They are huge (at up to 52 feet, longer than a Greyhound bus), and there are boat tours that will get you up close to them.

Even if you're not a big wildlife person, you'll be mesmerized by the humpback whales of Alaska. You can see it on a flightseeing tour from Juneau, with some tours including landings on the ice. The Juneau Icefield, in particular, is a sight to behold. But there's nothing like seeing the grandeur of Alaska from a helicopter or floatplane.

The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. Sign up for something - a hike, a rafting trip, a train ride, a fishing outing - that gets you out into Alaska's spectacular outdoor settings.īut I also have a few specific, top-line pro tips when you're thinking about the best Alaska shore excursions: I've also poked around these towns a lot on my own.Īs noted above, my biggest message to anyone planning an Alaska cruise is to get out of the towns. I've tried a large number of the shore excursions in places such as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. In researching nearly half a dozen editions of that book, I spent many days exploring each of the major cruise ports in the state. For many years, I was the co-author of Frommer's 'Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call' guide. This isn't just because I spent more than two decades writing about Alaska and other cruise destinations for major newspapers. People who know me know that I love talking about Alaska port towns. Related: The best Alaska cruise for every type of traveler Picking the best Alaska shore excursions If you just stay in the towns and explore on your own, you'll miss a big part of what Alaska is all about. As a result, many of the best Alaska shore excursions for cruisers are found outside of the towns where ships stop.

In Alaska, many of the biggest 'attractions' - breathtaking mountain landscapes, glaciers, fjords, breaching whales and feeding bears, for instance - are related to the Great Outdoors. You'll be looking for the best Alaska shore excursions that get you out into the Alaska backcountry.įor more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter. To get the most out of an Alaska cruise, you'll want to sign up for a tour in most if not all of the ports you visit. You can just walk off the ship and head to the major attractions on your own.įor the most part, the ports of Alaska aren't like that. There are some cruise destinations - Barcelona, for instance, or Venice - where you really don't need to sign up for shore excursions.

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