Imagine… Alaska

You’re soaring in your 4-seater over the verdant island-dotted channels of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

As your seaplane banks around the cove at Admiralty Island, you spot your first grizzly, tugging at a tree stump by the water’s edge. A bump and a shower of spray, and you’ve landed at Pack Creek.

With only a spyglass, you and your guide move gingerly down the beach, staying downwind of the grizzly. The bear finds a clam. You can hear the scratch of his 7″ claws in the gravel, see his wet snout pry open shells and rip out succulent morsels. He’s making a big mess of the beach, with holes here and there, a string of ravaged shells strewn in his wake.

He pauses once, and looks over – directly at you. The massive bear’s fixing his gaze on you gives you a flash of panic, but your bear-savvy guide is unruffled. You are free to soak in this privileged audience with this remote grizzly. And something titillating yet peaceful stirs in you.

Or imagine a a journey through Alaska’s waterways. Sleep in a yurt – one of only 6 nestled on a small island 2 hours offshore. Paddleboard amongst seals. Watch for Orcas. Breathe in the scent of the pines on your secluded speck of Alaska, far from the tourist crowds.

Or take a ferry out to an abandoned fishing village where artists are at work creating hand-formed pottery, stirring paintings, and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces crafted made from caribou antlers that they foraged off the tundra.

Or explore the Inside Passage on one of our intimate adventure ships. Nothing like the mainstream experience on the big cruiseliners, these small vessels have the flexibility to seek out pods of bubble-netting whales, then offload you onto zodiacs so you can have a front-row seat.

Our chief designer, Melanie, has firsthand expertise that will make all the difference in your trip. She says:

I have spent the last 2 decades exploring Alaska’s distant wilds – sleeping with grizzlies on Katmai and riding the rails to Denali, hiking the rainforest and fishing the Kenai, dog-sledding on ice fields, cruising Glacier Bay, kayaking and helicoptering and photographing and even dunking in the Arctic Ocean!

I’ve sat around campfires and marveled at the Northern Lights.

I have fallen in love with Alaska!

My first-hand experience– as well as my unique lodges and handpicked guides– will create a trip for you that is thrilling, rejuvenating, unique, and unforgettable!

At Rare Finds, we are committed to pulling you out of the sluice of mainstream travel in over-touristed Alaska and into more unique experiences that you can really savor. But we realize that Alaska’s National Parks - crowded though they can be - must top your list.

So whether you’re dreaming of Denali’s backcountry hikes, flight-see trips, or exclusive mountain-top lodge….

Or sleeping in Glacier Bay’s 1960’s-retro lodge and taking a kayak paddle on Bartlett Cove, listening to the whale calls from across the straits…

Or even a trek through the remote Chilkoot Trail, in the steps of the 1890’s Goldrushers. We have tried-and-true strategies to make your national park visits as seamless as they are spectacular!

And There’s More!

From the Alaskan Railroad to the aurora’s Northern Lights… floating cabins and fishing excursions… and even way out-there winter excursions like dog-sledding to remote hot springs!

There’s the Arctic in summertime – an overnight up to Barrow where the ATM machine has 7 languages (Hboob?) and even the high school is built on stilts. You can jeep out to Barrow Point to see whale skeletons and hear about the Native Alaskan’s annual hunt.

Or take a daytrip of a lifetime to see the polar bears of Kuktavik!

There’s a Russian Alaska, sailing around Sitka on our captain’s private yacht, sipping vodka, nibbling on caviar, and hearing fur-trapping tales from the 1800’s.

There’s the Native Alaska – Chilkat dancers and Totem pole Heritage Centers on the Inside Passage.

And don’t forget the Goldrush with mining and vintage saloons, complete with a Sourtoe Cocktail!

Whatever route, whatever season – you will be on a one-of-a-kind adventure to immerse yourself in an Alaska, like you’ve never imagined!

What’s it like being a client of Rare Finds Travel?

See Alaska in Action

Alaska, like you’ve never imagined
Fun in Fairbanks
Dogsled With Me
Admiralty Island

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