Things to do in Alaska
Meet the (really wild) wildlife
Imagine flying into Katmai National Park on a floatplane and a curious grizzly swims out into the bay to meet you. Or sailing around the fjords and a humpback whale creates some extra waves by projecting into the icy air. Or you are so taken by the magnificent sight of salmon heading upstream on one of nature’s most miraculous migrations, that you forget the fate that awaits many of them, as they find their fate in the claws of awaiting Kodiak bears and otters. Welcome to Alaska. It’s wild out there.
Enormous muskox plod the icy tundra to the far north and west, looking a bare evolutionary step away from the woolly mammoth that once roamed here. Keep your eyes peeled – the ever-shrinking carpets of permafrost are polar bear territory, too. However, you’re more likely to encounter moose and caribou that munch their way around the whole of mainland Alaska.
Birds range from regal eagles (Alaska has the biggest population of bald eagles in the USA) to albatrosses that get their kicks sailing the air currents of the south coast. Metre-tall sandhill cranes nest in the tundra in the summer. And the state bird is the most unassuming of all – willow ptarmigans that swap their chestnut summer coats for white winterwear.
Enormous muskox plod the icy tundra to the far north and west, looking a bare evolutionary step away from the woolly mammoth that once roamed here. Keep your eyes peeled – the ever-shrinking carpets of permafrost are polar bear territory, too. However, you’re more likely to encounter moose and caribou that munch their way around the whole of mainland Alaska.
Birds range from regal eagles (Alaska has the biggest population of bald eagles in the USA) to albatrosses that get their kicks sailing the air currents of the south coast. Metre-tall sandhill cranes nest in the tundra in the summer. And the state bird is the most unassuming of all – willow ptarmigans that swap their chestnut summer coats for white winterwear.
Our Alaska, USA Holidays
Denali National Park holiday in Alaska
Experience untouched wilderness off the beaten path
From
US $2440 to US $2640
12 days
ex flights
Alaska Glacier Bay small ship cruise
Get close up to Alaska where the big ships can't go
From
£2925
8 days
ex flights
Alaska wildlife holidays
An ultimate Alaskan adventure with wildlife and wilderness
From
£3949
14 days
ex flights
Alaska adventure holiday, salmon run
Active small group adventures in a retrofitted school bus
From
US $4090 to US $4590
20 days
ex flights
Kenai Peninsula adventure holiday in Alaska
Orcas, Humpbacks and Glaciers: Experience Alaska's coastline
From
US $2340 to US $2540
9 days
ex flights
Inner Reaches Western Coves cruise in Alaska
Some of southern Alaska's iconic destinations by small ship
From
£3461
8 days
ex flights
Learn about the Alaska Native culture
About 16 percent of Alaska’s residents identify as indigenous peoples, or Alaska Natives. With strong traditions of subsistence living, activity, cultural and nature led tourism are now becoming a growing part of community life. Especially in wilderness areas, where the Alaska Natives are the majority.
Museums like the Alaska State Museum are a good place to start getting your head around aboriginal history. But you’ll learn even more by joining a tour that puts you directly in touch with the diverse Alaska Native communities. Everything from dress to hunting habits change from village to village. The reason is simple: their near total geographical isolation.
Take the Tlingits, Haida and Tsimshian in the southeast. They live in a climate ideal for totem pole and kayak carving. The Athabaskans of the interior, on the other hand, weather out the harsh climate by seasonally moving their camps from warmer forests in the winter to salmon rivers in the summer. And coastal communities continue to make their living from the sea. Subsistence hunting still exists in far flung villages, especially up north where Alaska Natives are permitted to hunt whales for meat, skin and oil that’s shared between neighbouring communities.
Museums like the Alaska State Museum are a good place to start getting your head around aboriginal history. But you’ll learn even more by joining a tour that puts you directly in touch with the diverse Alaska Native communities. Everything from dress to hunting habits change from village to village. The reason is simple: their near total geographical isolation.
Take the Tlingits, Haida and Tsimshian in the southeast. They live in a climate ideal for totem pole and kayak carving. The Athabaskans of the interior, on the other hand, weather out the harsh climate by seasonally moving their camps from warmer forests in the winter to salmon rivers in the summer. And coastal communities continue to make their living from the sea. Subsistence hunting still exists in far flung villages, especially up north where Alaska Natives are permitted to hunt whales for meat, skin and oil that’s shared between neighbouring communities.
The wilderness waits just beyond your tent flap when you go camping in Alaska, where a moose rustling around the undergrowth is the usual alarm clock.![]()
Camp in the wilderness
For a real wilderness adventure, jump aboard a camping trip. You’ll fall asleep under a sky packed with stars (and the occasional Northern Lights show) and wake up to nothing but the sounds of bald eagle cries and views of mountains and glaciers. It’s a tad less cushy than a hotel, but don’t let that put you off – small group tours come with a guide who’ll help you set up camp and tell you the dos and don’ts of storing food in bear country (clue: very carefully).
Our top Alaska, USA Holiday
Denali National Park holiday in Alaska
Experience untouched wilderness off the beaten path
From
US $2440 to US $2640
12 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2022: 12 Jun, 3 Jul, 24 Jul, 14 Aug, 27 Aug
2023: 11 Jun, 2 Jul, 23 Jul, 13 Aug, 26 Aug
2022: 12 Jun, 3 Jul, 24 Jul, 14 Aug, 27 Aug
2023: 11 Jun, 2 Jul, 23 Jul, 13 Aug, 26 Aug
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Alaska, USA or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Kayak and Zodiac storage space is more important than pools and theatres on a small ship cruise. After all, these trips are for travellers who prefer whale watching to people watching.![]()
Voyage the fjords
Fancy floating to sleep as you sail down a fjord? Sipping a cup of coffee while watching whales breach? Then a sailing trip is for you. Small ship cruises aren’t anything like the vast voyages that hotel-sized cruise liners make. For starters, they’re simply not vast. You’ll cruise with around 20 to 100 people on a ship small enough to sneak into the whale-friendly inlets and pocket-sized ports that the giant hotels on hulls can’t reach.
More about Alaska, USA
Alaska: best time to visit. Read our advice on when to travel to Alaska for tips, including weather charts and FAQs.
Dip your toe into our Alaska travel guide and you’ll quickly find all the information that you need to make the most of your time as you travel in between the national parks of Wrangell-St Elias, Kenai Fjords and Denali.
Alaska is the biggest state in the USA and the most sparsely populated. It’s also one of the most inaccessible, which is why it’s maintained its title as American beauty queen.
It only stands to reason that the biggest state in the USA would have an XXXL wildlife population. Grizzly bears, bowhead whales, muskox and moose roam the people-free spread of fjords, islands and tundra.
There’s no two ways about it – one of the best ways to see Alaska is by boat. We’re not talking about hotel-sized cruise ships, though.
Alaska’s most famous national park is even more vast than you’d imagine. At 2.5 million hectares, it’s almost the size of Massachusetts.
Whether it's snoozing under the sky-high eye of Mount Denali or travelling with kayaks in tow, an Alaska camping holiday will launch you out of your comfort zone and into a wild world.
Learn all the bear necessities involved in a trip to Alaska, as we explore bear photography holidays in a raw and volcanic wilderness, honing your skills with the help of an expert professional.
We’ve shaken down our travel partners and travellers for the best Alaska travel tips, from hiking how-tos to which camera to pack to photograph bears.
Abundant oil and gold reserves have pulled in heavyweight – and heavily damaging – industries for decades, while vast cruise ships loom over tiny towns.
