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.
This private tour is the best! Absolutely the best way to experience Ketchikan! Our guide Rick has lived in Ketchikan for over 30 years and was a font of local as well as Alaskan knowledge. Rick really cared that we have a great experience while in Ketchikan. The Honda Odyssey van was spacious enough for the four of us. Rick had pairs of binoculars and waters for us. He took us to a place to see black bears catching and feasting on salmon. We saw Bald Eagles and just missed seeing an orca. While on Creek Street, a black bear emerged from under a building to eat blueberries and huckleberries. We ate a few too after the bear moved on. Rick took us to a totem pole park and gave a great tour and history of totem poles. We took many tours while in Alaska and this was by far the most enjoyable one. You can’t beat having a private tour with a guide who is proud of his town and wants you to have a great experience.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great Experience The tour was GREAT! Art was a great tour guide letting us know about the history of Ketchikan. Seeing all the salmon and how they migrate was very educational. Definitely will recommend this tour to everyone I know.
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!
Beautiful Day in Ketchikan! We had an awesome day with Denise as our tour guide! We saw bears and eagles! It was awesome! Denise told us so much about Ketchikan and her culture! Such a great day for our family!
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%!
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. ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟
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. . 
The Best Way to tour Ketchikan We had such a good time with Rick as our guide. He clearly loves Alaska and Ketchikan and was able to communicate so many interesting bits of information as he showed us many of his favorite places. We especially loved Settlers Cove, where we saw salmon spawning and a mama bear and her two cubs. The animal display at the Trading Post at Potlach Totem Park was pretty cool as well.
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.
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.


Seul moyen de voir Ketchikan Bernie est un natif local avec de grandes connaissances locales. Elle vous emmènera dans des endroits que les autocars ne peuvent pas ou ne veulent pas aller. Son véhicule peut accueillir un maximum de 6 personnes et elle ne prend qu'un groupe à la fois. C'est une expérience beaucoup plus personnelle. Nous avons vu des cerfs, des phoques et de nombreux pygargues à tête blanche et avons pu goûter aux baies de saumon locales. J'ai beaucoup appris sur Totems et j'ai été surpris d'apprendre qu'il y avait un saumon blanc. Je recommande fortement de réserver avec elle.
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.
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.
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.


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!

