8 day Juneau back to Juneau cruise

Why Join This Cruise:

• Fabulous 7 night/ 8 day cruise through some of Alaska's most stunning scenery, including the unique and rare chance to spend time in Glacier National Park


• Travel aboard a very comfortable yacht carrying a maximum of just 36 passengers with a choice of cabins, including 'Triples'


• Access Alaska's remote wilderness, with excellent chance of whale and bear sightings


• Wide range of activities available, including hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, dingy sailing and water skiing (included in overall cost)

Trip Overview
Travelling aboard a stunning luxury motor yacht, this cruise offers a fabulous introduction to the highlights of Alaska's Inside Passage from a very comfortable base. This cruise combines a day inside Glacier National Park, a World Heritage Site of some 3.2 million acres, with cruising some of Alaska richest areas for whale and bear watching.

Beginning and ending in Juneau, making travel arrangements pretty straightforward and travelling only by day so you miss nothing along the way, this is a fantastic trip and has wide appeal from families to those who enjoy their creature comforts!

Daily Itinerary

Day 1 Sail from Juneau
Transfer to your yacht after a guided city tour and visit to the stunning Mildenhall glacier. Meet with your crew and cruise to a secluded overnight wilderness anchorage.

Day 2 Glacier Bay National Park
In its entirety, Glacier Bay National Park is larger than the state of Connecticut. Cruise deep into Glacier Bay, exploring the Marble Islands, home to myriad seabirds including the ever-popular puffins with plenty of opportunity for other wildlife sightings: humpback whales breaching in the waters, bears ambling along the shorelines, moose browsing in the shrubbery, mountain goats high on the cliffs.

Nearly 60 miles up the bay, you'll approach the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers, which frequently calve huge icebergs into the bay with a thundering roar. Watch for seals sunning on the ice. In the evening you will leave the park and drop anchor in a secluded cove.

Day 3 Whale Watching
The waters of Icy Strait just outside Glacier Bay National Park are prime whale viewing waters. Humpback whales flip their tails to dive, spank their fins on the water, and occasionally even breach clear out of the water. As a team effort the whales engage in 'bubble feeding' - deep underwater they blow a circle of bubbles around schools of fish, which concentrate the prey for easier consumption. Your expert Captain knows where the best wildlife watching is to be had. You may enjoy a skiff ride near a pod of whales. These explorations by small skiff are one of the true delights of a yacht cruise adventure, as you cruise just feet away from rocky islets aswirl with seabirds, tuck into impossibly tiny coves, and get close enough to waterfalls pouring from the cliffs above that you'll wish you had brought an umbrella. Overnight in Sitkoh Bay.

Day 4 Frederick Sound & Sea Lions
Today you'll cruise around the wilderness of Admiralty Island to the prime humpback viewing waters of Frederick Sound. Explore by zodiac and kayak Saginaw Bay, with a chance to cruise up close to a sea lion colony at the Brothers Islands. Overnight Thomas Bay.

Day 5 Rainforest Hiking & Petersburg
Today you'll explore the trails in the Tongass National Forest near Petersburg and have the chance to visit the picturesque little Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg itself. Later, cruise north to Stephens Passage to find a peaceful anchorage for the evening, with kayaking and zodiac explorations available after dinner.

Day 6 Admiralty Island - Bears
Exploration of Gambier Bay, a large, island-speckled body of water on the south coast of Admiralty Island National Monument. The zodiacs and kayaks will be dropped in the water for up-close exploration of this cool, forested bay. Never logged, the thick evergreen forest crowds right down to the gravel beaches.

Here is an outstanding opportunity to spot the huge brown - or grizzly - bears for which Admiralty Island is famous. At low tide they come right down to the beaches, in search of shellfish. Look out for humpback whales before anchoring at Wood Spit for more exploration by kayak and zodiac.

Day 7 Ford's Terror & Endicott Arm
Cliff-walled fjords sliced into the mountainous mainland surround as you forge into an area widely acclaimed as the most beautiful in all of Alaska. Snow gleams on mountaintops high overhead, as bears amble on the shoreline and mountain goats cling to impossibly precarious perches. Seemingly every few hundred yards another sparkling waterfall tumbles down the cliffs. Enjoy a zodiac ride at Ford's Terror, before cruising on to anchor overnight at Taku Harbor.

Day 8 Disembark in Juneau
Transfer to the airport or hotel.

Optional Adventure Activities

• Hiking


• Kayaking


• Mountain biking


• Laser sailboats


• Water-skis

**All included in the overall cost



The Boats
The following boat operates this cruise:

Explorer (max 36 guests)

Please refer to the Alaska Boats section for full details

Cruise dates for Summer 2008

11th- 18th July
18th - 25th July
25th July - 1st August
1st - 8th August
8th - 15th August
15th-22nd August
22nd - 29th August
29th August - 5th September

**Departures dates now available for summer 2009, please contact the office for details

Guide Price

	Prices based on 2 sharing from:
Mariner cabin	£2,495pp*
Admiral cabin	£3,650pp*
Admiral Triple	£3,155pp*
Commodore	£4,295pp*
Commodore Triple	£3,650pp*

*Please note: These prices exclude International flights, are based on shoulder season rates and increase in high season, and are subject to exchange rate fluctuations.

What's included?

• Airport to Yacht transfers


• All-inclusive fare including Exclusive Shore
• Excursions featuring behind-the-scenes tours, local guests/experts, area history, culture and geography


• All taxes and port fees


• Gourmet dining featuring hand-crafted meals, including premium wine, beer and spirits

What's not included?

• All flights and travel arrangements getting to and from the points of embarkation/ disembarkation


• Gratuities

Single Supplements on board
Please contact the office for a quotation

Pre/ post Cruise Extensions
For those wishing to extend their stay in Alaska and explore further, we can certainly help you with these arrangements. Please contact the office to discuss ideas


To discuss this trip, for further details or to check boat availability, please either:

Call 01285 880981
Email voyages@steppestravel.co.uk

Steppes Travel cruise destinations include: Alaska, Amazon, Antarctica, Arctic, Baja Mexico, Galapagos.