Antarctica Pictures | Antarctica Cruise | Facts | History | Ugg Sale | Store | Clothes | Whales | Book, DVD etc. | Schools | Boots | Forum | Site Map | FIDS

Trip Details

Alaska's Inside Passage: Juneau to Sitka - Luxurious Yacht, Waterfall-laced Fjords, Glacier Bay National Park, Icy Strait, Whales and Natural Hotsprings
8 days | Departures:  5/19/07, 5/26/07, 6/2/07, 6/9/07, 6/16/07, 6/23/07, 6/30/07, 7/7/07, 7/14/07, 7/21/07, 7/28/07, 8/4/07, 8/11/07, 8/18/07, 8/25/07, 9/1/07  | From $4,295

Whaling pictures | Whales | Species | Whaling Antarctica 1 2 | Whales & food webs | Whale pictures to buy | Whaling cards

Tell me more about Whale Watching Trips!

Trip Highlights: Luxurious Yacht, Waterfall-laced Fjords, Glacier Bay National Park, Icy Strait, Whales and Natural Hotsprings

Rates: $4,295 - $7,295
Single and triple rates on request

Ship Name: Safari Quest - Motor Yacht
Passengers: 22

Introduction

It's calm in Icy Strait, one of Alaska's most beautiful glacial fjords. When you board the Zodiac launch to putter among the icebergs here, you're putting yourself at sensory level with some of nature's most amazing secrets. In the still water, you hear a popping like that of puffed-rice cereal — it's ice decompressing and expanding after centuries of being crushed by its own glacial weight. Go ahead, reach out your hands and gather a fistful of geological history. Your own eyes are wide, but on a nearby floe there's a harbor seal watching you with even wider eyes that are as shiny as black silk.

Itinerary

Day 1: Sail from Juneau
Transfer to your yacht after an included city and glacier tour. Your crew greets you with champagne and smiles, and you'll cruise to a secluded wilderness anchorage this evening.

Days 2-3: Glacier Bay National Park
One of America's crown-jewel national parks will be yours to explore and marvel at for the next two days. The park itself is 3.2 million acres (the size of the state of Connecticut), so there is plenty to see. Tidewater glaciers sweep like rivers of ice down massive mountain valleys, terminating before us in the waters of Glacier Bay. If conditions permit, marvel as your inflatable Zodiac weaves among the icebergs that have fallen from the face of the glaciers. You'll enjoy evenings at anchor in hidden coves, and mornings paddling your kayak in the quiet of this majestic wilderness. And what will you find? Here in the bay there are puffins and sea lions, mountain goats and bears, moose, eagles, and scenery more spectacular than any place on earth.

Day 4: Icy Strait
You'll search for the tell-tale blow of the humpback whale as you cruise in Icy Strait today, and later, all the charm of Alaska will greet you as you pull into tiny Elfin Cove, a miniscule village tucked into Chichagof Island. You'll step ashore to stretch your legs and meet the people who choose to live their lives far removed from modern-day conveniences. Imagine waiting for the mail plane to come in once a week here in Elfin Cove. This evening you'll anchor in a remote bay and drop the kayaks for a paddle before calling it a day.

Days 5-7: Wilderness, Whales, and Hotsprings
You'll cruise into the heart of Alaska's Inside Passage during the next four days. On any given morning, awake to find the crew ready to send you off in your kayak, complete with hot coffee in a thermos. Wander through misty coves where colorful sea life clings to the intertidal rocks, and the silence remains unbroken except for the clear call of a Pacific loon, or a marbled murrelet. Or maybe there will be a knock on your stateroom door to inform you that a bear and her two cubs are ambling along the shoreline just beyond the bow. Spend your days cruising the waters where humpback whales, Steller's sea lions, orcas and porpoise feed and frolic. You'll slip into scenic bays, enjoy guided nature hikes and soak in natural hotsprings. Anchorages will vary from remote coves to dramatic, waterfall-laced fjords where the cliffs rise over 2,500 feet straight up out of the water. It simply does not get better than this.

Day 8: Sitka
After arriving in Sitka this morning you'll be transferred to the airport for connections home.

Notes:

Reverse Itinerary: 5/26/2007, 6/9/2007, 6/23/2007, 7/7/2007, 7/21/2007, 8/4/2007, 8/18/2007, 9/1/2007 (Sitka to Juneau)

Included:
Meet/greet services and transfers; exclusive shore excursions; all meals aboard; premium wine, beer and liquor; kayaking and small-boat exploration; onboard professional naturalist or guide; all taxes, port charges and fees.

Not Included:
Airfare to and from your home city; super-premium wine, beer and liquor; discretionary gratuities to vessel's crew, typically 5-10% of fare; travel insurance.

Kids in Nature Cruise (6/30/2007, 7/21/2007)
This program offers kid-size pricing -- 2 kids under 12 for the price of 1 adult fare. These cruises include a luxury yacht as the schoolhouse and an expedition leader as a teacher, providing kids and teens with plenty of activities to keep them entertained. Kids receive a personalized backpack filled with exploration tools and a photo disc to of hundreds of images to share for years to come.