Thursday, April 18, 2024

Best Alaska Shore Excursions: Locals Pick The Best

alaska cruise shore excursions

From culture to food to icy thrills, our iconic Alaska shore excursions will make your trip one to remember forever. The most popular Juneau shore excursions are tours involving glaciers or wildlife sightseeing. The Mendenhall Glacier is the only glacier that can be accessed by land via the road system, whereas many other glaciers can be experienced through helicopter and seaplane sightseeing. Juneau helicopter tours give you an opportunity to land and walk on various glaciers in the area that could otherwise not be seen or visited.

Mendenhall Glacier Float

And, if you're going to do a floatplane ride, there's nowhere better than in Ketchikan. You'll find a small armada of floatplanes waiting to take you to nearby Misty Fjords National Monument. Returning to Glacier Station, you'll end the day with a ride back to Skagway on the White Pass & Yukon Railway, which makes a special stop to pick you up. The five-hour, Skagway-based outing begins with a transfer from your ship to a nearby helicopter pad, where you'll find a helicopter waiting to whisk you high into the surrounding Sawtooth Mountain Range.

Skagway

Well, we've done the legwork for you, and you find the answers to that question here. Since our film crews have shot more than 150 Alaska cruise excursions in the past few years, we know them intimately. Your experience of Alaska should include a healthy dose of Indigenous culture and history. This two-and-a-half-hour tour takes you to an Indigenous village just a short ride from Ketchikan where the Tlingits welcome guests and offer a taste of their culture. After a tribal ceremonial greeting and short video program, you enter the Beaver Clan House for a song, dance and storytelling presentation. The Juneau zipline glides above the treetops on Douglas Island (accessed by a high-speed channel crossing from Juneau aboard an expedition craft, which is an adventure of its own).

Juneau? No, I’m Asking You

How to Make your Alaska Cruise Travel Easier: Tips - Royal Caribbean Blog

How to Make your Alaska Cruise Travel Easier: Tips.

Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 17:23:24 GMT [source]

Explore more while spending less with Alaska Cruise Tours deals onboard our best cruise ships. Depart from the train depot for a thrilling 40-mile roundtrip train ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Visit Dredge Town, where you will enjoy an authentic barbecue lunch including ribs, chicken, and various side dishes. Experience a glimpse of the life of a prospector when you join a colorful cast of characters to learn the art of gold panning. Ride the current where the sparkling sea meets the emerald forest. In the coastal South­east Alaskan town of Sit­ka, marine wildlife typ­i­cal­ly plays out on a big scenic back­drop.

Whale Watching Adventure Tour

alaska cruise shore excursions

On a flightseeing tour, soar by the impressive Mt. Edgecombe and fly up among the mountains and glaciers. For a more immersive adventure, visit nearby hot springs —like Baranof Warm Springs, where you’ll find a public bath and natural hot springs accessible by a short hike. This combo tour in Juneau includes both a helicopter tour and glacier trek. On this adventure, you'll check out the local terrain from above with a helicopter flightseeing experience. But the real action begins when you learn to climb up and rappel down glaciers using special equipment.

The 11 Best Alaska Cruise Excursions in 2024, From Whale Watching to Glacier Tours Condé Nast Traveler - Condé Nast Traveler

The 11 Best Alaska Cruise Excursions in 2024, From Whale Watching to Glacier Tours Condé Nast Traveler.

Posted: Thu, 07 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Experience three of Juneau's most popular attractions with this three-in-one excursion! This tour begins with a narrated transfer to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center. You'll have plenty of time to take in the majestic READ MORE... Just outside of Juneau, take a short drive and begin an invigorating 6-7 mile hike through the Tongass National Forest. Wind your way through the forest where you'll emerge and find panoramic views of the beautiful Mendenhal READ MORE... You'll be off to the north side of Douglas Island for panoramic views of the Mendenhall Glacier and Auke Bay, where you'll board a two-person kayak sailing as the Aleut Indians did!

Crystal: Klondike Highway and White Pass

And, you may not know, that you don't have to book your excursions through the cruise line! In fact, you can work directly with the local operators in each port to put together the ideal vacation for you.Below are the companies and experiences we recommend for each port. If you're looking for private or small-group excursions, we have a great list for that too. Southeast Alaska provides the perfect, tranquil setting for a mindfulness journey. Delight in a scenic drive on your way to a breathtaking spot for meditation amongst the ocean, mountains and forests. Humpback and orca whales are actively feeding while they are in southeast Alaska waters, so chances are you see whales breach, play, and maybe bubble net feed!

alaska cruise shore excursions

The big city also boasts Alaska’s biggest and most diverse dining scene, from great burger joints and craft breweries to classic steakhouses and cosmopolitan cuisine. Look for marine wildlife on your way to a unique float house in a small, pro­tect­ed bay where you’ll kayak across shim­mer­ing water. Go with Wings Air­ways and you’ll take off from Juneau in a 10-pas­sen­ger DeHav­il­land Otter float­plane and get a lush view of the city as well as the sur­round­ing moun­tains and ice fields. Opt for a 40-minute flight see­ing tour, or book the ​“Flight and Feast Tour,” which takes you to dine at a 1920’s lodge.

First Time Cruisers

A local fisherwoman/"wilderness chef" will lead a demo on fish fileting, then bring you outside where you can learn to grill the day's catch over a large wood grill. While you listen and cook, nibble on salmon and halibut dishes, as well as local veggies. At the end, you'll have newfound culinary knowledge to take home as a souvenir. Plus, it leaves plenty of time for further exploration in Icy Strait Point. The boat used for this excursion has both inside and outdoor viewing areas. The trips last about four hours, including transfer time from your cruise ship to the whale-watching boat.

Dog sled­ding on a glac­i­er is the ulti­mate blend of Alaskan adven­ture, as you also get there by heli­copter! Choose a cruise that embarks from Seward so that you can fly into Anchorage, then ride the Alaska Grandview Train almost right to the port. The Coastal Classic route winds through pristine mountains and ends at the sea.

Featured on GOOD MORNING AMERICA -- travel back to the Ice Ages with Alaska's original glacier helicopter tour! Board a modern turbine-powered helicopter for a flight to the world-famous Mendenhall Glacier! Travelers to Alaska often wonder what it’s like to live in a small Alaskan town year-round. Your fun and informative local guide will take you to out-of-the-way places, like Svenson’s Extreme Dreams Art Studio. You’ll also visit the Hammer Museum—the world’s only museum dedicated to man’s first tool. Begin with an aerial overview of Misty Fjords National Monument and those granite cliffs.

Ports such as Juneau and Ketchikan are each small cities with their own personalities. Anchorage is the state's largest city and a gateway to the rest of the state. Denali National Park takes you out of the city altogether, into a wilderness full of spruce forests and snow-capped mountain peaks. When planning a trip to Alaska, many travelers wonder if it's better to explore the state by land or by sea.

No comments:

Post a Comment

BEST Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe

Table Of Content Did you make this recipe? Dessert Recipes Crumbl Cookies Cosmic Brownie Recipe (Small Catering Size) Favorite Cookie Recipe...