After a kayaking trip fell through on my recent trip to Sitka, I decided I still wanted to spend some time on the water. I booked Sea Wildlife tour with Baranof Tours. I was a bit skeptical before arriving, because Baranof tours seemed to be the most advertised and available, including at the last minute. I’m happy to report that my skepticism was misplaced.
I couldn’t imagine the tour being better. The boat was a small boat with seating for the captain and five other passengers. Our captain, Tad, answered all of the questions from the five visitors on board. Tad did his best to customize the experience to our interests and what we wanted to see. We saw several whales, seals, sea lions, and otters. We also got a nice view of the volcano.
I’ve been on several whale watches before where you see whales, but that is about it. There is little to no interaction with the captain or the other passengers. In this case, passengers actually talked and shared pictures and videos. Tad did a great job of answering questions and providing interesting facts about what we were seeing. On this tour, I felt I got a level of personalized service and a tour the catered to me. For that reason, I will consider this a highlight of my time in Sitka. Not only would I take the trip again if could, but I wouldn’t even consider any of the other tour companies.