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USD $63.00
Sitka Sightseeing Tour including Fortress of the Bear
Sitka, United States of America
Explore the wildlife highlights of Sitka on a 2-hour tour with knowledgeable local guides who share their expertise on this remarkable and beautiful area. Walk among the towering totem poles of Sitka National Historical Park, watch the antics of the brown bears at Fortress of the Bear, and gaze at the breathtaking scenery around Sitka. You’ll also see Japonski Island, the O’Connell Bridge, Alaska Pioneer Home, Sheldon Jackson Museum and St Michael’s Cathedral. This small-group tour ensures a more personalized experience.
After meeting your small group tour at the cruise ship dock, you’ll board a comfortable 14-passenger van and head over O’Connell Bridge. Get a great view of Sitka, situated on the edge of Baranof Island at the end of Alaska’s famous Inside Passage. The bridge connects to Japonski Island where you’ll hear about Sitka’s role in World War II.
Then continue to the oldest national park in Alaska: Sitka National Historical Park. You'll be amazed as you stroll among the stunning Tlingit and Haida totem poles amidst hemlock and spruce trees on the 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 your guided walk along the Indian River, you’ll head south along Silver Bay to arrive at Fortress of the Bear, North America’s biggest bear habitat. The habitat is designed to be a natural setting for orphaned bear cubs. You’ll be able to observe the brown bears from as close as 25 feet (8m), getting a great view of the play and habits of these magnificent animals. Experienced staff can answer any questions that you may have about the bears and their rehabilitation.
Along the tour, your guide will point out many historical treasures like the Sitka Pioneer Home, Sheldon Jackson Museum, St Michael’s Cathedral, and the Sitka Sound Science Center. Keep an eye out for wildlife throughout your journey, and have your camera handy!
After a 2-hour tour of Sitka’s fascinating wildlife and historical highlights, you will end your tour back at the cruise ship dock in Sitka.
Our guide was excellent! His knowledge of the area and culture was fascinating. Totally enjoyed our tour!
Review by: Kathy, September 2016
Fran, our tour guide, was highly informative and fun to tour with!
Review by: Mary, August 2016
Fortress of the Bear is a DONT MISS in Sitka. Would have spent more time there if my schedule had allowed.
Review by: Kevin S, August 2016
This was a very enjoyable experience. Our tour guide was knowledgeable of many aspects of Sitka life and she did the best she could to integrate our understanding of the current status of the town with a historical overview of its Russian and Tlingkit roots. We also visited the Totem Pole park, got a look inside preservation efforts at the park before driving out to Fortress of the Bear. The fortress was very interesting. It was great to observe the bears in their new home. We learned about the good work they do there with abandoned and orphaned bear cubs. It was all great stuff. Sitka was, by far, my favorite shore site to visit on our cruise. I would highly recommend this excursion.
Review by: Brian M, August 2016
Great trip by far, fun, exciting and educational. Tour guide Fran was the greatest and answered all our questions. Recommend this trip for anyone passing by. A lot of the money for the tickets goes to support the bear habitat.
Review by: KIM K, August 2016
Beautiful. Great pilot and well equipped plane. In my opinion it's a don't miss!
Review by: Helend3066, July 2016
The fortress of the Bear is like going to the Zoo. The money goes for a good cause but the description of the tour is deceiving. Not as exciting as we had hoped. The Totems were interesting but we needed more time to go through the museum. There also needs to be a disclaimer about uneven ground or Forrest Trails both of which we encountered making it hard for our elderly to participate. Our Tour Guide Maria was wonderful. She is why it got 3 stars instead of 2.
Review by: Joanne I, June 2016
Very good tour. Tour guide was fun. Would recommend
Review by: Martin T, June 2016
The Guide, Marie, was special. Her knowledge of her town was wonderful
Review by: Ekirtman, June 2016
The bears at the fortress were in clear view and were very photogenic. A great experience.
Review by: V A L, August 2015
This family-owned business treated you like family. If we had more time, we would have taken the boat trip, also.
Review by: Brenda J, July 2015
Maria our guide was very knowledge on the nature surrounding. Sitka. We had many stops for photo's and visited places we just would not have know about on our own. Maria spotted several Bald Eagles and took us through woodland and showed us a river where the salmon go to spawn. The Fortress of the Bears was the highlight for me to see the Bears close and playing.
Review by: Ruth E, June 2015
The trip is all about the Fortress of the Bear, and our guide was savvy enough to know that and spend lots of time there. The rest of the tour was forgetable, as I don't much remember what it was.
Review by: Richard H, June 2015
Wonderful tour of the area prior to checking out the Fortress of the bear...wonderful experience...tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly...would recommend this to everyone...
Review by: sjokeefe, July 2014
This tour was wonderful! We had been to Sitka before, and had seen the Russian influences on this town. But this time we were given a tour of the native culture and wildlife in the area. The Fortress of the bear was a great way to see bears up close, and learn how they were being saved when they became orphaned.
Review by: Yvonne M, July 2014
The tour started late and we had a limited time at Sitka (from cruise ship). The tour guide was way to chatty about personal information and he did this while stopped at no place that was interesting wasting more time. He was not concerned about our time frame saying he it was okay as we were his last tour for the day. We ended up getting back about 40 minutes late and didn't have time left to finish touring the town. Very disappointing!
Review by: RICHARD B, July 2014
Our Guide, Bruce, made the day for us--his knowledge and general help was fantastic.
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