Aleutian Islands Cruise

Alaska, but more dramatic. The Aleutians are a 1,100-mile chain of still-smoking volcanic islands that form the northern rim of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Start on fiercely beautiful Unalaska Island and drift eastward aboard the 36-passenger Safari Explorer, among islands covered in glaciated volcanic peaks, spruce stands, and coastal sedge, and teeming with wildlife. The salmon run will bring Brown Bears to the shores. Observe Sea Otters, seals, whales, eagles, puffins, foxes, Caribou, and many of the million seabirds that over-summer here. Trek among historical sites, from gold mining towns and Aleut villages to relics of World War II battles. Visit Katmai and Kenai Fjords National Parks, and less frequented refuges situated on islands rarely seen by visitors. Let Apex guide you on this Aleutian Islands cruise through the Last Frontier’s most fiery outpost.

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12
• Day 13
• Day 14
• Day 15

• Monday, July 6: Arrive Anchorage, Alaska

  Arrive in Anchorage, set on the shores of beautiful Cook Inlet. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a welcome reception and dinner with your fellow travelers and expedition leader. Dinner and overnight at Hilton Anchorage.

• Tuesday, July 7: Anchorage / Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island, Embark Safari Explorer

  This morning, head back to the airport for a flight to the Aleutian Islands’ second largest island, Unalaska. Land in Dutch Harbor, known for being the country’s top commercial fishing port (you’ve seen it if you’ve watched Deadliest Catch), and for its status as one of the few sites in the U.S. to endure aerial bombardment by a foreign power during WWII. This afternoon, embark the Safari Explorer, your home away from home for the next 10 nights.

• Wednesday, July 8: Unalaska

  Spend the day exploring Unalaska. Visit its most prominent landmark, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of Christ. Built in 1896, it is the oldest Russian-built church still standing in Alaska and the oldest cruciform-style cathedral in North America. It contains almost 700 pieces of art, ranging from Russian Orthodox icons to the largest collection of 19th-century paintings in Alaska. Visit the Museum of the Aleutians to see the impressive art collections. At the excellent WWII Visitor Center, operated by the National Park Service, learn about war in the Aleutians, a time when a foreign power occupied American soil. Go for a hike at Bunker Hill with its 360-degree views of Captains Bay, Amaknak Island, Unalaska Bay, and Iliuliuk Harbor. This vantage point was used for coastal defense during World War II. Be on the lookout for Humpback Whales, Harbor Porpoises, Bald Eagles, Black Oystercatchers, Marbled Murrelets, and more.

• Thursday, July 9: Akutan Island

  Wake up today at Akutan, one of the most traditional and most scenic of the Aleut (Unangan) villages in the archipelago. Akutan sits beneath the active 4,275-foot Akutan Volcano, which last erupted in 1992. Spend some time at the thermal hot springs within walking distance of the village. Marvel at the wildflowers and berries blanketing the surrounding hills. Hike beneath the shadow of the volcano, with its steady steam emissions and occasional dusting of ash, to discover hidden coves and secluded beaches. You may be able to kayak along the rocky shoreline, looking for whales, Orcas, eagles, and Sea Otters.

• Friday, July 10: King Cove or False Pass

  Moving east, spend the day in either False Pass on Unimak Island, the largest of the Aleutian Islands, or King Cove on the southwest edge of the Alaska Peninsula. Sandbars and channels can shift significantly according to the movement of ice, making conditions variable. The False Pass area is home to 27 of the 46 most active volcanoes in the U.S. and has plenty of hiking opportunities through its eerily barren terrain. King Cove has abundant Brown Bear activity in the summer.

• Saturday, July 11: Shumagin & Unga Islands

  Keep your eyes peeled for whales today as you cruise around the Shumagins, a group of 20 islands just southwest of the Alaska Peninsula. On Unga, the largest of the Shumagins, see a petrified Sequoia forest from the Tertiary Era. Seeing the remnants of this great forest helps to explain the passage of species between Asia and America and conveys a sense of the Aleutian Arc before humans inhabited. You can also walk around the remnants of an old gold mining village, its dilapidated wooden buildings rapidly returning to the nature that surrounds it.

• Sunday, July 12: Aniakchak National Monument

  Today, explore Aniakchak National Monument, one of the wildest and least visited places in the U.S. National Park System. The monument centers around the 6-mile-wide Aniakchak Crater, formed during a caldera collapse event about 3,700 years ago. To visit here is to be reminded that you are very much within the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” The lake within the caldera, Surprise Lake, is the source of the Aniakchak River. Hike the caldera floor today, looking for Brown Bears, Moose, wolves, Wolverines, and foxes.

• Monday, July 13: Ugashik National Wildlife Refuge

  Formerly known as Alaska Peninsula Wildlife Refuge, Ugashik encompasses a diverse and dramatic landscape of active volcanoes, mountains, rugged coastline, rolling tundra, lowlands, rivers, and lakes. All five species of Pacific salmon spawn in the refuge’s rivers, attracting a dense concentration of Brown Bears to the area. Other land mammals include Moose, wolves, Wolverines, foxes, and the Alaska Peninsula Caribou herd, one of only 13 herds that live in Alaska.

• Tuesday, July 14: Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park

  In 1912, Mount Katmai and adjacent Novarupta exploded in a massive volcanic event that devastated the surrounding region. Katmai National Park was founded just a few years later to protect the area’s revegetation. Today, alder and Salmon Berry bushes blanket the rugged land, with tall, glacier-dotted peaks rising behind. The entire coastline has been shaped by glaciation, with long, narrow fjords and U-shaped valleys. Today, visit the Kukak Bay area, once home to a thriving cannery, now given over to clam-digging bears, wolves, foxes, puffins, cormorants, and kittiwakes. Watch Brown Bears forage on the coastal sedge flats and congregate around streams and rivers to catch salmon. Few places on earth have as abundant a bear population as Katmai.

• Wednesday, July 15: Kodiak Island & Foul Bay

  If the Brown Bears you’ve been seeing aren’t large enough, fret not—Kodiak has its own subspecies, and it is the world’s largest. Much of the island is covered by the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, home to 3,500 Kodiak Brown Bears. Kayak today in Foul Bay within the refuge. Look for bears frolicking along the shoreline of Alaska’s “Emerald Island,” and Sea Otters, Fin, Minke, and Humpback Whales at sea.

• Thursday, July 16: Kenai Fjords National Park

  Today, visit Kenai Fjords National Park, 587,000 acres of jaw-dropping, mostly impenetrable wilderness. Crowning the park is the massive, 936-square-mile Harding Ice Field; from it, countless tidewater glaciers pour down, carving the coast into dizzying fjords.Spend the day looking for Sea Otters, sea lions and seals, marine birds such as puffins and cormorants, and Humpbacks and Orcas.

• Friday, July 17: Seward, Disembark Safari Explorer

  Enjoy one last breakfast onboard before disembarking in Seward, a picturesque port city perched on the edge of Resurrection Bay. Tour the extensive Alaska SeaLife Center, the only cold-water marine-research facility in the Western Hemisphere, created as part of the Exxon Valdez oil-spill settlement. Watch rehabilitated Steller’s Sea Lions swim and puffins “fly” underwater in their huge tanks. After lunch in town, head north to the serene setting of Windsong Lodge in the Resurrection River Valley. Set off on an afternoon hike with your expedition leader in an area frequented by Bald Eagles, Black Bears, and other wildlife. Dinner and overnight at Windsong Lodge.

• Saturday, July 18: Seward

  The area around the charming town of Seward is one of the most beautiful parts of Alaska, rife with soaring peaks, vast lakes, glacial rivers, and wildflower meadows. Spend the day exploring these scenic surroundings with your expedition leader, a resident of this land, who will plan the itinerary based on weather and local conditions. Hike the mossy meadows of Tonsina Creek or the Primrose Trail toward Lost Lake or look for some of Alaska’s special birds in the marshes around the airport. Moose and Bald Eagles are plentiful in the valley. The massive salmon runs that pour into the many creeks are an incredible sight in themselves, which you may find yourself sharing with fish-focused bears. Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight at Windsong Lodge.

• Sunday, July 19: Seward / Girdwood

  Visit Exit Glacier, the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park accessible by road, and hike right up to its base. See the scoured bedrock, craggy ice, and rushing water of this stunning natural ramp to the Harding Ice Field. Transfer overland on the scenic Seward Highway to the mountain hamlet of Girdwood. After lunch, take a tram ride to the top of Mt. Alyeska. Standing at 2,300 feet above sea level, the platform offers staggering views of mountains, hanging glaciers, and spruce stands. Take a hike from the top, enjoying high-alpine terrain and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and Turnagain Arm below. This evening, gather for a festive farewell dinner. Dinner and overnight at Alyeska Lodge.

• Monday, July 20: Girdwood / Anchorage / Depart

  After breakfast, stop at Potter Marsh, a 564-acre freshwater marsh in Anchorage that forms part of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge. Walk the boardwalk trails and watch for schooling salmon, Moose, Canvasback Ducks, Trumpeter Swans, and Artic Terns. Visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center to learn more about Alaska’s native cultures, people, and ways of life. Enjoy lunch before you transfer to the airport for your evening flights home.