If you are considering a trip to Alaska you may be wondering what you will do once you get there… And importantly, how will you decide what to do in Alaska?
The options are truly endless. I was overwhelmed by all the options of what we could see and do as we planned our trip. Well, I should clarify. First I was shocked by the cost of the excursions, and then I was overwhelmed by the options. And many options truly seemed once-in-a-lifetime.
The cool thing though is you can definitely plan an amazing trip to Alaska without spending a fortune on excursions. Just like most other places.
However, if you have a particular experience you must do while in Alaska, such as watching bears catch fish, fishing during the salmon run, hiking on a glacier, landing on a glacier via a helicopter, etc. then you will likely pay to ensure you have the experience you want.
Note: prices shared for excursions are the prices we paid but are no guarantee of current tour pricing. Obviously prices will change. We receive no kickback or commission for the tour links provided. We are simply sharing the tour providers we used. The prices shared do not include tips. We had amazing guides, drivers, and pilots so we tipped generously.
How We Decided on Alaskan Excursions
As we planned our trip, the most helpful thing we did to decide what to do was watch YouTube videos of the areas we were visiting for inspiration. I think this was especially helpful for him, as I generally have an idea of what’s worth doing since I do all the research for our travels. But he doesn’t, and so seeing people doing different things was helpful. For example, hiking a glacier seemed pretty incredible so we searched for different glacier hikes in the areas on our itinerary and watched videos.
I’m also a total travel nerd when it comes to TripAdvisor (TA) forums, which have a wealth of information. So I spent quite a bit of time in the Alaska destination forums (Anchorage, Seward, Denali, etc.) for ideas and feedback from those who visited recently. The TA forums are actually where I got the idea to do a flight-seeing tour of the Misty Fjords National Monument (but was it worth it…?)in one of our cruise ports.
The next decision was how much money we were willing to spend on these unique activities. As I mentioned in our Alaska planning post, we spent just over $1,000 in excursions. Which for us is a lot of money! Usually we focus on free things (and we still did, trust me!). We agreed 2-3 big excursions was enough, and were comfortable with the total cost.
The last point of consideration for excursions was understanding the cancellation policies. We booked many of our tours in advance since tours fill up. I wanted to understand how much money we’d be out if we had to cancel for some reason, or if the tour operator had to cancel. Luckily all the excursions we looked at had reasonable cancellation policies.
The excursion I was most concerned about was the flight-seeing tour, which was not cheap! Luckily if they cancelled due to weather, decided the weather wasn’t going to provide a decent experience, or if our cruise itinerary changed last minute and we didn’t port in Ketchikan–we would be refunded our money.
Long story short, when you’re shelling out big money for excursions be sure to understand the cancellation policy before you book.
What I’d Do Differently
There is one thing I would do differently if I were planning this trip again when it comes to excursions.
We never sat down and brainstormed what was important to us to see or do while in Alaska. The videos gave us cool ideas and worked just fine for inspiration. In retrospect though, we could have been more intentional about our excursion choices and maximized our dollars spent.
For me, this would have focused more on wildlife. We did have great opportunities to see wildlife, but not as extensively as we could have based on the total money we spent on excursions.
As an example, I would have put the money we spent for the flight-seeing tour, by far our most expensive excursion at $350 per person, and found a tour that combined a flight-seeing tour with more extensive bear viewing.
I also regret passing on the Major Marine wildlife and glacier viewing boat tour out of Seward. At the time the tour frequently saw orcas, which is very high on my must-see list. We passed though because the weather and seas were very iffy, and it was pricey at $200 per person. However, hiking part of the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park was an amazing, free tradeoff!
Learn from our mistake… Make a list of your top things to do in Alaska, and then search for tours that will help you check off multiple activities. It won’t be cheap but I bet you save money in the long run.
Our Favorite Excursions
We had so many unique experiences in Alaska! Here are three standout excursions.
Wildlife Viewing in Denali National Park
One of the top reasons we booked with Holland America cruise line was they included the Denali National Park popular Tundra Wilderness bus tour ($142 per person) in our total cruise cost.
And let me tell you, if you visit Denali National Park & Preserve this tour must be on your list!
Only have one day in Denali National Park? We've got our top tips here to make the most of your day in the park!
We were on the 6:00am bus tour. Yikes! But I’d do it again because wildlife are more active in the morning (proof in the pics). Plus we saw sunrise in the park, and watched the scenery change as the sun came up. Just stunning.
Why take the bus tour? This 5.5-hour narrated tour takes you further into the park than personal vehicles can go. Plus your driver will share tons of history and information about the park and wildlife to enhance your experience.
Part of the road was closed during the 2023 season, and we only were able to travel to mile 43. But of the wildlife we saw in Alaska, 90% was during this bus tour. Despite the road closure, the tour was 100% worth taking! The bus stops for restroom breaks and scenic views a few times, and you get a snack box.
Wildlife spotting was the highlight, including moose, grizzly, caribou, Dall sheep, and other smaller animals. Taking in the landscape and dramatic mountains wasn’t bad, either. It snowed in the higher elevations the night before, so the mountain tops had a fresh coat of snow. The views were amazing!
As we turned around to head back towards the entrance, the clouds cleared and we had several opportunities to view Denali! Only 30-40% of people get to see Denali, and we consider ourselves unbelievably lucky to see “the mountain.” Especially since the day before it was cloudy and rainy, the next day was also rainy, and later that afternoon clouds had moved in to block the view.
The buses are equipped with cameras that zoom in and display far off wildlife on screens mounted in the bus. So even if the animals are far away, you’ll still get to see them! This is definitely a tour where you want to bring your camera (with zoom lenses) and binoculars.
Hike on a Glacier
It’s hard to compete with our experience in Denali, but another favorite excursion was hiking Matanuska Glacier with MICA Guides.
Matanuska Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers by vehicle and is located several hours north of Anchorage. Although the glacier is visible along scenic Glenn Highway, visitors must use a tour operator to access the glacier.
We chose MICA Guides for their three-hour guided Ice Fall Trek onto the glacier ($160 per person) and had a phenomenal experience.
We didn’t even expect to do the glacier hike since the weather forecast called for heavy rain in that area all day. As we made the drive up from Anchorage, we met rain and heavy clouds. We decided if there was heavy rain at the start of our hike we would cancel.
We checked in around 11:00a, and the rep explained to us glaciers actually create their own micro-climates. Long story short, he predicted we’d experience little rain during our hike, but if it did rain it would be light and “dry rain.” We were there, it wasn’t currently raining so we decided to go for it.
We met our small group of 4 others and our guide, Dan. He equipped us with the gear we needed, including waterproof boots, micro-spikes, and a helmet. We loaded into a van and drove the short, extremely bumpy ride to where our trek began.
From start to finish this experience was incredibly unique. We had to walk across a floating bridge to access the glacier. We even experienced the wild phenomenon of non-Newtonian fluid (like walking on a water bed) due to all the rain they had experienced recently.
After an in-depth safety brief, we traversed the glacier hiking up steep inclines, learning about the different formations and the terrain for the next several hours. While not as strenuous as I expected, I was glad I put in extra training on hills and incline ahead of time. The guides also adjust the tour based on the capability of the participants.
We drank glacial water, and enjoyed our time on Matanuska Glacier.
As predicted, we experienced very little rain and the clouds even started to clear towards the end of our hike. We even got a bit of sunburn on our faces, so take it seriously when they say to bring sunscreen! They are the experts, turns out…
And as we drove a couple minutes down the road after our hike, it started to rain again and was like that all the way back to Anchorage… I kid you not!
Pro-tip for Alaska: You truly cannot control the weather, so stop worrying about it. Don’t let the weather forecast or the weather keep you down. Dress appropriately and have a couple back up plans.
Flight-Seeing Tour of Misty Fjords National Monument
As our cruise and Alaskan adventure came to a close, we topped off the trip with a flight-seeing tour with Island Wings out of Ketchikan, Alaska.
We departed on a seaplane from the water in Ketchikan, flew over dramatic scenery and landed on a Nooya Lake in Misty Fjords National Monument. Located in the Tongass National Forest, this area includes over two million acres!
During our flight we were able to see sheep on mountain tops, and even spotted a grizzly bear running with her two cubs!
Our tour included a water landing, which was a fun experience. The best part though was after we landed, when we were in the middle of nowhere in complete silence with the amazing views. I asked our pilot if he could leave me out there for a few hours and then come get me… He wouldn’t (which was probably for the best).
Pro-tip: if you are prone to motion sickness I recommend taking the appropriate medicine and/or measures in advance of a tour like this (or on a boat tour). Why, you ask? Let’s just say one person in our party (not us, thankfully!) threw up during our flight and missed the puke bag. Not good for anyone, but especially the one unfortunate solo traveler who had to witness what happened….
Okay, so our top excursions in Alaska covered wildlife, glaciers, and a flight-seeing tour! If you’ve been to Alaska, or dream of going to Alaska, I’d love to hear what was/is on the top of your list to experience!
Real time update: We head to Croatia on Saturday for two weeks! This will be a guided group tour, which is a different travel style for us. I can’t wait to tell you how it goes and share our experience. Be sure to follow us on Instagram as I hope to share our trip on stories.
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