After my first trip to Alaska a few years back, I vowed to return to take in a little bit more of its natural beauty. This time I did the Inside Passage, covering from Skagway, south to Ketchikan via the Alaska Marine Highway System. In short, ferry hopping.

Traveling the ferries from one island to the next is an experience in itself. It has all the conveniences for eating and sleeping. Many have a dining room in addition to a snack bar; the cabins are efficient for a comfortable night's sleep; and the viewing and observation rooms, both inside and out, are exceptional. Views of the unspoiled coastline can be had from all sides. The ferry system is amazingly organized, their online reservation site is phenominal, and the ferry travel is extremely relaxing. Sit back and enjoy the views and the wildlife.

As relaxing as the ride is, the planning stage of setting up an itinerary - if needed - is not as easy as one might expect. Since Alaska's ferry fleet is quite small and the distance it covers is so large, the ferries cannot possibly be at every island every day. Spending a couple of days or more at any given port is not uncommon...which to see the destinations well, one would want to do anyway.

Each city my travel partner and I visited had its own charm and highlights. Skagway, at the north end, was built around the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 to 1899. The most southern we visited, Ketchikan, is called The Salmon Capital of the World. In between are such towns as Petersburg, called Little Norway; Juneau, the state capital and Sitka with its Russian Orthodox history.

This page lists the locations and other highlights of our trip. There is one page of photos for each. At the bottom of each page will be a link to the next page and location. There will also be a link back to this Inside Passage home page for those who want to skip some of the locations. To view the trip in chronological order, start with Views from the ferries.

When you've seen enough, just exit out with the top-right red x.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting. I always welcome feedback.