We got up early, packed up our things, and said goodbye to our Airbnb. The Anchorage Depot train station of the Alaska Railroad was about a 15 minute walk from the house, and though we arrived early, we found the train depot packed with other passengers. The check-in process was quick and only consisted of waiting in a quick-moving line to retrieve our pre-paid tickets. We were told that these trains sellout before the travel date (especially the Gold Star car), so be sure to purchase yours as soon as you plan your travels.
For this leg of our trip, we decided to splurge a little and purchase Gold Star tickets. This ticket class puts you in the glass dome car with an included meal (breakfast for us, but it could be lunch or dinner depending on time of travel) and two drinks.
The train ride was about 5 hours, with a stop in Girdwood and another at Spencer Glacier. It’s worth noting that the Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop is a remote wilderness area that is only accessible on some of the Coastal Classic lines of the Alaska Railroad. This stop was developed with the Chugach National Forest Service to provide travelers with access to the massive Spencer Glacier, a relatively easy 1.3 mile hike. The stop also has shelters, restrooms, and a few campsite options if you want to stay overnight. You can do all of this on your own or through a guided tour service.
Since we arrived to Alaska, it’s been pretty overcast, but today the skies were clear and the sun was finally out! It turned out to be a perfect day for sightseeing along the rail-trail. Another perk of the Gold Star ticket was access to a private outdoor area at the back of our car, where we could stand and take pictures with unobstructed views…and they were absolutely breathtaking, seemingly from a postcard.
They served us breakfast in the dining room level of our car (the first of two floors), where we shared a table with another couple traveling around Alaska. We came to learn they had similar itinerary as us, so we exchanged plans and talked about all the different wildlife we’ve all seen so far (they have also been on the search for a moose, but to no avail). Joey and one of our new friends did see a moose in an open field near the appropriately named Moose Pass, but we weren’t able to snap a picture.
When we arrived in Seward, it was just before noon and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately, the forecast predicted heavy rains the following day, so we were a little worried about our upcoming adventures. A couple months back, we booked a pretty extensive glacier/wildlife boat tour for the following morning, which is always risky. We wanted to lock in our ticket well in advance (because they do sell out), but there is always a risk of poor weather (even to the point of cancellation) for these weather-dependent adventures. We decided as soon as we arrived in Seward and got cell service, we would reach out to Seward Ocean Excursions and inquire about switching our boat tour to today. Luckily, they had room for us on their 2pm trip!
We had some time before our trip so we stopped by The Smoke Shack for a cuban sandwich. We got there just as they were closing, but they were nice enough to make us one last sandwich! We were happy that they stayed open for us because their sandwich was incredible.
Just as we were finishing our sandwich, it was time to check-in for our boat tour. We walked over to the south end of the Seward Boat Docks where we met our captain for the day. The marina is massive, and there are many different companies that do glacier/wildlife tours out of Seward. From our research, the main differences are related to boat/group size and length of tour, so pick the one that’s right for you (Major Marine is a well-known company, and is especially popular for the visitors who arrive via train at 11am and depart on the same day at 6pm). We opted for Seward Ocean Excursions, which offers a smaller boat/group size and longer tour options, just so we could have a more personalized experience (there was a total of 6 people in our group, including us).
As we made our way out of the marina, we almost immediately saw a bald eagle perched upon one of the inlet channel markers. We have never seen a bald eagle so close up in the wild…it was breathtaking and a great start to our wildlife adventure!
Our captain knew the ins and outs of Resurrection Bay and had a keen eye for wildlife. She quickly spotted a whale surfacing for air from a distance and slowly led our boat in the general direction. We appreciated her giving the whale space, and her ability to predict when and where it would surface.
After admiring this beautiful gentle giant, our captain continued on and brought us to some of her favorite spots for wildlife. The next stop was to a puffin nesting area! The last time we saw puffins was in Iceland, so we were really excited to see them again, though these were different subspecies (tufted puffins and horned puffins can be found in Alaska, while Iceland is home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony).
Our captain then idled over to a nearby cove where we spotted some seals relaxing and soaking in all the sun on some large rock outcroppings.
Next up on our wildlife sighting adventure, was a Stellar sea lion colony who were also baking in the sun on an island of rocks, coexisting amongst the arctic birds!
One of our favorite animals we saw during this adventure were the otters. Some were actively fishing for their dinner, while others were floating on their backs enjoying their fresh catch of the day, which today consisted of clams and sea urchins.
During the boat ride, we saw glaciers that can only be seen by boat (Bear Glacier and Aialik Glacier were some), and was just so picturesque! Our captain was so knowledgeable about the wildlife and landscape of Seward and we were really glad we chose this tour group (Seward Ocean Excursions).
By the time we got back to dry land, it was time to check into our hotel. Seward offers a free shuttle bus around the town, (bright red buses that read “FREE SHUTTLE” on the side), so we caught the free shuttle right by the marina, and it dropped us off at a stop right across the street from where we were staying for the night. There are a few nice hotels by the marina, but we chose a place that was more downtown so we could be within walking distance to the town strip (tough we didn’t have a car, downtown Seward is walkable and the shuttle makes marina/train access pretty easy).
After a quick refresher at our hotel, we headed towards the main street where we stopped at the Lone Chicharron Taqueria for dinner. We shared a hake fish burrito which was delicious!
We had to stop by the nearby Sweet Darlings to end our night with a sweet treat. It was the perfect way to end an amazing day.
We were feeling pretty full so we decided to walk back to our hotel rather than ride the shuttle, and call it a night. We had a full day of adventure and we were pretty wiped out, especially after the long train ride and being out on the boat. Tomorrow we’ll spend the majority of the day exploring more of Seward before we hop back on the train around 6pm and head back to Anchorage…so stay posted!