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Alaska Travel: Avoiding the Big Cruises & Finding New Adventures

Locations in this article:  Anchorage, AK Brooklyn, NY

If You Want to See a Glacier

The obvious choice in Alaska is Glacier Bay National Park. However, the sheer size of the park makes it overwhelming to many visitors, and the scale of it all makes it hard to see anything except huge hunks of ice. Another option (and, it’s worth noting, a less-crowded one) is to take a cruise ship or dayboat that goes through Tracy Arm to the South Sawyer Glacier. The water is almost always smooth, and the sights are spectacular. Did you know that the way light reflects off of glaciers almost makes them look neon blue? Because of the rules governing how close vessels can get to glaciers, a smaller ship will be able to get you much closer to the action. That doesn’t just include the glacier, though – it also means whales, otters, seals, minks, and other animals who live close by.

If You Want to see a View from the Land

If you want to spend more of your Alaska time with two feet firmly planted on the ground, you can stay in a lodge or resort and experience a different side of the state. For an ideal some-land-some-sea trip, the Windham Bay Lodge, a relatively new resort in (you guessed it) Windham Bay, offers the vacation equivalent of surf and turf. Guests stay in cozy individual cabins that nicely fit a couple or small family, then come to the main lodge for meals. The “log cabin in the wilderness” feel is pretty spectacular, and you get the vibe of a hotel (not to mention all the amenities) while still being almost in the middle of nowhere. During the day, you can choose to hang out in the cabin going through the lodge’s extended lending library, or you can jump onto a daytrip excursion, which includes anything from hiking to whale watching to kayaking. Windham – which is only accessible via boat from Juneau – also offers combo packages with small ship cruises, should you want to get the best of both worlds and minimize the possibility of seasickness.

If You Want to See A Town

Juneau is Alaska’s capital, but it’s smaller than Anchorage or Fairbanks. However, it’s a cute and charming town that’s incredibly walkable. If you’re a history buff, check out the State Museum, where there’s a well-organized collection of objects representing different eras in Alaska’s history. There’s also a small Russian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest buildings in town, that still holds regular services and maintains a tie to Alaska’s days as a Russian outpost. Most of the day and short trips in Southeast Alaska originate here, but it’s worth tacking a day or two on to the beginning or end of your trip and exploring downtown Juneau. A few spots of note: the so-cute-it-could-have-been-on-Northern-Exposure coffee shop/surprisingly good bagel bakery SilverBow, the restaurant and lounge inside the Westmark Baranhof hotel, and The Observatory bookstore, which is full almost to the brim with rare and collectible books about local history.

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Text and Photos by Lilit Marcus for PeterGreenberg.com. Lilit is a freelance writer who lives in Brooklyn and tries to get out of it as much as possible. Her work has also appeared in Glamour, The Daily, and Jaunted.com. Follow her on twitter at @saveassistants.