Alaska Shore Tours — Attraction in Alaska

The Neets Bay Bear Watch and Flightseeing tour was one of the highlights of our cruise. The entire experience was well-organized and well-executed.

My wife and I started the tour by meeting a representative from Alaska Shore Tours on the pier just a few steps from our cruise ship. She was holding a sign with the excursion code clearly visible so we knew without a doubt that we were in the right place. We were directed to a waiting bus, which was a very short walk from where we met the first representative.

Once everyone attending the tour was loaded, we were driven to the marina where the planes were docked. They presented a safety video and then directed us down a ramp onto the dock where the plane was waiting. Our pilot helped us onto the plane, checked to make sure everyone was properly buckled in and showed us how to use the headsets. He started the plane, taxied into open water, and then we took off.

This was our first time flying in a float plane. Takeoff and landing were quite smooth compared to typical wheeled planes. Seeing such a beautiful area from a relatively low altitude (compared to commercial jets) was amazing! The area around Ketchikan is so beautiful. After a 20 minute flight, we arrived at Neets Bay.

Our guide met us on the dock and gave us a short safety talk about how to behave around bears - what to do and what not to do. Then he led us up a ramp to a woodsy area. We were immediately able to see a marshy area with at least 2 dozen eagles.

The guide took us down a short trail and pointed out many signs of bear activity - scat (feces), claw markings on trees, and several plants that the bears had eaten. At the end of the trail (about 1/4 mile) was an open area with the fish hatchery.

Just as our group arrived at the fish hatchery, we heard muted "oos" and "ahhs" from another two groups that had arrived before us - bears! There were 2 bears within 50 yards, one was climbing into a spillway next to a waterfall and the other was a bit further downstream. We quickly grabbed our cameras and started making photos and videos.

Just a few minutes later, we saw another adult bear and two cubs a bit further down. The bears picked several salmon out of the spillway and stream. (I'm sure people who see this every day may laugh at my amazement, but for someone who has never seen a bear outside of a zoo this was quite breathtaking!)

After quite a while of watching the bears and some nearby eagles, we (sadly) made our way back down the trail to the dock for our flight back the marina and bus ride back to the pier. I'm sure you can tell from my description - we REALLY enjoyed our experience and would gladly do it again! Highly...

We booked the mushers dog sledding tour after reading many reviews and the online advertisement. There are many dogsledding tours to choose from but this one looked the most promising. Now that we have completed the tour I can honestly say it is even more fun and impressive than you would think. Even the bus ride out to the grounds was fun and entertaining. The views were beautiful, and our tour guide (John?) was hilarious and very, very informative. We honestly enjoyed ourselves from the moment we sat down in the vehicle, all the way until he dropped us back off near the port. Even walking from the vehicle to the dog sledding grounds was fun. There were other tours happening with horseback riding, and then you walk over a little bridge where you can see salmon swimming around in the water , it was breathtaking and super fun. Then we got to the facilities where they do the dog training and it was top notch. I was expecting a run down dirty location since it was for dog training but actually it's super cute and classy. I wish that we had more time because we would've liked to have explored the shops. The Unimog truck that you drive up to the sledding location in is so cool and that is a ride in itself. You ride up this really steep hill and it honestly feels like you're on a roller coaster, it's so fun! Very unexpected! Then of course there's the dogs! You obviously must love dogs if you choose this tour and you certainly will not be disappointed. The dogs are so cute and fun and they obviously love what they do. You get to go on a ride on a small cart. It was just our family of four and another couple plus the two drivers . The dogs get super into it! Wait until you go around the curve, the dogs think they're driving a race car! Then you get to ride back down the mountain again, which was fun and go meet the puppies. We all enjoyed meeting the puppies and learning about the gear and how these dogs are trained to do what they do. Very very fun, would definitely recommend to anyone to visiting Skagway. We were nervous about booking directly through the tour company, rather than using our cruise line, but it went perfectly no issues at all. It was clear that everyone working for this tour company cared very much that we were satisfied and made sure that we had an excellent time. Bring your camera and wear something cute because there's a beautiful viewing point where they will take a picture of your family with your cruise ship in the background. Go ahead and book this, you...

Three superb tours We booked three tours offered by Alaska Shore Tours, the 5 Glacier Seaplane Exploration in Juneau, the Whale Watching at Icy Strait Point and the Dog Sledding and Musher's Camp in Skagway while traversing the Inside Passage with Oceania Cruises. First, these tours were all much better value than the (identical) tours offered by our cruise ship, which is definitely a point in Alaska Shore Tours' favour. Second, all three of the tours were our favourites of the whole cruise. The seaplane tour of the glaciers was awesome - literally awe-inspiring. From above, the scale and majesty of the glaciers, their colours and shadows all make a huge, never-to-be-forgotten impression. Our pilot was a gas. He said to my friend who had grabbed the co-pilot's seat up front that he only had a slight hangover today as he veered away from the face of the mountain but we think (hope!) he was joking. Our whale watching trip in Icy Strait Point was equally awesome. The two young women who led the tour were so enthusiastic about the whales and Brie, our pilot, clearly knew just how the whales behaved as she managed to predict where they would appear next. Once, we saw, just 30 metres or so away, a pod of eight or nine whales all breaching the surface in a pre-determined circle as they fed on the fish they had herded together - magic! Finally, our Sled Dog and Musher's Camp tour was equally memorable. The dogs were so excited to see us arrive - they couldn't wait to get going and when we were installed in the sleds and they took off, boy did they move! Once we had arrived back at the start point, we had a chance to pet the dogs and they couldn't get enough loving! One of our dogs saw me approach and he just rolled over on his back, saying 'go on, tickle my tummy!' All this was crowned by a very informative talk by a young member of staff and the chance to cuddle a three-month-old puppy. As dog-lovers, my wife and I were in seventh heaven! All in all, three superb tours, and the administration side of Alaska Shore Tours was equally impressive. Emails were promptly answered, we were met where we were told to meet and at the right time, the small hiccough over paying for the tours (my original card did not go through) was sorted out promptly and efficiently. I highly...