19-NIGHT ALASKA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA EXPEDITION – INSIDE PASSAGE, BEARS AND ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (NORTHBOUND)

Day 1 Jul 24, 2026 - Vancouver

Vancouver is a thriving metropolis surrounded by natural beauty. With parks, beaches, gardens, museums, art galleries and the second-largest Chinatown in North America, Vancouver lives up to its promise of offering something for everyone. With modern buildings set against green, rolling hillsides, this city is breathtaking; no location offers a more spectacular view than Stanley Park - with a zoo, aquarium, totem poles and honking geese. A short walk from the park leads to Robson Street, which offers the town's best window-shopping. Stores with European flavor share the avenue with delicatessens and tea rooms ready to serve. As architectural heart of the city, Robson Square features a central plaza with a food fair and an old provincial courthouse, which now houses Vancouver Art Gallery. Be sure to stop at 8 Pender St. - "the narrowest building in the world." Other points of interest include the Museum of Anthropology; Japanese-style Nitobe Memorial Garden; and VanDusen Botanical Garden. Capilano Canyon is site of the world's longest and highest suspension footbridge.

Day 2 Jul 25, 2026 - Vancouver

Vancouver is a thriving metropolis surrounded by natural beauty. With parks, beaches, gardens, museums, art galleries and the second-largest Chinatown in North America, Vancouver lives up to its promise of offering something for everyone. With modern buildings set against green, rolling hillsides, this city is breathtaking; no location offers a more spectacular view than Stanley Park - with a zoo, aquarium, totem poles and honking geese. A short walk from the park leads to Robson Street, which offers the town's best window-shopping. Stores with European flavor share the avenue with delicatessens and tea rooms ready to serve. As architectural heart of the city, Robson Square features a central plaza with a food fair and an old provincial courthouse, which now houses Vancouver Art Gallery. Be sure to stop at 8 Pender St. - "the narrowest building in the world." Other points of interest include the Museum of Anthropology; Japanese-style Nitobe Memorial Garden; and VanDusen Botanical Garden. Capilano Canyon is site of the world's longest and highest suspension footbridge.

Day 3 Jul 26, 2026 - Inside Passage

Imagine being confronted with a myriad of mysterious channels. Following each fjord to the interior, encounter massive mountain ranges, towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, virginal forests of two-hundred foot tall spruce, while whales, bears, seals, salmon, eagles and other wildlife. Always they were stopped by an inevitable face of ice - glaciers pushing inexorably downward to meet the sea. What must have been a mapmaker's nightmare is today cherished as the continent's last great untouched wilderness, harbouring the world's largest temperate rain forest. An Eden of the North to captivate the every modern-day explorer. The string of islands of the Inside Passage create a protective barrier to the open sea running from the Washington State/Canadian border and the bottom of Vancouver Island all the way up to the top of Chichagof Island, where the Gulf of Alaska begins its curve westward, offering a supremely serene cruising environment in some of the most dramatic surroundings on earth.

Day 4 Jul 27, 2026 - Misty Fjords

At 3,600 square miles, this least spoiled of all wilderness areas is the largest of all preserves. It is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of an Alaska vacation. Beginning near the British Columbia border, the Behm Canal winds around the Eastern side of Revillagigedo Island, becoming increasingly narrower as it heads northward, finally taking a left turn back into the Inside Passage near Ketchikan. Along its 900-foot deep chasm, 3,200-foot tall cliffs soar upwards and the dramatic spire of New Eddystone Rock is repeated in the spiky tops of spruce and fir trees which cast stalactite reflections in waters broken only by the wake of ships and the splashes of breaching humpback whales.

Day 5 Jul 28, 2026 - Wrangell

Wrangell, a hidden jewel in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, is the third oldest community in Alaska and the only community to be ruled by 4 nations: the indigenous Tlingit nation, Russia, Great Britain and the United States. The island is rich in native heritage as evidenced by the rock carvings at Petroglyph Beach as well as the totems seen around town. Walk in the steps of John Muir amidst historic buildings that will take you back to the unhurried pace of yesterday, and enjoy the beauty of the Stikine River and the surrounding wilderness.

Day 6 Jul 29, 2026 - Sitka

Resting between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Sitka is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Alaska and the biggest city in America - encircling 4,710 square miles on Baranof Island. No symbol shows Russian influence more than the landmark St. Michael's Cathedral. Original artifacts and icons, including the Sitka Madonna, were saved from fire and are on display. Visit Castle Hill, once site of a two-story log mansion known as Baranof's Castle, which overlooked Sitka Sound during the town's fur trading days. Only stone walls and mounted cannons remain from Russia's bloody battles against native Tlingit. Sitka National Historical Park offers information and artifacts relating to the Tlingits, including totem poles as a chronicle of early life on this fertile ground. Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center cares for as many as a dozen bald eagles and other birds at a time. The facility caters to rare wildlife recovering from injuries incurred in the wild. Among the more popular trails is Indian River Trail, which parallels a salmon stream, and the three-mile-long Gaven Hill Trail.

Day 7 Jul 30, 2026 - Icy Strait

Visit the waters of the Icy Strait area in the summer and there’s a good chance of seeing endangered humpback whales and other mammals gorging themselves on their annual northern feast of plankton. Each year in late spring to early summer, an extraordinary bloom of plant plankton occurs for about two weeks. Animal plankton, starfish, sea urchins, worms and clams feast on the plankton, and many of these species time their reproduction to occur at the height of the plankton concentration. Vast shoals of small fish, including herring and capelin, are drawn to the animal plankton, and salmon, birds, and marine mammals such as sea lions and seals join in the feast, feeding on the profusion of small fish. The terrestrial plant communities of the Icy Strait area are also an important component of the area’s biological diversity, and the site is one of the best places in the world to study how plants return to a landscape after glacial retreat.

Day 8 Jul 31, 2026 - Icy Bay

Day 9 Aug 01, 2026 - At Sea

Day 10 Aug 02, 2026 - Kodiak Island

Kodiak, home to Alaska's largest fishing fleet, offers a taste of Alaska's Russian heritage. Visit Russian Orthodox Church, and the Baranof Museum (located in Alaska's oldest wooden structure, a historic fur storehouse). Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in the Kodiak Archipelago, and bird watching is a main attraction. Special wildlife viewing is found at Miller Point within Ft. Abercrombie State Historic Park. During the early summer, gray, humpback, and minke whales can be spotted as they migrate through nearby Whale Passage. Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect the habitat of the brown bear. Kodiak is home to extensive fishing, hunting and photographic opportunities.

Day 11 Aug 03, 2026 - Katmai National Park

Encompassing millions of acres in Alaska, Katmai Nation Park contains an amazing array of pristine wilderness, sparkling rivers and streams, rugged coastline, green valley and active glaciers and volcanoes. Currently, there are fourteen active volcanoes in the park, but none of which are actually erupting.

A rich variety of wildlife can be found in the park as well including the awe-inspiring brown bear.

Day 12 Aug 04, 2026 - Kujulik Bay

Day 13 Aug 05, 2026 - Unga Island

Day 14 Aug 06, 2026 - Dutch Harbor

Dutch Harbour is a port in the Aleutian Islands. Geologically, the archipelago is a continuation of the Aleutian Range, which is on the Alaskan mainland, and contains a number of volcanic peaks. Few trees, all of stunted growth, are found, but grasses grow in abundance. Although a few good harbours are found in the archipelago, navigation is dangerous because of almost perpetual fog and numerous reefs.

Day 15 Aug 07, 2026 - At Sea

Day 16 Aug 08, 2026 - St. Paul Island

St. Paul Island is located in the Pribilof Islands, which are a group of five volcanic islands on the Bering Sea. St. Paul is the biggest island in the group as well as it being the furthest north. There is not much signs of wildlife but birds and rare plants that are not otherwise offered in the area. St. Paul is a very secluded island with many rugged cliffs, making it the perfect destination for risk takers and people who enjoy discovering the great outdoors. 

Day 17 Aug 09, 2026 - St. Matthew Island/Hall Island

St Matthew Islands is located off the southern coast of Alaska, in the Bering Sea. The Island is the 43rd largest in the United States of America. Hall Island is only 3.1 miles wide and it is located in the northwestern point of St. Matthew Island. The 2 major lakes in these Islands are the North Lake and Big Lake, which have a great number of fish species. There are also many arctic foxes and polar bears inhabiting the island. Reindeer at one point lived in St Matthews, but since then have died out and zero remain, this phenomenon has brought in many scientist who this mysterious case has inspired them to search for answers.

Day 18 Aug 10, 2026 - At Sea

Day 19 Aug 11, 2026 - Nome

"There's No Place Like Nome!" Nome, Alaska is most known for being the finish line for the annual Iditarod Race, where dogs and mushers travel 1,049 miles from Anchorage. End of the Trail activities are usually held all month long in March. The list of things to do is a mile long in Nome, including exploring the local wilderness, taking a dog sled ride, Russia is 1 hour away by plane, watch Native dancers, and even have lunch with the Elders at the local Senior Center.

Day 20 Aug 11, 2026 - Seattle

Seattle is situated on Puget Sound, surrounded by the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. The city skyline is impressive with shimmering glass high-rises and 100-year-old buildings standing side by side. This beautiful port city came into its own after gold was discovered in the Klondike and 100,000 people passed through the Northwest in 1897 and 1898 on their quest for wealth in Alaska Visit the Klondike Gold Rush Museum or the Space Needle by day and enjoy a vibrant jazz nightlife in turn-of-the-century Pioneer Square where the city first took root.