National parks are at the heart of our Alaska trips. Kenai Fjords, Denali, Glacier Bay, Katmai…
Whether you reach them by land on an Alaska national park tour or by sea on an Alaska national park cruise, we offer the best access, exclusivity and wilderness experience. Skip the crowds and bigger cruise ships to see Alaska national parks at their best, most remote reaches. Here I detail some of the top park cruises and tours, plus find links to my direct experience visiting them.
Key Takeaways
- Consider how you access each park: ship, float or bush plane, train, bus and/or car.
- 5 key parks offer the most abundant wildlife & best boutique accommodations.
- We can combine parks together efficiently, or help you focus on exploring one park.
- Look to itineraries like the Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari to efficiently explore 3-4 Alaska national parks in a single tour.
- Cruises like the Aleutian Islands Cruise string together 3 Alaska national parks.
- Glacier Bay is farther south than the other parks, but we commonly link travelers north via “puddle-jump” flights.
ON THIS PAGE – Alaska National Park Tours:
Cruise or Land Tour?
Glacier Bay Alaska National Park Cruises
Kenai Fjords National Park Tours
Denali Alaska National Park Tours
Katmai National Park Tours
Lake Clark National Park Tours
Visiting Aniakchak National Monument
FAQs on Alaska National Park Travel
Read Reviews of Our Alaska National Park Cruises & Tours
Consider Access When Choosing Your Alaska National Park Cruise or Tour
The first step in choosing your Alaska National Park tour or cruise is to understand the diverse landscape of Alaska, and the distances between many of these Alaska national parks.
Anchorage is the hub for Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Lake Clark and Denali Alaska national park tours, while Southeast Alaska’s town of Gustavus is the main gateway for Glacier Bay explorations. Consider the following when choosing a cruise vs. land tour:
- In some Alaska national parks like Glacier Bay, access is nearly exclusively by ship (unless you flightsee). So even if you choose to stay on land at a lodge versus overnight aboard a ship, you will still take dayboats to explore the park. An overnight cruise is simply more efficient.
- At Katmai National Park, your access is via floatplane. You must fly on a floatplane to embark your ship or stay at a lodge in the park.
- For Lake Clark Alaska national parks tour, you’ll arrive via bush plane.
- To visit Denali, you’re looking at a combo of cars, buses and trains to access this Alaska national park deep in Alaska’s interior. No cruises here! Although we can easily plan cruises that include Denali National Park before or after the main cruise itinerary begins or ends.
Due to the remoteness of each park, some are more difficult than others to combine together into one trip. My colleagues and I at AdventureSmith are adept at making combination Alaska national park cruise itineraries and tours. Let us help you access an Alaska national parks tour with efficiency and ease.
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Alaska National Parks Tours – Details for Each Park
While there are 8 national parks in the state, our Alaska national parks tours focus on 5 key parks and preserves that offer the most abundant wildlife, ease of access and best boutique wilderness lodges and small ships. A sixth, Aniakchak, is less commonly on travelers’ bucket lists but is easily accessed now by a new cruise itinerary. Learn a bit more about each park and the cruise and land tour itineraries you’ll find there:
Glacier Bay Alaska National Park Cruises
Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska is our most popular Alaska cruise destination, and we offer a Glacier Bay cruise or tour for every travel style and budget. There are more than 20 trips to choose from! The park covers over three million acres with open ocean and fjord coastlines spanning most of its perimeter. It is famed for its beauty, notably witnessed by John Muir in 1897 and afterwards a long line of distinguished scientists and naturalists. Small ships here can best access many of the coves and landings around these hundreds of miles. Access is nearly exclusively by ship (unless you flightsee), and we offer many diverse itineraries to explore this national treasure. I’ve sent hundreds of travelers here and annually assess the routes to match travelers to their best fit among the many options.
GO TO GLACIER BAY
See the full list of cruises
& tours in Glacier Bay.
Kenai Fjords Alaska National Park Tours
Covering almost 670,000 acres, Kenai Fjords National Park sits on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska, near the town of Seward south of Anchorage. Over 50% of the park is covered in ice, with nearly 40 glaciers flowing from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords’ crowning feature. AdventureSmith’s Kenai Fjords National Park tour itineraries are based at Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge, the only lodge located within the park boundaries, accessed only by dayboat. Our overnight Kenai National Park cruise itineraries range from short 5- to 7-day cruises exploring the park.
As with all our trips worldwide, the best Kenai Fjords tours are those that explore away from the crowds. Thus, we do not offer any day-only Kenai Fjords tours.
- Kenai Fjords Backcountry Explorer is our itinerary dedicated to best exploring Kenai Fjords. From a spectacular setting on the shore of a protected lagoon in full view of Pedersen Glacier, Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge provides an excellent array of activity choices, including kayaking, and bountiful opportunities for wildlife viewing.
- Alaska Wildland Collection covers more of the Kenai Peninsula beyond the national park. Raft the Kenai River, explore and hike the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park and then return to Anchorage by the historic Alaska Railroad.
- Ultimate Alaska Adventure takes adventure to a higher level with more included activities. This trip pairs backcountry adventure and wild Alaska by sea kayaking in Kenai Fjords National Park, flying via helicopter onto a glacial snowpack, taking a floatplane journey to a remote mountain lake, riding the Alaska Railroad and more.
- Sea Star Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise is a 5- or 7-day cruise devoted fully to Kenai Fjords National Park tours by boat, hike and kayak. No set itinerary allows the captain to explore the best locations each week.
- Aleutian Islands Cruise – Cruise between Seward and Unalaska over 11 days visiting three Alaska national parks and preserves.
- Alaska Coast to Denali Adventure & the Alaska Grand Adventure are options to visit two Alaska national parks: Kenai Fjords and Denali. Cruise to Kenai, visit Denali, then return via historic Alaska railroad. Plus there’s rafting and optional flightseeing. Read my review of the Alaska Grand Adventure.
- Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari – Depending on when you go, see three to four different Alaska national parks on this comprehensive tour that includes floatplane-accessed bear viewing.
Denali Alaska National Park Tours
In addition to the last three trips above that also include Kenai Fjords National Park, there are of course numerous Denali-focused trips that hone in on exploring Alaska’s interior wilderness. Learn more about visiting Denali National Park in our dedicated post on the park and its many tours. There’s so much to say that this Alaska national park has its own dedicated page on our website.
I visited Denali National Park as a part of the Alaska Grand Adventure itinerary that also included Kenai Fjords National Park and I loved the route allowing me to see both these parks in one nice guided trip. The guides and lodge staff were enthusiastic about showing us the best of Alaska and they went out of their way to do so.
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Katmai National Park Tours & Cruises
Katmai has Alaska’s most famous bear viewing. And it’s all about floatplanes on Katmai National Park tours, making accessing this Alaska National Park a big part of the fun and an authentic Alaskan experience. Look to these cruises and land tours to see this park at its finest:
- Alaska’s Grizzly Ship: Kodiak to Katmai – This is the premier way to most intimately explore the park with a focus on viewing brown bears. Just 8 guests sail aboard this expedition ship, with pre- and post-cruise time in Kodiak. Read my review of my time aboard.
- Fat Bears of Brooks Falls Photo Expedition – This compact 6-day land tour offers 4 days of dedicated photography in the Brooks Falls region of Katmai National Park. Visit when the area is almost empty of visitors, making extended stops with a photo and bear guide. Go by private floatplane and raft, and possibly even wade in the Brooks River to capture grizzly bears as they fatten up for winter, returning to a cozy nearby lodge each night.
- Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari – Depending on when you go, see three to four different Alaska national parks on this comprehensive tour that includes floatplane-accessed bear viewing.
- Aleutian Islands Cruise – Cruise between Seward and Unalaska over 11 days visiting three Alaska national parks and preserves.
Lake Clark National Park Tours
Lake Clark is less famous than the previous four Alaska national park tour locations. Why? It’s a roadless wilderness! But all the better for travelers seeking the most wilderness-focused Alaskan national park tour. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve’s 4 million protected acres are the ancestral homelands of the Dena’ina people. This pristine, intact ecosystem sits at the headwaters of the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Trips here are accessed from chartered bush planes that take you from Homer across the Cook Inlet.
- Alaska Bear Camp Adventure – This remote, off-the-grid Alaskan national park lodge hosts just 14 guests for an unparalleled immersion in wild bear habitat. This is the Alaska national parks tour for those who want premier bear viewing in one of the most off-the-beaten-path parks.
- Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari – Depending on when you go, see three to four different Alaska national parks on this comprehensive tour that includes floatplane-accessed bear viewing.
Visiting Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve
Given its remote location and challenging weather conditions, Aniakchak is one of the most wild and least-visited places in the National Park System. Located in Alaska’s volcanically active Ring of Fire, it is home to a massive six-mile-wide, 2,500-foot-deep volcanic crater formed during an eruption 3,500 years ago. Visit this park nearly effortlessly on the guided 11-day Aleutian Islands Cruise that also includes time in Katmai and Kenai national parks.
Pro tip: book the final departure of the season and then stay on board the ship for the Alaska’s Coastal Treasures route that sails you by epic coastal views of the massive mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
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FAQs for Planning Your Alaska National Park Vacation
Read on for your top questions answered by our experts. Or ask us what you want to know in the comments or on a call. We’re happy to help you plan your Alaska national parks trip by ship or wilderness lodge.
Yes, Alaska cruises most often visit Glacier Bay National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park and Katmai National Park.
No. Since Denali is so far inland (240 miles from Anchorage), you must book a pre- or post-cruise tour to visit this park.
We focus on five key parks that offer abundant wildlife, accessibility, and outstanding small-ship & lodge experiences: Glacier Bay, Kenai Fjords, Denali, Katmai, and Lake Clark.
Yes, many of Alaska’s national parks require flights or boat transport. Katmai typically involves floatplanes. Lake Clark is accessed by bush plane. Glacier Bay involves ships or day boats. Denali involves long days of travel that include train, bus and car.
It depends on the wildlife you wish to see. But Glacier Bay National Park offers the broadest range of wildlife for ease of access. But if bears are a priority, consider Katmai.
Yes, though combining depends on logistics, distance and how remote each park is. Our specialists can design itineraries that maximizee your experience without a lot of wasted travel time. We often customize more than one park for our travelers (e.g., Glacier Bay or Kenai Fjords + Denali) or look to trips like the Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari or Aleutian Islands Cruise that include 3-4 different parks.
Yes, many of Alaska’s national parks require flights or boat transport. Katmai typically involves floatplanes. Lake Clark is accessed by bush plane. Glacier Bay involves ships or day boats. Denali involves long days of travel that include train, bus and car.
Given the remoteness and popularity of some lodges/cruises, booking ahead by 9 months or more is recommended, especially for the summer months when wildlife viewing is at its peak. Also, remote camps and small ships tend to sell out faster.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ANDREW BROWNING
• AdventureSmith Specialist since 2007
• Been to nearly every Alaska National Park
• Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist
• Plans travel for hundreds of clients to Alaska each year
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Visiting Denali National Park
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