If you plan to visit Seward, then a boat cruise to the Kenai Fjords National Park has to be on your your itinerary. Seward, the gateway to this incredible national park offers many different boat tours to the national park and Resurrection Bay to see wildlife, glaciers, mountains and coastal landscapes.
Here is our review of the 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour during mid September, so you can see what it's like. Read our 1, 2 and 3 day Seward itinerary to help you plan your trip.
Kenai Fjords National Park
The nearly 670,000 acre (271,139 hectares) Kenai Fjords National Park houses 38 glaciers from the Harding Icefield, one of the biggest icefields in the United States. Wildlife such as black and brown bear, moose, humpback whales, mountain goats, harbor seats and sea otters thrive inside these protected lands and waters.
6 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Tour
Arguably the most popular national park boat cruise, the 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour offers visitors ample time to soak in all the beauty of Resurrection Bay and the Kenai Fjords National Park.
The tour departs from Seward, going through resurrection Bay, around Cheval, No Name and Chat Island to Aialik Glacier, then to Holgate Glacier, then down past Harbor, Natoa and Chiswell Islands to go back through Resurrection Bay back to Seward.
Along the way, it is possible to see wildlife like bald eagles, sea otters, humpback whales, harbor seals and dolphins.
What's Included?
- Hot lunch. Chicken burrito with tortilla chips (vegetarian and gluten free upon request).
- Boat captain narration
Cost
~$200 USD per adult, $100 USD per child.
Remember to make reservations before your trip. This tour sells out quickly, especially in the peak summer months of June and July.
6 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Tour Schedule
Each tour operator has their own schedule. We went with Kenai Fjords Tours. They offer the 6 hour tour at either 8 AM or 1130 AM, depending on the date.
The season runs from May 3 - September 28.
Our Experience on the 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park Tour
We did the 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour while we were in Seward for 3 nights. Our first day, we took the train from Anchorage to Seward, went white water rafting and did a sauna by the river. On Day 2, we did the Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour at 1130 AM.
We visited Alaska mid-September and did this boat tour on September 16. Luckily, we had amazing weather that day with clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 50s° F(12° C). Despite the sunny day, we made sure to pack warm clothes and extra layers since we knew the wind would make it a lot colder.
IMPORTANT: Take anti-nausea medicine 30 minutes before getting on the boat. Whether you get sea sick or not, please take Drammamine or any sort of anti-nausea medicine. It is possible to have rocky waves going through the Bay and past the Islands.
What to Wear and Bring for September: Warm hat, sunglasses, scarf, gloves, warm jacket, rain jacket and camera. I also had a rain jacket shell and backpack rain cover. I run very cold with a sensitive throat so I brought a long scarf with me too.
Beanie, puffer jacket, sunglasses and camera
The Boat Tour
The boat for this tour had two floors and an inside cabin. Since we arrived a little late, our group of 6 only found seats outside, which was fine with us since we all wanted to take photos.
Not our boat but all the boats are very similar to this with two decks and inside cabin
Bald eagles and mountains
It wasn't too long after that we saw a bunch of cute sea otters either!
Sea Otter
About an hour into the cruise, we were served lunch. The burritos and salsa were not bad, nothing to shout about but it was filling.
After lunch, the boat started going through Resurrection Bay and around the islands. This is the part where it got super rocky and I was so so happy I took some Drammamine beforehand. If you get seasick, make sure to keep looking out to the ocean. Do NOT use your phone or camera. Just look straight to the ocean and don't stay on the bottom deck. The crew handed out barf bags just in case.
After about 45 minutes of the rockiness, everything then stood still. I almost felt like I got thrown into a turbulent time machine and finally landed. The boat captain told us to look up as we were approaching the glacier.
Glaciers!
All the seasickness, dizziness and nausea quickly slipped away as we approached the glacier. As we slowly cruised closer to it, we could hear a tremendous crashing sound every few minutes or so.
Glacier Calving
If you've never seen glacier calving in real life, let me tell you that when you finally do, you're in for a treat. There is nothing quite like hearing the roar and crash of huge chunks of ice falling into the sea. Something very cool was that the crew pulled up a chunk of glacier ice to let us touch.
Glacier ice
According to the boat captain, we got a very active day of glacier calving. Although I would have been happy to stay longer and continue watching it, we had to move onto the next stop of the 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour.
Rest of the Tour
After the glacier calving viewing, we went around to another glacier and then some islands with absolutely gorgeous landscapes that felt just...so Alaska. Rugged mountains, forest, fjords, islands and snow all around.
We saw more wildlife from sea lions, dolphins, more sea otters and even some mountain goats grazing on the side of a slope. The captain even showed us a waterfall trickling down the mountain.
More glaciers
Sea lions on the rock in the middle
More beautiful views in Resurrection Bay
Worth It?
Yes! Absolutely. Seeing the Kenai Fjords National Park by boat was one of the highlights of our whole Alaska trip. We could clearly see why it's one of the most popular things to do in Alaska and one of the reasons why people love Seward.
Whether you do the 6 hour, 4 hour or 8 hour tour, we highly recommend the Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour. Then if you want to see the national park even more, you can hike up to Exit Glacier. It's only a 15 minute drive from Seward and you can walk either the easy 1 mile (1.6 km) trail, the 1.6 mile (2.5 km) trail or do the longer and harder 4 mile (6.4 km) trail.
You can do it as a day trip from Anchorage by taking the train or driving but we highly recommend to stay a couple days in Seward.
Other Kenai Fjords National Park Boat Tours
There are many different boat tours you can do from Seward, in case 6 hours is too long or the timing doesn't work out. For families with babies or infants, the 4 hour tour would be best.
Below are the other tours that Kenai Fjords Tours offers.
March 13 - May 15: 4 hour Springtime Resurrection Bay Tour to see the gray whale migration with views of Resurrection Bay and Bear Glacier. 12 PM start time. Thursdays to Sundays. Hot lunch included.
May 16 - Sept 5: 4.5 hours Resurrection Bay tour to see marine wildlife, glaciers and the cliffs of the bay. 1230 PM start time. Hot lunch included.
May 3 - Sept 28: 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park Tour. The most popular boat cruise. Cruise through Resurrection Bay and Aialik Bay to see a glacier up close. Spot marine and land wildlife along the way. Hot lunch included. 1130 AM departure time. May 3 - Sept 1 has an 8 AM departure time.
June 7 - Aug 16: 6 hour Glacier Dinner Cruise. Cruise through the Resurrection Bay to Kenai Fjords National Park in the evening and enjoy a multi course meal while cruising along glaciers and mountain cliffs. 3 hour departure time. Tuesdays to Saturdays.
June 7 - Aug 24: 7 hour National Park tour. Full day guided cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park to see wildlife and coastal seascapes. Hot lunch included. 9 AM departure time.
May 31 - Aug 28: 8 hour Northwestern Fjord Tour. Full day, fully narrated cruise to get as close to the glaciers as possible. Light breakfast and hot lunch included. 830 AM departure time.