How to Visit Ketchikan in 2026: Berths, Ward Cove and Your Port Day
The short answer. Ketchikan has no gate and no town ticket. If your ship is at Berths 1 to 4 you step straight onto Front Street and walk to Creek Street. From Ward Cove, a free shuttle takes about 20 minutes. Each sight charges at its own door, and each tour is its own booking. Book flights, fishing and small groups before you sail.
Most first-time visitors picture a single attraction with a ticket office. Ketchikan is a working town on Revillagigedo Island, stretched 31 miles along the water and never more than ten blocks wide. You plan a port day here around three things: where your ship docks, how long it stays, and what you want to see off the one road. Here is how that works in 2026, and where the tours in Ketchikan Alaska fit in.
Quick facts for a 2026 port day
| What you want to know | The answer |
|---|---|
| Where ships dock | Berths 1 to 4 on Front Street, or The Mill at Ward Cove |
| Ward Cove to downtown | About seven miles; free shuttle to Berth 4, about 20 minutes |
| Where most tours meet | The Rock statue at Berth 2, beside 131 Front Street |
| A ticket for the town | None: the streets, Creek Street and the waterfront are free |
| Southeast Alaska Discovery Center | $5, daily 8am–4pm, 1 May to 30 September; 15 and under free |
| Totem Heritage Center | Daily 8am–5pm, May to September; admission charged |
| Rain | 149.54 inches a year (NOAA, 1991–2020) |
| Tour fares | From $80 a person for a town loop to $575 for a bear flight |
Figures are as of September 2026; check before you travel. Hours by season are on the Ketchikan visitor guide.
Tickets: what you pay for, and where
There is nothing to buy to enter the town. You pay in two places only. The indoor sights charge at their doors: the Discovery Center's $5 in summer, and the Totem Heritage Center's admission. Everything else you pay for is a tour, and each tour sells its own seats for each departure.
- Book ahead for floatplanes, fishing charters and any tour that takes 6 to 12 guests, so seats are limited.
- Some tours include entry fees. The trolley covers Herring Cove and the Totem Heritage Center, and the All in One tour covers Saxman.
- Fishing needs a licence. A nonresident licence costs $15 for a day, and king salmon need a stamp at $15 more.
- Per-group fares exist. The private vans are priced for the whole party, from $680.
Getting there: the berths, Ward Cove and the airport
The Port of Ketchikan has four cruise berths on Front Street, numbered south to north. Ships there tie up in the middle of town, so you walk off into the streets. The Mill at Ward Cove opened to ships in 2021, about seven miles north. It has a Welcome Center with a museum and shops, and a free shuttle runs to Berth 4 in about 20 minutes. Which berth each tour meets at is on the Ketchikan cruise port page.
If you fly in, Alaska Airlines reaches Ketchikan from Seattle in about 90 minutes. The airport is on Gravina Island, across the Tongass Narrows. The airport ferry costs $6 a crossing for an adult and takes about five minutes. The Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Bellingham, Washington, takes 36 hours. Every route is on how to get to Ketchikan.
Walking, access and the one road
Downtown is small enough to walk from any of the four berths. Creek Street, Thomas Basin and the Discovery Center are all on foot. Past the edge of town there is one road, north and south, and that is where you need wheels. Totem Bight is about ten miles north, and Settlers Cove about eighteen.
If you use a wheelchair, the crab boat, the Rainforest Sanctuary walk, the distillery and one salmon charter are listed as accessible. Most boats, vans and trails are not, so read the access line before you book.
What you need to declare or leave behind
- Floatplanes ask for every passenger's weight when you book. One flight sets a 300-pound limit per passenger.
- Ziplines set weight limits of 70 to 250 or 70 to 280 pounds, plus a minimum height.
- The water-landing flight asks you to walk down a ramp and climb a ladder onto the float.
- The crab boat turns away children under five, under Coast Guard rules.
- The distillery is for travellers 21 and over.
How long to allow
| What you do | Time |
|---|---|
| Walk Creek Street | 30 to 60 minutes |
| Southeast Alaska Discovery Center | About an hour |
| A road tour of town and the totems | 2 to 3 hours |
| A whale boat | About 2 hours 30 minutes |
| A Misty Fjords floatplane | About 2 hours, pickup to drop-off |
| Fishing or a bear trip | 4 to 6 hours |
Count back from your all-aboard time, not forward from arrival. A walking route for the hours you have left is in downtown Ketchikan, stop by stop.
The best time to visit
Come between May and September if you can. That is when the Discovery Center and the Totem Heritage Center open daily. June is the driest month, with 7.02 inches of rain on average. October is the wettest, with 18.37. July and August bring the warmest afternoons, around 64°F.
Timing matters for wildlife too. Ketchikan Creek fills with spawning salmon each July and August, and the tours that look for bears say your chances improve from mid-July. Month-by-month figures are on Ketchikan weather, and what the rain means for a tour is in Ketchikan rain, in numbers.
Every kind of tour, with prices
Decide what you want from the day, then pick the kind of tour that delivers it. Fares below are per person unless marked.
- Town and totems: every Ketchikan city tour runs 2 to 4 hours, from $80 to $134 a head. The photo safari is the most-reviewed of them.
- Bears and eagles: Ketchikan wildlife tours run from $80 by road to $575 by floatplane.
- Whales: Ketchikan whale watching tours cost $178 to $210, like the wildlife and whale watching quest from Berth 2.
- The crab boat: the Bering Sea crab fisherman's tour is three hours on a working boat, from $249.
- Flights: Misty Fjords tours cost $349 to $470, with an all-aboard guarantee.
- Fishing: Ketchikan fishing tours run 4 to 6 hours, from $489, licence extra.
- Bears by air: the Prince of Wales Island bear flight is one of the Ketchikan seaplane tours, at $575.
- From the ship: Ketchikan shore tours collect you from the cruise docks or promise you back for all-aboard.
- Your party only: Ketchikan private tours put one guide or captain with your group alone.
- Active: Ketchikan adventure tours cover ziplines, kayaks, e-bikes and a UTV, from $100.
Weather and cancellation
Tours run rain or shine, so pack a waterproof layer. The exception is flying. A floatplane pilot can delay or cancel a flight for low cloud, and some flights refund nothing if you cancel. Most other tours refund in full up to 24 hours ahead. Read the policy on the fare you choose.
What is within walking distance of the ship
From Berths 1 to 4 you can fill a morning without a tour. Walk Creek Street and look for salmon from its planks. Visit the Discovery Center at 50 Main Street. Walk up to the Totem Heritage Center at 601 Deermount Street, then back down past the boats in Thomas Basin. The full list is on things to do in Ketchikan.
Tours that fit a first port day
Ketchikan All In One
Six road stops in two and a half hours, from the salmon ladder and Herring Cove to Saxman's totems, with Saxman entry in the fare.
From $94 per person
Check Availability
3-Hour Rainforest, Beach & Wildlife Walk
Your party only, collected at your ship downtown or at Ward Cove, for two hours on foot at Settlers Cove and Lunch Creek Falls.
From $117 per person
Check Availability
Misty Fjords Floatplane Flightseeing Tour
A floatplane from the Narrows over Misty Fjords and back in about two hours, with a window seat and an all-aboard guarantee.
From $349 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: check your berth and all-aboard time, then choose the tour that fits between them. Every fare sits side by side on Ketchikan Alaska Tours.