About Our Snorkeling Tours in Ketchikan, Alaska


Snorkeling in Alaska? You can – and you should! Alaska’s intertidal zone boasts beautiful and unique marine life, and with premium wet suits and water temperatures up to 65 degrees, you’ll stay comfortably warm. Here are the key details of our award-winning Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure in Ketchikan, Alaska. 

Pricing & What to Expect


Book Your Alaskan
Adventure Today

Discover the wonders of Southeast Alaska’s marine life with our premium snorkeling adventure at Mountain Point. Dive into clear, calm waters equipped with top-tier gear, guided by our certified experts. The site has shallow tide pools teeming with marine life and steep underwater rock walls for free diving, all just five miles from your ship. Join us for a thrilling and safe exploration of Alaska’s diverse and colorful marine life!

The Mountain Point
Snorkeling Adventure

Ketchikan, Alaska 


$179.99

/person per tour

What’s Included


Key Features of the Mountain Point Snorkeling Tour

State-of-the-Art Gear

Stay warm and comfortable with a full 7mm wetsuit, including a hood, boots, and gloves.

Expert Guidance

Dive with PADI-certified professionals ensuring a unique and safe experience.

Diverse Marine Habitats

Explore tide pools and steep underwater walls teeming with marine life.

All-Inclusive Experience

Enjoy secure storage, heated dressing rooms, a return-to-ship guarantee, and a refreshing hot beverage post-dive.

Safety Details


We’re Committed
to Your Safety

Snorkel Alaska has an impeccable safety record, and we’re dedicated to keeping it that way! Your guides are all PADI professionals with Rescue Diver, Divemaster, or Scuba Instructor Certifications – with CPR and First Aid training. We utilize the highest quality equipment and provide comprehensive in-water supervision. Dive confidently with us and learn more about how we ensure a thrilling and safe experience for our guests. 

What Will I See? 


Discover the Beauty of Alaska Below the Water 

Kelp
Forest


Snorkel over the thriving kelp forest, a hotspot for diverse marine life.

Sea Stars
& Urchins


Encounter multi-colored sea stars, sea urchins, and the giant sunflower star.

Vibrant
Invertebrates 


Be dazzled by colorful invertebrates inhabiting Alaska’s clear waters.

Fish
& More


Spot a myriad of fish species, humpback whales, jellyfish, seals, and more!

Frequently Asked Questions

Sounds crazy doesn’t it? The snorkeling in Alaska is amazing. Alaska’s intertidal zone provides a rich assortment of plants and animals to view. We provide full 7mm wetsuits with a hood, boots, and gloves to keep you warm while in the water. Wetsuits keep you warm by filling with a thin layer of water which heats up to body temperature in just a few minutes time. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime experience! It may be the highlight of your cruise.

The average summer water temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface. Surface temperatures fluctuate between a low of 45 degrees in the spring and a high of 65 degrees in mid-summer.

From the smallest barnacle to a massive Humpback Whale swimming by, you’ll see a wide variety of colorful creatures. Our website offers just a small glimpse of Alaska’s intertidal marine life. All of the photos here were taken while snorkeling at Mountain Point.

Everything you need to snorkel safely and comfortably in our waters is included. We also provide roundtrip transportation from the downtown cruise ship docks. All guests are outfitted with full 7mm Harvey’s or SCUBAPRO wetsuits, hoods, boots, and gloves. We provide top-of-the-line Tusa & SCUBAPRO masks and Twin Jet fins. Prescription masks and optional weight belts for freediving are also available. You will receive complete instruction, in-water supervision, and a one-hour guided marine life tour conducted by our experienced guides. Beginners are always welcome! Hot beverages and water are also included.

Of course! You’re more than welcome to bring any or all of your own equipment, aside from your full-face mask. (They simply don’t seal well with a hood and the plastic lenses fog up profusely. Trust us — we’ve tried them many times.) But that’s a lot to pack for a cruise. While you certainly have the option of bringing your own gear, rest assured all of our gear is top-of-the-line and cleaned and sanitized after every tour.

We do highly recommend bringing along a camera or GoPro to capture this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Yes, yes, yes! And we’re not the only ones saying it.

  • 7-time winner of the Princess Cruises Shore Excursion of the Year Award
  • 8 Snorkel Alaska tour guides have received the Princess Cruises Tour Guide of the Year Award
  • Winner of the 2009 Excellence in Tourism Award from the Ketchikan Visitor Bureau
  • Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Winner in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019
  • Trip Advisor Travelers Choice Award 2020

Our guests frequently remark that this was their favorite Shore Excursion of the cruise.

The Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure is 3 hours from start to finish. (For NCL guests and any ships docking at The Mill in Ward Cove, plan on 4 hours.) We guarantee you at least one hour in the water and up to an hour and 20 minutes depending on how quickly everyone gets into their wetsuits. Our shop is conveniently located 4 miles from town which is about a 10-minute bus ride. Mountain Point is another mile down the road. The rest of the time is spent changing, conducting safety briefings, and enjoying hot showers and cocoa after the tour. We also have a great selection of souvenir hats, T-shirts, and hoodies to choose from.

You should bring a towel, a swimsuit or shorts to wear under the wetsuit, and an extra pair of socks. The socks help the wetsuit slip on and off easier and also keep your feet a bit warmer. Remember to bring some cash or a credit card if you’d like to purchase a souvenir t-shirt, hat, or hoody. Also note that we do provide secure storage for all your belongings.

Participants must weigh between 80 and 260 pounds to ensure proper wetsuit fit. You should also be reasonably physically fit as the tour is rated most strenuous. (If you can’t find it difficult to walk one mile, then this tour may not be for you.) We snorkel from a rocky beach and current are almost always present, so the tour is not suitable for the elderly or guests with limited mobility. Our suggested age limit is 65 depending on your level of physical fitness.

Due to the strenuous nature of snorkeling in Alaska and in accordance with the guidelines established by The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Discover Snorkeling Program, we must deny participation for a variety of medical conditions. If you suffer from ANY form of heart condition past or present, minor or major, we are unfortunately unable to take you snorkeling. Heart conditions include but are not limited to murmurs, flutters, mitral-valve prolapse, angina, stints, pacemakers, defibrillators, bradycardia, tachycardia, congestive heart failure, valve replacement, bypass surgery, etc.  

We also must deny participation for major respiratory disorders like bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, exercise-induced asthma, etc. Lastly, if you have any past or present history of seizures or fainting, we are unable to take you snorkeling. Please accept our sincerest apologies if you have any of the above medical conditions. Your safety is always our number one priority.

If you are docking in downtown Ketchikan, you can book a tour time that is a minimum of 30 minutes after your ship’s published arrival time. The cruise ships are very punctual, so a 7:00 am arrival time means the gangways are set and you can disembark promptly at 7:00 am. Therefore, a 7:30 am tour time is perfectly doable. All tours meet and depart from the Ketchikan Liquid Sunshine Gauge located adjacent to the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau at Berth 2. There are 4 cruise ship docks in Ketchikan, all just a short walk to the Rain Gauge. Note that if your cruise ship does happen to be running late, we will wait for you.

If you are arriving on NCL or at The Mill at Ward Cove, you should allow a minimum of 1 hour to take the free shuttle bus to town. If your ship docks at 7:00 am, then an 8:00 am departure or later would be ideal.

We can 100% guarantee that you will not miss your ship! Our company owner, Fred Drake, has worked on cruise ships for 7 years and understands the importance of getting back to the ship on time. All of our tours are scheduled to give you plenty of time to snorkel, see the port of Ketchikan, and get back to your ship well before the posted sail away time.

Snorkel Alaska guarantees that you will get back to your ship on time, provided that all of the following requirements apply:

  • Your tour is scheduled to end no less than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of your cruise ship. It is your responsibility to confirm your ship’s departure time prior to booking, in addition to re-confirming the ship’s itinerary on the day of the tour.
  • The delay in returning to the ship was due to no fault or action of your own.

In the event that you are not returned back to your cruise ship before it departs, Snorkel Alaska will cover up to USD $500 per person towards transportation and/or accommodation necessary for your travel to the next port of call. Receipts are required for reimbursement.

SCUBA diving here is extremely strenuous due to the additional equipment required for cold water, access to deep water, and the potential for strong currents. To dive safely in Alaska, you should have an Advanced Diver Certification, 100 logged dives, and extensive cold water diving experience. Snorkel Alaska does not offer SCUBA diving for these reasons.

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Book Your Mountain Point
Snorkeling Adventure Now! 

Ready for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure? With Snorkel Alaska, experience the vibrant marine life, pristine waters, and the awe of nature up close. Join our expert diving guides and create unforgettable memories in the beautiful Alaskan ocean.