Day Cruises

If you include all of our islands, Alaska has almost 33,900 miles of shoreline — more than the rest of the United States combined — making day cruises an ideal way to explore Alaska’s vast coastal and marine habitats. Joining an Alaska day cruise or whale watching tour gives you opportunities to view dramatic steep-walled fjords, tidewater glaciers thousands of years old, and whales and other marine wildlife. 

Half-day or full-day whale watching and glacier tours are the best way to see humpback whales, orcas, gray whales, and other marine animals like Steller sea lions, sea otters, and Dall’s porpoises. You'll also view Alaska's large seabird colonies, which make their homes on sheer cliffs. Keep an eye on the shoreline to spot land mammals including bears, mountain goats, and deer. Many tours cruise to the face of tidewater glaciers that flow into the ocean from icefields high in the mountains. 

Day cruises are available in most parts of the state, but they're most popular out of Seward in Kenai Fjords National Park, Whittier and Valdez in Prince William Sound, and throughout the Inside Passage, with popular spots including Glacier Bay National Park and Misty Fjords National Monument. Cruises range anywhere from a couple of hours to full-day, and many include meals served onboard during the cruise.

If you're traveling through an interior part of the state, look for river cruises, where you can ride in a jet boat as it races up glacier-fed rivers, or tour through iconic Alaska sights in an authentic stern-wheel paddle boat. Popular destinations for river cruises include the Susitna River in Talkeetna, the Chena River in Fairbanks, the Copper River in Cordova, the Knik River in Palmer, and the Stikine River in Wrangell.