Compare Alaska by Water, Land, & Air by MT Sobek (Mountain Travel Sobek)
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 7 days |
| Price From | $ 4,295 |
| Price Per Day | $ 614 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Small group tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | |
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
6 Breakfasts, 5 Lunches and 6 Dinners |
| Description |
We dropped anchor in Southeast Alaska in 1972, and we haven’t left since. Set amidst glaciers, mountains, and fjords, it offers the finest wildlife viewing in North America, bar none. This trip, our newest itinerary in Southeast, features the Glacier Bay National Park, where you’ll learn about its complex geology, its traditional native people, and observe its incredible marine wildlife, including its resident humpback whales. Best of all, you’ll enjoy the diverse ways of seeing it: you’ll ride aboard a high-speed catamaran, kayak the shores of Chichagof Island, enjoy a scenic plane ride above the park, ride a tram to the top of a mountain, and then take a thrilling helicopter ride to hike on top of a glacier! Talk about a getaway! |
Day 1: Welcome to Gustavus, Alaska!
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Glacier Bay Lodge
Arrive in the bush town of Gustavus, Alaska gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. You’ll meet your guide and fellow travelers at the beloved Glacier BayLodge for our orientation and welcome dinner. Here you will find yourself at the edge of the largest protected Wilderness in the World, the St. Elias World Heritage Site.
Day 2: Explore Glacier Bay National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Glacier Bay Lodge
Pack your binoculars and warm clothes for today's high-speed catamaran cruise into the farthest reaches of Glacier Bay National Park. Wildlife abounds in this World Heritage Site, and from the ship you can see both marine and land animals. Our park ranger will explain the complex geology, recent glacial history, and show you how to search for animals in this vast wilderness. In the afternoon, you can take a quiet walk on one of the rainforest trails that wind their way around your National Park Lodge. Be on the lookout for berries and bears!
Day 3: Camp and kayak on Chichagof Island
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: MTS Camp — Chichagof Island
Today we'll take a 10-mile water taxi across Icy Strait and paddle the marine-mammal rich shoreline of Chichagof Island. Look out for whales, sea lions, and sea otters frolicking on the banks, and hear bald eagles chittering as they soar overhead. We'll set up our private camp in a spruce hemlock old-growth forest that hasn't seen a glacier since the Wisconsin Ice Age—15,000 years ago! Kick back with a drink in hand and enjoy a hearty camp-cooked meal.
Day 4: Kayak among giants!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: MTS Camp — Chichagof Island
Today we'll wake up in the largest forest in the United States, the Tongass. Surrounded by sitka spruce and western hemlock we'll enjoy breakfast on the beach! Where else do you have a chance to observe bald eagles and humpback whales while you eat your breakfast? Next we'lll hop into sea kayaks and get up close to some of the incredible marine life that lives off the shores of Chichagof Island. Ever been followed by a 1000lb sea lion? Do you know the intriguidng tale of the marbled murrelet? Ever heard a whale breathe? This is the kind of day we will have. Tonight, we’ll camp again in style!
Day 5: Take a scenic flight and hike in alpine Alaska
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Goldbelt Hotel
After one last morning on the Wilderness Island, we'll transfer back to Gustavus by boat and board a small plane bound for Juneau. Our scenic flight takes us over the deep fjords and snow-capped peaks to Alaska's capital city Juneau. Juneau is not connected to a road system and is isolated from British Columbia by the massive Juneau Icefield, making it the only state capital that can only be reached by plane or boat! In the afternnoon we'll take a tram from the seaside to the alpine meadows above the trees. We'll hike amid wildflowers with amazing mountain views in all directions. You can climb a peak, play in the snow, or simply watch the whistling marmots.
Day 6: Flightsee by helicopter and hike on the Mendenhall Glacier
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Goldbelt Hotel
Crevasse, morraine, arrette, moulin. Today we'll enter the intriguing domain of glaciers. We'll start with an overview of the Juneau Icefiled, lifted like a feather by helicopter and whisked up into the inaccessible world of ice and mountains that few can negotiate. Our helicopter pilot lands us in a place it would take days to get to and we learn with our guide some of the basics of glacier travel. Being on the surface of a living glacier is like being in another world. Bring your camera and leave with some of the most unique pictures you will ever have. Later we gather in historic downtown Juneau at a local's favorite restaurant for a farewell dinner and remember our weeks adventures on the land, on the water, and in the sky of Alaska!
Day 7: Fly home
Meals: Breakfast
Today, you are free to depart from Juneau at any time. If you’re not in a rush, we recommend exploring the town for an extra day or stopping in Sitka for a few nights on your way home.
