Glacier cruises can be the best holiday cruise for you or your family. Activities and tourists spots during shore excursions form part of the reason why your cruise vacation becomes extra special.

Cruise trips including Alaska on their itineraries usually visit three popular ports of call – Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Each stop at each of these three ports provides you with a huge variety of shore expeditions. Find out what you can try on each port of call.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Most Inside Passage glacier cruises regard Ketchikan as their southernmost port of call. Rich Tongass rainforest skirts the beautiful small island of Ketchikan together with snow capped mountains, falls and glaciers.

Creek Street, one of the most historic places in Ketchikan, is ran along by a stream filled with crystal clear water and fresh salmon.

Most shore adventures do not include a visit to the Misty Fjord, a national landmark also recognized as the “Yosemite of the North”. Nevertheless, seeing this glacier-carved wonderland is a must. Explore the fjords in a float plane trip. Witness the beauty of bays, cliffs and waterfalls as well as the natural phenomenon of icebergs breaking off and melting into the bay.

Juneau, Alaska

A salt water channel and magnificent alpine peaks surround this beautiful small city. Juneau’s best shore excursion is the glacier-top dog sled adventure. This place is considered a nature lover’s paradise with many great restaurants and shops surrounding the city.

Skagway, Alaska

If Ketchikan is the southernmost in the Inside Passage; Skagway is the northernmost in the Inside Passage glacier cruises. This historically rich place with a number of museums is located in the end of a long beautiful fjord.

Just like the two previous ports of call, Skagway also offers numerous restaurants, museums and small thrift shops within walking distance from the cruise ship docks.

The main attraction in a Skagway shore excursion includes the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. If you go on this particular excursion, you need to ride a catamaran along Glacier Point, Alaska’s deepest fjord. After the 45-minute ride, you will arrive on a beach. A bus then awaits you and will take you to an overlook, a place where you get a stunning view of the glacier.

You will also get to view the glaciers up front after you board long canoes where it will paddle towards the base of a large glacier.

Experiencing one of this exciting Alaska shore excursion is already a memorable experience, however, it could even be more memorable and exciting if you manage to visit all three ports of call and experience the best in each of this ports.