Cruise ship passengers find plenty to do in each port along the Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska.
Here's a quick look at the important ports of call.
JUNEAU
Museums: Alaska State Museum, Juneau Douglas City Museum, House of Wickersham, Last Chance Mining Museum
Other spots of interest: Alaska Capitol, Governor's Mansion, Evergreen Cemetery, various memorials.
Activities: Flightseeing, whale watching, helicopter tours to Juneau Icefield, Mendenhall Glacier, horseback riding, salmon fishing, boat day trips to Glacier Bay National Park (Gustavus) and Admiralty Island National Monument, sea kayaking, bear viewing at Pack Creek
HAINES
Museums: Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, Fort William Henry Seward
Other spots of interest: Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Southeast Alaska State Fair (August), Chilkat Indian Dances
Activities: Flightseeing, freshwater and saltwater fishing, access to Alaska Highway.
KETCHIKAN
Museums: Tongass Historical Museum, Totem Heritage Center
Other spots of interest: Totem Bight State Historical Park, Saxman Village, Duncan Cottage Museum on Metlakatla Island, Creek Street historical district, salmon hatchery, Misty Fjords National Monument in the Tongass National Forest
Activities: Fishing, kayaking, flightseeing
PETERSBURG
Museums: Clausen Memorial Museum
Other spots of interest: Historic district along Hammer Slough, Viking boat, Eagle's Roost Park, LeConte Glacier
Activities: Little Norway Festival (mid-May), hiking, fishing, sea kayaking
SITKA
Museums: Sitka National Historical Park, Isabel Miller Museum, Sheldon Jackson Museum
Other spots of interest: St. Michael's Cathedral, Silver Bay, Alaska Raptor Center
Activities: Sea kayaking, fishing, summer music festival, whale tours and WhaleFest (November)
SKAGWAY
Museums: Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Old City Hall Museum, Trail of '98 City Museum
Other spots of interest: Chilkoot Trail, Gold Rush Cemetery
Activities: White Pass and Yukon Route railroad, hiking, fishing, flightseeing, access to Alaska Highway
More: Full Skagway coverage
WRANGELL
Museums: Wrangell Museum
Other spots of interest: Kiksadi Totem Park, Chief Shakes Island, Anan Bear Observatory
Activities: Garnet Festival (April), wildlife watching on Stikine River flats
GULF OF ALASKA PORTS
SEWARD
Museums: Alaska Sealife Center, Resurrection Bay Historical Society
Other spots of interest: Wildlife tours of Resurrection Bay and nearby parts of the Gulf of Alaska, Kenai Fjords National Park and Exit Glacier, Alaska Railroad southern terminal
Activities: Fourth of July celebration with Mount Marathon race, salmon and halibut fishing derbies
WHITTIER
Spots of interest: Wildlife and glacier boat tours of Prince William Sound; the United States' longest highway tunnel, 2.5 miles; Portage Glacier visitor center on the other side of the tunnel; apartment tower where almost all of Whittier's residents live.
Activities: Fishing, sea kayaking.
VALDEZ
Museums: Valdez Museum and Historical Archive
Other spots of interest: Salmon spawning in Crooked Creek, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. terminal, trans-Alaska pipeline, Keystone Canyon, Worthington Glacier
Activities: Extreme skiing, fishing, kayaking in Prince William Sound, visit Cordova
HOMER
Museums: Pratt Museum
Other spots of interest: Homer Spit
Activities: Fishing, beachcombing, wildlife tours in Kachemak Bay, hiking in Kachemak State Park
ANCHORAGE
Anchorage, on Cook Inlet, is the state's largest city but is rarely visited by cruise liners.
Museums: Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska State Trooper Museum, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, The Imaginarium, Oscar Anderson House Museum.
Nearby or on the way to Denali National Park: Eklutna Historical Park (Eklutna), Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry (Wasilla), Palmer Museum (Palmer), Talkeetna Historical Society (Talkeetna)
Other spots of interest: Alaska Public Lands Information Center, Earthquake Park, Glen Alps and Flattop Mountain, Port of Anchorage
Activities: Fishing, hiking, cycling, flightseeing, wildlife viewing. South of town are Girdwood (Alyeska Resort), Whittier and Portage Glacier. North of town are the Eagle River Nature Center and Thunderbird Falls. Fur Rendezvous (February), Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (March), baseball (through July), Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament (November)
KODIAK
Museums: Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository, Baranov Museum, Carrie McLain Memorial Museum
Other spots of interest: Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Activities: Fishing, kayaking, bear watching, crab festival (late May)
