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Guide · Worth it?
Is the Ketchikan duck tour worth it, or is another tour better?
A fair answer to whether the Ketchikan duck tour is worth it: what you get for the fare, the real downsides and which other Ketchikan tour wins if you want something different from your port day.
Check availabilityfrom $79
Editorial team, ketchikan-duck-tour.comUpdated October 16, 2026read in 6 minutes5 sources
Short answer
- 01Worth it if
- You want a fun overview of town and harbor in about 1.5 hours.
- 02Rating
- 4.71 from 2,977 ratings, high for a town tour.
- 03Skip it if
- You need a refundable ticket: all sales are final.
- 04Better for totems
- The cultural excursion with Totem Bight, 3 hours.
- 05Better for scenery
- A Misty Fjords floatplane flight.
Is the Ketchikan duck tour worth it? The short version
For most first-time visitors with a few hours ashore, yes. The duck gives you the town and the harbor in about 1.5 hours, with a live guide, from the pier your ship is tied to. It is rated 4.71 from 2,977 ratings, a score that holds up because of the sheer number of guests behind it. Few Ketchikan tours combine that many happy reviews with such a short time commitment.
It is not worth it for everyone, though. The ride is light entertainment with jokes and trivia, not a deep history tour or a wildlife trip. It does not leave town, so it skips the totem parks, the rainforest and the fjords. And its tickets cannot be refunded, which matters on a cruise where schedules can shift.
The rest of this page sorts the question by what you want from the day. If you know what kind of traveler you are, you will find your answer in a minute, along with the tour that suits you better if the duck is not it.
Who will love it
Families come first. Children from 3 to 12 ride from $47, the guide's humor works on all ages and nobody has to walk far or climb hills. The moment the duck drives into the water is a highlight for children, and the whole ride fits comfortably between breakfast on the ship and lunch in town.
First-time visitors get the most out of it, too. The duck passes the salmon ladder, City Park, Whale Park and Creek Street before it heads into the harbor.1 After that, the town makes sense: you know where things are and what is worth walking back to. It is an efficient way to orient yourself before you explore on foot.
Travelers who prefer to sit are the third group. Guests stay seated for the whole tour, and the water part stays in the calm, protected waters of the Inside Passage. If long walks are hard for you, or the weather is wet and cold, a covered ride with a talkative guide is a comfortable way to see a lot of Ketchikan quickly.
Guest ratings
How guests rate the main options
rating
Pros and cons
The duck against the alternatives
| Tour | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Duck tour | Fun overview, families | Non-refundable |
| Totem park tour | Totems by road | Fewer reviews |
| Cultural excursion | Totem Bight, falls | Takes 3 hours |
| Crab feast lunch | Food lovers | Out of town |
| Misty Fjords flight | Scenery | Highest price |
Based on each listing's length, rating and cancellation terms: the duck tour on Viator, the others on GetYourGuide.
Decision helper
Duck tour or something else?
Find the tour that fits your port day
The duck tour
About 1.5 hours, rated 4.71.
Cultural excursion
Totem Bight and Rainbow Falls in 3 hours.
Misty Fjords flight
A floatplane trip of 2 hours.
Crab feast lunch
2.5 hours at a lodge, rated 4.73.
Totem park tour
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ask about access
The duck boards by a short ladder.
Nearly 1 million visitors arrive on cruise ships every summer season.
Who should skip it
Skip it if your plans are not fixed. The listing is non-refundable: all sales are final. By comparison, the Potlatch and Herring Cove tour and the cultural excursion both allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. If there is any chance you will change your mind, a refundable tour removes that risk.
Skip it if you are mainly after nature. The duck spends its time in town and in the harbor. For the wild side of the area, a floatplane to Misty Fjords, a kayak trip or a rainforest walk takes you much further. Ketchikan lies 22 miles west of Misty Fjords National Monument, which you cannot see from the duck.3
Skip it, too, if boarding is a problem. Guests board by a ladder of 9 steps, about 6 inches each, and mobility aids stay at the bottom during the tour. For someone who cannot manage that, a bus or van tour with level boarding is the more realistic choice; ask the operator of any tour about access before you book.
Checklist
Book the duck if all of these are true
01
Your plans
- Your port day is confirmed
- You have time for check-in and the ride
- You accept that tickets are final
02
Your group
- Everyone can manage a short ladder
- You enjoy a joking, chatty guide
- An overview matters more than a deep dive
Cost calculator
The duck or another tour for your group
Compare the total before you decide
People
Total from$158
from, per person $79
Check availabilityTotals use each tour's lowest per-person price on GetYourGuide or Viator, converted with the ECB rate; the booking page shows the binding amount.
Video
What to know before a Ketchikan port day
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The duck against the totem tours by road
A tour of Potlatch Totem Park and Herring Cove is a close rival on price. It runs 2.5 hours and starts from $85, rated 3.92 from 25 reviews. It heads out of the center by road but never onto the water. If totems matter more than the harbor, it has the edge; if the reviews matter most, the duck does.
The cultural and scenic excursion is the choice for Alaska Native culture. It runs 3 hours and includes Herring Cove, Rainbow Falls and Totem Bight State Historical Park, from $84, rated 4.22 from 162 reviews. Totem Bight sits 10 miles north of town, with restored totem poles and a clan house above the Tongass Narrows.4
A city tour that adds Saxman Village and a salmon tasting runs 2.5 hours from $99, rated 3.77 from 6 reviews. Saxman Totem Park lies 2.5 miles south of downtown.5 With so few reviews, that tour is harder to judge, which is part of why the duck's long track record is reassuring.
The duck against the bigger outings
If your port day allows one big experience, compare the duck with the trips that cost more but go further. A Misty Fjords floatplane flight runs 2 hours in a group of at most 6 and starts from $389, rated 4.67 from 52 reviews. It is the scenic highlight of the area, and a very different day from a town ride.
Food is the other big draw. A crab feast lunch at a lodge runs 2.5 hours from $110, rated 4.73 from 70 reviews. A lumberjack show with a crab feast runs 2.5 hours from $158, rated 4.89 from 26 reviews. Both are full experiences rather than overviews.
Seen this way, the duck is rarely an either-or. Its short length and low fare make it the natural add-on to one of these bigger trips. Many port days work best as a quick duck ride in the morning to see the town, then the main excursion, then a walk to Creek Street before the ship leaves.
What makes it feel worth the money
Value on a port day is about how much of the place you understand afterwards, not only about what you paid. The duck does well on that measure. In one ride you see the old salmon town at the creek, the boardwalk that made Creek Street famous and the working harbor from the water. Few things you can book from the pier give you both sides of Ketchikan, the streets and the sea, in such a short time.
The guide is the other half of the value. The narration is built for entertainment, and the jokes, trivia and local stories carry the ride through grey weather that would make a walking tour feel long. If the weather turns, you are still dry, seated and learning something, which is more than many outdoor tours can promise on a wet Alaska morning.
What you give up is depth and flexibility. You will not linger anywhere, you cannot step off for a closer look and you cannot cancel for a refund. If those three things are acceptable, the duck tends to feel like money well spent; if any of them would spoil the day for you, the comparison above points to the better choice.
Getting the timing right on a port day
Whether the duck is worth it often comes down to time rather than money. Ketchikan sees nearly 1 million cruise visitors every summer season, and many of them are in town on the same days you are.2 Popular departures fill up, so if you have a tight window, book a set time rather than hoping for a seat after you dock.
Plan the day backwards from your ship's all-aboard time. Allow for the check-in, which is 30 minutes before departure at the bottom of your ship's ramp, then about 1.5 hours for the ride itself. If your ship docks at Ward Cove, add the free shuttle downtown and the hour the operator asks you to allow for it.
With the timing settled, the answer is usually clear. If the duck fits comfortably and the no-refund rule does not worry you, it is one of the best-reviewed and best-value ways to see Ketchikan. If it squeezes your day too tightly, choose one longer tour instead and enjoy it without watching the clock.
Ready to splash
Book your seat on the duck
Pick a departure that fits your port day, then meet the duck at the pier.
You ask,we answer.
Is the Ketchikan duck tour worth it?
For a quick, fun overview, yes. It covers town and harbor in about 1.5 hours and is rated 4.71 from 2,977 ratings.
What is the biggest downside?
No refunds. All sales are final on the duck tour listing.
Is a totem park tour better?
For totems, perhaps; for reviews, no. The Potlatch and Herring Cove tour is rated 3.92 from 25 reviews.
Is it good for kids?
Yes, and cheaper for them. Children 3 to 12 ride from $47.
Will I see wildlife?
Maybe, but it is not a wildlife tour. Wildlife appears seasonally on the water section; for whales book a wildlife cruise.
Can I do the duck and another tour on the same day?
Usually, yes. The duck takes about 1.5 hours, which leaves room for one bigger excursion.
Is it worth it in the rain?
Often more than a walking tour. You stay seated and covered, and the guide keeps the mood up.
Sources
What this text is based on
- 1Ketchikan Duck Tour (Alaska Amphibious Tours)Ketchikan Duck Tour↩
- 2Advisory Council on Historic PreservationKetchikan, Alaska (Preserve America)↩
- 3Alaska Department of Transportation (Alaska Marine Highway)Ketchikan community information↩
- 4Ketchikan Visitors BureauTotem Bight↩
- 5Ketchikan Visitors BureauSaxman Totem Park↩
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