Nice excursion. Seeing the bears up close was amazing and a real treat. They feed the 2 brown bears while we were there and they stood on their hind legs to catch the salmon. The other bears were happily lounging, not pacing back and forth as I have seen in zoos. They appear very content to live at the fortress. 5* I highly recommend and the money you pay helps keep the fortress going to help the injured eagles and bears.

With 4 cruise ships in port of Ketchikan, we decided to take an adventure away from town. Silverking lodge is situated on an island making it a 'personal' experience. (ok, there were 40 of us, but not a crowd). The boat ride included numerous eagle siting, and sea lion. The rainforest walk was very interesting. I would not have figured the dense growth of the area would be attributed to a rain forest environment. The crab feast was plentiful, and delicious. But more importantly, the hosts were warm, friendly and very helpful.

Do not take this tour! Where do I begin? We were going to be on shore from a cruise and had to make sure the tour didn't start until after 11 am. We could never receive the necessary information. The customer service lines with Viator all go to the Philippines. For 2 days I was on hold for over 4 hours as the agents were hard to communicate with and could never reach the tour operator. There was a portal to contact the tour operator but he would not respond for 2 days. He is located in the UK. So here I am headed to Sitka AK and the vendor is in the Philippines and the operator works out of the UK. Three different time zones. A nightmare. When he finally answered me he said I was to meet Baranof Tours. I had already cancelled my tour with Viator. I simply booked with Baranof directly. Had an identical tour for $100 less money. No middleman in the UK. Viator is getting a blackeye using far flung operators that do not have local contacts. Apparently the UK operator contracts with Baranof and then resells the tours at a high mark up. Just call Baranof directly.

This was a great semi private tour. Our guide was Steven with a V, he was very knowledgeable and pleasant throughout the tour. Although about 2.5 hours long we really got to experience a lot at the locations

We booked this excursion with Princess Cruise line and it was called "Rail, Summit & Suspension Bridge With Brunch". The views for the rail ride were great and our train guide Tyler did a nice job talking about the scenery. After we got off the train, our motorcoach driver Dahlham took us to the Suspension Bridge where we were served pancakes and bison sausage in a beautiful dinning room (see photo). The Suspension Bridge provided us with beautiful views. After spending some time at the bridge, Dahlham took us back via the Kondike highway making various stops along the way. We saw the Bridal Veil Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery. Dahlham did a great job keeping us entertained and made the bus ride an enjoyable experience! The only negative thing about this excursion was it was 6 hours long.

This was an excellent tour, made even better by our tour guide Mike. He knew the route by heart and the best places to stop for great scenic views and pictures. We went north into Canada via bus and then back on the train so we got the best of both worlds. It was easy to tell that Mike loves Alaska and his job. HIGHLY recommend this tour, to me it's a must do!

Fantastic hike through the Alaska rainforest sanctuary with an excellent guide Emily. We watched eagles fish for salmon and visited the Alaskan Raptor Center for injured birds. A must do tour for the nature lover! Our tour included Totem Park where we learned about Totem history and creation.

This was fun with Christian. He took us all over and was very informative. The Bears were great it was amazing to see them and the bald eagles!! Thanks for a great time in Sitka.

We booked the "Whale Watching and Seafood Feast" excursion through NCL and it was wonderful! We boarded an enclosed boat that seats about 55 and headed out to see the whales. We weren't disappointed! There were SO many, it was impossible to count, but we saw them do all the things that make for a great whale-watching experience. It was impossible (at least for me) to take pictures because the sea was not calm and when whales breach, it makes a big wake. I didn't mind, because any attempts to take pictures meant missing some of the action. We also had a "seafood feast" back in Hoonah that was delicious! Remember to dress for the weather!

Both sanctuaries are smaller than I imagined,and the stops duration are really short. The bears looked a bit miserable to me.

This tour was incredible. We saw several orca and two humpback whales. Jameson, our fantastic tour guide got a bald eagle to fly down to the water right by our boat. We saw harbor seal and deer. We walked though the lush forest. Saw the 4th largest spruce in the world. Then we feasted on fresh seafood. I loved this tour. Jameson and Captain Trevin made it a day to remember.

Touring the wildlife sanctuary & seeing bald eagles up close was impressive. The bear exhibit was good as well. The tour operator, elected to board a bus full of passengers. We sat on the bus for 35 mi minutes with no open windows or air conditioning. I wouldn't recommend this tour company as they were not concerned about the passengers' well-being. They should not of loaded the bus until they had a driver ready to go.

Leaving the cruise ship and getting on the shuttle bus service to Harrigan Centre (Sitka) was a scenic delight. Once we arrived, we meet our tour service agent and then set out for a quick exploratory walk around the foreshore area. At the tour start time, we met our guide (Christian, a German Jazz musician) who migrated to Sitka (from New York) and gave some personal insights to his story. He came to Sitka and was enthralled by the natural beauty of the area. And we quickly came to the same conclusion. We drove to the Raptor centre and it was clear that Christian, wore many hats, having also volunteered with bird rescues. At the Raptor centre we saw Eagles, Falcons, Owls and Osprey birds being rehabilitated to nurse back to good health. The centre showed a video of the work it does, and the origins of the Rapture centre (and its self funded by donations), and it is recognised as a key conservation centre for these birds. We then drove out to the Bear Fortress to see "da bears", and they didn't fail to entertain us with their playful goofiness and unstable gait, as they were slowly coming out of their dormant state. There were groups of brown bears in one compound and there were two black bears in the other compound. The fortress is constructed from a concrete holding tank from the old paper pulp mill (very large diameter dome), which gave the bears lots of space to roam, play and sleep). They looked in good condition and the bucket of food (yet to be given) have some decent looking fish meat. Last stop of the tour was to go to the totem park, where there was a totem carving by the local indigenous people. We learnt that the totem pole was like a storyboard capturing a historical event. The sweet smell of the timber just filled the area which was quite enjoyable. The tour was well planned and executed (all up about 2hours), and quite central to the downtown area to wander around to collect a unique gift. The tour guide was very personable, and knowledgeable about the area. The narrative given of the area was just spot on.

Every description from the Princess Cruise excursion on this event was spot on. The motorcoach to the boat, pass the eagles' nest, Fred and Wilma, to the Silverking Lodge for the fantastic feast. Outstanding. Bonus was a short walk into the rainforest right at the back of the lodge. They touched on just about everything for our short visit. Super friendly and helpful staff all around. If you have the time to get out of the town, this is it.

Had a well organized and informative boat ride to the lodge, which included along the way experiencing them throwing fish for the eagles, and looking for other wild life, a real delight. Upon arrival to the lodge there were some beautiful carvings, an absolutely gorgeous boardwalk into the woods, then topped off with a delicious seafood feast sitting by the lake with Sitka black tailed deer walking by the deck. Over all one of the best highlights of my Alaska trip!!