Guide · Cruise day

How long is the Ketchikan duck tour, from ship to ship?

The ride itself is short, but your port day needs more than the ride. Here is how long the Ketchikan duck tour takes with check-in, where it starts on the pier and how NCL passengers at Ward Cove fit it in.

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Editorial team, ketchikan-duck-tour.comUpdated October 16, 2026read in 6 minutes10 sources

The tour this guide is about Ketchikan: Duck Tour by land and water 4.7 (2,977 reviews) 1.5 hoursA bus and a boat in one90 minutes, seated from$79per person Check availabilityPrice per Viator, live

Quick answer

01The ride: About 1.5 hours with a live guide.
02Check-in: 30 minutes before, at the bottom of your ship's ramp.
03Start: The downtown cruise pier, berths 1 to 4.
04Ward Cove: About 5.5 miles from downtown.¹
05NCL guests: Free Ward Cove shuttle; allow 1 hour to get downtown.

How long is the Ketchikan duck tour?

The ride itself lasts about 1.5 hours with a live guide speaking English. That covers the town section on wheels and the harbor section afloat, and you return to the pier where you started. On its own, that is short enough to fit almost any port day, even a short morning call.

Your real time budget is longer than the ride. The operator asks you to check in with its representatives 30 minutes before departure and to be at the duck 15 minutes before it leaves. Add a few minutes to walk down from your cabin and through the pier, and the duck takes a good part of a downtown morning from start to finish.

For passengers whose ship docks at Ward Cove, the budget grows again, because the tour does not start there. The rest of this page shows both versions of the day, so you can see how much time is left for lunch, shopping or a second excursion before you have to be back on board.

Port day plan

A downtown port day with the duck

Before

Leave the ship

Walk down the ramp to the duck tour representatives.
30 min before

Check in

Check in at the bottom of your ship's ramp.
15 min before

At the duck

Board by the ladder and pick your seat.
Ride

Town and harbor

About 1.5 hours on wheels and afloat.
After

Walk into town

Creek Street and the harbor are close to the pier.²

Where your ship docks in Ketchikan

Cruise ships in Ketchikan dock in one of two main places: downtown or at Ward Cove, about 5.5 miles from downtown.¹ Downtown has five possible docking spots: Piers 1 to 4 and Doyon Landing, which usually takes smaller overnight ships.³ Your ship's exact spot is published in the cruise calendar and can change at short notice.

Downtown Ketchikan has four Panamax-sized cruise berths along its waterfront, each with a float beside it.⁴ The duck tour departs from the downtown cruise ship pier at berths 1 to 4, so if your ship is at one of those, you are already where the tour begins. Walk down the gangway and you are there.

Ward Cove is a separate pier north of town that allows docking on both sides.³ Ships that use it are a long way from the tour's start, which is why the operator gives Ward Cove passengers their own instructions. If you are not sure where your ship will be, check the itinerary in your cruise app the evening before.

Weather

Ketchikan weather through the cruise season

Hours without sunDays with precipitationSeason

Darkness at mid-month and the tally of days with 2.5 mm or more of rain, as NOAA logged them at Beaver Falls over 1991 to 2020.¹⁰

Time budget

Downtown berth or Ward Cove: the time it takes

Step	Downtown berth	Ward Cove
Transfer to the start	None	Free shuttle, allow 1 hour
Check-in	30 min before	30 min before
Board the duck	15 min before	15 min before
The ride	About 1.5 hrs	About 1.5 hrs
Back to the ship	Short walk	Shuttle back

Times from the operator's meeting instructions and the listing; the Ward Cove distance is about 5.5 miles.¹

Where you dock

Three docking situations

Easiest

Berths 1 to 4

Downtown

Walk: Down the ramp
Check in: At the ramp
Extra time: None

Book the duck

Doyon Landing

Downtown, small ships

Walk: Along the pier
Check in: With the team
Extra time: A few minutes

Book the duck

Plan ahead

Ward Cove

About 5.5 miles out

Transfer: Free shuttle
Allow: 1 hour
Contact: 24 hrs ahead

Book the duck

Decision helper

Which departure should you book?

Match the departure to your ship

Any departure

Leave a buffer before all-aboard.

An early departure

The ride itself takes about 1.5 hours.

A mid-morning departure

Allow 1 hour for the free shuttle downtown.

Book ashore

Tours sell on the day at Berth 2 and the dock kiosks.⁵

Call ahead

The operator gives meeting instructions 24 hours ahead.

Cruise ships dock in one of two main locations in Ketchikan: downtown Ketchikan or Ward Cove, which is approximately 5.5 miles from downtown.

Ketchikan Visitors BureauSource 1

Check-in on the pier, step by step

When you leave the ship, look for the duck tour representatives at the bottom of your ship's ramp. Check in with them 30 minutes before your departure. This step matters more than it seems: although it rarely happens, schedules can change on the day, and check-in is where you hear about it first.

After checking in, you have a little time. Use it for the restrooms on the cruise pier or in the visitors bureau, because the duck has none on board. Then be at the duck 15 minutes before departure. Seating is first come, first served, with no reserved seats, so arriving early is also how you choose your place.

Boarding is by a ladder of 9 steps, and once seated you stay seated for the whole ride. If anyone in your group uses a wheelchair, walker or stroller, the crew takes it at the bottom of the ladder and keeps it in a dry, secure area until you return. The whole boarding process is quick once everyone is checked in.

Map

The duck's Ketchikan, from pier to creek

The downtown berths, the town stops on the operator's route and the water the duck drives into.

Map of downtown Ketchikan with the cruise berths, Whale Park, Creek Street, the salmon ladder, Thomas Basin and the Tongass Narrows — Downtown Ketchikan

Map of Revillagigedo Island around Ketchikan with the downtown berths and Ward Cove to the north — Ketchikan and Ward Cove

1
Berth 1
One of four Panamax-sized cruise berths along the downtown waterfront.⁴
2
Visitors Center, Berth 2
Free maps, restrooms and a tour center that sells tickets on the day.² ⁵
In Google Maps ↗
3
Berth 4
The north end of the downtown berths; duck tours leave from berths 1 to 4.
4
Whale Park
A small park with a totem that the duck passes on its land route.⁶
In Google Maps ↗
5
Creek Street
The boardwalk on stilts over Ketchikan Creek, once the red-light district.⁷
In Google Maps ↗
6
Dolly's House
Dolly Arthur's Creek Street house, now a museum.⁸
7
Salmon ladder
Where salmon climb Ketchikan Creek in season; the duck drives past it.⁶
In Google Maps ↗
8
Thomas Basin
A small-boat harbor on the south side of downtown, full of fishing boats.
9
Tongass Narrows
The channel the duck splashes into for the harbor part of the tour.⁹
10
Downtown berths 1 to 4
Where every duck tour starts; check in at the bottom of your ship's ramp.
11
Ward Cove
The second cruise dock, about 5.5 miles from downtown.¹
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Your port day checklist

The night before

Confirm your docking spot and all-aboard time
Have your ticket on your phone or on paper
Pack a rain jacket

On the day

Check in 30 minutes before departure
Use the restroom on the pier first
Ward Cove: take the free shuttle early

Video

Ketchikan cruise port guide

Nothing loads until you tap play.

The Ketchikan duck tour for NCL passengers

Norwegian Cruise Line ships dock at Ward Cove, and that changes the plan. The operator asks all Norwegian Cruise Line passengers to contact it at least 24 hours in advance about the transfer, and its meeting instructions tell them to take the free Ward Cove shuttle into town to meet the tour downtown.

Allow 1 hour for that transfer, as the operator advises. Ward Cove lies about 5.5 miles from downtown, and the shuttle shares the road with every other passenger heading into town.¹ On a busy day, the line for the shuttle can take as long as the ride itself, so leave the ship early if you have a morning departure booked.

For an NCL guest, the full duck tour plan is therefore longer: the shuttle hour, the 30-minute check-in, the ride of about 1.5 hours and the way back to Ward Cove. That is a solid half day. It still works well, but it rarely leaves room for a second long excursion before all-aboard.

Planning around the all-aboard time

Work backwards from the time you must be back on the ship. Leave a generous buffer at the end; the duck returns to the downtown pier, which is perfect for downtown passengers but still leaves Ward Cove passengers with the shuttle ride back. A late duck departure on a short port call is the most common way to make the last part of the day stressful.

Remember that the tickets are non-refundable: all sales are final. If your ship's arrival is delayed and you miss the departure, the fare is not returned. The safest booking is the first or second departure after your scheduled arrival, with a clear gap between the end of the ride and your all-aboard time.

If your schedule is uncertain, there is a fallback. Tours can be booked on the day at the visitors center on Berth 2 or at the kiosks on the docks.⁵ Buying ashore means you only commit once your ship is tied up and you know exactly how much time you have.

Fitting the duck around other plans

The duck pairs well with other things to do in town because it starts and ends at the pier. A common pattern is the duck first, to get your bearings, then lunch and a walk back to Creek Street, where the boardwalk and stilted buildings stand over the creek.⁷ Everything on that loop is close to the cruise berths, so you never stray far from your ship.

If you have booked a bigger excursion, such as a floatplane flight or a crab feast, put the duck either before it or after it, never squeezed in between two fixed departures. The duck is the flexible part of your day; the larger tours usually run on tighter schedules and leave from their own meeting points.

Families with young children often prefer the duck in the morning, when energy is high and the splash feels like an adventure, and keep the afternoon for an easy wander. Older travelers sometimes do the reverse, using the duck as a seated rest after a morning on foot. Both work; what matters is that the ride sits where it leaves you relaxed rather than rushed.

Weather on a cruise day in Ketchikan

The duck runs through the cruise season, and the weather on your day shapes the experience. In July, the average daily high is 18.7 °C with 12 wet days in the month; in September it is 15.1 °C with 18 wet days.¹⁰ Pack a rain jacket whatever the forecast says when you leave home.

The operator can cancel for bad weather, and in that case it offers an alternative or a full refund. That is the one situation in which a duck ticket comes back to you. If you see storm warnings in the morning, check with the representatives on the pier before you build the rest of your day around the ride.

Wet weather is not a reason to skip the duck. You stay seated and covered, and the harbor section runs in the protected waters of the Inside Passage. A grey, drizzly morning is ordinary in Ketchikan, and a good guide keeps the stories coming whatever the sky does.

Ready to splash