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Alaska Glacier & Wildlife
Cruises
You’ve seen pictures of towers of glacial ice
crashing into the ocean. You'll be glad to know that
Alaska glacier cruises--the best way to get up close
and personal with these icy behemoths--are among the
most affordable and easiest to arrange day tours from
Anchorage. Far and away the most popular Alaska glacier
tours are half-day wildlife and glacier cruises into
either Prince
William Sound or Kenai
Fjords. Even large-ship cruisers should hop aboard
one of these boats to really feel the rumble of calving
tidewater glaciers or hear the thrilling, unearthly
song of whales.
- Prince
William Sound:
If you’re most interested
in seeing tidewater glaciers,
take a wildlife & glacier
cruise out of the port
of Whittier into Prince
William Sound, 1.5 hours
south of Anchorage by car
or rail. Go with Phillips
26 Glacier Cruise, Prince William Sound Glacier Cruises,
or Major
Marine Tours.
- Kenai
Fjords: If you are more
interested in spotting whales,
sea lions, and harbor seals
while out glacier watching,
take a glacier cruise into
Kenai Fjords National Park
from the port town of Seward,
2.5 hours south of Anchorage
by car or 4 hours by rail.
Go with Kenai
Fjords Tours, Major
Marine Tours, or Mariah
Tours.
- Since these are the two
most popular Alaska glacier
cruises, we’ve compared
Prince William Sound to Kenai
Fjords in detail for you.
If you’re short on time
or have limited budget, take
the hourly Portage
Glacier Cruise on Portage
Lake (an hour’s drive south
of Anchorage).
Other Alaska Glacier Tours
In the past two years, a new crop of little-known
yet sensational Alaska glacier day tours has emerged
in the Anchorage area:
- Glacier
Jet Alaska: Take a
heart-racing jetboat ride
up a winding, rocky, remote
glacial river to the face
of the 20-Mile Glacier, where
you can net glacier ice to
bring back to your hotel
- Spencer Glacier Rail & Raft:
Combine a scenic rail trip
with a gentle float tour through
iceberg-choked Spencer Lake
and down the Placer River,
which shoots out from under
the glacier
- Knik Glacier ATV Tour: Set
off into backcountry Alaska
on your own ATV. Drive over
rocks, splash through mud,
and look for wildlife on your
way to the Knik Glacier.
You can also create your own
Alaska glacier tour by visiting
one of several Alaska
roadside glaciers which are
easy to reach from Anchorage.
The glacier rich waters of coastal Alaska are as pristine
as they were a thousand years ago. And an Alaska glacier
cruise is not just an unforgettable way to experience
this unchanged call of the wild, but also the only
way to see that quintessential Alaskan coastal scenery
you've dreamed of.
You'll also get close to Alaska's marine mammals. Passing
through gorgeous inlets and fjords, you'll look for
bears, mountain goats, bald eagles, and puffins. Then
sail into waters jumping with seals, porpoises, and
sea lions. With the help of underwater microphones,
you can even listen to whales converse in their ancient
language.
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