We are excited to share that during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, whales were seen on 100% of our trips! Skip the crowded boats and join Sitka Expeditions for a truly unforgettable whale watching and wildlife experience aboard our comfortable enclosed vessel. Enjoy a more personal and relaxed trip while staying warm and dry, with air ride seating and a private bathroom on board. Designed for both cruise ship guests and independent travelers, our tours are guided by knowledgeable locals who know exactly where to find the action. Witness whales breaching, bears feeding along the shoreline, and sea otters drifting in their natural habitat. Whether it is your first time or a return visit, our trips are built to give you the best chance at incredible wildlife encounters without feeling rushed. Book your spot and experience the raw beauty of Sitka the way it is meant to be seen.
Our lifetime experienced guide will pick you up at a designated meeting place wherever your port is. From there, you will embark on an unbelievable journey in an unforgettable place. We will explore around Sitka looking for Humpback Whales, Orcas (killer whales), Sea Otters, Coastal Brown Bears, Bald Eagles and so many more other coastal animals.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Sitka Whale Watching & Wildlife Adventure lasts about 2 hours. The itinerary has 1 stop.
Prices start at $199 per person for this Sitka experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 21 participants.
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Right on time! Both our naturalist and boat driver were great and informative, which made for a wonderful experience. We saw a momma bear and her two cubs who wrestled with each other. Saw a few whales and great tails. Also, sea lions. They had treats and water for us, too.
The boat was enclosed and had comfortable seats. We had the option to watch from the front and back of the boat when stopped. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable about various animals and information about them as well as the surrounding area. The captain took us to areas where we saw humpback whales, a mama bear and her three cubs as well as sea lions. This was an excellent adventure, we recommend it highly!
My partner and I enjoyed this excursion even though we didn’t see any whales. Our guide and captain searched hard for them - we ventured through some rough waters, but no luck. The highlight was a bear and her cubs along the shore. We also saw a sea lion. Fun times.
Thank you, Michael, for your 5-star review and understanding that wildlife is wildlife. We are so happy that you still left the tour happy and excited to have gone exploring with us! 🐻
Saw everything advertised. Bears, eagles, whales, sea otters. Beautiful. Frank and Jac were awesome. So many whales!
Yay, Michelle! We're so happy we could give you a great tour! Thank you for joining us 🤠
Friendly, knowledgeable, local. Great experience. Parker's goal is to deliver on the experience promised.
Thanks, Craig! We appreciate the recognition and your trust in exploring Sitka with us 🐻
Brad was fantastic! So nice and trying to make us enjoy as much as possible The boat was the best one we have seen in Alaska, clean and heated! Please do not skip using this guy if you plan a vacation in Sitka! Thnaks for the wonderdul ride
Wow, sounds like a great tour! Thank you for coming out with us 🤠
CONTACT THE COMPANY DIRECTLY if you plan to book this tour and BE SURE TO CONFIRM WITH THE OPERATOR directly, Don't trust that a confirmation number through viator guarantees your time slot/tour!!! We booked this tour six months prior to travel and needed to adjust tour time to fit within our port gangway up times, so I used the viator system to change our booking to a morning tour. I used viator's system to reach out to the operator and let him know that I had made this change and specifically asked him to let me know if there were any issues on his end with our new booking time. I heard nothing back from the operator and was able to pay for our tour and get booking / confirmation numbers with the morning booking time and all the info for the tour. On the morning of our tour, we arrived well before our booking time and were the first to greet our tour guide only to have her inform it us that even though I had tickets in hand with a tour time of 9am, their system didn't have is listed at that time and still had us booked at our original time (that we had changed six months prior), and they "had no boats" that could accommodate us at the morning slot. The tour guide called the operator and he proceeded to tell me that he tried to contact me a few days ago (not 6months ago when I reached out) when we were already unreachable on the cruise ship, but they could either try to book me on someone else's boat (which was unlikely due to a very busy port day) or refund us. I was devastated and after hanging up, our tour guide told us she could fit us in at the afternoon time and, if we were willing to come a bit early, we could start as soon as they dropped off the prior tour and that they could take us directly to the cruise dock at the end of our tour, avoiding the shuttle and allowing us to have MOST of a full tour. I was so grateful to tour guide Jac (and captain Frank) for making it possible to for us to get at least most of a tour. We had to completely rearrange our day those in our group who were unable to walk for long distances were left to just sit and wait since we had gotten off the ship early for what we thought would be a morning tour, but now everyone was stuck in port until the afternoon tour time. We reached out to the tour operator who blamed viator for double booking us, and said this has happened to them with several other groups, but it was on viator's side. We have not had this experience with viator on any other excursion nor has our travel agent heard this from any other clients she has directed towards viator. When we contacted viator, they deferred to the tour operator and denied us a partial refund for our shortened tours. Despite our shortened tour, Jac and Frank did a great job and we saw lots of wildlife. They were very knowledgeable and helped us understand about the animals and helped us see humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, and eagles.
Danielle, we're glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with Jac and Frank and that you were able to see humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, and eagles. That said, we do want to clarify a few important details for anyone reading this review as there is misinformation in the review. The reservation-time discrepancy occurred through Viator's booking system. Once we became aware of the issue, we communicated directly with Danielle and attempted to find another operator who could accommodate the requested time. On January 28th, we advised her that we had located another option and asked for her email address so we could send the necessary information, Danielle left the text message as she will cancel and we requested her email which she never responded. Unfortunately, we never received a response to that request. We also messaged Danielle days in advance confirming if she did cancel the tour or wished to proceed and never heard back. Our crew then worked to accommodate the group later in the day, including adjusting the timing and arranging transportation directly back to the cruise terminal so they could experience as much of the tour as possible. We also want to clarify the statement regarding a partial refund. A partial refund was issued by Sitka Expeditions, and we have documentation confirming it. We absolutely understand the frustration of having a reservation issue while visiting Sitka on a limited cruise schedule. However, we do feel it is important to clarify that we communicated with the guest, attempted to arrange an alternative, accommodated the group later that day, and issued a partial refund. We're very happy that, despite the booking issue, Jac and Frank were able to provide a wildlife experience that Danielle and her group enjoyed.
There are no guarantees when it comes to wildlife. The weather was less than ideal and the whales were not cooperating. However, our Captain Parker made it a fun excursion with his very colorful commentary. The boat was very clean and only accommodated six passages.
Hey Shannon! Thank you for being so understanding!!!! The weather was certainly not the best and unfortunately thats typical September weather but you guys made the most of it!!! We saw some sow and cubs, sea otters and other fun stuff despite the less that favorable weather lol! Thanks again for being so fun, that trip was fun regardless of the weather!
Wonderful whale watch tour! Saw many, many, many whales, otters with their babies, sea lions, Salmon, and eagles. The boat and crew were fantastic. Have just enough information and allowed for quiet observation of wildlife. It was so enjoyable and a perfect day on the water. Thank you!
Yay! We are happy you enjoyed your tour and got to see so much! Thank you for exploring with us and letting us know we did a good job 🤠 We appreciate you!
Very knowledgeable, friendly and found great spots for viewing of all wildlife possible.
Thank you for the 5 stars! We are glad we could provide such a great experience 🤠🐋 Thank you!
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sitka Whale Watching & Wildlife Adventure | 2 hours | 4.9 (257) | $199 | |
 Sitka’s Best Local Whale Watching & Marine Wildlife Tour | 2 hours | 4.9 (182) | $200 | View |
 Amazing Whale Watching and Marine Wildlife Shore Excursion | 2 hours | 4.7 (91) | $199 | View |
 A Comfortable Sitka Whale Watching Wildlife Shore Excursion | 2h 30min | 5.0 (89) | $225 | View |
 Sitka’s Private Wildlife Whale Adventure 6 Transport Meal option | 2 hours | — | $1,799 | View |
 Experience Incredible Marine Wildlife Tour | 2h 30min | 5.0 (107) | $210 | View |
 Private Charter Scenic Wildlife Excursion for Cruise Passengers | 3 hours | 5.0 (31) | $1,191 | View |