Ketchikans Best Wildlife, Sightseeing and Whale Watching Quest
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Ketchikan, USA
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
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Overview
Explore the bays and islands of Alaska on a whale- and wildlife-watching excursion off the coast of Ketchikan. Locally owned and family-run, this company prides itself on knowing the best up-to-date whale watching locations in the area. This ensures the greatest chances of spotting whales on your outing (though sightings are not always guaranteed), as well as other wildlife like bald eagles, harbor seals, and a wide variety of seabirds.
- Embark on a whale and wildlife viewing boat trip
- Enjoy snacks and non-alcoholic drinks throughout the tour
- Stay comfortable regardless of the weather with indoor and outdoor seating
- Hear live narration about Ketchikan’s rich history, culture, and wildlife
What's Included
- SnacksIncluded in your trip are a variety of chips and pastries, coffee, tea, bottled water, flavored sparkling water.
- We have Binoculars and blankets for you if needed.
- Be sure to bring weather appropriate clothing! Layering is best.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Ketchikan Visitors Bureau131 Front St, Ketchikan, AK 99901, USA
Check in 30 mins before your tour at Booth #16, Berth 2 Visitors Center (131 Front St). Ward Cove ship arrivals: plan to be on a shuttle to downtown Ketchikan 1 hour early to ensure timely check-in.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Your afternoon on the water begins at your selected start time, right at the centrally located Ketchikan Visitors Bureau. After checking in, hop aboard your boat—a smaller, less-crowded vessel than many other whale-watching tours—and choose between indoor and outdoor seating areas.
Next, set sail into the Tongass Narrows. This family-owned tour company has deep knowledge of the region’s geography and ecology; thanks to your captain and crew’s expertise, you’ll head directly to the spots where you’re most likely to see whales.
Keep your eyes peeled for migratory humpbacks, orcas, and other whale species. You may also spot harbor seals, eagles, and other local wildlife, thanks in part to the provided binoculars. As you go, stay cozy with on-board hot drinks, snacks, and blankets.
Finally, return to shore. Your tour ends just a couple hours after beginning, giving you plenty of time to continue your local sightseeing.
Next, set sail into the Tongass Narrows. This family-owned tour company has deep knowledge of the region’s geography and ecology; thanks to your captain and crew’s expertise, you’ll head directly to the spots where you’re most likely to see whales.
Keep your eyes peeled for migratory humpbacks, orcas, and other whale species. You may also spot harbor seals, eagles, and other local wildlife, thanks in part to the provided binoculars. As you go, stay cozy with on-board hot drinks, snacks, and blankets.
Finally, return to shore. Your tour ends just a couple hours after beginning, giving you plenty of time to continue your local sightseeing.
1
131 Front St
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Thomas Basin
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Ketchikan (Pass By)
Tongass National Forest (Pass By)
3
Metlakatla
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 66 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
This was truly an incredible experience. Saw multiple whales bubble feeding. The captain and his crew were very knowledgeable.
The boat hat had coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea, water and snacks. They also had binoculars and blankets for those who wanted to use them.
Theo, one of the deckhands was so kind and eager to help with any needs we had.
The only thing I didn’t like is that they let the guests smoke if they wanted to.
All in all it was a beautiful peaceful afternoon
Reviews
4.8
based on 1,045 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Mark was very friendly and knowledgeable. He spent a lot of time explaining things and was very accessible. Loved the small boat with only a few people on it. We saw a humpback come up several times!! Captain Morgan did a great job getting us near the whale but at a respectful distance.
Great trip around the local islands. See eagles, Sitka deer, a sea lion and just overall enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately no whales, but we knew it was late in the season.
They are great at finding whales!! Said they could spot them from a mile away and I believe them!! Very friendly and knowledgeable!
We had beautiful weather and saw whales and seals! Theodore and Captain Morgan were so knowledgeable and kind and made the experience even better!
Although we had whale sightings, it was not what I had envisioned. Our mate, Mark was very helpful and knowledgeable. He helped us to see the best we could. The Eagles nest was a plus and seeing multiple eagles!
Even though we were unable to find any whales, Eagle One still made the experience pleasurable. The process to check in and board was seamless. Binoculars, snacks, and drinks were provided. Inside, outside, front, and back seating available. Bathroom onboard. We did manage to see some sea lions and an eagle. Would recommend but temper expectations on actually viewing whales.
The owner and or operators were friendly. Knowledgeable and went above and beyond to see to my comfort.
We had a great time, staff were very knowledgeable about the wildlife and their patterns. Would definitely recommend
We could not have asked for a better whale watching tour. Captain Morgan and crew have a very clean, nice boat to give you a more intimate experience. 100% would recommend.
Thay go all out to make sure thay find whale's for you to see and stopped to see seals on rock's and salmon jumping.
great crew....extended the tour at the very end...when we were headed back after whale sighting nearby. Great folks to support!
They tried hard to find the whales and no luck. But it was so sweet of the team to offer a partial refund. Not their fault that the wildlife did not cooperate. Wild will be wild. We enjoyed the boat ride.
Don’t expect to get up close and personal with whales, long distance viewing at best, although there is a possibility
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Steve, you know there are federal regulations on how close we can get to whales right? Well if you do not know and are just being a Karen, I’ll enlighten you. We cannot approach whales at a fast speed, no closer than 300 feet or 100 yards. We have these regulations in place to help protect them. But I’m sure you can understand. It’s not us it’s the LAW. Please feel free to read up on those laws. You can find them on many web searches.
The tour was fantastic! We saw tons of whales. Our tour guide Mark and captain were so patient and kept going closer to the whales. They were both great!
Don’t do it. The representative that I spoke to over the phone told us to just exit the ship and there would be someone waiting with a sign. There was no one waiting. We checked all the booths after disembarking from the ship and there was no whale watching tours scheduled at any of the booths and no one waiting with a sign. We spent around $300 for nothing. I am in a wheelchair and because we sat out in the rain for 2 hours waiting for a guide to show up and I got sick and spent the rest of our cruise in bed. So I will never purchase through Viator again. We should have booked the tour through the cruise ship we were on. My husband who had never been to Alaska was looking so forward to this whale watching tour. 😢😢
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Dear Rose, we have all the meeting information and instructions on your ticket. We reached out to you through email and text well before you arrived into port. On the day of your tour we called, texted and email before your tour time. If you would have read and understood the details on your ticket receipt or your booking confirmation with Viator you would have known where to meet us. It’s very clear and very easy to understand. If you would have gone to the correct location that’s stated in your printout you would have been able to do the tour. We are sorry you couldn’t make the tour that day. Your lack of planning and preparation does not fall in our hands.
Great tour. Was able to see whales, eagles and sea otters. The captain shut off the engine he and the staff would point any wildlife out.
This whale watching excursion was great. Our Captain Morgan and deck hand Theo were amazing. They were friendly and knowledgeable. Our time viewing thecwhales was something that I'll never forget. It was a wonderful experience I would do again if ever back in Ketchikan.
Everything about the tour was great! Explanation was given about every aspect of our tour and it did not disappoint. All questions were answered and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Ketchikan was a wonderful place to visit, our boat driver and helper was wonderful, my family enjoyed them a lot, scenery was fabulous, only saw one whale, but still very nice to see those wonderful whale.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Appreciate the comments on the crew.
Ketchikan boat tour. Nice small group viewing whales, eagles and seals. It was a perfect get away from the busy town. We enjoyed the guide and their stories!
Amazing experience. Captain Morgan and Theo were very friendly and knowledgeable. Took us to the whales and even fed the eagles so we could see them fly. Very fun.
The crew were knowledgeable and friendly we had a great experience viewing bald eagles , harbour seals and sightings of hump backs
It was a very pleasant experience and educational as captain Jesse narrated a few things. Got to see a whale, eagles and seals. Loved it!
we saw multiple humpback whales, bald eagles, and seals… This trip was exactly what we were looking for
You're not guaranteed to get a.I've been close view of whales. The eagle and sea lion viewing was awesome.
Great price , nice Cruise, we saw the whales! Crew was really knowledgeable, beautiful weather and great wild life scenery
If you are wanting a boat ride, that would be good. We spent a long time following 1 whale.and seen his tail 3 times at a long distance away. They used so much time that they canceled the eagle feeding which we were really wanting to see. The tour had a lot of small kids on it which most every time I tried to take a pic they ran in front of my camera. The crew catered to that group of 12 and because of their port time we didn’t get to see the eagles. We were so underwhelmed. 😒
We had such a great morning with Captain Jesse and Theo. They were both super lovely and knowledgeable, they made the trip very fun. We got to see whales, eagles and seals we loved the excursion and had plenty of time to walk around ketchikan afterwards so the best of both worlds.
Instructions were easy and the whole experience seamless. Would definitely recommend
If you want to see eagles up close they throw fish out and eagles come close to boat. Most of the time just a boat ride. Finally near the end of the trip we saw orcas but all you could really see was top find and a little bit of their backs. It was ok but for the price I wouldn’t do it again
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Yeah seeing Orcas is just SoSo. Ha ha funny right.
The overall communication and arrangements were good. Was easy to checkin and find our guide/ captain. Overall the boat trip was meh. We had landed on a cruise and ended up in this boat for 3 hours. Saw an eagle and little babies in a nest. That was about it. No whales were seen. For a boat ride that charged $180 per person the snacks were cheap and experience was average. The next day of our cruise we did a private sea plane ride in Sitka. Now that was breathtaking and spectacular. The team was kind but the experience was just average.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
As we do appreciate reviews,
We also appreciate the opportunity to comment on them. On your tour you did see more than Eagle. You got to see Seals and Salmon jumping. As for whales, sometimes we do strike out and it is unfortunate that your tour time for the day did not find whales. We do advertise our tour as a sightseeing, wildlife viewing and whale watching quest. We still have a very high percentage on finding whales. Out of the 188 tours this summer we’ve only missed whales on 8 tours.
If you visit again we would love to get you out at a discount to try again.
Member Pricing
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$169.10
per personWas $178.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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