Our top three for Diane
If we only read one page
Morning tours that start 7–8 am fit best. These three are easy and cover Ketchikan's highlights: the fjords, Tlingit culture and a seaplane.
Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer Cruise
A comfortable boat into Misty Fjords National Monument: sheer granite cliffs, waterfalls and quiet coves.
Why for Diane: all seated, spectacular, and scheduled to fit the 1 pm sailing.
Details & booking ↗Saxman Native Village, Dance & Totem Park
Tlingit dancers in the Beaver Clan House, a carving center and a totem park.
Why for Diane: short, easy and moving, and it leaves time for Creek Street.
Details & booking ↗Floatplane Flightseeing & Crab Meal at George Inlet Lodge
Fly over the wilderness by floatplane, then a Dungeness crab feast at a waterfront lodge.
Why for Diane: a seaplane ride and crab, a birthday-week treat.
Details & booking ↗Every option
All Ketchikan excursions, by type
Holland America's 2026 prices per adult (2027 prices aren't out yet). Easy means mostly seated or level walking; Moderate means some uneven ground or climbing in and out; Strenuous means real exertion. The Diane tag is our read for a 70-year-old with average mobility.
Misty Fjords
Ketchikan's wilderness showpiece · 2 optionsBoat cruise into Misty Fjords' cliffs and waterfalls.
A wheelchair-accessible version is available.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Floatplane flight, then Dungeness crab at a lodge.
You need to step into a floatplane.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Totems & Tlingit culture
The world's largest collection of standing totem poles · 3 optionsTlingit dance in the Beaver Clan House, totems and a carving center.
Curated with The HISTORY Channel.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Both of Ketchikan's classics in one morning.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗A gravel forest path to totems and a clan house.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Town & lumberjacks
Short, easy and close to the ship · 5 optionsLog rolling, axe throwing and pole climbing in covered bleachers.
A short walk from the ship.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗An easy, seated trolley overview of town.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Private Hummer with driver
$729 / vehicleYour own vehicle and driver for up to 5 people.
Could be good value split four ways.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗On the water
Wildlife, crab and fishing · 6 optionsBoat trip for eagles, seals and maybe whales.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Lighthouse, totems and eagles, with a meal included.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Boat trip plus a crab meal.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Guided salmon fishing with a meal.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗Drive your own Zodiac boat.
Details & booking on Holland America ↗At a glance
The price ladder
Every excursion from least to most expensive, per person. Gold bars are our picks.
Three ways to spend the morning
Sample Ketchikan plans
The ship sails at 1 pm, so start early and be back aboard by 12:30. Prices are for all four of us.
The fjords
≈ $916 for four
- 7:15Misty Fjords cruise (4–4½ hrs)
- 11:45Quick walk on Creek Street
- 12:30All aboard; lunch on the ship
Culture & town
≈ $536 for four
- 7:30Saxman Village, Dance, Totems & Lumberjack Show (3½ hrs)
- 11:00Creek Street, Dolly's House and the salmon ladder
- 12:30All aboard
The splurge
≈ $1,656 for four
- 7:30Floatplane & crab at George Inlet Lodge (~3 hrs)
- 11:00Creek Street and the salmon ladder
- 12:30All aboard
On our own, for free (or close to it)
Ketchikan's best free sights are all within a few blocks of the ship.
Misty Fjords National Monument · Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 4.0The boardwalk on stilts over Ketchikan Creek.
A preserved Creek Street brothel from the old days.
Watch salmon leaping upstream in late summer.
Original 19th-century totem poles.
A short wooded path up from Creek Street.
Seasonal bus between the docks and the sights.
Good to know
Before we book
Early start. All aboard is about 12:30 pm, so book tours that start by 8 am. Holland America's own tours are scheduled to fit.
Rain gear. Ketchikan is one of the rainiest towns in the US. Bring a hooded rain jacket.
Weather. Floatplane flights can be cancelled for low clouds; Holland America refunds in full if it cancels.
Prices. Holland America refunds in full if it cancels a tour, and its Best Price Guarantee gives 110% of the difference as onboard credit if you find the identical tour cheaper.