Best of Alaska Guided Tour | Denali & Glacier Bay
Best of Alaska Guided Tour 2026
Rail, Cruise, Denali National Park and Glacier Bay
By Laney Lovell, Tour Planning Team Lead
I still remember the first time I heard a glacier crack.
The sound came before the movement, a deep echo rolling across the water. Then a wall of blue ice shifted and fell into the sea, sending ripples across the surface as everyone stood quietly on deck watching.
Alaska does that to you.
It makes you pause. It makes you feel small in the best possible way. It slows you down enough to notice the light on the mountains, the mist lifting from the trees, and the shape of a moose moving through the brush.
If Alaska has been on your list for years, I understand why.
When I designed our Best of Alaska guided tour 2026, I was not trying to create just another Alaska vacation. I wanted to create the Alaska experience I would want for myself, one that includes the bucket list moments you have always imagined and the hidden gems that most travelers never discover.
This journey is intentionally designed as a complete Alaska rail and cruise tour, combining Denali National Park, Glacier Bay, and the Alaska Inside Passage into one seamless experience. You travel by scenic rail to Denali. You cruise through Glacier Bay aboard Holland America’s MS Zaandam. You explore gold rush towns, meet champion sled dog mushers, and experience Alaska’s culture while surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
There are many ways to visit Alaska.
But there is a difference between visiting and experiencing it well.
Our Best of Alaska tour package is thoughtfully paced, carefully coordinated, and personally designed so you can experience the scale, the silence, and the significance of this remarkable place without worrying about the logistics behind it.
2026 Departures
July 10 to 22, 2026 SOLD OUT
August 14 to 26, 2026
At this time, our July departure is sold out. August still has availability, but peak Alaska travel season fills quickly.
If you are searching for a fully guided Alaska tour 2026 that combines Denali National Park, Glacier Bay, scenic rail travel, and an Alaska Inside Passage cruise into one thoughtfully coordinated journey, I would love for you to consider joining us.
To explore the full itinerary and current pricing, visit our Best of Alaska guided tour 2026 page.
Why a Guided Alaska Tour Makes the Difference
Alaska is not a simple destination to piece together on your own.
I have planned this Best of Alaska guided tour carefully, and I can tell you firsthand how many moving parts are involved.
Flights into Anchorage. A cruise through Glacier Bay and the Alaska Inside Passage. Rail schedules to Denali National Park. Hotels in multiple towns. Transfers between ports, lodges, and train stations. Wildlife tours that require precise timing and permits. Cruise cabins that fill months in advance.
Each of these details matters.
When you travel on a fully guided Alaska tour, those details are already coordinated, confirmed, and thoughtfully sequenced. You are not managing logistics. You are experiencing Alaska.
Your journey includes scenic rail travel to Denali, a four night Alaska Inside Passage cruise, hand selected accommodations, cultural encounters, and seamless transfers between every stop along the way.
What that means for you is simple.
You can watch for wildlife from the train window instead of worrying about the next transfer. You can stand quietly on deck in Glacier Bay without thinking about what happens next. You can settle into the rhythm of the journey because everything has been designed to flow.
Alaska is too extraordinary to spend it coordinating details.
If you would like to meet the team behind your guided journeys and learn more about the people who design experiences like this, visit our Meet Our Team page.
Explore Denali National Park on Our Fully Guided Alaska Tour
There is a moment on this journey when Alaska stops feeling like a postcard and starts feeling real.
That moment often happens in Denali National Park.
Denali is the heart of many Alaska tour packages, and for good reason. It is vast, untamed, and humbling in scale.
On this Best of Alaska guided tour, you will spend two nights near Denali, giving you time not just to pass through, but to experience it fully. Your guided Denali National Park tour is thoughtfully designed to maximize wildlife viewing while allowing you to travel deeper into the park than most independent travelers would feel comfortable navigating on their own.
You may see moose moving through tall brush, caribou crossing open tundra, Dall sheep clinging to rocky ridges, and wolves or grizzly bears in their natural habitat.
And when the clouds lift, Mount McKinley rising above the landscape.
Traveling to Denali by rail aboard the McKinley Explorer is part of what makes this Alaska rail and cruise tour so distinctive. From the domed rail cars, you watch the terrain gradually shift from forest to tundra. You begin to feel the distance. You begin to understand the scale.
For many travelers on an Alaska guided vacation, Denali is the moment everything slows down and comes into focus.
Cruise Alaska’s Inside Passage and Glacier Bay
After experiencing Alaska by rail and road, you see it from the water.
Your Alaska rail and cruise tour includes four nights aboard Holland America’s MS Zaandam, blending interior wilderness with a fully immersive Alaska Inside Passage cruise.
Cruising the Alaska Inside Passage is not simply scenic. It is powerful.
You sail through Glacier Bay National Park with a Park Service Ranger providing narration as glaciers stretch from mountain to sea. You glide past forested islands and quiet coastal communities. You explore Ketchikan, known for its rich Native Alaskan heritage and beautifully carved totem poles.
From the deck, you may spot whales surfacing in the distance or bald eagles circling overhead.
An Alaska Inside Passage cruise allows you to experience dramatic landscapes without constantly repacking or transferring between hotels. You unpack once and let the scenery come to you.
If you are comparing Alaska cruise tours, this is where the difference becomes clear. Many itineraries focus only on the coastline. This Best of Alaska guided tour combines Denali National Park, scenic rail travel, Glacier Bay, and the Alaska Inside Passage into one cohesive experience.
You see the mountains from the train.
You see the tundra from the road.
You see the glaciers from the sea.
That layered perspective is what makes this Best of Alaska tour package feel complete.
If you enjoy combining immersive land exploration with time on the water, you may also be interested in our Voyage of the Mediterranean: Sail Through Coasts of Europe.
Ride the Historic White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad
There is something about rail travel in Alaska that feels timeless.
No Alaska rail and cruise tour would feel complete without the legendary White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. From the beginning, I knew this experience needed to be part of our Best of Alaska guided tour.
Departing from Skagway, this historic narrow gauge train climbs toward the White Pass Summit along tracks first carved into the mountains during the Klondike Gold Rush. As you ascend, waterfalls spill down sheer cliffs, mountain trestles stretch across deep gorges, and snow tipped peaks rise in the distance.
From your seat, you simply look outward and take it in.
Rail travel offers a perspective that road travel cannot. You watch the landscape gradually unfold rather than rush past it. That slower rhythm is one of the reasons I believe so strongly in including scenic rail experiences in our guided journeys.
Including both the McKinley Explorer to Denali and the White Pass Railroad in this Best of Alaska tour package allows you to experience the landscape from multiple vantage points.
For many travelers on this Alaska guided tour, the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad becomes one of the most memorable moments of the entire journey.
If scenic rail travel is part of what draws you to Alaska, you may also enjoy our West Virginia's Mountain Railroads: An Appalachian Adventure Featuring Vintage Locomotives.
Meet Mushers, Discover Native Culture, and Experience Local Life
Alaska is far more than dramatic scenery.
It is shaped by the people who live there, by traditions passed down through generations, and by stories rooted deeply in the land.
On this Best of Alaska guided tour, you will meet Iditarod champion Martin Buser at Happy Trails Kennels and watch his sled dogs in action. Hearing firsthand what it takes to race across Alaska’s winter wilderness adds context and meaning to the landscapes you are experiencing. In Fairbanks, you will board the Riverboat Discovery and learn about Alaska’s river culture and Native heritage. You will see how communities have adapted to the rhythms of the land and water over time.
In Skagway and Whitehorse, you will walk streets shaped by gold rush history and frontier ambition.
These cultural encounters are not add-ons. They are intentionally woven into this Alaska tour package so that yo
u do not simply admire the scenery, but begin to understand it.
The bucket list highlights, such as Denali National Park and Glacier Bay, are unforgettable.
The hidden gems, the personal stories and local connections, are what make the journey meaningful.
That balance is what transforms this Alaska guided tour from a sightseeing trip into something that stays with you long after you return home.
When Is the Best Time to Travel to Alaska?
One of the most common questions I receive about our Best of Alaska guided tour is, “When is the best time to go?”
For most travelers, July and August offer the ideal balance of active wildlife, accessible travel conditions, and comfortable summer temperatures.
During peak Alaska travel season, you can expect:
- Average daytime highs in the upper 60s to low 70s
- Active wildlife in Denali National Park and surrounding areas
- Extended daylight hours that allow you to experience more each day
- Fully operating rail routes and cruise itineraries
Because Alaska’s prime travel season is relatively short, Alaska tour packages and Alaska Inside Passage cruise cabins tend to fill well in advance.
At present, our July departure of the Best of Alaska guided tour is sold out and the August date is filling quickly.
Airfare into Anchorage and home from Vancouver also typically increases as summer approaches. Securing your place earlier not only protects cabin selection, it often provides better flight routing and pricing flexibility.
If Alaska is important to you, timing truly matters.
What Is Included in This Alaska Tour Package?
When you travel on our Best of Alaska guided tour, you step into a fully coordinated Alaska experience.
Your journey includes:
- Complimentary airport shuttle service
- Welcome Dinner and meals as indicated
- Four night Alaska Inside Passage cruise
- Scenic rail journeys including McKinley Explorer and White Pass Railroad
- Guided Denali National Park tour
- Riverboat Discovery experience
- Luggage handling at most hotels
- Fees and tips for included attractions
- Twenty four hour emergency support
Moderate walking is required, and some terrain may be uneven. The itinerary is thoughtfully paced so travelers can experience Alaska fully without feeling rushed.
If you would like to speak with a CTD travel expert about cabin options or flight timing, we would be happy to help.
You may also request a printed copy of our Country Travel Discoveries guided tour catalog.
Best of Alaska Guided Tour 2026 Departures
Best of Alaska
July 10 to 22, 2026 SOLD OUT
August 14 to 26, 2026
If you are searching for the best Alaska guided tour 2026 that combines Denali National Park, Glacier Bay, the Alaska Inside Passage cruise, scenic rail travel, and meaningful cultural experiences into one seamless journey, I would love for you to consider joining us.
You can view the full itinerary, cabin categories, and current availability on our Best of Alaska guided tour 2026 page.
Alaska is powerful. It is peaceful. It is unforgettable.
The scale of it stays with you long after you return home.
If it has been on your list for years, perhaps this is the year to experience it well.
Our July departure is sold out, and August is filling quickly. If this journey speaks to you, I would love to welcome you on the Best of Alaska guided tour and share it with you.
Laney
Frequently Asked Questions About the Best of Alaska Guided Tour
What is included in the Best of Alaska guided tour?
Your tour includes rail travel to Denali, a four night Alaska Inside Passage cruise, guided park tours, accommodations, transfers, and curated cultural experiences.
When is the best time to take an Alaska guided tour?
July and August offer peak wildlife viewing, comfortable temperatures, and extended daylight hours.
Does this Alaska tour include both Denali and Glacier Bay?
Yes. This Best of Alaska guided tour combines Denali National Park, Glacier Bay, and the Alaska Inside Passage into one seamless itinerary.
How far in advance should I book the Best of Alaska guided tour?
Because Alaska’s peak season is short and rail and cruise space is limited, booking several months in advance is strongly recommended.
What is the activity level of this Alaska guided tour?
This Best of Alaska guided tour involves moderate walking, including some uneven terrain in national parks and historic towns. The itinerary is thoughtfully paced, with time to rest between experiences. If you have specific mobility questions, we are happy to discuss them with you.
What type of cabins are available on the Alaska Inside Passage cruise?
Cabin categories aboard Holland America’s MS Zaandam include Inside, Outside, and Verandah options. Availability varies by departure date, and booking earlier typically offers the best selection.
Do I need a passport for this Alaska rail and cruise tour?
Yes. Because this Alaska rail and cruise tour begins in Anchorage and concludes in Vancouver, British Columbia, a valid US passport is required for travel.
What makes this Alaska guided tour different from a cruise-only itinerary?
Unlike cruise-only itineraries that focus primarily on the coastline, this Best of Alaska guided tour combines Denali National Park, scenic rail travel, interior Alaska exploration, and a four-night Alaska Inside Passage cruise. You experience Alaska by land and by sea for a more complete perspective.
