13 Once-in-a-Lifetime Alaska Tours

From its famous glaciers and northern lights sightings to its abundant wildlife and majestic national parks, Alaska offers so much to see. But navigating its vast landscape can be a challenge without the savvy guidance of a local. After consulting traveler opinion and expert input, U.S. News compiled some of the best Alaska tours to consider when planning your bucket list itinerary.

Whether you want to try your hand at dog sledding, fly over Denali or observe bears in their natural habitat, there’s a tour for you. Plus, many tour operators offer round-trip transportation to the various Alaska cruise ports, making them great options if you’re looking for a convenient local excursion.

Price: From $5,000
Duration: 10 days

This tour checks all the boxes of a quintessential Alaska trip. You’ll start and end in Anchorage, visiting Denali National Park, riding on the Alaska Railroad and cruising through Kenai Fjords National Park in between. Other highlights include a scenic drive along the Seward Byway, a visit to the Musk Ox Farm and a cruise through Prince William Sound.

Hotel accommodations are included in the cost of the tour, as is daily breakfast and up to half of your dinners as well as two lunches and all transportation via coach bus and train.

Reviewers say the tour lives up to its “majestic” name, and call the trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience thanks to the passionate, knowledgeable guides, who travelers say go out of their way to provide tourgoers with an unforgettable trip.

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Price: From $5,449
Duration: 8 days

If you’re not one for big tour buses or crowds, Alaska Adventure Unlimited may be just what you’re looking for. The company’s tours are limited to 14 people, and rather than coach buses, you’ll be driving around in mini buses that make it easy to navigate the uneven terrain and back roads inaccessible to larger vehicles. What’s more, tours are run by local Alaskans, and since the company only runs tours in Alaska, reviewers say the customer service is personalized and top-notch.

The company’s Best of Alaska tour – a traveler favorite – features the Matanuska River Valley, Talkeetna, Denali National Park, a Knik Glacier boat tour, a wildlife cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park, a train ride on the Alaska Railroad and a dog sled tour in Seward, among other activities. Travelers call the tour intimate thanks to the small group size, and the guides attentive.

Hotel accommodations, most meals, activities and transportation are included in the cost of the tour.

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Price: From $300
Duration: 14 hours

There is no shortage of northern lights tours in Alaska, but according to reviewers, this one stands out from the rest thanks to its passionate guides, who travelers say go above and beyond to ensure tourgoers get a glimpse of the otherworldly sight.

Though spotting the northern lights is the highlight of this daylong tour, it’s not the only activity. After getting picked up from your hotel in Fairbanks, you’ll head to the Arctic Circle, where you’ll stop for pictures and receive your “Cross the Circle Certificate.” From there, you’ll drive along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, across the Yukon River Bridge and stop for a short walk at Finger Mountain. As you travel back toward Fairbanks, you’ll keep your eyes peeled for the elusive northern lights, stopping for plenty of pictures along the way.

Even tourgoers who didn’t spot the lights due to weather still rave about the tour, complimenting the knowledgeable guides and the opportunity to see this area of Alaska with an expert leading the way. Others appreciate the small group size (no more than nine participants), and guides’ willingness to help tourgoers with their camera settings to capture the best photos.

Tours generally operate Monday through Saturday starting at 2 p.m. from late August through March. Tickets include round-trip transportation, two sandwiches, snacks, bottled water and hot beverages.

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Price: Adults from $95; kids from $85
Duration: 30 minutes

If you’re fascinated by the famous Iditarod – Alaska’s annual 1,150-mile sled dog race that starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome – you’ll want to sign up for a dog sledding tour while in Alaska. There are a variety of operators offering tours from Anchorage, Denali, Girdwood and Juneau, but according to travelers, the best is Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service just outside of Fairbanks.

On its 30-minute ride, you’ll be towed for about 5 miles by the company’s huskies, many of whom have competed in the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest races. During the ride, your musher/guide will share commentary about their beloved dogs, the training required for mushers and dogs, and provide an inside scoop on the Iditarod.

Reviewers describe this as the highlight of their Alaska trip, praising the passionate guides and the lovable, friendly dogs. Travelers are also impressed by the snowy scenery and appreciate the opportunity to snap photos with the dogs.

Tours are generally available Thursday through Tuesday from November to April at multiple times in the morning and afternoon. The use of boots, bibs, jackets, neck gators, hats and gloves is included in the cost of the tour ticket. Kids must be at least 3 years old to participate, but if the temperature dips below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, the minimum age is 5. Hoping for a longer ride? Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service also offers one-hour, two-hour and four-hour tours.

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Price: Adults from $439; kids from $389
Duration: 1 hour

In addition to a flightseeing tour over the Knik River, the Great Gorge and Whiteout Glacier, this helicopter ride also includes a landing in the middle of Knik Glacier. Upon landing on the glacier, you’ll have 30 minutes to explore the glacier on a hike with your pilot as your guide. Reviewers call this a once-in-a-lifetime experience, praising the incredible views and the safety-conscious pilots. Travelers are also pleased with the visibility from the helicopter’s windows, saying it’s easy to capture stunning photos.

Flights are available year-round; exact departure times vary by day. Flights depart from Alaska Glacier Lodge in Palmer, which sits about 50 miles east of Anchorage. If you don’t have your own car, you can arrange round-trip transportation at an extra cost through Alaska Helicopter Tours. If you have more time to spare, consider the company’s Grand Knik Tour, which spans two hours and features three landings.

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Price: From $16,229
Duration: 14 days

Given that Alaska is home to about 60% of the United States’ total national park lands (56 million acres), you’re bound to stumble on at least one of the state’s eight national parks during your trip. This two-week tour operated by John Hall’s Alaska hits six of the state’s national parks, including remote national parks not often visited by Alaska travelers, such as Gates of the Arctic, Lake Clark and Katmai, along with more accessible parks like Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias and Kenai Fjords.

The tour relies on a variety of transportation methods for exploring these beautiful landscapes, including boats, the Alaska Railroad, coach buses and floatplanes. While the national parks are the main attractions, the trip balances out its adventure activities with visits to authentic and rural native villages, allowing tourgoers to get better acquainted with Alaska’s Indigenous peoples.

Reviewers appreciate the mix of adventure and culture activities featured on the tour, and appreciate the tour company’s organization. Travelers point out that the tour doesn’t allow for much independent exploration, so if that’s important to you, this may not be the trip for you. Overall, reviewers were complimentary of the hotels, which are included in the price, along with all meals and transportation.

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Price: From $4,395
Duration: 9 days

According to reviewers, this mulitday trip is a great option if you’re hoping to explore the interior of Alaska, which you’ll see while riding two of the Alaska Railroad’s routes (Denali Star and Glacier Discovery). When you’re not on the train, you’ll be traveling between destinations via coach bus.

You’ll start in Fairbanks, where you’ll visit a dog sledding kennel and then board the Denali Star, which will take you into the heart of Denali National Park for plenty of wildlife watching and stunning scenery. From there, you’ll make your way to Talkeetna before continuing south toward Anchorage, down the Turnagain Arm and through the Kenai Peninsula before arriving in Seward. In Kenai Fjords National Park, you’ll enjoy a wildlife cruise (one of several boat tours included on the tour). The trip ends with a final train ride on the Glacier Discovery to Anchorage.

Train rides and coach bus travel is included in the cost of the ticket, along with hotel accommodations, excursions and some meals. A few tourgoers were unimpressed with the hotel accommodations and described the food as average, but others say this trip features a good variety of activities and a nice balance of organized excursions and independent exploration time. Reviewers are also appreciative of the guide, who they call knowledgeable and organized.

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Price: Adults from $219; kids from $169
Duration: 3 hours

A popular tour for those stopping in Ketchikan while on a cruise, this half-day boat trip is perfect for those interested in learning more about the sea life that calls Alaska’s Inside Passage home. Aboard the Aleutian Ballad, you will get to watch the crew – some you may recognize from the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” TV series – pull in crabs, get a glimpse of the sea creatures that they release back to the ocean and spot wildlife on nearby land.

Tourgoers say this experience is tons of fun and worth the price thanks to the entertaining crew. They also report seeing lots of bald eagles and appreciate the boat’s amphitheater-style sheltered lower deck, which offers great views no matter where you’re sitting.

Despite the tour’s connection to “Deadliest Catch,” which often shows the crew battling treacherous waves, this cruise does not go into the open ocean; the boat stays within the calm, protected waters of the Inside Passage.

Travelers must be at least 5 years old to participate. Tours are available most days late April through mid-October at varying times in the morning and afternoon. Trips depart from Ketchikan. The Aleutian Ballad is docked at the same pier as the cruise ships, meaning additional transportation isn’t necessary if you’re in town with a cruise.

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Price: From $1,135
Duration: 7 hours

Did you know that roughly 98% of brown bears in the United States live in Alaska? If getting close to bears and observing them in their natural habitat is a bucket list adventure for you, consider this tour with Alaska Bear Adventures. The Classic Day Trip departs from Homer Airport with a 45- to 60-minute flight over the Alaskan wilderness before landing on the coast of Katmai or Lake Clark national parks. You then hike to a viewing point and spend up to three hours viewing the bears in the wild.

Tour-takers say both the flight and the bear viewing is amazing and absolutely worth the cost. They also highly praise their pilots (who also double as naturalist guides) for their attention to safety and knowledge of the bears.

Participants must be at least 10 years old. Tours are offered daily from mid-May through mid-September typically in the early morning and afternoon based on tides. Alaska Bear Adventures also operates tours through Brooks Falls and the McNeil River areas.

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Price: From $1,608
Duration: 4 days

Many of the top tours in Alaska make a point to visit Denali National Park – and for good reason – it stretches across 6 million acres and is home to the tallest peak in North America, not to mention a variety of wildlife like grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, moose and Dall sheep. Given the park’s vast size, it’s best experienced on a mulitday trip, like this top-rated option from Alaska Tour & Travel. Highlights of the four-day trip include a guided wildlife bus tour on the park’s only road, an hourlong flightseeing tour over the Alaska Range and a train ride aboard the Alaska Railroad’s iconic Denali Star route.

Reviewers praise the efficiency and organization of the tour company, along with its expert guides.

Tour prices include all activities and accommodations.

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Price: Adults from $225; kids from about $112.50
Duration: 6 hours

On Major Marine Tours’ most popular cruise, travelers spend six hours in Kenai Fjords National Park, visiting an active tidewater glacier in Aialik Bay, whale watching, and spotting wildlife like seals, puffins and sea lions. Other highlights include the Chiswell Islands, Bear Glacier and Resurrection Bay.

A sandwich lunch is included, in addition to use of binoculars and live narration from the boat’s captain. Tourgoers report spotting lots of wildlife and describe the captain and crew as insightful and helpful. Along with the abundant wildlife, reviewers were also pleased with the stunning views.

Tours depart from Seward at 8 or 11:30 a.m. daily May through mid-September (exact times vary by month). Major Marine Tours operates a variety of cruises within the national park ranging from four hours to more than eight hours.

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Price: Adults from $199; kids from $125
Duration: 6 hours

Cruise through Prince William Sound and see more than 26 named glaciers aboard a high-speed catamaran as you enjoy narration from a Chugach National Forest Service ranger on this tour. With three decks and room for more than 300 people, the catamaran offers both outdoor and indoor viewing options with large panoramic windows. Cruisers also enjoy a hot meal, as well as coffee, tea and water – all complimentary. (Alcoholic drinks are available for purchase.) Reviewers highly recommend this tour, citing the crew’s knowledge and attentiveness to safety, as well as the delicious food, beautiful scenery and ample wildlife sightings.

Tours depart at noon between early May through September from Whittier, which is located about 60 miles southeast of Anchorage. The company also offers a shorter, four-hour Glacier Quest Cruise that travels through Blackstone Bay and features 10 glaciers.

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Price: Adults from $239; kids from $199
Duration: 4.5 hours

If you’ve got just half a day in Juneau, reviewers say you can’t go wrong with this tour, which begins and ends in downtown Juneau at the main cruise ship terminal. The tour starts with a quick, 20-minute drive (via coach bus) from Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier, where you have 45 minutes to explore the area on your own, possibly taking a hike, visiting Mendenhall Lake or seeing a waterfall. Afterward, you’ll board a boat, where you’ll spend two hours whale watching with a naturalist who will explain whale behaviors and answer questions.

Reviewers say the tour is amazing, with plenty of time to see everything. What’s more, participants describe guides as excellent and engaging.

Tours run daily May through September in the morning and afternoon (exact times vary by day). If you’re short on time, you can book the 3.5-hour whale watching tour.

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