Alaska Glacier Bay Roundtrip Seattle 7 Days — day by day

👀See & do: The anchor is Mendenhall Glacier, 12 miles from the dock: shuttle buses run every 30 minutes for about $45-60 round trip, and the city bus costs a few dollars each way but stops a mile from the visitor center. At the glacier, the Photo Point trail is a flat ten-minute walk; Nugget Falls adds a mostly flat 2-mile round trip.

👀See & do: Expect Margerie’s 21-mile river of ice, Grand Pacific Glacier, snow peaks, sea otters, harbor seals, mountain goats and occasional bears or whales. Calving is never guaranteed: listen for the crack, then look, because sound arrives after the ice moves.

👀See & do: Start with Sitka National Historical Park: the Totem Trail is a flat one-mile loop through rainforest lined with totem poles, free, ten minutes' walk from the shuttle stop. Downtown adds St. Michael's Cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House ($10), and harbor-side seafood lunches ($25-40).

👀See & do: Start with Creek Street, the historic boardwalk on stilts over the creek - galleries, salmon watching in season, and the town's best photo walk, all free and ten minutes from the dock. The Totem Heritage Center and Saxman Native Village hold the world's largest totem-pole collection; Saxman runs $40-50 by tour or taxi.

👀See & do: Butchart Gardens is the anchor: 55 acres of themed gardens 30 minutes from the terminal, admission around CA$40 for adults, with shuttle packages from the dock around CA$45-60 including transport and entry.