Scheduled air taxi and air charter services provide quick and easy access to small communities and remote destinations, using propeller-driven bush planes that land on wheels, floats, or skis. Helicopters are increasingly popular for flightseeing. By Sea Many visitors like to combine their Alaska vacation with the pleasures of a sea voyage aboard state operated ferries or luxury cruiseships. From May to September, cruiseships depart Anchorage, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Seward, Homer, Nome, and Seattle, plus Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to sail the Inside Passage though Southeast Alaska. Smaller cruise and land tour.
Itineraries vary with each ship.
Misty Fjords National Monument, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Malaspina Glacier, Valdez, Columbia Glacier, Whittier, Seward, Homer and Anchorage are among the most frequently visited ports. Scheduled flights and air charters can take you anywhere in Alaska. Unless otherwise indicated, times are for nonstop flights on jet aircraft. The Alaska Marine Highway System provides practical, dependable year-round ferry service on most routes. The ferries carry vehicles as well as passengers, and feature food service, sightseeing lounges, and staterooms.