Valdez Glacier Cruise

For most people it is the Valdez: 7.5-hour Meares Glacier & Wildlife Cruise, run by Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises. It starts from ~$201 per person, leaves from 112 N Harbor Drive and returns to the same dock at 5:00 PM, and it is the only trip here that holds station in front of an advancing tidewater glacier. It holds 4.8/5 from 78 reviews, with guide and transportation subscores both at 4.9, includes a bagel snack, a late lunch and a dinner roll, and allows free cancellation up to three days before departure.

Anywhere from about ~$109 to ~$810 per person on this page. The three-hour Duck Flats kayak tour starts at ~$109, the six-hour Gold Creek kayak trip at ~$149, the six-hour Columbia Glacier cruise at ~$181, the 7.5-hour Meares Glacier cruise at ~$201, the nine-hour Columbia Glacier kayak day at ~$409, and the helicopter flight with a glacier landing at ~$810. All prices are per person and they move with the season and your departure date.

How close you get, and how long it takes. Columbia has retreated a long way up its fjord and left a bay full of the ice it shed, so the six-hour cruise works into that berg field rather than up to the glacier face — reviewers say plainly that they did not get close to the glacier. Meares, in Unakwik Inlet, is described as advancing, and the 7.5-hour cruise spends time in front of the face watching for calving. Both leave from the same dock with the same operator; Meares costs about ~$20 more and takes ninety minutes longer.

Six hours to Columbia Bay, seven and a half hours to Meares Glacier. The Meares cruise returns to the dock at 5:00 PM. On the Columbia sailing you are asked to check in at the office a full hour before departure, with boarding beginning thirty minutes out, so budget for that on top. If you would rather not give up a whole day, the Duck Flats kayak tour runs three hours and the helicopter flight ninety minutes plus shuttle time.

On the Meares cruise it is the explicit point of the trip — the listing describes relaxing in front of the glacier and witnessing calving activity, and reviewers confirm being given plenty of time there. It is still nature, so nobody guarantees it. On the Columbia cruise you are usually too far off the face for calving to be the show; what you get instead is Columbia Bay itself, which is full of ice that has already calved. From the helicopter you fly over the crevasse field and the operator lists the possibility of calving events from the air.

Both Stan Stephens cruises list the same cast: harbour seals, sea otters, Steller sea lions, porpoises, orcas, humpback whales, puffins and bald eagles. Nothing is guaranteed on either listing, and reviews range from boats that watched a humpback surface repeatedly to boats that saw fog. The Meares route passes the Bullhead sea lion haulout on the way home, which is the most reliable sighting of the day because the animals live there. Bring binoculars — most spotting happens at a distance.

On both cruises, yes. The Meares trip includes a morning bagel snack, a late lunch served as the boat leaves the glacier, and a dinner roll, plus complimentary coffee, tea, lemonade and water. The Columbia trip includes a light lunch of soup, a bagel with cream cheese and cookies, with the same complimentary drinks. Both have a snack bar and gift shop on board for anything else. The kayak tours are different: Duck Flats lists lunch as included, while the Columbia and Gold Creek days list only hot drinks and trail-mix snacks despite describing a lunch break — pack your own.

Both Stan Stephens cruises check in at 112 N Harbor Drive in Valdez. Park along North Harbor Drive and walk in front of the Best Western Hotel to the office — a small building on pilings above the Tour Dock. Access to the dock is by ramp, which the operator warns can be steep at some tides, with boarding assistance available. The kayak tours meet at the small boat harbour instead, and the helicopter tour includes a round-trip shuttle from any location in Valdez.

Warm layers, whatever the month. The boats are enclosed and heated, but everything worth seeing happens on the open deck, and the air in front of a tidewater glacier is far colder than the air an hour away. The operator's own list asks for warm clothing, a jacket, rain gear, long pants, closed-toe shoes, sunglasses and sunscreen, plus binoculars and a camera. Gloves are not on the list and you will want them. On the kayak tours, rain gear, rubber boots and paddle gloves are provided, and Pangaea asks you to avoid cotton and bring an extra layer.

Yes. Stan Stephens states plainly that departures take place in any weather and that the boats are enclosed and heated, and the Meares listing repeats that the tour runs rain or shine. Reviews from grey and foggy days are still overwhelmingly positive, though some note that heavy fog can cut both the glacier and the wildlife short. Free cancellation is available up to three days before on the cruises and twenty-four hours before on the kayak and helicopter tours, neither of which helps with a forecast that turns overnight.

The cruises are the flexible option here — the Meares sailing is listed as wheelchair accessible, with boarding assistance offered on the dock ramp. The kayak tours are stricter: the Columbia Glacier day excludes anyone with mobility impairments or prone to seasickness, Gold Creek adds pregnant travellers and anyone with back problems, and Duck Flats will not take children under six. The helicopter requires a minimum of two passengers to fly, and under FAA rules infants under 24 months may travel on a lap while children of two and over need their own paid seat.

It depends on what you want from the ice. At ~$409 it costs more than both cruises combined, runs nine hours, and carries only 22 reviews — but it is the highest-rated activity in Valdez at 4.9/5, it caps the group at eight, and it is the only way here to be at water level among freshly calved bergs rather than watching from a deck. Rain gear, boots, paddle gloves, dry bags and all kayaking equipment are provided, along with hotel pickup. Note that lunch is not in the inclusions list and that payment is due in full 30 days before departure.

Two of the six. The Duck Flats Sea Kayak Tour at ~$109 stays in sheltered water just beyond the Valdez small boat harbour, following a chain of islands known for nesting birds and hauled-out seals. The Gold Creek Coastal Journey at ~$149 paddles down Port Valdez to Gold Creek State Park for a beach picnic and a rainforest hike to waterfalls. Both are good trips and both are honest about what they are — they simply are not glacier trips, which matters if you have one day in Valdez.

The two Stan Stephens cruises allow free cancellation up to three days in advance for a full refund, which is more generous than the twenty-four hours offered on the kayak and helicopter tours. The Pangaea kayak trips add their own conditions: payment is due in full 30 days before departure, cancellations inside 72 hours of 8am on the day of departure forfeit the deposit, and no-shows are charged the full price. Terms are set by each provider and can differ by tour and by date, so always confirm the specific policy shown at checkout. All bookings, payments, changes, refunds and customer support are handled directly by the tour operator or booking platform, not by this site.