Getting the Most Out of Your Alaska Cruise With an Added-on Tour

Adding an Alaska land tour to the beginning or end of your cruise not only extends your vacation time, but it can also be a pleasant way to travel to your departure point. For example, many people fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks for their Alaska cruise, but the port of departure may actually be in Seward or Whittier. Taking a land tour to cover the distance between the port of departure and the airport allows you to drink in the sights and the culture, instead of simply traveling there as quickly as possible.

What Can I Experience on an Added On Tour?
If you are already booked for an Alaska cruise, you might be wondering what you'd gain from extending your stay with a land tour. Some ideas include:

--Regional Cuisine - Alaska is famous for its local Pacific Northwest Cuisine, which is known for using only the freshest ingredients. Salmon, cod, and halibut, scallops and lobster, wild mushrooms, berries of all sorts, and farmer's cheese are just a few of the local delicacies that you can experience. Fine restaurants vie with more humble waterside eateries for the best in seafood cuisine.

--Alaskan Living - No trip to Alaska would be complete without a taste of what it is like to live in the North. On a add-on cruise excursion, you can experience the cities of Alaska, enjoy cultural museums and gold mine tours, and take historic city tours. You may have the opportunity at fairs or festivals to meet those who have made their family home there for generations. Others are hardy entrepreneurs just starting out in the north.

--Parks and Wildlife - Alaska is the home of some of the most ruggedly beautiful landscape in the United States. Impossible from the cruise ship, you visit America's highest mountain, Mount McKinley. Enjoy the breathtaking fjords in Kenai Fjords National Park. You can also experience a wide range of wildlife, from moose to wolves, and from mountain goats to bear sightings, on your tour before or after your Alaska cruise.

--A Taste of Adventure - From fishing to whitewater rafting, Alaska offers a huge variety of outdoor activities and adventures. 300-pound halibut can be fished from Alaska's rushing rivers, or you can enjoy the water from a kayak or raft. Hiking across a glacier, camping in the near 24 hour sun, panning for gold, or "flightseeing" in a helicopter are all possibilities.

How to Set Up Your Alaska Cruise Extension Tours
If you have decided to extend your Alaska cruise with a land tour, most cruise lines will be able to help you set up your vacation. Simply call the 800-number for the cruise line, or fill out an online form, to get your tour planned and in the works.

On the other hand, your travel agent will be happy to work with you to extend your Alaska cruise vacation with land tours. In fact, a knowledgable agent can help you ferret out the unusual and little traveled to enhance your memory of this trip of a lifetime.

Be sure to visit Perfect Vacation Cruise for more information and helpful resources.