Explore Beyond the Dock: Unforgettable Private Tour in Sitka
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Sitka, USA
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Overview
Discover Sitka’s colonial architecture, splendid wildlife, and rich history with ease on this private half-day adventure. Soak up the stunning mountain scenery during the drive between Sitka’s top landmarks and natural attractions, including Starrigavan Recreation Area to spot wildlife both big and small, and Baranof Castle, where more epic views await. In Sitka itself, tell your guide what interests you most and they’ll tailor the itinerary accordingly.
- Skip the lines at the dock and head straight out on your adventure
- See and learn things most travelers miss when exploring independently
- Relax and let somebody else take care of the logistics
- Get your guide’s undivided attention as this is a private activity
What's Included
- Trekking poles for added stability on trails or uneven ground.
- Bottled water
- Booster Seat for child 40-100 lbs.
- Private transportation
- Gratuities (Appreciated)
- Alaska Raptor Center Admission
- Fortress of the Bear Admission
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
For shore excursions, we can meet you at Harrigan Centennial Hall at 330 Harbor Dr or the main cruise ship terminal at 4513 Halibut Point Rd. Call or text to confirm your preferred pick-up location.
Itinerary
1
Starrigavan Recreation Area
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Fortress of the Bear
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Alaska Raptor Center
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
4
Baranof Castle State Historical Site
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Sitka
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Sitka National Historic Park
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Children under the age of 8 must be in a booster or car seat. We do have 1 booster seat available. We can help connect you with a rental service for an infant car seat if needed.
- Wheel chairs or mobility scooters that can fold should be able to fit in the trunk space. We do not have a wheelchair lift.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Loved the tour with Gary, a former biology teacher!
All participants hold BS degrees and all of us our animal lovers.
We saw the "real" Sitka, learned about the past, but also the changes that have been taking place.
The Bear Fortress and Raptor Center were both memorable. We also took in a river where the salmon were still running. Wonderful viewings of scenery! A bit of sight-seeing in Totempoke Park! Excellent Dungeness Crab & a great burger at Sitka Burger & Ceab Shack. Highly recommend this tour!
Reviews
5.0
based on 135 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Very good tour! Everyone enjoyed it and it was so nice to be with a smaller group! Saw plenty of whales! The captain and first mate were very informative!
This is the best way to see and learn about Sitka! We fell in love with Sitka but what made this trip even more special was having a personal tour with Kealoha! She is not only sweet, kind, a safe driver, knowledgeable, but she is flexible with what you want to do and to go. Her automobile is super comfortable as well! Recommend 10/10! Thanks again Kealoha for making our trip a better one!
We really enjoyed having a personalized experience. The national park/museum with the totem poles was very nice. The trail outside the museum was excellent - saw the trout spawning.
Gary is a retired science math educator with incredible local knowledge. We learned about the salmon, fishing industry, the bears, the natives, Sitka and the surrounding area, and Sitka WW2. We traveled on all 15 miles of paved roads of Sitka. Stopped numerous times for pictures and views. Saw eagles and a seal lion too. And visited the fortress of the bear. Highly recommend.
We had a wonderful time! I highly recommend this private tour! Very informative and very convenient.
This was a great tour!! Our tour guide, Gary, was amazing! Very knowledgeable about the area and wildlife! Friendly, kind, and courteous!
Very accommodating. There were 6 of us and everyone loved it. Score 10 out of 10!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! We are thrilled to hear that all six of you had an amazing time.
We’ll be sure to pass your kind words along to Gary—he takes great pride in sharing his knowledge of our area and local wildlife with our guests. It was a true pleasure hosting your group!
Gary was one of the best tour guides we have ever had. He had more knowledge about the area than anybody we had ever met.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your kind review! Gary has a true passion for sharing the history and local knowledge of our area, so he will be delighted to hear your feedback. It was a pleasure hosting you, and we hope to welcome you back again on your next visit!
We had an amazing experience, very educational tour with amazing views. Our private tour guy was great !!!
We really enjoyed our time in Sitka because of this tour. Kealoha was a wonderful guide that helped us customize the experience to exactly what we were interested in seeing.
Our guide was Gary and he was absolutely amazing. He treated us like family. He had the best history stories of Sitka. We can’t say enough about him and the places he took us to. Breathtaking. Highly recommend this tour.
Gary was absolutely fantastic, is a natural teacher, and was so informative. Fortress of the Bear was a great stop that we all enjoyed as well!
Kealoha was great and very informative !! However, I was disappointed that we had to buy tickets separately and on top of tour price for Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear. Fortress of the Bear was not worth seeing, and not enough time at Raptor Center.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and for your kind words about our time together! I truly enjoyed sharing Sitka with you.
I really appreciate your honest feedback. We keep the admission fees for places like Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center separate from our base tour price to give our guests full flexibility to customize their stops and decide where they’d like to go. That said, I am sorry that this structure felt disappointing.
I also completely understand your frustration with our stop at Fortress of the Bear that day, and as a tour operator, I shared that same sentiment. Late in the season, the bears naturally start slowing down as hibernation approaches, so fewer were active at that time. However, having a large group arrive right at our scheduled timed entry made the view deck crowded and the experience feel rushed. Because those entry times are strict, it also limited the time we were able to spend at the Raptor Center. I knew that the group was enjoying the time there and regretted that we had to move along.
While we can’t always predict wildlife activity or facility crowds, we are constantly working to deliver the best experience possible, and your feedback helps us fine-tune our timing and communication.
Thank you again for joining us and for your review. We wish you all the best in your future travels!
Our tour of Sitka was fantastic, and Kealoha was an excellent guide—friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing the history, culture, and local highlights of Sitka.
She was also incredibly flexible, tailoring the experience to our interests and offering wonderful recommendations for other things to see and do around town. The vehicle was clean, spacious, and very comfortable, making it easy to relax and enjoy the scenery.
If you’re looking for the best way to explore Sitka with a personalized touch, we highly recommend touring with Kealoha. It was one of the highlights of our visit!
She was open to anything we requested. We even took her on a hike! She has a nice, new, spacious vehicle that was very clean and comfortable. Great attitude and a fantastic few hours. I definitely recommend.
Gary was great. We went into this tour without any ideas of what we wanted to see in Sitka. Gary took us to amazing stops, we saw wildlife, totem poles, and beautiful scenery. Would definitely recommend this tour when in Sitka!
Gary is an amazing tour guide! He is extremely knowledgeable. We didn’t want to do the traditional tour and he was spot on!
Great experience to tour Sitka and surrounding area. Gary let us choose which attractions to see and how long to stay.
Kealoha did an amazing job of showing us around and taking us to some marvelous sights. Personalized the tour for us so we could spend more time where we wanted.
This was a great way to spend the day and see the sights! The car was comfortable and our tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly and flexible. We loved the bear rescue and the totem museum and all the sites!
Michael gave us a great local tour! He was engaging, informative, and fun. So much better than the large ship excursions. Highly recommend!
Our guide was totally flexible ! Had a great time!
She made suggestions, stopped for coffee. Was knowledgeable about local history
Kealoha is amazing. Great communication throughout the trip, very accommodating, spacious clean new vehicle, showed us beautiful Sitka has to offer.
This was a very convenient way for us (4 adults, 2 children) to see a lot during limited time during our cruise stopover in Sitka. Yes, one can save money by doing this on their own, but the convenience of being picked up at cruise port, taken to the places we wanted to see (Totem forest, bear sanctuary and raptor center) and actually getting there in time is of great value. Add to that the knowledge of Michael, our guide, who shared a lot of interesting info about the area (and brought along 2 car seats for the kids). In the weeks prior to the tour, the operator was responsive as we put together our personalized itinerary.
One reminder: if you book this make sure you check into whether you need to buy on your own the timed bear tickets in advance. They go fast in cruise season, and the time you end up with is relevant to the timing of the other visits.
Fantastic!!! I can’t say enough great things about our experience with Gary. He was kind, informative and the absolute perfect tour guide for our family. His immense knowledge of the area made this experience better than we could have asked for. He took us to a place that only locals know about/go to and the views were unbelievable!! All 4 of us, including our teenagers!, loved this tour so much!
An absolutely amazing tour! We visited Fortress of the Bear, and our guide Gary stayed with us throughout, sharing fascinating stories and local insights. We also explored at least three beautiful off-the-beaten-path locations, where we saw stunning waterfalls and peaceful turquoise lakes that we never would have found on our own.
It was simply an unforgettable experience and the perfect way to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Sitka!
Absolutely fantastic experience with Gary. Super chill and he told us a lot of interesting history as a local.
Amazing tour! Gary was great and taught us so much about Sitka and the plants and animals. Highly recommend!
Great tour for our group of 4. Very accomodating and knowledgeable on the history and the area. She also gave us an insight into family life in the area. Would definitely recommend this tour.
Kealoha was great. We went into the tour with only one must have, and let her recommend the rest. She kept things informative and kept the kids engaged.
Michael was a great tour guide. I let them know ahead of time what interested us and he tailored it to our liking perfectly. He was very kind, knowledgeable and even stayed a little longer in the totem park with us which we truly appreciated. He recommended some places for lunch and shopping downtown which was also great. Sitka is such a cute little town with lots of local shops to pick from. Some of the best souvenirs I got from the cruise were from Sitka. Thank you Michael and Kealoha for your hospitality and showing us the best of Sitka!
Likely to Sell Out
From $429.00
per group (up to 6)up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Likely to Sell Out
Explore Beyond the Dock: Unforgettable Private Tour in Sitka
135
3 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$429.00
