Alaska’s National Parks by Land and Sea: Denali to Glacier Bay Tour

Welcome to Fairbanks, Alaska, the largest Interior city. Upon arrival, you will be met by an UnCruise Adventures representative and transferred to your hotel. Please arrive no later than 5:00 pm to attend the welcome reception, where you’ll toast with a welcome beverage and get to know your fellow adventurers over cheese and crackers. 

Overnight: Pike’s Waterfront Lodge or similar 

Meals: Light bite 

After breakfast, visit some locals: reindeer! You’ll connect with them through walks and learn about their importance in this amazing space. Continue with a visit to a local gold mining family to test your luck as you pan for gold and hear about Fairbanks’ mining heritage. In the afternoon, explore the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitor Center and hear from a local Alaskan about life in the Interior.  

Overnight: Pike’s Waterfront Lodge or similar 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before boarding your coach south to Denali National Park. Stop at the Denali Discovery Center in Healy for a box lunch and a short hike with a local naturalist guide. Continue to the Denali National Park Visitor Center to explore exhibits, talk with a ranger, or walk along the nearby trails. 

Overnight: Denali Bluffs Hotel or similar 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Breakfast before traveling into Denali National Park on a Tundra Wilderness Tour (5-5.5 hours). Your driver/guide shares stories about the park while you look for wildlife including bears, moose, and caribou. In the afternoon, take a guided hike with a local naturalist guide, approximately three hours on the trail. 

Overnight: Denali Bluffs Hotel or similar 

Meals: Breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner 

Morning at leisure before transferring to the Denali Rail Depot for your scenic train ride south aboard deluxe dome rail. Enjoy lunch on the train while watching the landscapes roll by. Arrive in Talkeetna, the quirky town used as the base camp for Denali climbers. Dinner is on your own in the lodge or in town. 

Overnight: Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge or similar 

Meals: Breakfast and lunch 

Take in the view as you finish breakfast at the lodge. Today, hike the Curry Ridge Trail for views of the surrounding landscape, flora, and fauna. Later, kayak on Byers Lake in the heart of Denali State Park. Enjoy an included dinner. Note: The curry ridge hike is 5-6 miles and about 4-4.5 hours. Appropriate footwear, layers, water, and snacks required. 

Overnight: Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge or similar 

Meals: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner 

Enjoy breakfast before setting out on a guided hike in the Talkeetna Lakes area. Look for loons, kingfishers, moose, and bears. Lunch is included in Talkeetna before traveling south to Anchorage by motorcoach.  

It’s important to note that the Talkeetna Lakes hike has about a 200-foot elevation gain with some uneven terrain. Make sure you prepare with appropriate footwear, layers, water, and snacks.  

Overnight: The Voyager Inn or similar 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

After breakfast, transfer to the Anchorage Airport for your flight to Juneau (not included). While in Juneau, we recommend checking out Mt. Roberts Tramway (visit our office for a free pass!), the Alaska State Museum, and the Sealaska Heritage Institute. Wrap up your day with a classic Alaskan dinner at Tracy’s Crab Shack (not included), where you can enjoy king, snow, and Dungeness crab right off the boat. 

Overnight: Ramada by Wyndham Juneau (included)

Meals included: Breakfast 

Spend the day exploring more of this quaint seaside town. Upon boarding the ship in the afternoon, your crew will greet you with champagne and smiles. Set sail for a week of scenic channels and remote wilderness. 

Meals included: Dinner 

Kick start the morning with on-deck yoga stretches and a strong cup of coffee. Energized and snug in your kayak, glide around in remote bays off Icy Strait through giant bullwhip kelp that can grow to over 100 feet long. Join your fellow adventurers in a skiff to a rocky outcropping to watch sea lions play. Or, step into mud boots for a forest hike with your top-notch, naturalist guides who have plenty to share about everything Alaska; marine biology, plants, and even geology. On board, soak it all in as you soak in the hot tub. 

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

This national park covers 3.3 million acres (that’s a tad smaller than the state of Connecticut). Let that sink in. Most visitors see the same sliver of the park as everyone else. Not you. Over the course of two days, you will explore the remote wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and the surrounding areas. We will visit one of the park’s iconic glaciers: Margerie or John Hopkins. Glacier Bay is a wildlife-heavy area: keep your eyes peeled for stellar sea lions, sea otters, and whales. We will also pass South Marble Island and Gloomy Knob, popular areas for spotting puffins and other sea birds. Small group excursions within the park may include skiff tours, kayaking, or hard-charger ridge hikes with epic views. The exact order of these excursions will vary, but you’re guaranteed to explore parts of Glacier Bay National Park that 99% of visitors never see. 

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Enjoy the top deck for a sunrise or morning stretch. Meander through glacier-carved fjords along the Chichagof coast. Then, anchor. It’s a prime time to lower the kayaks and skiffs. Camera in hand, set off on land and sea explorations. Closer inspection by skiff, moss-dripping trees run right down to the water. Any bears in there? With one of the world’s largest populations of bears, it’s possible. Go searching for giant trees and tidal pools. Hiking in the Tongass, it won’t take long to find them. Your eagle-eyes guides lead the pack—and pull up the rear. 

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Hang out and enjoy the show. You may find yourself in ‘whale soup’ surrounded by feeding humpbacks swimming these abundant glacial waters. Based on wind and weather, your expedition team has the lineup of adventures all mapped out. Cruise past Five Fingers Lighthouse, Alaska’s oldest light station and The Brothers Islands, where sea lions nap on rocky nobs. Paddle into the depths of Port Houghton or Windham Bay or head ashore for a hike. Tonight, toast another big day in Alaska. 

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Take an early peek out of your window. Fjord cliffs reach skyward. Floating ice. And deep, u-shaped valleys. There’s no abracadabra here. Mother Nature’s magic is real. Cruise past harbor seals and their pups lounging on chunks of ice. Tides permitting; your skiff driver knows the ropes and guides you along. It’s a mashup of towering walls, temperamental currents, and the coastal mountains. So many waterfalls. Mountain goats show off fancy footwork on the cliffs, so keep your eyes peeled. Finish your week with a Captain’s Dinner, then sip on a cocktail while watching the week’s “photo journal” by your crew. 

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner 

Linger over breakfast this morning cruising into Juneau. Wish your crew and friends goodbye. Then, it’s off to the airport for your flight home. 

Meals included: breakfast 

Itineraries are subject to change. 

Vessel Type: Expedition

Length: 160 feet

Pasenger Capacity: 60 guests

Built: 1984, renovated in 2011/2024

Wilderness Adventurer is a capable expedition vessel built to balance hands-on adventure with onboard comfort. Carrying up to 60 guests, she is designed for active exploration, with generous deck space for wildlife viewing, photography, and time outdoors. Her character is practical and unfussy, with an easy-going atmosphere that supports everything from cold-water plunges to quiet moments observing the landscape. The onboard culture reflects a strong sense of camaraderie, driven by an experienced crew and a shared focus on exploration.

Guest areas are arranged across accessible decks to support both activity and relaxation. Observation spaces include a forward viewing bow, a sun deck with hot tub and fitness equipment, and a lounge equipped with a GPS display and underwater bow camera for real-time wildlife viewing. The dining room offers open seating with a mix of buffet-style and plated meals, and all cabins are outside-facing. Expedition equipment such as kayaks, skiffs, snorkelling gear, and an EZ Dock launch platform enables frequent shore and water access, while unlimited beverages and flexible dietary accommodations are included when advised in advance.

Vessel type: Expedition

Length: 176 feet

Passenger Capacity: 76 guests

Built: 1992, renovated 2012

Wilderness Discoverer combines rugged exploration with attentive service, carrying 76 guests across three decks designed for comfort and adventure. Her shallow draft allows access to remote Alaskan waterways that larger vessels cannot reach, while onboard features such as two hot tubs, spacious lounges, and panoramic viewing areas provide ample relaxation. The bar, crafted from a yellow cedar log from Peril Strait, adds a distinctive Alaskan touch, and the lounge includes wildlife guides, binoculars, and a library for enrichment between excursions.

Dining aboard the Discoverer is flexible and social, with open-seating meals served at set times and unlimited beverages—including alcoholic and non-alcoholic options—provided. Dietary needs are accommodated with advance notice. Onboard amenities include the EZ Dock kayak launch platform, bow-mounted underwater camera, kayaks, paddleboards, inflatable skiffs, hiking poles, snorkel gear, fitness equipment, yoga mats, and a movie and book library. Wi-Fi is available outside protected areas, allowing guests to remain connected while fully immersed in Alaska’s fjords and glaciers.