Discover iconic wild Alaska on an expedition honed over 35+ years

Venture into a land of mist-shrouded fjords, tidewater glaciers, and islands teeming with wildlife. For over 35 years we’ve been sharing the remarkable beauty of Southeast Alaska with adventurous guests, and over those years we’ve found the shallow, fast-moving channels where whales return to feed year after year and the ancestral trails carved in the forest by lumbering bears. Join us to explore these wild places and search for marine life, kayak along the coast, and spend a full day in Glacier Bay National Park with insights from a park ranger and a Tlingit cultural interpreter.

  • Hike through lush forests and muskegs, kayak into secluded inlets, and cruise by Zodiac among electric blue icebergs and curious wildlife

  • By special permit, spend a full day exploring Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

  • If schedules permit, our conservation partners from the Alaska Whale Foundation will come aboard to meet with us and speak about the local whale population

  • Discover Alaska’s seldom-seen, vibrant marine life revealed by our undersea specialist

  • Hike and kayak in the wild remote areas of Tongass National Forest by special permit

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Duration

8 Days

Price

From $7,200 per person

Dates

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Next departure

6/5/2021

Special offers

Free Airfare

CELEBRATE LIFE'S MILESTONES

Ships

Alaska

Day By Day

Get out and explore by walking forest paths created by wildlife and seeing eagles, bears, whales, sea lions, and more. Make the expedition as active as you choose, and each day join a different naturalist in exploring for more viewpoints and learning. Hike, kayak, cruise by Zodiac and stand-up paddleboard.

Current

Embark

Juneau, Alaska

Disembark

Sitka, Alaska

Itinerary

Reverse

Embark

Sitka, Alaska

Disembark

Juneau, Alaska

Itinerary

Please be aware we have made slight modifications to our 2021 Summer Season itineraries in accordance with our protocols.  Call 1-800-EXPEDITION for additional details.

Alternative Route

Get out and explore by walking forest paths created by wildlife and seeing eagles, bears, whales, sea lions, and more. Make the expedition as active as you choose, and each day join a different naturalist in exploring for more viewpoints and learning. Hike, kayak, cruise by Zodiac and stand-up paddleboard.

Embark

Disembark

Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

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Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

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Special Offers

Special Offers

Free Airfare
Special Offers

Book by May 31, 2021 to receive free roundtrip airfare from Seattle to Alaska on select departures on Exploring Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness and Wild Alaska Escapes, or free one-way airfare on select departures on Treasures of the Inside Passage: Alaska & British Columbia and A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia & Haida Gwaii. Complimentary air is based on economy group flights and must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions. In the case that Lindblad's group flight is not available at time of booking, we reserve the right to issue a credit. Baggage fees may be additional. New bookings only and not combinable with other offers or pre- or post-extensions. Call for details.

CELEBRATE LIFE'S MILESTONES
Special Offers

In the spirit of celebration aboard, you and your companions will be entitled to Milestone benefits: 5% off groups of 8 or more; $150 shipboard credit which can be used for gift shop items, or most shipboard items including the LEXspa, the ship’s bar and dining room; complimentary video chronicle; complimentary custom photograph of you and your guests taken by the LEX-NG Photo Instructor to capture the moment; complimentary specially served decorated cake; special welcome gift in your cabin. For new Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness departure bookings only. Milestone celebration needs to be communicated at time of booking, amenity package is one per group and intended for the guest celebrating the Milestone event. Group discount is applicable to cruise portion only, and does not apply towards additional services such as hotels, extensions, etc. Group cancellation terms also apply. Not combinable with certain offers. Valid for groups of 8 or more.

Find your cabin

Travel on this itinerary from $7,200 per person

Browse our team directory to discover the full cast of expedition staff

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Extensions

Extensions

Make the most of your proximity and time

Denali National Park Post Voyage Extension
Denali National Park Post Voyage Extension

Post-trip

6 Days

From

$6,690 per person

Discover the wildness that lives at the heart of Alaska; add an inland exploration of Denali National Park to your coastal expedition.Explore from a comfortable, elegant wilderness lodge.
With the idyllic Kantishna Roadhouse Lodge as your base camp, you’ll enjoy special access. Kantishna's relationship with the Park ensures exclusive opportunities for you to explore Denali National Park’s most pristine backcountry areas for prime hiking and wildlife viewing. Set deep in the heart of the Park, this unique wilderness retreat offers unparalleled views of Denali, a wide range of outdoor activities and nightly presentations that emphasize Denali’s natural and cultural history, plus locally sourced cuisine. The small group size of 11 guests per naturalist enhances the intimacy of outings and opportunities for in-depth learning. Explore via private touring vehicles, or if you prefer a more personal exploration, you can hike a trail near the lodge or around Wonder Lake, bike the trails or even spend an afternoon fishing. At the expedition’s end, you’ll return to Anchorage first class in lavishly appointed cars on the Alaska Railroad that feature original Alaska art and a private outdoor viewing deck.

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Daily Expedition Reports

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Daily Expedition Reports

Sep 19

Read

National Geographic Venture

Takatz Bay

The very first day of our sure-to-be-epic adventure from Southeast Alaska down the inside passage to Seattle was beautiful. A mostly sunny day began by introducing the expedition staff and the expedition plan. We learned about Zodiacs, how to avoid bear contact, and the proper way to paddle a kayak or stand-up paddleboard. After lunch, National Geographic Venture sailed into Takatz Bay and deployed small boats and kayaks for an afternoon of watersport activities.

Daily Expedition Reports

Sep 19

Read

National Geographic Venture

Sitkoh Bay & Cruising Chatham Strait

Sitkoh Bay is an extraordinary place to visit here in Southeast Alaska. Guests on board National Geographic Venture awoke in a place of peace and quiet. Water within the bay remained completely still as our vessel approached the anchoring. Quickly, Zodiacs were lowered onto the water’s surface – a shear sign of another day of adventure. Everyone on board was given the opportunity to hike on the trail or kayak along the shore banks. Kayakers explored the shallow coastline, noticing many sea jellies within the water column. Hikers spent their time walking under the forest canopy, stepping carefully to not disturb any banana slugs in the middle of the trail. After morning operations were complete and lunch commenced, our captain moved our expedition party into Chatham Strait to search for wildlife. Humpback whales, breaching salmon, and even Dall’s porpoises were spotted on the beautiful last day of our voyage.

Daily Expedition Reports

Sep 19

Read

National Geographic Venture

Elfin Cove and the Inians

Perfect weather allowed for ideal conditions to explore the Inian Islands today! We started off the day by Elfin Cove, getting the opportunity to hear from Mary Jo who told us about life in her little village. Later we stretched our legs off the ship and walked around the small village taking in the beauty of the houses, boats, trees, as well as the local museum and shops. We returned to the ship for some lunch and then spent a perfect afternoon taking guided Zodiac tours of the islands. The clear skies allowed for views of the Fairweather mountain range. Among the kelp and islands, we spotted sea lions and sea otters playing. On the rocky islands and on the water, alcids, cormorants, bald eagles, rhinoceros Auklets, and gulls perched and flocked. As the day progressed, we were lucky enough to perform two DropCam deployments while in the Inian Islands. The DropCam is a 4K camera encased in a glass sphere and rated to a depth of 6,000 meters. It was created by engineers at National Geographic and has been deployed over 500 times since its first mission. In an effort to get more DropCams exploring what’s in the deep sea, National Geographic, Lindblad Expeditions, and MIT teamed up for a pilot program that provides DropCam training to Lindblad undersea specialists and MIT researchers so that they can deploy the cameras and communicate their findings to passengers, turning the expedition ship into a research vessel. The first deployment was near Elfin Cove, where we successfully dropped the camera about 250 feet down and retrieved it right before lunch. The video showed marine snow, zooplankton, and jellyfish. The second drop was a bit more mysterious. We were in the Inian Islands and seemed to have successfully dropped the camera, but about an hour into the four-hour mission, the camera surfaced, and was spotted by the ship’s captain and picked up from the water. The camera turns on and off in cycles, and it had not turned on even once before it was brought back to the ship. Because the burn wire, buoy, and rope were all intact, it is a mystery why it would have come up before the anchor was physically pulled. Our best guess is that an upwelling pushed it from the bottom, and it didn’t make its way back down. We finished the day with an entertaining and informative recap and a delicious dinner, while the kids onboard enjoyed a pizza and movie night without the bothersome adults.

Daily Expedition Reports

Sep 19

Watch

National Geographic Venture

Glacier Bay National Park

National Geographic Venture entered Glacier Bay National Park at midnight and continued toward the northern destination of our voyage. With clear skies, the northern lights ( Aurora borealis ) gave way to alpenglow as the sun rose and shone on the Fairweather peaks above Johns Hopkins Glacier, at the end of Johns Hopkins Inlet. This is one of the most stunning views in all of Glacier Bay National Park. Naturalist-Park Service Ranger Valerie and Tlingit cultural interpreter Skun Yeik (Paulette) were on board to relate the extraordinary story of this magnificent place. The day was full of glaciers, wildlife, beautiful scenery, and sunshine. After dinner, there was an opportunity to go ashore in Bartlett Cove to walk the trails and learn the story of Snow the humpback whale.

Daily Expedition Reports

Sep 19

Watch

National Geographic Venture

Pavlov Harbor & Cruising North into Icy Straits

National Geographic Venture dropped anchor in Pavlov Harbor in the first hours of the morning. From there, guests on board had the opportunity to kayak, paddleboard and do Zodiac cruises near the mouth of Pavlov Falls. After the morning operations, we lifted our anchor and sailed north toward the town of Gustavus, sitting just outside the boundary of Glacier Bay National Park, where we came up on a group of humpback whales participating in cooperative bubble-net feeding!

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

Sign up

Talk to an Expedition Specialist

1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)

Call now

Make a reservation

RESERVE

Sign up for our newsletter & special offers

Sign up