Alaska Inside Passage

Pressed between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, Vancouver is the natural gateway to Alaska's Inside Passage — a city where temperate rainforest meets glass towers and where Dungeness crab and wild sockeye salmon define a Pacific Rim cuisine that rivals any in North America. Walk the 22-kilometre Stanley Park seawall, lose yourself in the Granville Island market, then ferry across to Victoria's Edwardian splendour. Alaska cruise season peaks from May through September, making Vancouver an ideal starting point for one of the world's great ocean journeys.

Pressed between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, Vancouver is the natural gateway to Alaska's Inside Passage — a city where temperate rainforest meets glass towers and where Dungeness crab and wild sockeye salmon define a Pacific Rim cuisine that rivals any in North America. Walk the 22-kilometre Stanley Park seawall, lose yourself in the Granville Island market, then ferry across to Victoria's Edwardian splendour. Alaska cruise season peaks from May through September, making Vancouver an ideal starting point for one of the world's great ocean journeys.

Tracy Arm is a stunning 30-mile fjord in Alaska's Tongass National Forest, celebrated for its dramatic landscapes and abundant wildlife. Must-do experiences include cruising through the fjord to view calving glaciers and enjoying local seafood like smoked salmon. The best season to visit is during the summer months when the area is vibrant and accessible.

America's only state capital unreachable by road, Juneau rewards the journey with a wilderness grandeur that few cities on earth can match. The Mendenhall Glacier — a living river of ancient ice — lies just fifteen minutes from downtown, where floatplanes dart above a waterfront flanked by spruce-draped mountains plunging straight into the sea. The must-do experience is a helicopter landing atop the icefield or a whale-watching excursion in Stephens Passage, where humpbacks breach in astonishing proximity. Juneau is warmest from June to August, though even summer days can bring the famous Southeast Alaska rain that keeps the rainforest perpetually luminous.

Tracy Arm is a stunning 30-mile fjord in Alaska's Tongass National Forest, celebrated for its dramatic landscapes and abundant wildlife. Must-do experiences include cruising through the fjord to view calving glaciers and enjoying local seafood like smoked salmon. The best season to visit is during the summer months when the area is vibrant and accessible.

America's only state capital unreachable by road, Juneau rewards the journey with a wilderness grandeur that few cities on earth can match. The Mendenhall Glacier — a living river of ancient ice — lies just fifteen minutes from downtown, where floatplanes dart above a waterfront flanked by spruce-draped mountains plunging straight into the sea. The must-do experience is a helicopter landing atop the icefield or a whale-watching excursion in Stephens Passage, where humpbacks breach in astonishing proximity. Juneau is warmest from June to August, though even summer days can bring the famous Southeast Alaska rain that keeps the rainforest perpetually luminous.

Skagway, perched at the northern tip of the Lynn Canal in Alaska, is the gold rush boomtown that time has preserved almost perfectly — a frontier main street of false-fronted saloons and Victorian storefronts now protected as a National Historic Park. The legendary White Pass & Yukon Route railway, completed in 1900 to supply the Klondike goldfields, still climbs the vertiginous pass in vintage carriages, offering some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in North America. Glacier trekking and helicopter tours over the Juneau Icefield await the more adventurous. May through September brings long Arctic days and the most reliable access.

Skagway, perched at the northern tip of the Lynn Canal in Alaska, is the gold rush boomtown that time has preserved almost perfectly — a frontier main street of false-fronted saloons and Victorian storefronts now protected as a National Historic Park. The legendary White Pass & Yukon Route railway, completed in 1900 to supply the Klondike goldfields, still climbs the vertiginous pass in vintage carriages, offering some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in North America. Glacier trekking and helicopter tours over the Juneau Icefield await the more adventurous. May through September brings long Arctic days and the most reliable access.

Mahé is the largest Seychelles island, a granitic paradise of ancient forests, over sixty pristine beaches, and the world's smallest capital city, Victoria. Must-do experiences include beach-hopping from Anse Intendance to Anse Major, hiking Morne Seychellois peak, and tasting octopus curry and Takamaka rum. November through March offers calm seas for beaches; May through September is cooler and ideal for hiking.

Skagway, perched at the northern tip of the Lynn Canal in Alaska, is the gold rush boomtown that time has preserved almost perfectly — a frontier main street of false-fronted saloons and Victorian storefronts now protected as a National Historic Park. The legendary White Pass & Yukon Route railway, completed in 1900 to supply the Klondike goldfields, still climbs the vertiginous pass in vintage carriages, offering some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in North America. Glacier trekking and helicopter tours over the Juneau Icefield await the more adventurous. May through September brings long Arctic days and the most reliable access.

Glacier Bay National Park is one of the most profound landscapes of active glaciation on Earth — 3.3 million acres of southeastern Alaska where tidewater glaciers calve cathedral-sized icebergs into fjords of luminous blue water, and where the land itself is still rising, liberated from the weight of ice that buried this entire region just two centuries ago. The park, reachable only by ship or small aircraft, rewards visitors with wildlife encounters — humpback whales, brown bears, sea otters, and mountain goats — set against scenery of almost overwhelming grandeur. The season runs May through September; late June and July offer the longest days and most reliable wildlife activity.

Whitehorse, capital of Canada's Yukon Territory, is a refined wilderness gateway born from the Klondike Gold Rush, where First Nations heritage, subarctic cuisine featuring Arctic char and wild bison, and the majestic Yukon River converge against a backdrop of boreal grandeur. Visitors should not miss the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre and a riverside walk along the Millennium Trail at golden hour. The ideal season spans June through August for endless daylight, or late August into September for aurora borealis viewing.

Ketchikan clings to the forested shore of Revillagigedo Island in Alaska's southeastern panhandle — a town so narrow that locals joke it is three miles long and three blocks wide. Revered by the Tlingit people for millennia as a place of abundant salmon, it is today celebrated as the Totem Pole Capital of the World: the collections at Saxman Native Village and Totem Bight State Historical Park preserve the most significant concentration of these monumental artworks anywhere. Creek Street, a boardwalk of colorful historic houses built over Ketchikan Creek, should not be missed. Summer (May–September) brings the best weather, with salmon running in the creeks below.

Dawson City, Yukon, is a historic port town famous for its role in the Klondike Gold Rush, offering a captivating glimpse into the past with its unique architecture and vibrant atmosphere. Must-do experiences include tasting local specialties like bison burgers and exploring the nearby natural wonders of Wells Gray Provincial Park. The best season to visit is during the summer months when the town comes alive with markets and cultural events.

Dawson City, Yukon, is a historic port town famous for its role in the Klondike Gold Rush, offering a captivating glimpse into the past with its unique architecture and vibrant atmosphere. Must-do experiences include tasting local specialties like bison burgers and exploring the nearby natural wonders of Wells Gray Provincial Park. The best season to visit is during the summer months when the town comes alive with markets and cultural events.

Pressed between the Pacific and the Coast Mountains, Vancouver is the natural gateway to Alaska's Inside Passage — a city where temperate rainforest meets glass towers and where Dungeness crab and wild sockeye salmon define a Pacific Rim cuisine that rivals any in North America. Walk the 22-kilometre Stanley Park seawall, lose yourself in the Granville Island market, then ferry across to Victoria's Edwardian splendour. Alaska cruise season peaks from May through September, making Vancouver an ideal starting point for one of the world's great ocean journeys.

Fairbanks is the gateway to Alaska's interior and the "Aurora Capital of the World," set in a subarctic valley near Denali. Must-dos include aurora viewing from Chena Hot Springs, driving to the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway, and wildlife spotting in Denali National Park. Visit in winter (September–March) for northern lights, or summer (June–August) for midnight sun and access to Denali.

Six million acres of pristine Alaskan wilderness surround Denali — at 6,190 metres the highest peak in North America and one of the most dramatic mountains on Earth measured from base to summit. The park's single road, accessible only by guided bus, threads through tundra landscapes where grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, and Dall sheep roam within view. Denali is open from mid-May to mid-September; late May and June bring endless daylight and wildflower meadows, while late August offers the spectacle of autumn tundra turning vivid crimson and gold beneath the snow-capped massif.

Six million acres of pristine Alaskan wilderness surround Denali — at 6,190 metres the highest peak in North America and one of the most dramatic mountains on Earth measured from base to summit. The park's single road, accessible only by guided bus, threads through tundra landscapes where grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, and Dall sheep roam within view. Denali is open from mid-May to mid-September; late May and June bring endless daylight and wildflower meadows, while late August offers the spectacle of autumn tundra turning vivid crimson and gold beneath the snow-capped massif.

Six million acres of pristine Alaskan wilderness surround Denali — at 6,190 metres the highest peak in North America and one of the most dramatic mountains on Earth measured from base to summit. The park's single road, accessible only by guided bus, threads through tundra landscapes where grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, and Dall sheep roam within view. Denali is open from mid-May to mid-September; late May and June bring endless daylight and wildflower meadows, while late August offers the spectacle of autumn tundra turning vivid crimson and gold beneath the snow-capped massif.

Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, sits dramatically between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet, serving as the gateway to Denali, Kenai Fjords, and the Inside Passage. Must-dos include the Anchorage Museum's Alaska Native collections, the Seward Highway's fjord-like scenery, and sampling king crab and wild-caught salmon. Mid-May through mid-September offers the best conditions, with June and July bringing twenty hours of daylight.

Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, sits dramatically between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet, serving as the gateway to Denali, Kenai Fjords, and the Inside Passage. Must-dos include the Anchorage Museum's Alaska Native collections, the Seward Highway's fjord-like scenery, and sampling king crab and wild-caught salmon. Mid-May through mid-September offers the best conditions, with June and July bringing twenty hours of daylight.