Home > Sitka > Sitka Shore Excursion: City Sightseeing Tour including Fortress of the Bear
USD $63.00
Sitka Shore Excursion: City Sightseeing Tour including Fortress of the Bear
Sitka, United States of America
Grab the chance to see Sitka on a 2-hour tour with local guides who will share the highlights and history of this fascinating and beautiful city. See stunning totem poles in Sitka National Historical Park, meet rescued brown bears who live at Fortress of the Bear, and take in the incredible scenery all around Sitka. You’ll also cross the O’Connell Bridge to Japonski Island and pass Alaska Pioneer Home, St Michael’s Cathedral, and Sheldon Jackson Museum.
You’ll start your tour at the cruise ship dock where a comfortable 14-passenger van will meet you. Climb on board and head over O’Connell Bridge for a great view of Sitka around you, perched on the edge of Baranof Island, one of the last stops of Alaska’s Inside Passage. Then cross the bridge to Japonski Island where you’ll learn about Sitka’s contribution in World War II.
Next you’ll continue to Sitka National Historical Park, the oldest National Park in Alaska. Be amazed by Tlingit and Haida totem poles that stand amid towering spruce and hemlock trees along the park’s scenic coastal trail. After, join your guide on a beautiful walk overlooking the Indian River. In the middle of the season, witness salmon spawning while your knowledgeable guide teaches you about the amazing life cycle of the salmon.
After taking in the totem poles, you’ll travel south on a beautiful road along Silver Bay to reach the Fortress of the Bear, the largest bear habitat in North America. The three-quarter acre habitat houses orphaned bear cubs in a naturalized setting. You’ll have the opportunity to get within 25 feet (8m) of the brown bears to watch them, then meet the experienced staff who work with the bears.
Other sights that you will see along the way include the Alaska Pioneer Home, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sheldon Jackson Museum, and the Sitka Sound Science Center.
After a 2-hour tour of Sitka’s rich wildlife and historical sites, you will be returned to the dock in Sitka at the end of your tour.
Worry-free Shore Excursion: We will ensure your excursion ends with ample time for you to return to the Sitka Cruise Ship Dock for your ship’s departure. In the extremely unlikely event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.
What a great tour! Our guide was very fun, energetic, and knowledgable, and took a great pride in her city. The Fortress of the Bear was amazing. We got to see the bears close up. We also enjoyed the totem pole national park and forest.
Review by: Randy K, September 2017
It was well put together with a good amount of time. The totem park was especially nice and had good interpretation as well as a good walk in the rain forest. We liked the bears, too.
Review by: Lorraine D, August 2017
This tour gave us a good understanding of Sitka and its' beauty. Fortress of the bear was very informative as well.
Review by: jbau1047, August 2017
Well run and organised. Very nice hostess who is extremely knowledgeable and helpful.
Review by: Mary D, August 2017
It was ok. Good photo opportunity. Hope it doesn't rain.
Review by: Karen P, August 2017
Loved it! Our guide was amazing...funny, animated, informative. The bears were the best!
Review by: Paul H, August 2017
Sitka is an easily walkable and scenic city...but the highlight was the Fortress of the Bear for incredible photos of Brown and Black Bears with near natural backgound.
Review by: marikays, July 2017
Great guide. Saw extra things.
Review by: David E, July 2017
Sitka Scenic Tour guide Vivian, was outstanding. Very knowledgeable, she made us feel like family. Her description of the area helped us understand the culture of this city that was new to us. As a native Alaskan, she brought an understanding of the native culture, the various plants to embrace and those to avoid. We felt that we got great value from this tour and it was well worth the money. An added bonus was that the group size was small only seven in a small mini bus. I highly recommend this tour for everyone.
Review by: Rosalind W, July 2017
Wonderful, informative experience - tour guide Maria definitely loves what she does. It's obvious that she loves sharing her knowledge of the area including the creatures of the area with us tourists.
Review by: Janis S, July 2017
We were met by a lovely couple who had our names on a sign. They were very helpful in directing us to where we were to proceed. _br/_ We really enjoyed our tour. Our guide Vivian was a wealth of information. She shared her knowledge of her Alaskan heritage. I learned more about the Alaskan culture from her with every detail she shared. She added a personal touch to our tour. _br/_ The bear fortress was great. We saw a whale on our way up to the bear fortress._br/_ We learned about totem poles and how and why they were created.
Review by: Jill M, June 2017
The guide was amazing and such knowledge. She was a local and an expert on the plants and the animals. She taught us allot about how the plants were used as medicine by the local natives and how they cured many sicknesses.
Review by: janicebeemer, June 2017
The bus driver was highly knowledgeable and friendly. The bear exhibit was nicely done and I felt the bears were happy in there homes.
Review by: Clive H, June 2017
Even though our bus was running late, we realised why when our guide and driver Vivienne had so much local knowledge, particularly about her tribe the Tlingits, that she could not fit it all in in the time. We benefitted because we were the last tour of the day and we over ran by a lot more because she did not have another group to pick up. My only small niggle was that we did not have long enough at the Fortress of the Bear. It was very interesting because the people who set the place up were giving a very detailed narration but we had to leave part way through.
Review by: Jenny, June 2017
These bears are apparently rescue bears and beautiful creatures. I could not help but feel for the environment they were living in. It looked somewhat like a rubbish dump and I did feel they were being exploited for commercial purposes. One appeared to be trained to stand upright on a log while he was fed fruit by one of the keepers. There were enormous amounts of tourists here sometimes hard to move around. It was not what we expected.
Review by: Vicki H, June 2017
Excellent! We loved Sitka,it was charming and our guide was extremely good!
Review by: Grady G, September 2016
enjoyable and interesting.
Review by: Buck H, September 2016
Enjoyed the tour of Sitka and the Bears, Our driver was very interisting and really made the trip interesting and fun. I think her name was Melissa, wore her name on the right side of her hat bill.
Review by: Carol G, September 2016
Maria, our guide is the best! She is very enthusiastic about Sitka and it shows! She stopped at many places just because she saw some interesting wildlife and hand dug some of the local crabs to show us. Seeing Sitka from her eyes was wonderful. The Fortress of the Bear was awesome, to see the care and understanding these bears get is amazing. The Salmon run was breathtaking. Worth every penny!
Review by: Wayne H, August 2016
Really enjoyed the bear refuge!
Review by: Robert P, July 2016
Our guide, Maria, was informative and entertaining. Fortress of the Bear was terrific. Animals very lively and healthy-looking. I would recommend the tour to anyone going to Sitka.
Review by: Kenneth J, June 2016
Our tour guide, Roby, did an excellent job.
Review by: Kimberly T, June 2016
Very informational...plenty of background into the history of Sitka. Tour guide made it personal but sharing her own experiences. Would recommend to everyone
Review by: Cathleen D, May 2016
Local knowledgeable guide.
Review by: Chris H, June 2015
Great tour if you are in Sitka for the day. Guide was fantastic.fantastic. Recommend this tour.
Review by: Joyce M, May 2015
This was the worst tour ever of Sitka which seems like a very nice city. I hope my previous review was of Sitka and not Skagway.
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