Passage to Alaska

Cruise the Inside Passage to best sample the fjorded coastline of the Alaska panhandle. From Glacier Bay in the north, the Passage stretches over 800km through a warren of islands before slipping into Canada&rsquos British Columbia. You could be on a sea-kayak, an Alaska state ferry or a Norwegian cruise ship it&rsquos the same show. As you glide past glacial tongues lapping the water, the frigid silence will be occasionally broken by the cracking report of a glacier calving. And an uncanny blue iceberg or two will bob around before coming to rest. You will probably spot humpback whales these playful giants often sidle up to moving vessels, heads down tails up in the air in an elaborate synchronised swimming act. When you anchor at a remote fishing outpost like Wrangell or Ketchikan, the man behind the bar will be eager to talk. Maybe you&rsquoll get him to tell you a story or two. See www.akferry.org and www.bcferries.com.