Cruise, Float and Feast: Best Wildlife Encounters in Alaska and the Rockies

How do you imagine viewing wildlife in Canada and Alaska? From spotting moose in the Canadian wilderness to watching humpback whales breach beside your cruise ship in Alaska and sighting grizzly bears from a catamaran in British Columbia, these wildlife encounters will leave you breathless. Whether you're cruising fjords, riding scenic railways, or venturing into remote national parks, we've rounded up 10 of the most exciting and unique ways to experience the incredible animals that call Canada and Alaska home. 

Meet Jo the Moose in Alaska

Set on the shores of Turnagain Arm, surrounded by mountains and glaciers, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is the ideal setting to learn about the region’s celebrated wildlife. The centre rehabilitates injured, orphaned or abandoned wildlife before releasing them back to the wild. Animals that are considered at risk in the wild find a permanent home at the centre.  

On Travelmarvel’s popular  Alaskan Adventure you’ll visit the conservation centre and meet the inhabitants, including Hugo the resident grizzly bear, who’s found a permanent home at the centre. You’ll also have the opportunity to handfeed Jo the moose and capture a photo of the unique experience.

Board the most luxurious school bus to Denali National Park 

On Travelmarvel’s cruise and land Alaskan Adventure tour, step aboard what could be the most luxurious school bus in the world for a tour of Alaska’s Denali National Park. The park is home to North America’s tallest peak, Mount McKinley, and iconic wildlife including the local Big Five: grizzly bears, moose, wolves, caribou and Dall sheep. Accompanied by a driver/guide on a modified school bus with comfortable coach seats, you'll be taken on a tour of the national park, admiring the incredible scenery, enjoying a live narrated history of the park while searching for famous wildlife.  

Breakfast with the bears on Grouse Mountain 

Ride a cable car to the top of Grouse Mountain for a memorable wildlife experience. Enjoy early access to the wilderness sanctuary to observe the resident grizzly bears as they explore their purpose-built habitat. Meanwhile, a wildlife expert shares their knowledge about bear conservation and the distinction between brown bears and grizzly bears. Afterwards, head to The Grizzly Lookout for a delicious sit-down buffet breakfast. Breakfast with the bears is included as an Insider Experience on Travelmarvel’s Reflections of the Rockies tour.  

Scenic wildlife float on the Bow River 

In the Canadian Rockies, embark on float trip on the Bow River in a customised, inflatable raft. This isn’t a typical whitewater rafting adventure; with elevated wood floorboards to keep your shoes dry, and no rapids or big waves, you can sit back and enjoy picturesque pine-forest scenery and admire vistas of Bow Falls, Rundle and Cascade mountains, including sculptural hoodoos (tall, thin spires of rock formed by erosion).  

Throughout your experience, keep watch for wildlife such as buffalo, falcons, hawks and eagles. On all Travelmarvel journeys that visit Banff, including Rockies Marvel, Highlights of the Rockies, Passage Through the Rockies, Rockies Discovery, Enchanting Rockies, Reflections of the Rockies, the Bow River float trip is available as an optional activity.  

Twilight wildlife discovery in Jasper National Park 

As daylight fades into evening, board a minibus to commence your discovery of Jasper National Park, accompanied by a wildlife guide who shares their expertise of the local flora and fauna. Explore Athabasca Valley, marvel at the impressive scenery and search for giants including grizzly bears, mountain goats, elk and moose in glimmering twilight. Experience an evening discovering the wildlife of Jasper National Park on a select experience on Travelmarvel’s Highlights of the Rockies and Reflections of the Rockies tours.  

Cruise into Grizzly Bear Valley on a catamaran adventure 

On each Travelmarvel itinerary, hand-picked Insider Experiences are included, which provide a unique insight into the places you visit. When you join a Reflection of the Rockies, Enchanting Rockies or Passage Through the Rockies tour, you’ll enjoy an Insider Experience, exploring up to 12 kilometres of the Blue River amid spruce and cedar forests in what’s been called "the planet’s only inland temperate forest." Here, on the southern edge of the Canadian Rockies, you’ll glide along the glacier-fed rivers and lakes of the river to Grizzly Bear Valley in a specially designed 12-metre-long, native-style catamaran, admiring glaciers, waterfalls and snow-capped mountains while keeping watch for moose and brown bears.  

Step back in time on an Alaskan sternwheeler cruise 

Plying the Chena River in Fairbanks is a fleet of historical sternwheeler boats that belong to the Binkley family. A journey aboard these riverboats is more than just an adventure into the Alaskan wilderness; it’s a journey to a bygone era when Alaska was swept up in gold-rush fever.  

On Travelmarvel’s Alaskan Adventure, Rockies and Alaskan Adventure, and Ultimate Canada and Alaska tours, embark on a three-and-a-half-hour fully narrated cruise and experience the history and beauty of the region, safe in the hands of expert third and fourth-generation captains. As the large wheel at the stern of the boat churns up the water, keep a look out for the abundant Alaskan wildlife along the riverbank.  

Glacier Bay National Park: Where wildlife and World-Heritage wonders await 

Aboard Holland America’s MS Zaandam, awake in Alaska’s Glacier Bay to the songs of tidewater glaciers as they squeak, creak and groan, and sea ice pops and fizzes. Holland America is granted prime berthing positions by National Park Services, assuring a front-row seat to the wonders of Glacier Bay.  

Spend the day exploring the national park and preserve, marvelling at the enormous glaciers while keeping watch for wildlife, including majestic eagles and whales, and even brown bears surveying the coastline. On all Travelmarvel Land Tours to Canada and Alaska that include an Alaska Inside Passage cruise, you can experience the magic of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.  

Whale watching in Victoria: Cruise with the giants of the sea  

During spring and autumn in British Columbia, the waters surrounding Victoria are teeming with marine wildlife. On Travelmarvel’s Reflections of the Rockies, Passage Through the Rockies, Enchanting Rockies and Calgary Stampede Rockies, an optional excursion offers you the choice of how you’d like to experience your marine wildlife encounter; by Zodiac or on a motor yacht cruise. However you choose, delight in the opportunity to search for orca, humpback, minke and gray whales, plus porpoises and seals.  

Meet Alberta’s wolfdogs at Yamnuska’s wildlife sanctuary  

Nestled between Calgary and the eastern edge of Banff National Park is Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. The word Yamnuska originates from the Stoney Nakoda First Nation language and roughly translates to ‘flat-faced mountain’ or ‘wall of stone’, which describes the striking, sheer rock face of Mount Yamnuska, where the sanctuary is located.  

Here, you’ll have the rare opportunity to encounter the remarkable wolfdogs, a mix of domestic canine and pure wolf bred as pets. At the sanctuary, the abandoned wolfdogs are cared for by passionate team of animal lovers whose goal is to educate the public about responsible wolfdog ownership and the importance of wolves in the wild. This unique experience is included on Travelmarvel tours that visit western Canada, including Calgary Stampede Rockies, Rockies Marvel, Passage Through the Rockies, and Rockies Discovery