Seward – some call it the Switzerland of Alaska although officially that title belongs to infamous Valdez but Seward is no less pretty. It is surrounded by Lush Mountain. The Resurrection Bay adds a lot to the beauty, Kenai fjords is the #2 most visited national park second only to Denali National Park. The town is quaint and all along the shoreline you can see these little shops selling the gift items arranging charters selling food and alcoholic beverages. Some of the nicer Hotels are right on the shore too, Holiday Inn Express, Breeze Inn and Best Western EdgeWater Inn to name a few.

Several boat charters; floatplanes, regular plane and Helicopters are available for various activities.

One of my favorite activities is Jeff King’s Iditarod dog Kennel. It is great; you get to see the Iditarod Huskies, play with puppies, learn about Iditarod and then get a ride thru a wilderness area on a vehicle on wheels pulled by the dog team. It’s a “do not miss”.

And if you can afford it, at over $300 or $400 per person, you can get a helicopter ride to Godwin glacier, get the real Iditarod slay ride on the glacier. Our budget did not permit us that luxury so I can not speak from the first had experience.

The exit...

Another activity that comes to mind is the Exit glacier. If you have your own transportation it costs very little by way of admission but you get to touch and feel the ice of the real glacier, see and walk about on the glacial moraine. It will dwarf you just standing there at the toe of the glacier and thinking of the mile and mile of that river of ice. There are couples of other places where you could get this close to a glacier (on land) but I believe, this one is the most beautiful and yet easy to get to. Don’t ask me why it is called Exit Glacier, because I don’t know. I know the town was named after William Seward who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russians and I know Resurrection Bay was so named by the Russians who got there on a Good Friday but no idea about the Exit glacier.

The major activity that most folks come to Seward for is the trip of Kenai Fjords National Park. You can get a half day or a full day ride or if you prefer you can have a romantic dinner cruise. Remember the days are looooong so the dinner time also will feel like middle of the day. There are three good companies that provide these tours. Major Marine, Renown Tours and have of course the Kenai fjord tours. For several reasons, my personal favorite is Major Marine full day with nice meal included.

The folks at the Alaska Denali Tours did a great job booking us. In Alaska the distances and the logistics of getting from place to place is a little challenging. So the guidance of some one like the Alaska Denali Tours is highly recommended. 1-888-808-8068 They are so patient. They know that more than likely this is your first trip to Alaska, so they give you all the time you need to grasp the complexities. An hour-long conversation, I was told, was not unusual.