Many of us love spotting and listening to birds (hope you have tried some of the fun birdsong ID apps) but if you are a serious birder, there’s no better place to test out your birding skills than in Alaska. According to the University of Alaska Museum’s January 2024 bird list, there are 545 species resident or migrating to our state!

This month we dive into the best places to travel to for optimal bird watching, birding festivals in Alaska and some of the most popular types of birds you can discover in your travels across the state.

One of the best ways to see multiple species of birds in one fell swoop is on a day cruise. Our Kenai Fjords Glacier Cruise out of Seward is a terrific day tour combining wildlife viewing for Stellar sea lions, harbor seals and whales with bird watching for puffins, eagles and more in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. You’ll also enjoy watching a glacier calve into the waters below (either Holgate Glacier or Aialik Glacier).

We also know that so many of our guests including those arriving in Anchorage by plane, via self-drives and many cruise passengers include the charming town of Seward in their itineraries. Why is this? Because Seward is the Kenai Peninsula hotspot for seacoast adventures from wildlife and marine life viewing to fishing and glacier cruises. In our complete Visitor Guide to Seward, we’ll tip you off to the top 10 best things to do if you’ve planned a stop in this South Central Alaska destination.

Our 6-hour Seward-based May-September day trip “Experience Seward & Real Alaska” is action-packed fun. You’ll travel to Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey’s sled dog kennel, where you can meet famous Iditarod sled dogs before launching off on a 2 mile dog driven cart while viewing spectacular Alaskan wilderness. After lunch, you’ll then continue to Exit Glacier for a walk right up to the face of the glacier followed by a tour of the charming town of Seward and its many highlights.

Summer is here. Let’s go out and have some Alaskan fun