Cruises and tour in Alaska

Van tours and cruises

• The Rocky Mountains descend from the high peaks to the sea in gigantic glaciers.
• The central cordillera of Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America.
• Country of pioneers, trappers, gold diggers, arctic oil mushers, and American Santa Claus.
• In the many national parks, reserves and within magnificent landscapes, wildlife abounds: grizzlies, originals, beavers, wolves, caribou, sea otters, whales…

Grands Espaces

• An expedition cruise on one of the smallest expedition boats.
• 25 years of Polar expertise, a route completely oriented towards wildlife observation and the discovery of the polar environment
• A 100% French-speaking cruise (passengers and team)
• Outings and conferences supervised by our team of naturalist guides

Your program

DAY 1 | 28 August: Europe-Anchorage flights (according to arrangements)

Hotel transfer.

DAY 2 | August 29: Cook Strait, Ward

Starting from Anchorage we will walk along the strait discovered by the British Cook, where the tidal tidal flow creates a tidal bore favorable to white whales. Then continuation by the landscapes drowned during the great earthquake of Good Friday in 1964, before discovering the river Kenai reputed for its salmon. The route is laid out in valleys framed by stunning mountains overlooking the port of Seward, the starting point for many wildlife viewing cruises.

DAY 3 and 4| August 30 and 31: Cruises in the National Park

From Seward we will depart for the Northwest Fjord for a day cruise with light meals on board. The next day will also be a start of the day, for a discovery of Kenai National Park. On the returns, free time in the city and dinners including one in the renowned crab restaurant. During these marine observation trips, we will likely be able to approach black bears, mountain goats, whales, orcas, sea otters, fishing eagles, puffins and other seabirds. All without forgetting the cruises on the glaciers and the superb mountains that are ruined in the fjords.

DAY 5 | September 1st: Seward and Glacier Exit

Excursion to the Exit glacier whose recoil is impressive and well-marked. We will approach the crevices and the ice domes. Visit of the Seward aquarium, one of the few to present polar collections and part of the marine wildlife of Alaska. Free time for shopping and discovering Seward.

DAY 6 | September 2: Whittier, Cruise of the 26 glaciers

Located in the Gulf of Prince William, Whittier is one of Alaska’s major ports. We will leave on board a fast catamaran to explore this fabulous bay at the foot of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains where 26 glaciers are scattered, some in front of active glaciers with their icebergs and calving. The hot lunch is served on board according to the nautical miles we will cover on this boat. Six hours of sea to discover seals, whales, sea lions, sea otters, Dall’s goats, marine birds… Journey to Homer. This city is located on the edge of Cook Strait, partly on a peninsula where its restaurants line up on the seafront. It is here that Peary discovered a giant meteorite used to make weapons.

DAY 7 | September 3: Cruise to Lake Clark National Park

Departure according to the tide towards Cook Strait, where fishing eagles, sea lions, whales and sea otters are present, for an 8-hour cruise through Cook Strait towards Chinitna Bay in Clark National Park, one of the three most famous places in Alaska for the observation of grizzlies that walk along the beach in search of shells. We will spend several hours sailing close to the brown bears, before returning through the strait towards Homer. Free time in this very picturesque city and dinner by the sea.

DAY 8 | 4 September: Homer and Katmaï (Optional excursion)

This free day will allow you to enjoy the long and very picturesque waterfront of Homer, tasting its seafood at lunch. You can also embark for an optional day of fishing or whale watching. It is especially thoughtful to allow photographers or grizzly bear enthusiasts to participate in an excursion to the waterfalls of Brooks in Katmaï, the most famous place in the world with Lake Kuril in Kamchatka for brown bear observation.

DAY 9 | September 5: Kenai Peninsula

This peninsula was a hotspot for Russian settlement in Alaska, before this state was bought by the United States in 1867. Stops to these Russian heritages, notably in the center of the city of Kenai, passage by the course and the salmon museum in Soldotna, then arrival in Anchorage, the capital of Alaska, installation at the hotel and dinner in a well-typified place of the city.

DAY 10 | September 6: Anchorage-Denali

Panoramas on the Denali range which rises to 6200 meters above sea level, and Alaska’s trappers: Iditarod and sled dogs, boreal forests (and their fires), wildlife… It’s the ‘Bush’. Stops at the panoramas, the boreal forest, and the damage of large forest fires, beaver work. Visit to the information center of Denali Park. First incursion into the park in the late afternoon in search of the originals.

DAY 11 & 12 | September 7 and 8: Denali National Park

Two days of visits with the famous “shuttles” within the National Park where grizzly bears, caribou, moose, marmots, wolves, Dall sheep (…) are frequent. And in the evenings, from our hotel, the northern lights?

DAY 13 | September 9: Denali – Fairbanks, pipeline and Santa Claus

We will take the road offering superb panoramas of the boreal forest which colors shades of yellow with the liking of autumn. Fairbanks is the capital of gold and pioneers, nestled between the rivers Tanana, Chena. Discovery of the Trans-Alaska pipeline which has been the wealth of this state since 1974. Visit to North Pole, Santa Claus’ residence. Depending on the weather, we could visit the exhibitions at the University of Alaska or take a minibus on the Dalton Highway to the legendary Yukon River. Dinner will be taken at the restaurant “The Turtle Club” in the town near Fox with its wooden frame that retraces the epic of the gold diggers. And on the return, an aurora borealis, in this year.

DAY 14 | September 10: Gold diggers, cruise on the river Chena

This day will be very «American»: the dawn boats and the trappers, and the gold rush. An extraordinary parade of stories and demonstrations, where you can even look for your own gold in the gravels and sands taken from the river, after obviously visiting the giant dredges that have stirred the valleys and the gold museums. Dinner at the restaurant “The Pump” in an atmosphere of trappers with its trophies, stuffed animals, heavy wooden tables and local cuisine.

DAY 15 | September 11: Return flights according to arrangements

Return flights or extension of stay to the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

©Photos-Grands Espaces