Day Trip to Seward & Kenai Fjords National Park: 6-Hour Glacier & Whale Cruise + Exit Glacier

Located 204 kilometres (127 miles, 2.5 hours by scenic highway or 4.5 hours aboard the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic) south of Anchorage on Resurrection Bay, the harbour town of Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, where the 700-square-mile Harding Icefield spawns 38 glaciers tumbling into fjords filled with humpback whales, orcas, Steller sea lions, sea otters and horned and tufted puffins.

1. Choosing Your Boat in Seward: 6-Hour National Park Cruise vs 4-Hour Bay Cruise

Two companies, Major Marine Tours and Kenai Fjords Tours, run daily catamarans from the Seward Small Boat Harbor, coordinating their late-morning boat departure with the arrival of the morning Alaska Railroad train from Anchorage (check fares on the operators' websites):

• The 6-Hour Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise (Top Choice): sails around Cape Resurrection inside Kenai Fjords National Park to spend 30 to 45 minutes in front of an active tidewater glacier (Aialik Glacier or Holgate Glacier) watching 90-metre ice towers calve into the sea, while passing the puffin rookeries of the Chiswell Islands, whales and sea-lion haul-outs. (Seasickness tip: crossing around Cape Aialik for 40 minutes can bring swells; take motion-sickness medication before boarding and sit on the lower mid-ship deck.)
• The 3.5- to 4-Hour Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise: stays inside sheltered Resurrection Bay, spotting whales, puffins, sea otters and distant views of Bear Glacier without crossing open ocean to a tidewater glacier face.

2. On Land in Seward: Exit Glacier (Free Entry) & the Alaska SeaLife Center

If you drive a rental car down from Anchorage, add these two land stops in Seward:

1. Exit Glacier (15 Mins Outside Seward on Herman Leirer Rd, Free Entry): the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park accessible by road. Numbered roadside signs mark the years (1926, 1951, 1978, 2005, 2015) where the ice once stood, leading to the paved 1.6-kilometre (1-mile) Glacier View Loop Trail overlooking the blue ice tongue of Exit Glacier (hikers from July to September can also climb the strenuous 13-kilometre round-trip Harding Icefield Trail).
2. The Alaska SeaLife Center (Mile 0 in Downtown Seward): Alaska's public aquarium and marine-mammal rescue centre, featuring an underwater diving puffin habitat, harbour seals and giant Pacific octopuses.