Alaska Adventure Tour Travel Reviews

But the amazing wildlife made up for the bad weather. They saw Orca and humpback whales up close, Dall porpoises, sea lions, puffins, sea otter, bald eagles and jellyfish.

The crew was excellent as they helped make the cruise into a pleasant experience in spite of the terrible weather...

The scenery was fantastic and they had clear seas and skies which made things all the more pleasant.

One of the highlights was taking a helicopter flight over the Mendenhall glacier and then landing on it to be able to drink some ice-cold glacial water and marvel at the intense blue of the compacted ice...

Among the animals they spotted were puffins, bears, moose, mountain goats, orcas, dall sheep and wolves. While driving between Anchorage and Whittier they got to see beluga whales leaping out of the water.

Camping in Alaska is free as long as your tent does not obstruct traffic, so although they endured some less than perfect campsites, it was at least at no extra cost.

The rumbling thunder of ice crashing into the water complimented by some serene sunsets and tranquil sceneries made this trip delightful. Venturing into the history and natural majesty of Alaska made the journey remarkable. Combined the country and its story form an enchanting, unforgettable magnet that will have this traveller back for more time and again…

One of the highlights of the trip was Tracy Arm which has two tidewater glaciers. They spent a wonderful hour watching the South Sawyer glacier calving.

On the wildlife viewing front they saw an amazing amount on the day cruise out to Misty Fjords National Monument. A humpback whale breaching, a grizzly bear, harbour seals and bald eagles were all on the animal sightings 'menu'...

They also enjoyed a 4-hour excursion on the Yukon railway train at Skagway through some wonderfully scenic areas filled with history about the gold rush days.

At Icy Strait Point they went on a brown bear search and weren't disappointed as they came across a large male Alaskan brown bear eating salmon for lunch in one of the streams. They watched him for about 20 mins and he cavorted in the water and even stood up on his hind legs.

This was followed by a boat trip out to the Point Adolphus area where they saw about 20 humpback whales in 5 different pods and listened to them communicate with their unique high pitched whistling and moaning...

They managed to spot Orca and humpback whales, stellers sea lions, harbour seals, Dall's porpoises swimming close to the boat along with some amazing bird life.

Peterson and Aialik glaciers were impressive for their size and the Aialik glacier field was particularly active in ice calving. They drifted a safe distance from the glacial wall and heard the rumble as huge chunks of ice cracked and fell into the water with a massive splash...

While at Mt McKinley Wilderness Lodge he went on a Glacier Landing Tour, a plane ride that lands visitors right on top of a glacier for a walk around and a drink of melting ice. He was also very lucky to have a clear day during his stay, revealing the beautiful Mount McKinley towering into the sky.

His hot tip when going on a cruise is to take a balcony cabin, it is more expensive but makes for extravagant viewing along the way, especially at Glacier Bay. The luxury of experiencing Alaska's beauty from the comfort of your own room could have come at any cost because it was well worth it...

When they got to Valdez itself they went on a glacier wildlife cruise where they saw crystal blue icebergs drifting in the water for as far as the eye could see. These icebergs break off from the Columbia glacier which is 75 miles long and ends right in the harbour...

The Swensons also went on a boat trip to Kenai Fjords National Park where they saw more glaciers than they could count.

While test driving the RV, Ric says that they found their dumping hosepipe to be broken, so he warns to make sure everything is in working order before venturing too far and ending up having to repair things yourself on the road.

Ric found the RV parks to be pretty decent, clean and private... at some, wireless internet is also available. They especially recommend the Anchorage RV Park, where they started their journey.

I would highly recommend reading the full article if considering to take to the Alaskan roads in an RV since Ric went into quite extensive detail covering the ins and outs of such an Alaska adventure tour…

The scenery was magnificent and they were allowed off the bus at specified observation points. Everyone wanted to see a grizzly bear and they managed to find quite a few.

Another highlight was the dogsled demonstration given by the park rangers where a pack of five dogs was used to pull the sled across the gravel. In winter the teams are 10 - 14 dogs strong so that they can patrol the park to catch poachers and trespassers...

At the top of the ridge that they had hiked up they had an amazing view of Mt McKinley which is only visible every one out of four days because it is high enough ( 20320 feet) to generate its own weather and it's normally bad enough to obscure the mountain with cloud.

Looking down into the river bed they also managed to see four of seven wolf cubs playing together for an hour. On the journey back they watched a grizzly bear eating in a riverbed...

She says that driving to Seward took them almost three hours longer than it should have, simply because they could not keep from stopping to admire all the wonderful views along the way.

Vamsee made sure she took some seasick tablets before they embarked on their 8-hour cruise, which meant that she could enjoy it to the full, as opposed to Saru who did not take and ended up getting seasick (avoid sea sickness).

Major Marines provided them with a full breakfast onboard and they enjoyed seeing a great variety of both marine wildlife and birds. At Aalik Cove they witnessed a block of ice calving off the glacier as they veered closer, a sight and sound of sheer magnificence.

She notes that the cabins at Denali National Park are extremely tiny, the views of the mountain incredibly enticing and the excitement at sighting a giant grizzly bear overwhelming, although they did expect a lot more from the bus trip inside the park…

Weather providing, Mount McKinley (also known as Mount Denali) can be viewed from quite a distance, a sight Srinivasan writes was so beautiful that his camera proved incapable of capturing it. They also sighted two grizzly bear cubs and an adult most likely indulging their appetites with the deliciously ripe berries.

Setting up camp and cooking out in the wild made the experience feel a little less untamed, while trotting through wet tundra (vegetation consisting of dwarf shrubs, mosses etc) reminds one that the outdoors can be quite uncomfortable, although its beauty and the thrilling experiences nature offers prove more than worthy of such efforts.

A half day cruise upon their return made for viewing enormous glaciers covering the mountains. Seeing birds, mountain goats and humpback whales made for a good way to end their trip even though a week is definitely not enough time to take it all in…