ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟

La faune, le saumon et la culture autochtone ... Exceptionnel! Notre guide touristique Bernie est venu nous chercher juste devant notre bateau de croisière après son amarrage. Bernie s'est avéré être un vrai local à Ketchikan, le premier que nous avons rencontré pendant notre croisière. Pour info, nos autres guides en AK étaient tous originaires du sud, nous avons découvert, permettant ainsi peu de connaissance de AK. Ce n'était pas le cas avec Bernie. Nous avons vu Ketchikan des yeux d'un vrai local et partagé les connaissances exceptionnelles de Bernie sur la culture autochtone, la faune et la vie en Alaska!

Nous avions une famille de trois adultes, deux enfants et même notre grand-mère. Tout était confortable et divertissant tout en visitant le véhicule spacieux de Bernie. Notre grand-mère est principalement en fauteuil roulant, et même ce n'était pas un problème avec les logements du véhicule.

Nos points forts ont été; Saumon saute des cascades, des aigles, des phoques, des totems et même un ours qui se nourrit avec son petit. Nous recommandons ce service à tous ceux qui souhaitent voir ce qu'est la vie en Alaska.