Island Hummer Tour

Our guide was April and she was great. It's a small island with not really much to see. The best you can hope for is to see a black bear. April was determined to make sure we saw a black bear. And we did! One bear got pretty close to our elevated spot and we took some amazing videos and photos.

Jaimie was an amazing tour guide. He was knowledgeable, accommodating, and funny. We organized this trip through our cruise. Seeing Ketchikan privately is the way to do it! We had a fantastic, memorable trip with our friends of 20 years. Highly recommend!

This was a fun, low-key adventure as the last port on our cruise. Shannon took us to see things we wanted to see -- bears, the rainforest, waterfalls. But she added tons of local flavor relating what it is like to live in Ketchikan year round. We went to the local's favorite coffee shop. Hint: not down by the docks where the tourists are. We even got to see a residential area! Thank you so much!

Prior to this, I hadn't had a private tour so didn't anticipate how the tour would go. There are three reasons why I chose this tour, which may sound quite crazy and strange: First, many of the excursions offered by the cruise were about Misty Fjords, totem poles, and crab/seafood feast, none of which was interesting to me. I'm not saying each of them is bad, but my personal desire wanted something more unique and impactful. Second, I wanted to visit places where I could see bears and eagles and have an enough time at each spot. Third, I had read good reviews of the people who did this Private Hummer Tour so wanted to try it. My tour was set to start at 12:30 PM so I first explored the town on my own in the morning and got to see the tunnel, the famous eagle statue, Welcome to Ketchikan sign, and The Rock. At around noon, Shannon, our driver, picked us up and the tour began! Shannon briefly told us of her background along the way and asked us what we would want to see. One thing I learned was that the rainforest where Ketchikan is located is the 2nd largest rainforest in the world, only behind the Amazon rainforest! We first went to Herring Cove, hoping to see some bears. We saw two black bears, even though both were fairly far away from us. I also wanted to see salmons but Shannon said we would have to wait for two more weeks to see them. However, we saw several Steller's jay, which looked very pretty! I saw blue jays several times in the past but Steller's jays looked a bit different. After waiting for about 30 minutes, we then went to Beaver Falls, which, in my view, is a hidden gem in Ketchikan. The falls was right by the Tongass Highway but it was somewhat hidden behind the trees and moreover, there was no sign nearby so if Shannon didn't stop, I would have completely missed it. Shannon took a photo of our family there! After that, we briefly came back to town and passed by the Creek Street but didn't stop there. Then, we drove about 30 minutes along the Tongass Highway to the other side of city (Along the way, we saw a deer right by the road!). The road naturally ended and at the end of the road was the Lunch Creek Trail with a HUGE rainforest. As soon as we entered the forest, it felt like we were in a different world.... In fact, it seemed the time has been stopped since ancient days! In my personal opinion--and my mom said the same thing too--I think the Lunch Creek Trail with the forest is the BEST of Ketchikan, especially if you love natures and want to fully experience nature with the highest degree. There were so many trees that the air in the forest was drastically different compared to the air outside. Honestly, Ketchikan, even in town, had a fresh air compared to where I live, but the air in that forest was just "exponentially fresh". I desperately wanted to pack that air and bring it to where I live! We walked along the trail several minutes and Shannon explained many things about the forest along the way. She pointed out mushrooms growing on the trees, fallen trees from the wind, ferns, and many others. She then took us to the Lunch Falls, which was not as tall as Beaver Falls but still pretty! We also went to a small "beach" right by the forest and saw numerous seaweeds on the ground and rocks. Then, we walked back to our car and Shannon dropped us off at the port. The trail was easy to walk, as it was well-maintained and there were several stairs. If you are using wheelchairs, then it might be a problem on the stairs but you can still explore the forest, as many portions of the trail are fairly flat. Overall, it took nearly 4 hours for the entire tour, but you set up your own itinerary so make sure to research in prior where you want to visit and what you want to see. I highly recommend this tour! Hummer was very comfy and cozy, even though it was my first time being onboard! P.S. Shannon, thank you so much for spending your time and taking my family to various spots! We really enjoyed every spot and hope to come back again in the future!

This excursion exceeded our expectations!! Our family was initially only going to walk around Ketchikan. However, we decided to take a two-hour personal guided tour of Ketchikan. Duane was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and personalized the tour to our needs. Saw bears, eagles waterfalls, beach and the totem park. Gave us an in-depth history of Ketchikan and dropped us off right at the pier. Highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Ketchikan!!