18-night Alaska Cruise

"There's No Place Like Nome!" Nome, Alaska is most known for being the finish line for the annual Iditarod Race, where dogs and mushers travel 1,049 miles from Anchorage. End of the Trail activities are usually held all month long in March. The list of things to do is a mile long in Nome, including exploring the local wilderness, taking a dog sled ride, Russia is 1 hour away by plane, watch Native dancers, and even have lunch with the Elders at the local Senior Center.

St Matthew Islands is located off the southern coast of Alaska, in the Bering Sea. The Island is the 43rd largest in the United States of America. Hall Island is only 3.1 miles wide and it is located in the northwestern point of St. Matthew Island. The 2 major lakes in these Islands are the North Lake and Big Lake, which have a great number of fish species. There are also many arctic foxes and polar bears inhabiting the island. Reindeer at one point lived in St Matthews, but since then have died out and zero remain, this phenomenon has brought in many scientist who this mysterious case has inspired them to search for answers.

St. Paul Island is located in the Pribilof Islands, which are a group of five volcanic islands on the Bering Sea. St. Paul is the biggest island in the group as well as it being the furthest north. There is not much signs of wildlife but birds and rare plants that are not otherwise offered in the area. St. Paul is a very secluded island with many rugged cliffs, making it the perfect destination for risk takers and people who enjoy discovering the great outdoors. 

Dutch Harbour is a port in the Aleutian Islands. Geologically, the archipelago is a continuation of the Aleutian Range, which is on the Alaskan mainland, and contains a number of volcanic peaks. Few trees, all of stunted growth, are found, but grasses grow in abundance. Although a few good harbours are found in the archipelago, navigation is dangerous because of almost perpetual fog and numerous reefs.

Dutch Harbour is a port in the Aleutian Islands. Geologically, the archipelago is a continuation of the Aleutian Range, which is on the Alaskan mainland, and contains a number of volcanic peaks. Few trees, all of stunted growth, are found, but grasses grow in abundance. Although a few good harbours are found in the archipelago, navigation is dangerous because of almost perpetual fog and numerous reefs.

Seventy-five miles long and covering over 1,350 square miles in area, the Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. It is also one of the most impressive, a 300-foot wall of ice rising sheer and jagged from the ocean. You may hear the rumble and see the monumental splash as the glacier breaks off in great ice chunks, known as "calves."

Tucked on the north shore of Chichagof Island, Elfin Cove gives you a rare look at what it means to “live off the grid.” No vehicles are used here because there are no roads. Wooden boardwalks connect the few structures. Considered a sport fishers paradise, this harbor is amazingly beautiful. Last census counted 32 residents in this coastal town.

Humpback whales come en masse to Point Adolphus, where the underwater ecosystem has uniquely provided prime feeding areas to whales. An adventurous experience of kayaking, hiking and exploring the Tongass National Forest and paddling among marine wildlife - sea lions, sea birds and orcas among others - await the outdoors enthusiast.

Resting between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Sitka is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Alaska and the biggest city in America - encircling 4,710 square miles on Baranof Island. No symbol shows Russian influence more than the landmark St. Michael's Cathedral. Original artifacts and icons, including the Sitka Madonna, were saved from fire and are on display. Visit Castle Hill, once site of a two-story log mansion known as Baranof's Castle, which overlooked Sitka Sound during the town's fur trading days. Only stone walls and mounted cannons remain from Russia's bloody battles against native Tlingit. Sitka National Historical Park offers information and artifacts relating to the Tlingits, including totem poles as a chronicle of early life on this fertile ground. Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center cares for as many as a dozen bald eagles and other birds at a time. The facility caters to rare wildlife recovering from injuries incurred in the wild. Among the more popular trails is Indian River Trail, which parallels a salmon stream, and the three-mile-long Gaven Hill Trail.

At 3,600 square miles, this least spoiled of all wilderness areas is the largest of all preserves. It is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of an Alaska vacation. Beginning near the British Columbia border, the Behm Canal winds around the Eastern side of Revillagigedo Island, becoming increasingly narrower as it heads northward, finally taking a left turn back into the Inside Passage near Ketchikan. Along its 900-foot deep chasm, 3,200-foot tall cliffs soar upwards and the dramatic spire of New Eddystone Rock is repeated in the spiky tops of spruce and fir trees which cast stalactite reflections in waters broken only by the wake of ships and the splashes of breaching humpback whales.

Metlakatla means "saltwater channel passage," and was founded by a group of Canadian Tsimshians who migrated from Prince Rupert, British Columbia in 1887 seeking religious freedom. Congress declared Annette Island a federal Indian reservation in 1891. Residents built a church, a school, a sawmill and a cannery, and constructed homes in an orderly grid pattern. During World War II, the U.S. Army constructed a large air base a few miles from town, which was later used for commercial amphibian flights to Ketchikan. The Annette Island Reserve remains the only federal reservation for indigenous peoples in Alaska. It is a traditional Tsimshian community on the federal Annette Island Reserve, with an active economy and subsistence lifestyle. It is the only Indian reservation in Alaska. Metlakatla is in the maritime climate zone with warm winters, cool summers. Average summer temperatures range from 36 to 52; winter temperatures average 28 to 42.

Imagine being confronted with a myriad of mysterious channels. Following each fjord to the interior, encounter massive mountain ranges, towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, virginal forests of two-hundred foot tall spruce, while whales, bears, seals, salmon, eagles and other wildlife. Always they were stopped by an inevitable face of ice - glaciers pushing inexorably downward to meet the sea. What must have been a mapmaker's nightmare is today cherished as the continent's last great untouched wilderness, harbouring the world's largest temperate rain forest. An Eden of the North to captivate the every modern-day explorer. The string of islands of the Inside Passage create a protective barrier to the open sea running from the Washington State/Canadian border and the bottom of Vancouver Island all the way up to the top of Chichagof Island, where the Gulf of Alaska begins its curve westward, offering a supremely serene cruising environment in some of the most dramatic surroundings on earth.

Vancouver is a thriving metropolis surrounded by natural beauty. With parks, beaches, gardens, museums, art galleries and the second-largest Chinatown in North America, Vancouver lives up to its promise of offering something for everyone. With modern buildings set against green, rolling hillsides, this city is breathtaking; no location offers a more spectacular view than Stanley Park - with a zoo, aquarium, totem poles and honking geese. A short walk from the park leads to Robson Street, which offers the town's best window-shopping. Stores with European flavor share the avenue with delicatessens and tea rooms ready to serve. As architectural heart of the city, Robson Square features a central plaza with a food fair and an old provincial courthouse, which now houses Vancouver Art Gallery. Be sure to stop at 8 Pender St. - "the narrowest building in the world." Other points of interest include the Museum of Anthropology; Japanese-style Nitobe Memorial Garden; and VanDusen Botanical Garden. Capilano Canyon is site of the world's longest and highest suspension footbridge.