Our time with Bianca and Emerald Forest Tours was a fantastic first day ashore in Alaska! Bianca picked us up right on time in a clean and comfortable van, and after clarifying what we really wanted to see on our tour, we were off to spot bald eagles. Our first stop took us to a small beach that had so many eagles in the trees! We also observe some tide pools where Bianca showed the teens how to turn over rocks to find small crabs to hold. We were also lucky enough to see a humpback whale right off of the shore! Bianca was so well-informed about the area and did a great job engaging with our 5 teenagers. After the eagles and whale, we set off to try and spot some bears. We stopped and saw an old sawmill, met a local blacksmith and viewed a variety of totem poles. As we were leaving, Bianca decided to turn up a small side street just to see if she could spot bears, and sure enough, we saw one! She quickly returned to the parking lot, and she quickly led us to a boardwalk overlooking a river. Right below us was the bear. We got to watch it enjoy some grass by the river bank and swim in the river. It was a highlight of our day. After the bear viewing, we headed off for a beautiful waterfall where she took the group on a hike up to the top of the falls. It was a magical and memorable stop and not something we saw any other group doing. When we booked with Emerald Forest Tours, we told them we wanted to see wildlife, do some tide pooling and go for a hike. In the short 3 hours we were with Bianca, she delivered! Bianca has lived in Ketchikan for many years and was so informative about that part of Alaska. She took many pictures, which she airdropped to our group at the end of the tour! She was positive, and we felt right at home with her. My only regret is not booking for a longer tour. Based on our experience, we would highly recommend Emerald Forest Tours! read more