What was your favorite excursion in Alaska?

[HarperSays]

My favorite was whale watching with Harv & Marv in Juneau. A close second was the flightseeing tour with Michelle at Island Wings in Ketchikan.

[Valminx]

My favorite was a flight -seeing to Taku Glacier from our stop in Juneau.

We had a short flight to the lodge in a float plane, a salmon lunch and a hike into the woods behind the lodge. When we returned there was bear up a tree and like fools we all stood around and tried to take pictures.

 

We have booked this for august but it doesnt seem to get mentioned a lot on forum, glad you enjoyed!

[CleoV]

Tough question! Top three were Helicopter tour to Mendenhall Glacier, dog sledding tour, and flightseeing over Denali. Fox Island overnight after the Kenai Fjords tour was pretty amazing too.

[punkincc]

We have booked this for august but it doesnt seem to get mentioned a lot on forum, glad you enjoyed!

 

I'll second the vote for the Taku Lodge Feast & 5 Glacier Seaplane tour in Juneau. This was the highlight of our trip. The views over the glaciers were unbelievable. We landed on the Taku river in front of the lodge which is across the river from the 5 mile wide Taku glacier. No bears seen on our early May cruise, but they are regular visitors attracted by the grilled salmon. This dinner, I swear, was the best food I had on this trip. I had the chicken, but my DH said the salmon was very good. The grounds and views of mountains and glacier are gorgeous. After dinner we went on the guided nature walk to the waterfall on the property. Top notch in every way.

 

A close second was the 7 1/2 hr Yukon Bus and Rail in Skagway booked directly with Chilkoot. The bus portion was by far the most scenic. I have seen often on the boards that the rail and bus cover the same territory, so the view is the same. This is far from true. I'm glad we did the White pass Rail once, but the views are nothing alike. Train views were very pale in comparison to the bus. Next time, we'll do the bus roundtrip.

[kristinp36]

Just returned from our cruise.....

 

I have a tie between boat tour into Tracy Arm....we saw Orca, Humpbacks, Mt Goats, Otters, Sea Lions, Eagles, & Dolphins.

 

I also really enjoyed Misty Fjords flight with Michelle from Island Wings!

[dustyroad]

# 1 for my was my flight over the fjords in Ketchikan with michelle of island wings. it was awesome. coming in second is a whale tour and then 3rd is just doing my own thing in the ports.

[brunolvr]

Same with us! We did this about 8 years ago and we still talk about it!

 

I'd also pick the Taku Lodge Flight & Feast out of Juneau -- we did it in 2006 and have booked it again for our cruise in September.

 

2nd would be just renting a car in Skagway and driving to Emerald Lake, with many scenic stops along the way.

[Donder1]

My favorite was the visit to Jeff King's Homestead in Denali. He won the Iditarod twice and his stories and dogs are fantastic! Got to cuddle with puppies.

[hockeygal54]

Enjoyed Jeff King also although they didn't seem to want to let us spend much time with pups. Part of that was prob due to being last bus on property and they wanted to start the presentation. Also did seaplane in Ketchican. Harv and Marv for whale watching in Juneau. There were 5 of us on the boat and an awesome female capt Liz.

[hockeygal54]

And rented jeep in Skagway. Only jeep place in town. They were great.

[Ginnyfyr]

We just returned on the 26th and without a doubt, the highlight of our trip was the Tracy Arm fjord/Sawyer Glacier excursion we booked through the ship (we were on Celebrity Century - the excursion was hosted by Allen Marine but you can also book independently with them). We had a clear, sunny, WARM (shocking!) day and that just made it even more special. We saw a ton of wildlife - bald eagles, sea lions, humpback whales, seals - and got within a 1/2 mile of the south Sawyer glacier. Got to witness the glacier calving several times, which was just unreal, before heading over to admire the beauty of the north glacier. It was an incredible day and I'm so glad we decided to change our original plan (dog sled puppy camp) and do this trip. Our guides told us this was the first time they were able to get into the fjord so they weren't sure how close we would get, and even they were blown away at the amount of wildlife we saw and how close we got!

[DizzyDallasDi]

Such a hard question to answer but here goes:

 

Juneau - Ship excursion called something like Photography by Land and Sea, which was a combination of "how to use your camera to get the best shots" with whale watching then a hike at Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Skagway - 1) Helicopter to Meade Glacier and walk about on it -- surreal experience, even in the rain! 2) White Pass Railroad. Sit in the last car so you can get unobstructed pictures from the platform -- fantastic, even in the rain. :). (Not necessarily in order.)

 

Ketchikan - 1) Flightseeing in Misty Fjords with Island Wings -- prepare to be awestruck by the scenery and entertained by the ace pilot, Michelle. 2) Bear watching in Anan Creek with Island Wings. This exceeded any expectations I could have imagined. (Not necessarily in order.)

 

Oh my, I just realized I've listed all of the excursions I've done in Alaska. :) No way can I pick a favorite. Each one was spectacular.

 

Besides escursions, please try wandering around on your own in each of the ports you visit. You'll find many things to do, see and capture your heart (and cash ;)) while enjoying the local flavor of our 50th state.

 

The best advice I can give is to simply let yourself set free and soak in the 360 degree beauty that surrounds you. It can be overwhelming for first time visitors, so you'll probably want to return. Alaska has a way of capturing your heart and soul that you never expected could happen.

 

Hoping you have a fantastic cruise to the Greatland!

[jskinsd]

I am cheap and I look for value. My favorite port is Ict Strait. Really nothing to do there but it is the most alaskan town I have ever been in. I have taken the Red Trolley into town. Good narration of the town. Come and go as you please. Stop by the Icy Strait Lodge for a drink. Ended up having dinner outside and saw a bear eating grass. Ed and Barbara are great hosts. On the way back a mother duck and her babies crossing the road. Also have seen while walking the town a whale breaching, a family of eagles in there condo, pods of orcas. I saw these last year. It might not seem like much but that is exactly why I cruise Alaska.

[capriccio]

I will be able to answer this in July. Going on a 10 day cruise tour June 28 on the Radiance and then staying a few extra days. I've been told that the enclosed jet boat ride it the best and not to be missed, it's out of Talkeetna if I remember correctly.

 

If you're in Talkeetna (and the weather is clear) consider the best excursion we have ever been on, anywhere in the world: a summit flight over Denali. It is absolutely breathtaking. In our 2 Alaska cruises we also enjoyed the Misty Fjords floatplane, Harv and Marv's whale watching, and the White Pass Railroad with Chilkoot.

[mikefox2hotmail.com]

My wife and I have enjoyed everything we have done in Alaska. However, our helicopter trip from Juneau to Taku Glacier was worth every penny even though it was very pricey. In Skagway, the train up to Frasier was beautify beyond description. Make sure you take time to just sit and soak in what you are surrounded by. Truly God's country!

[Duckenz]

We have just returned from a fantastic week with sunny weather everyday with recent snowfalls, which I think helps make scenery more fantastic.Our most favourite was

 

Icy Straight Whale watching with Misty Bay Lodge ,Captain Dan and Hope were great.small boat only max of 6 thou we only had 4,great boat could go on top of cabin to take photos drifting with no motors going so could hear all the sounds of the Wales.We saw so many Wales 4 which all breached in front of us at once and then went under bow of our boat.We also saw bears on the beaches and eagles.A day to remember.

 

The following were close in must sees

 

Skagway we did the bus trip up and back to Emerald Lake with Chilkoot Tours and rode on sled dog cart at Caribou Crossing.James was our driver and he was great with giving us history ,and taking photos for us.

 

Juneau we took the shuttle to glacier and nugget falls and spent time walking around not rushed like bus tours.We then walked around town seeming places of interest even free self guided tour of state capital building

 

Keitchen daily bus pass to totem Bright and walking tours of town

 

Pre cruise we took 6hr Major Marine glacier tour at Seward before boarding ship saw orcas,porpoises,seal ions,whales,puffins,sheep,bears,and lots of calving action on Holgate glacier as well as wonderful salmon meal was a great way to start our trip

 

Alaska can be as expensive or cheap as you like but the memories will last a lifetime.Enjoy it all as it goes all to fast.

 

Debbie

[vbmom87]

My favorites were an excursion to watch bears eating salmon in a stream and a small boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord from Juneau. Both were true highlights. We also loved the train to Carcross with a stop at Bennett Lake that we took from Skagway. There is beauty and adventure throughout AK. You have to find what interests you and is in your budget.

[tommycha]

Whale watching at Juneau! :)

 

 

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[grapehound]

Without question, floatplane trip in Ketchikan to Misty Fjords. We went with Randy at Mountain Air and he was absolutely fantastic. It was literally like living in an IMAX movie for 2 hours. Something I will never forget.

[ksullivan1800]

We just returned from our Alaska cruise - on RCCL Rhapsody - and hands down our favorite tour was the Juneau floatplane/glacier flight out to Take Lodge. It was pricey - but fantastic. Lots of hiking, saw bears (including a cub) and ate great food.

 

A close runner up was the zodiac tour with Ketchikan Outdoors. We were able to get up close to whales and eagles. It was a great day.

[MomtoCCC]

We just returned from our Alaska cruise - on RCCL Rhapsody - and hands down our favorite tour was the Juneau floatplane/glacier flight out to Take Lodge. It was pricey - but fantastic. Lots of hiking, saw bears (including a cub) and ate great food.

 

A close runner up was the zodiac tour with Ketchikan Outdoors. We were able to get up close to whales and eagles. It was a great day.

 

We are going on Rhapsody next year. Did you do floatplane through RCCL? or on your own?

[laughing husky]

Dog sledding on a glacier....Pricey and worth every penny.....2nd pricy excursion is bear viewing out of Homer on Katmai....We were surrounded by 20 bears....brown.....and one was only 7' away from us. The most amazing minute in my life.....

[summercruising]

Our cruise was June 2nd on NCL Pearl. Our favorites were Ocean Raft Alaska in Skagway and Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour in Ketchikan. Both were absolutely fabulous! We loved everything about Alaska!

[Italy52]

Our cruise was June 2nd on NCL Pearl. Our favorites were Ocean Raft Alaska in Skagway and Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour in Ketchikan. Both were absolutely fabulous! We loved everything about Alaska!

 

Did you find Ocean Raft Alaska to be very bouncy? Did the raft have seats with backs to it?

[summercruising]

Did you find Ocean Raft Alaska to be very bouncy? Did the raft have seats with backs to it?

 

Yes, it was very bouncy. You had to straddle the seats kind of like sitting on a horse. I sat in a regular seat at the back of the straddle seats. It was a two seater and had a back. It was still bouncy but not like the straddle seats. I loved every minute of this excursion!