Alaska's Inside Passage: Juneau Round-Trip

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Juneau / Embarkation

After meeting fellow guests and your Expedition Leader at the Goldbelt Hotel on Juneau’s waterfront, you’ll drive out to lovely Mendenhall Glacier, which flows down from the Juneau Icecap in the high mountains north of town. Mendenhall is fronted by an iceberg-dotted lake. Later board the Safari Explorer. Anchor overnight at Funter Bay.

Day 2: Glacier Bay National Park

All by itself Glacier Bay National Park is larger than the state of Connecticut! Early this morning your ship will pick up a National Park Service ranger, then cruise deep into Glacier Bay. You’ll linger by the Marble Islands, home to myriad seabirds including the ever-popular puffins. Wildlife is everywhere--humpback whales breaching in the waters, bears ambling along the shorelines, moose browsing in the shrubbery, mountain goats high on the cliffs. Nearly 60 miles up-bay you’ll cruise close up to Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers, which frequently calve huge icebergs into the bay. Watch for seals sunning on the ice. This evening you’ll exit the park and drop anchor in a secluded cove.

Day 3: Whale Watching

The waters of Icy Strait just outside Glacier Bay National Park are prime whale viewing waters. Humpback whales flip their tails to dive, spank their fins on the water, and occasionally even breach clear out of the water. As a team effort the whales engage in ‘bubble feeding’-–deep underwater they blow a circle of bubbles around schools of fish, which concentrate the prey for easier consumption. Your expert Captain knows where the best wildlife watching is to be had. You may enjoy a skiff ride near a pod of whales. These explorations by small skiff are one of the true delights of a yacht cruise adventure, as you cruise just feet away from rocky islets aswirl with seabirds, tuck into impossibly tiny coves, and get close enough to waterfalls pouring from the cliffs above that you’ll wish you had brought an umbrella. Overnight in Sitkoh Bay.

Day 4: Frederick Sound and Sea Lions

Today you’ll cruise around wilderness Admiralty Island to more prime humpback-viewing waters in Frederick Sound. Enjoy time for skiff operations and sea kayaking in Saginaw Bay, and cruise up-close to a sea lion colony at the Brothers Islands. Overnight Thomas Bay.

Day 5: Rainforest Hiking and Petersburg

Today, explore gorgeous trails in the Tongass National Forest near Petersburg. You’ll also dock at the picturesque little Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg and will plenty of time for exploration on foot. This was a prime early fishing center for Alaska because free ice for cold storage washed up on the town’s beaches in the form of icebergs, courtesy of nearby glaciers. Then you’ll cruise north to Stephens Passage to find a peaceful anchorage for the evening, with kayaking and skiff explorations available after dinner.

Day 6: Admiralty Island - Bears

The ship will tuck into Gambier Bay, a large, island-speckled body of water on the south coast of Admiralty Island National Monument. Your crew will drop the kayaks and launch the skiff for up-close exploration of this cool forested bay. Never logged, the thick evergreen forest crowds right down to the gravel beaches. Here is an outstanding opportunity to spot the huge brown--or grizzly--bears for which Admiralty Island is famous. At low tide they’re right down on the beaches, seeking a shellfish supper. Once again under way, watch for humpback whales before anchoring at Wood Spit for more exploration by kayak and skiff.

Day 7: Ford’s Terror and Endicott Arm

Cliff-walled fjords sliced into the mountainous mainland are on tap today as your ship tucks into an area widely acclaimed as the most beautiful in all of Alaska. Snow gleams on mountaintops high overhead, as bears amble on the shoreline and mountain goats cling to impossibly precarious perches. Seemingly every few hundred yards another sparkling waterfall tumbles down the cliffs. Enjoy a skiff ride at Ford’s Terror, named after an early mariner who was somewhat taken aback when a waterfall appeared at the turn of the tide where none had been visible at high tide. The ship will anchor overnight at Taku Harbor to enjoy the Captain’s Farewell Dinner in an utterly lovely setting.

Day 8: Disembark in Juneau

Transfer to the airport for your return flight home.