Captain Gary's Sitka Adventures — Attraction in Baranof Island

My husband and I went on our first cruise and first trip to Alaska in July 2019. Our favorite port was Sitka! When we got off the ship, we signed up for a combo tour with a local couple who run Captain Gary's Sitka Adventures that had a 2-1/2 hour land tour with Koali in a van, there were 8 of us in an 11-passenger van so it was plenty comfortable (this tour covered historic Sitka, Fortress of the Bears, the Raptor Center, Sitka National Park and downtown) and then a 2-1/2 hr boat tour with her husband, Captain Gary and first mate Niko (an adorable little dog who loves to be petted and wore a cute little life jacket, so adorable!) Koali was very knowledgeable about Sitka and was so sweet and even had snacks and bottled water in the van, which was nice! 30 minutes was perfect for the bears, we could have used a little more time at the Raptor Center, but this is a great “taste of Sitka” tour with a lot of information! Much better than those big buses and she had great timing to miss all the big bus tours. Captain Gary took us out in a 6-passenger boat and within just a few minutes a whale was spotted! We slowed down and stopped for about 35 minutes to watch two whales, one of which was only about 80 feet from the boat! It was an incredible experience and I had tears in my eyes as it slowly came up for a breath of air. Then he took us to an island about 12 miles off the coast that had formed by a volcano and was now a bird refuge. This island was amazing, especially the little cave with the purple starfish and the green anomalies! In addition to the amazing whales, we also saw eagles, Peregrine falcons (including two babies in their nest), puffins, sea ducks, sea otters, sea lions and Harbor seals. Captain Gary was born and raised in Sitka and is extremely knowledgeable about Sitka and its wildlife and he really cares about providing his clients a great experience. I highly recommend both of...

Captain Gary and Koali are Sitka treasures! Do not hesitate to book with them. We booked the full day best of Sitka tour - a year in advance!

Our morning started on the water with Captain Gary - he was kind, funny, knowledgeable and truly wanted to share this part of his corner of the world with us. He enjoyed the hunt for whales as much as we did and found joy in our thrill of seeing these majestic creatures! Plenty of humpback whales - he knew exactly where they would be, sea otters, sea lions, gulls, common Muirs and bald eagles. This experience is our favorite during our time in Alaska. He treated us all like family, caring for everyone and checking in often to be sure everyone was good during our time together.

In the afternoon we were able to see all the places on land you should see during a first visit to Sitka. Our guide Ryan was great with humor and interesting insights to guide us along the way. Koali met us in town to be sure we got where we needed to be in the afternoon - she was kind but firm - exactly what is needed to get groups moving efficiently and on time. She wanted to be sure everyone was able to see all they signed up for.

For those with a high need for communication - they have you covered here too! VERY responsive and detailed communication the day before and morning of our tour.

We are planning a return trip to Sitka and Captain Gary will...

We absolutely LOVED our whale watching trip with Gary (and his dog Niko)! Gary was gracious and accommodating to our largish group of 9 people. Due to less business because of COVID, Gary was willing to tailor his services to what we were looking for which was whale watching plus some transportation to Fortress of the Bear. I know next year when hopefully we are all vaccinated against this virus, he may not have the same ability to be so flexible but we were extremely grateful for how kind, communicative, and diligent he was in making sure we had a good time. For the first hour or so of our whale watching expedition, we didn't see any whales. But Gary didn't give up! He kept searching and searching in all the locations he had seen whales this season. It helps that he was born and raised and Sitka, so he just KNOWS the area extremely well. He finally spotted a whale and man, we were treated to a show of a lifetime, including breaching. Sorry, there aren't any guarantees that Gary can duplicate that for future travelers. But I know he'll try! He stayed optimistic and determined to make sure he was getting to locations where whales are typically spotted. I would highly recommend Captain Gary: kind, hard working, gracious, and knowledgeable. We'll definitely hit him up again when we're...