Bears, Trains & Icebergs Tour
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Anchorage, USA
- 7 to 9 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Busy travelers with only one day to spare can see the best of the Alaskan wilderness on a tour that combines a scenic train ride, river float, glacial lake paddle, and a visit to a wildlife conservation center. From taking photos with icebergs to seeing bears at the wildlife center, the mix of activities fulfills visitors’ Alaskan adventure dreams.
- Enjoy a day exploring the Alaskan wilderness by boat and train
- Traveling by train allows you to focus on the sights rather than on navigating Alaska’s roads
- Visiting the wildlife center ensures the chance to see Alaska’s famous bears
- The option to depart from either Anchorage or Girdwood makes it easy to fit the tour into your itinerary
What's Included
- LunchSack lunch included. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or requests ahead of time.
- Snacks
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Restroom on board
- AK Railroad Tickets (Roundtrip)
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Spencer Glacier
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Michelle_C
We had an amazing time on this tour. The weather was perfect! Alex was our guide and he did an outstanding job. Very knowledgeable and we learned so much from him. Would highly recommend this tour.
Reviews
4.8
based on 133 reviews
Joni_T, Jul 2025
It was beautiful. The guide was great. The instructions to initiate the tour could have been better. We had to call to get information on how things started at the train station. We would have liked snacks and water provided.
Jeanne_J, Sep 2024
Alesha did an awesome job as our guide, particularly on the river float trip. Very knowledgeable and personable. She's a keeper! I could definitely have done without the wildlife conservation center visit. Seemed like a low quality zoo. The logistics management-- bus, train, whistle stops, rafts, gear, lunch, and everything else was exceptionally well managed, and I appreciate that.
Maureen_B, Jun 2024
The trip was a little bit of a letdown, if I had known I would have booked a Fjord trip instead. The train was nice, a comfy ride with Lori and Johanna who were very lovely and had plenty of things to share on the trip. Neena was cool, the wildlife had to be hot and tired, no moose sighted, but did see a passed out black bear and two brown bears. The icebergs you see as you float by on the raft. Colette was amazing and had to work hard keeping us from hitting anything, but besides a relaxing trip down a body of water for 2 hours, nothing special. We did not go on the glacier or see any wildlife along the raft trip. The trip was lovely and the people were amazing.
Gayle_M, Jun 2024
A great day. The moment the glacier appeared was magical, along with our visit to the Conservation Centre. The crew worked so well to ensure we had a great day. Floating down the river was a beautiful way to end the tour.
Kerri_C, Sep 2023
Getting out on the water and close to the water! The guides were very knowledgeable and fun to talk with 😃
KellyAmavisca, Sep 2023
Great experience, would definitely recommend. The train ride is fun and a great way to see a lot of if you have limited time. We saw bald eagles and beluga whales from the train. Someone said they saw a bear but we missed that. The Wildlife Conservation Center is awesome if you want to get up close to animals that you would never approach in the wild or may not ever have a chance to encounter in the wild. The guide was very nice and knowledgeable. The iceberg float is as amazing as it sounds! There’s no way to describe the grandeur.
Giving this tour 4/5 for a few things I wish I had known ahead of time and some things that just weren’t as smooth as possible: 1)We were both wearing hiking boots, but chose the rubber boots provided because we were afraid we’d have to step in water to get in the paddle boat. We didn’t need them. Even though we wore wool socks our feet were freezing and our toes were numb half way through the paddle bc rubber boats have no insulation. If you have hiking boots you’ll be fine. 2) You’re on a small rubber paddle boat for two hours with another couple and a guide. It’s a looong paddle to get close to the glacier. While I knew this, I didn’t know what to expect and it was a little nerve wracking and kind of uncomfortable with all your layers and life vest on to be on that small boat for so long. 3) Because it’s an all day excursion, we both brought backpacks with water, snacks, money, phone charger, etc. obviously, there’s not much room on the boat so for that part of the excursion they suggest you leave belongings on the train. But the train keeps running with people getting on and off. So we combined valuables in to one bag and took that with us which wasn’t ideal on the boat and also meant we left things behind on the train that we would not normally leave behind.
Overall it’s a great experience and would have been 5/5 if I had known the things above ahead of time. The staff is awesome and knowledgeable and fun. They work their tails off to make sure you have a great experience!
DeeLyte_D, Jul 2023
Rachelle was very knowledgeable and accurate in conveying information as well as a lot of fun. The river float was our favorite part of the trip.
Michelle_C, Jun 2023
We had an amazing time on this tour. The weather was perfect! Alex was our guide and he did an outstanding job. Very knowledgeable and we learned so much from him. Would highly recommend this tour.
Jenny_G, Jun 2023
We had a great time seeing the beautiful scenery from the train and the raft! Our raft guide was entertaining and fun. It was great!
Jill_P, May 2023
We were the first tour of the season this year! Yes is was cold and snowy, and no, we didn’t get to paddle out to the glacier but it was still worth the adventure. Our tour guide Ben was so knowledgeable and kind. Additionally, the train crew took us all the way to the glacier to view from the comfort of our seats. We saw a bear from the train as well as many animals at the sanctuary. Overall it was an excellent tour!
Manishkumar_S, Aug 2022
Kyle was a great tour guide. He took good care of our big group of 8. We took our kids and senior parents on this tour and everyone really enjoyed it..the lunch was very nice and the spencier glacier and river float was amazing!!!
Steven_P, Aug 2022
The train ride qas spectacular, the iceberg float and rafting down the river beautiful. Our guide john qas veey personable and had a lot of knowledge about the area.
Elizabeth_O, Jul 2022
Fantastic experience. The not reason for 4, not 5 stars, is because the wildlife conservation center, provides a limited view of wildlife. Nevertheless, it’s a great cause as it is a refuge for orphaned animals. The lake and River float was incredible. You float up to icebergs and can touch them. View of glaciers is awesome. If you are a bird lover, ask for Alex - he was a great guide, and his knowledge of birds, other wildlife and plants is vast.
Robert_P, Jul 2022
Kyle was very knowledgeable and I highly recommend him. All the guides were friendly and interactive. Loved the scenery and float. Lunch was excellent!
Laura_T, Jun 2022
The rafting was amazing, got to see the glacier up close then raft down the river and take in all the beautiful views. Only reason I rate it as 4 stars was because the train broke down and we didn’t get to see the bears and other animals.
Carey_H, Jun 2022
This is a very fun, relaxing all day event. Alex, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable about all of the wildlife, topography, etc and made for a very fun, engaged and informative trip. You can’t go wrong when you combine the Alaska railroad, the wildlife conservatory and Spencer glacier all in one day. There was a mix of young families, older folks and a couple of solo travelers like me. Everyone seemed to enjoy their time.
Wendy_K, Aug 2021
The trip was terrific from start to finish. The commentary from the tour guide and the bus driver were especially helpful to learning more about our day. The tour guides made the day!
Sarah_C, Jul 2021
Our guude was excellent, but we forgot cash to tip him. The glacier, icebergs and river rafting were phenomenal.
Connie_D, Jun 2021
I had written down on the reservation that I need to a use a 4 wheel walker for distance and that I had back and knee issues. They sent me our own guide for the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and all the staff were soo friendly and helpful in getting me into and out of the van, train and raft. Everyone was soo nice and encouraging. Plus we so enjoyed all that we saw. The packed lunch was so good too.
Kimberly_G, Jun 2021
We took a girls trip and had a blast.
We saw so much beauty in one day.
The train ride was nice & the views were spectacular.
The raft float around the Glacier and down the river was amazing. Our raft guide Quin was awesome.
Carol_M, Jun 2021
This is one of the best Viator trips I’ve taken( and I’ve taken many). It was very well organized and professional yet friendly and personable. We saw a moose, a black bear and several Dall Sheep while on the train. The wildlife sanctuary especially the bear walk was great. But the crowning jewel of the day was the raft trip because we started out floating among the icebergs. We are in Alaska for a 3 week birding tour and our rafting guide, Alex Lane, knew all the birds by sight and sound! He was such a wonderful guide - highly recommend him!! There are four of us and we all agree that this tour will be a highlight of our Alaska trip
Connie_F, Sep 2019
This excursion was wonderful. The icebergs and glacier were beautiful. I would highly recommend this excursion to everyone. It was a lot of fun. The tour guide was excellent.
Richard_H, Jul 2019
Really nice day! The tour is well organized and the tour guides are very nice, knowledgeable and professional. The train ride was good, the wildlife conservation center was great and the rafting near Spencer glacier and down the river amazing. All in all a very memorable day.
Stay35544284033, Jun 2019
This was an excellent day trip. A little scenery on the train, a visit to an animal rehab center and the icebergs were amazing. The opportunity to be so close to the small icebergs was beautiful.
The river guide was great, knowledgeable and pleasant.
Truly if you have only a short time to visit, this was well worth it.
Freda_D, Jun 2019
Fantastic! Beautiful scenery, well organized. Great guide! Recommend for families very calm river rafting.
Response from Host, Jun 2019
Thank you for your review & thanks for joining us on your trip to Spencer Glacier.
ar2017819, Jun 2019
We were a group of five and enjoyed tremendously. The excursion was well organized and very relaxed.
Great work Stewart and Erin!
JorgeArturo_L, Jun 2023
Los jóvenes que nos guiaron en el glaciar y en los rápidos, hicieron un excelente trabajo. Muy amenos y diestros
From $392.00
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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