One of the best ways to see Alaska's beauty is through a sightseeing tour by vehicle or on foot. Offered at the port of Skagway, the All Aboard Steam Train excursion features a steam train ride on the famous White Pass and Yukon railroad route to the summit of White Pass and back again. In Denali, the Tundra Wilderness Tour takes guests on a nearly eight-hour bus tour through the vast Denali National Park to view Denali Mountain and other Denali landscapes. The Hoonah Sightseeing Tour in Icy Strait Point lets visitors glimpse authentic Alaskan daily living with a walking tour of the Hoonah fishing community, an old logging community and Tlingit village.
Along with varied scenery, Alaska is also full of a variety of wildlife for guests to view. Travelers stopping at the port of Juneau can take part in Alaska's Whales and Rainforest Trails shore excursion. The five-hour tour starts with a hike through the Tongass National Forest to view wildlife such as beavers, eagles and black bears. After the hike, tour-goers board a safari vessel to view whales and other marine wildlife. The Coastal Wildlife Cruise in Ketchikan features a high-speed boat ride along the Alaskan coast to view black bears, eagles, seals, sea lions, porpoises and whales.
Another way to take in Alaska's natural beauty is from the air. The Glacier Adventure by Helicopter in Juneau takes participants on a helicopter tour of the Juneau Icefield, along with a 15- to 20-minute stop on the icefield to explore the glaciers on foot. In Denali, the Mt. McKinley Peak Experience tours Yanert Valley, Denali National Park and Mt. McKinely on board a small plane. The Exclusive Flightseeing and Crab Feast in Ketchikan allows guests to experience Tongrass National Forest and the Ketchikan area from the air on board a float plane. The tour concludes with an Alaskan dinner complete with King Salmon and Dungeness Crab.
An Alaskan shore excursion would not be complete with an adventure tour. For a quintessential Alaskan experience, cruisers can choose the Alaska Sled Dogs and Musher's Camp shore excursion in Juneau, which includes a tour of a musher's camp and a one-mile ride with a real sled dog mush team. In Alyeska, the truly adventurous can take the Canyoneering in Girdwood excursion, complete with fixed rope canyoneering and panning for gold in the Cold Creek Gold Mine. Guests can also try their hand at fly fishing for for trout and salmon in Icy Strait Point as part of the Icy Strait Point Stream Fishing excursion.
