Alaska Water Taxis

Your adventure should never stop when the road ends, especially in Alaska where so much of the state is ONLY accessibly by boat or plane.

How could you use a water taxi? Here's a few examples:

From Seward

Caine's Head: You could hike this trail the entire way on foot if you pay attention to the tides, but you can also get to Caine's Head by water taxi. During WWII, Caine's Head was the site of Fort McGilvray. It's now abandoned and you can explore the bunkers that once protected this waterway (tip, bring a flashlight!). Head out for a day hike, or rent one of the 2 state park cabins, Derby Cove and Callisto Canyon, and stay overnight. Contact Seward Ocean Excursions for a water taxi ride.

From Homer

  • Kachemak Bay State Park: 25 miles of trails wait to be explored just across the bay from Homer, Alaska. Hop on a water taxi and get dropped off at a trailhead. See all of the popular Kachemak Bay State Park trails here.
  • Seldovia: A small community across the bay from homer with boardwalks, a drowsy harbor, and streets that see more foot traffic than vehicles. Pack a picnic and spend the afternoon beach combing, hiking, or fishing.
  • Halibut Cove: A tiny island community of artists, craftspeople, and anglers. The trip over allows you to spot wildlife, and get close to a bustling bird sanctuary.

Skagway & Haines

The Haines Skagway Fast Ferry offers a 45-minute quick trip between the two towns. If you're taking an Alaska Inside Passage Cruise that only docks in Seward, you can also spend some time in Haines. Or, if you're driving into one town, the fast ferry allows you to enjoy the other. Without the ferry, that would be a 7+ hour drive up into Canada and back down into Alaska!

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Seward & Kenai Fjords View All

Access public use cabins, hiking trails, kayak drop-offs and more
Season: Year Round $179+ 3.5 - 8 hrs

Hop on board the all-sea­son Miss­ing Lynx and Lost Lynx, the ves­sels bound for what­ev­er Seward Ocean Excur­sion suits your fan­cy. Want to whale watch, see glac­i­ers, go bird watch­ing or just check out hid­den coves? Cap­tains Bixler and Krystin McClure will help your small group plan an out­ing catered to your pref­er­ences. No mat­ter the sea­son, you can always catch some excite­ment in Res­ur­rec­tion Bay!

Season: Mid-May through mid-Sept $289 6.5-7 hrs

Inti­mate cata­ma­ran cruis­es into Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park from Seward for just 22 pas­sen­gers, or up to 30 on pri­vate char­ters. Cruise through Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, keep­ing an eye out for hump­back whales, orca whales (killer whales), puffins, Steller sea lions, Dall’s por­poise, har­bor seals, and a large vari­ety of bird species. Then make your way into the nation­al park, and stop at the face of a tide­wa­ter glac­i­er. You’ll enjoy a deli­cious lunch  ...more

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Homer View All

Visit Kachemak Bay State Park, Seldovia, Halibut Cove & more

Season: Mid April to September $195+ 3/4 to Full Day Excursions

Homer is the hal­ibut cap­i­tal of Alas­ka, and this long­time char­ter com­pa­ny offers a blue-chip way to get to the fish. They have high-qual­i­ty boats, expe­ri­enced cap­tains, and enthu­si­as­tic crews — as well as an inside line on find­ing hal­ibut, rock fish and sil­ver salmon. But they also offer a vari­ety of oth­er ways to enjoy the waters off Kachemak Bay, from wildlife cruis­ing to pad­dling a kayak or hik­ing in Kachemak Bay State Park. 

Season: May - September $100+ 2 hrs - Full Day

Whether you’d like to go on a per­son­al­ized boat tour of the Homer area or take a water taxi to the Alaskan back­coun­try, Homer is an ide­al place to launch from, and Cold­wa­ter has the boats and exper­tise to get you there. Explore places like Kachemak Bay State Park, the small town of Sel­dovia, and pic­turesque Hal­ibut Cove.

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Skagway View All

Transportation between Haines & Skagway via the Fast Ferry

Season: May 1 - Sept 26 $82 Round Trip 45 mins one-way

Oper­at­ing from May to Sep­tem­ber, this pri­vate fer­ry ser­vice is the eas­i­est and fastest way to trav­el between Haines and Skag­way. The 45-minute ride pass­es through Taiya Inlet, a steep-walled rocky fjord just out­side of Skag­way, and then opens up to the Lynn Canal near Haines. As you ride, look for seals and sea lions, as well as hump­back, minke, and orca whales. Don’t for­get to look up from the water from time to time to check out the  ...more

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Russian River

Takes you across the Kenai River to the mouth of the famed Russian River for some of the best fishing in Alaska

If you like to fish, you’ve come to the right place. This is the Kenai/​Russian Riv­er Access and Sports­man­’s Access Site (ADF&G) and the Kenai-Russ­ian Riv­er Fer­ry. The fer­ry takes you across the Kenai Riv­er to the mouth of the famed Russ­ian Riv­er for some of the best fish­ing in Alaska.

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