Arrive in Juneau and meet your crew with a hearty welcome. The adventure begins, sailing west toward Icy Strait.

Glacier Bay has a wow-worthy list of titles—National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve. At 3.3 million acres, add Endless Adventure Playground to the list. Head for the Glacier Bay outback. These are places most visitors never see. Dundas and Taylor Bays are in the southernmost reaches of the park. It’s less windswept tucked into a bay, but no less wild. Kayak around sea stacks. Or comb for critters if the tide is right. In far reaches, share the beach with sharp-eyed eagles and bears. Skiff deep in Dundas and make for the hills. A bushwhack into the forest gets your heart pumping. Paddle through kelp in Taylor Bay. Backstroking sea otters hardly bat an eye at your boat. Your bartender has an Old Fashioned ready. Perfect timing too - it’s happy hour and time to swap stories of this big day with your shipmates.

Early morning pick-up. A National Park ranger comes aboard to share expert insight, plus off-the-map places in bay that most visitors pass by. Have your binoculars handy—South Marble Island is a birder’s slice of heaven. Puffins scoot through the water. Guillemots and gulls chatter up the airwaves. The snoozing sea lions don’t seem to mind. Cruise to the far end of Tarr Inlet where Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers calve into the water. Backed by knife-edged peaks, pull into narrow Tidal Inlet. Bears and mountain goats like to forage along this shoreline. Back at Bartlett Cove, if time and daylight allow, take a forest hike around the park’s HQ, and say farewell to your ranger.

Chatham Strait stretches for 150 miles in the Tongass National Forest. Options aplenty, your captain navigates to the best. Anchor in a remote Chichagof Island inlet. Backpacks loaded and adventure toys lowered (skiffs, paddle boards, kayaks), it’s time to go play. Energy flows as you hike up through moss-covered trees. Stick to the water and don’t forget to look above and below the surface. A nosy seal could be watching your every stroke. Beachcomb rocky shores. Tiny creatures cling to rocks. Tonight, take a nightcap to the sun deck and watch the sky.

Salmon streams dot the coastline—where there’s salmon, there are bears. Kuiu Island is home to one of the world’s densest populations of black bears. Scope the intertidal zones of Saginaw Bay for them from a kayak or skiff. Eagles fish here too, their white noggins giving away their perches. Kayak along the Keku Islands or take the pace down a notch, checking out tide pools and abundant life in the intertidal zones. It’s remote, and remarkable.

Humpbacks beeline it here each season to feast in the krill-rich waters. After your breakfast, look for whales eating theirs. Chances are high they will be—time to hang and enjoy the show. Based on wind and weather, your expedition team has the lineup of adventures all mapped out. Cruise past Five Fingers Lighthouse, Alaska’s oldest light station and The Brothers Islands, where sea lions nap on rocky nobs. Paddle into the deeps of Port Houghton or Windham Bay or head ashore for a hike. When a bear takes notice, they generally scram. But carrot-billed black oystercatchers give you a talking-to. Tonight, toast another big day in Alaska.

Snow covered mountains, glacier-carved valleys, white thunder of calving ice - it’s an impressive Wilderness Area. Skiffing up Endicott Arm, harbor seal pups laze around on icebergs. If the tides are right, slip into Fords Terror. The fjord’s steep walls are streaked with waterfalls. Choked with ice, at the end of the arm, meet Dawes Glacier. Blue ice marches down from the Coast Mountains. With a sharp crack, a calving slice makes a mega-splash. Tonight, celebrate with a festive Farewell Dinner and “photo journal” from your expedition team.

Enjoy fresh-baked pastries during one last breakfast. Your crew and new friends wish heartfelt goodbyes. This morning, transfer to the Juneau airport or begin your hotel stay or land tour.