Cruises To Alaska

Alaska is considered the last "wild frontier" in North America for adventure tours - an unspoiled land with brilliant glaciers, thick forests, high mountains and very rich wildlife. Cruise tours to Alaska allow tourists to enjoy extraordinary vacations filled with adventures and trips to the most interesting attractions. There are available combined travel packages to Alaska that feature accommodation on luxury ships, day trips to misty towns on the shores, visits to glaciers and many others.

Passengers who take one-week Alaskan cruises embark usually in Seattle or Vancouver (the latest lying on the western coast in Canada). Many ships sail to the Inside Passage and back. Voyagers who book one-way sailing deals embark also in Seattle and Vancouver and debark in Seward or Whittier. From there they take a bus, train or car and visit different parts of the state before to fly back to home from Anchorage or Fairbanks.

Because of the harsh climate in this part of North America, cruises to Alaska are available strictly between mid-May and mid-September, while June, July and August are the best months for combined adventure vacations and land trips to this state.

The seven-day Alaskan cruises follow typically a route along the Inside Passage with visits to the Glacier Bay National Park or Hubbard Glacier. There are also travel packages that include land tours, a few days of fishing or sightseeing tours in Denali National Park.

There are two major routes followed by cruise ships sailing in Alaskan waters. The first is the seven-day Vancouver-to-Vancouver cruise that includes stopover in Juneau (the capital city of Alaska), Ketchikan (a colorful fishing port), Glacier Bay National Park and Sitka, a former Russian frontier outpost. The other major route is a 10-14 days itinerary from Vancouver to Seward that includes visits to more glaciers and Alaskan territories.

Some tourists combine sailing with land trips. After a week on a cruise ship they spend at least a another week exploring Alaskan cities, parks and other points of interests. The best land tours and local excursions can be arranged in Anchorage or Fairbanks and usually end in Seward.