If you're thinking about renting a raft or doing a guided river trip in Alaska, I highly recommend…read moreAlaska Raft Connection. Brian was extremely knowledgable and helpful with helping me select which river to run and provided the highest quality gear. His attention to detail and passion for the river was obvious from the very beginning. He took multiple hours of his time to help me dial in gear and logistics. Amazing outfitter!!

From the owner: At Alaska Raft Connection, we outfit and guide Alaska float trips using the most rugged, dependable…read morefloat trip equipment with camping gear selections that we stand behind... reliability and quality with attention to detail that you can depend on. Alaska Raft Connection real Alaska wilderness float trip advantage or niche is that we really know what we are doing after 30+ years out in the field running dozens of wild rivers throughout the State of Alaska. While still continuing to offer fly-out premier fully guided tours, we have brought this accomplished on-water leadership experience, demonstrated customer service, top-notch equipment, and proven trip logistics into a raft, kayak, canoe, sportboat, and camping equipment rental outfitting business for the self-guided, Do-It-Yourself Float Trip adventure here in the Last Frontier.

Alaska Coastal Wildlife and Brown Bears…read more I did this tour in August 2023. It is a photography-centric tour and it lived up to the hype. We had bears. Lots of bears. Bear cubs. Carl Donohue was our Expedition Leader and did a great job. It was great to have someone with tons of bear experience, as it was close sometimes! It was a boat-based tour so that we would have the freedom to move to where the bears are. Day one we had bears. Day two we had weather, lots of weather. We were in Alaska after all. From there on out we were in bear heaven. I shot literally thousands of images (shooting at 30 frames per second will do that) and I really struggled to delete down to the 400 or so that I'm at now. It's tough to delete amazing photos because you have some that are even more amazing and you just don't need them all. The boat (yacht?) at 98 feet was super comfortable for our small group of photographers. The crew was awesome and the food was very good, certainly more than you would expect for a boat-based trip. I can't imagine how good you have to be at planning to pull that off. Every day I took "shot of a lifetime" photos of bears.

This is my second photography tour with Carl Donohue of Expeditions Alaska and all I can say is…read morethat he delivers on what is promised. The first was the Bald Eagles in Haines in November 2022. Recently, in April 2023, I went on the Hungry Whales trip in Sitka, photographing bubble-net feeding whales. In both cases the awesome photo opportunities far exceeded my expectations. If you're looking for creature comforts go on an Alaska Cruise. If you are a dedicated photographer, seeking unique photos, stick with Carl. He does his best to connect you with the subjects and help you capture those stunning shots you seek. If other opportunities arise, such as eagles feeding on fish in the whale tour, you'll get those as well. I strongly recommend Expeditions Alaska for your photo needs in this beautiful state.

Our group did the Glacier Blue Kayak and Grandview Tour which started with a trainride from…read moreGirdwood to Spencer Glacier. Then we had a quick kayak lesson, then paddled across the water to get up close to the glacier. Once we walked up close to admire the view, we did a meaningful meditation, took some pictures, then headed down for lunch. The box lunch was plentiful and fresh. Just enough to keep us satisfied as the train went up to Grandview to see a few more glaciers and some waterfalls that you can't get to by road. All in all, Ryan and Caroline provided us with a safe and fun day that was unforgettable. Definitely the highlight of our time in Alaska.

We did the Spencer glacier tour and the weather was absolutely horrible…read more River was our float guide and was fantastic. The glacier and the lake were absolutely amazing. The tour was about two hours and we got soaked and were very cold - but if you want to see glaciers they exist in cold and wet places. Our waterproof gear was not good enough to stave off the rain. Our guide had hot chocolate for us about half way through and it was excellent and appreciated. This was a spectacular excursion. Highly recommended. Get warm and water prof gear and layer.

I am thrilled to say I made it through Xxtreme Week 2015! The trip was more than I had hoped it…read morewould be and I would recommend Exposure Alaska and their great team. The trip was the perfect medicine to unplug me from an over-scheduled, over-programmed, and highly electronic career for a solid week. It pushed me mentally and physically, but never did I feel unsafe. I returned to work in a better frame of mind and with my whole body in a state of "a good kind of sore". Hats off to Don, and our guides (Sandra and Roz) who really made the stay wonderful. And, I never expected to be complimenting the camp food, but it was AWESOME!!! Sandra's breakfast burrito could be on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! I am already thinking about coming up with a new itinerary for 2016 and going back to the Exposure Alaska crew for another week of killer Alaska wild.

For our ten year wedding anniversary, my husband and I were torn between choosing Hawaii or Alaska…read more We are so glad we chose the latter and that we went with Exposure Alaska to make our experience the most memorable for us. We decided to book the Matanuska Getaway, which is only a 3 day trip because we figured we would want to go explore other parts of Alaska on our own. We had such a blast with Exposure, we wish we had booked a longer stay with them. The owner Don, was so helpful throughout the entire booking process, and recommended places to see and stay during our time after Exposure. The views of the glacier, the wild life, the planned tours and our amazing guides, all surpassed our expectations. They were awesome! Our guides were professional, knowledgable, friendly and we felt like close friends by the end of the trip. They were able to adjust our experience based on our skill and physical ability levels, which added more excitement to our trip. Our safety was paramount at all times and we had full confidence in their abilities to guide our adventure. Moreover, the food at the camp was great! We were expecting beans and weenies and other cliche camping food, but what we got was some great Alaskan cooking: Fresh Salmon, BBQ chicken, homemade breads and granola, among other things. In addition, while there was a lot of stuff to cover on our daily agenda, there was also a lot of time to relax and unwind. It was the only vacation where I didn't think about work, unless someone asked me about my job. Normally, when we go somewhere we still have home somewhere on the mind, but not here. Finally, this experience didn't seem touristy. After we finished our trip with Exposure, we spent a few days in other parts of Alaska, and the tours we did just weren't the same.

The service at this place is excellent. I have never had some one genuinely care about getting us…read morethe right bike for a rental. We got the e-bikes and the host had us try a few e-bikes with different height and different battery propulsion system. They also had a large selection of "hybrid" bikes which do not have an electric assist. We did not try those , but the customers returning the bikes at the end of their rentals seemed happy. They have a nice and warm indoor tryout/practice area to get comfortable with the bike before renting them out. They also have restrooms and water including water bottle for purchase and a water fountain. They were very patient with us and other customers while we were trying the bikes. They explained the bike trails (including the highlights, some tips form wildlife sighting and the parts to be careful in) and suggested us some of the routes that we can take. I would consider this rental location above others as this is larger, is located nearest to the start of the coastal trail and had a large selection of bikes.

YES! Rent from here!! Local, unpretentious bike shop with a small, knowledgeable and friendly…read morestaff. Great selection available, and incredibly reasonable rental price includes all your gear (helmet, locks, etc) as well as great information and clear maps of trails. No weird upselling or pressure. Store was clean, had a great open area to test ride and staff adjusted seats for comfort.

I had a fantastic rafting experience with the NOVA guides…read more Prior to driving by the sign on the road that says "NOVA rafting," I was lamenting about how I didn't think I was going to be able to raft due to my tight schedule while visiting Alaska. I drove by the sign and thought "I will just pop down there and see if they have any space." Lo and behold, that had some space on the trip that was starting ten minutes after I got there. They got me signed up and off we went! Adam did a great job driving our bus and photographing us along the way, Gavin kept us well entertained and got us excited on the bus, Coffee (manager) gave us a very informative safety speech, and my rafts personal guide, Maria (from Louisiana), was awesome. I felt safe and had a wonderful time with her guiding our raft. Getting a gla-cial (facial from the glacier water) was a top experience of my trip. I also thought the tour and photos were appropriately priced. Overall, a great experience and worth the money and I'm so happy I did it.

Amazing! That's the one word I would use to describe this company. The quality of guides this…read morecompany has sets the bar very high. Shoutout to David (for glacier trekking) and Jon (for whitewater rafting) for making the respective excursions memorable! Let me start with the glacier trekking. My buddy and I did the adventure trek.This was perhaps one of the most unique excisions over ever been on. The fact that you're exploring a glacier (the matanuska glacier) by walking on it and through it leaves you with a sense of wonder. It seriously feels like a whole new world that's not in earth. Our guide , David, took us to see a lot of features of the glacier and we got to see glacier crevasses and glacial pools. So beautiful and majestic. This left an imprint of Alaskan glacial beauty and I'll be sure to never forget. He even created a spout on the glacier so we can taste the freshness of glacier water! We felt completely safe with his knowledge of the glacier and he made sure to answer any questions we may have had. Thanks David! The next excursion was to whitewater rafting down the Matanuska River. For the second excursion, we did the lions head rafting tour. Let me start out by saying that it was utterly fun and unforgettable. Going through class 3 and 4 rapids is sure to excite any thrill seeker. The guide definitely makes this trip exciting especially since they are integral to your safety as well as fun. Jon made sure that we were all engaged and having a great time! Thanks Jon! I cannot recommend this company enough. Definitely do multiple activities (you'll get a discount for booking more than one)! This was the end cap for my Alaskan adventure as it was drawing to a close. I couldn't have chosen better adventures to end on! Keep it up Nova!

We just did not have the same experiences everybody else and I feel so bad. I wanted to paddle…read moreLake Eklutna and I contacted AK Paddlesports along with a few others. The price was right and the lady I talked to on the phone was really nice. We set up a time for our excursion. I was running a little bit late and let them know. They dropped off the kayaks at the drop off area. Which is about a quarter of a mile to the shoreline. These two 5'4" ladies had to attempt to drag the kayaks all the way down to the shoreline. The best part is the return., A family from Texas helped us get the kayaks to the pick up place. And the guy who met us to pick up the kayaks didn't offer to help, watched us the entire time and told our friends to load up the kayaks in the back of his truck. Customer service poor although everything else was awesome

I want to thank Chris and I really recommend his business to everyone…read more Chris was very responsive and very accommodating to our rental with quick delivery and pick up. We ended up drove to Mirror Lake one hour earlier than 1 PM our appointment time but Chris was accommodating and delivered I will 2 double kayaks around noon and pick them up one hour later. We had a great time there. We saw another customer who were waiting for their equipment to be pick up the same time. We highly recommend Chris for any of your equipment rentals With very reasonable prices and excellent customer service.

Spectacular is one of the superlatives to describe the experience with Captain Al and the Northern…read moreExplorer. We hiked, saw bears, doll porpoises, and the most amazing scenes of glaciers from Blackstone Bay. The food was a culinary delight, Christian out did himself each night. Rena oozed hospitality and exceeded our every need.

We just returned from our two week trip to Alaska. The middle part of that was 5 days and 4 nights…read morewith Captain Al and his crew for our cruise. Unexpectedly, we ended up being the only guests as others had backed out. We started out of Seward with a nice trip from Anchorage with Joan and Jeff as our shuttle team. They were both very personable and a pleasure to make the trip with to Seward. We were greeted with champagne and quickly got underway. Our accommodations were exactly as described in the Master suite. After two days of being wined and dined, we finally had to say, the "food is amazing, but we don't eat this much in a day. We need to slow down on the amount" LOL Certainly all you could possibly eat and nicely prepared. En En set beautiful tables for every meal and and our wine glasses were never dry. The weather was not the best for the first few days, so with everyone's agreement, we decided to roll the dice and cross the Gulf of Alaska to head towards Whittier. At that point, the weather became amazing, we did kayaking and had a 13,000 year old cocktail (Bourbon on Glacier ice). Who knew we would go to Alaska to get a tan? We spent the entire time cruising out on the deck getting sun. Captain Al and his team were wonderful hosts. I guess I could address every complaint that has been posted, but I'm not going to give it much credibility by spending any time on it. Yes, the boat is not brand new, but we had no issues on board (except the battery, but that's a little joke between Captain Al and us.). I can't speak to any of the other accommodations because we did not see or use them, but there were absolutely no complaints with ours. We are already considering the possibility of taking friends and going again some time. Thanks for everything Captain Al, En En and Christian! It was the trip of a lifetime! Thanks for being a part of it! Lori and Bob

This is our second year!!! This is such a unique tour!!! Take a truck in the back roads, through…read morethe River. Get on a boat and go up the River get very close to the glacier! Then to land to spend an hour exploring the land with incredible up front views of the Knock Glacier. Tom has been there for 33 years! So knowledgeable!!! Great people. 100% recommend this tour!!! We will do it again next year!!!

This Knik Glacier Tour was cool. It was fun. But...3 days ago I toured Matanuska Glacier and the…read moretwo experiences weren't close. The biggest reason why I much, much, more admired Matanuska Glacier is that I was able to hike onto the glacier and get up close and intimate moments among wonderful surroundings. Meanwhile, here at Knik Glacier, you're just transported just to the edge of the Knik River where the Knik Icefield is set in the backdrop. So...I wasn't fully able to capture this Knik Glacier in all its glory in comparison to Matanuska Glacier. I will say...when I zoomed in on my phone to take photos of the Knik Glacier Icefield area...the pics came out very well. But...when I wanted to put myself into the camera's lens...the moments weren't so fulfilling, and especially since I was coming off such a high at Matanuska Glacier. I'd say, ultimately, Knik Glacier had a lot to live up to from what I had experienced just a few short days ago. Still, no problem, I very much liked my time here. I enjoyed the 3-hour tour I took. Only thing, upon now reflecting... Knik Glacier was very good...just not epically great. And the reason I compare Matanuska Glacier to this Knik Glacier is because they're located so close to each other...within miles of each other in the Palmer/Sutton-Alpine area of Southern Alaska. Let me relay the details about my 3-hour daytrip I took with Knik Glacier Tours... (btw, I believe there are helicopter tours offered where you land on Knik Glacier, but I was okay with navigating without the luxury flight option.) - It was $125 plus tax for the tour = $132. I also tipped $10 each to 2 of the tour guides at the end. - For the 3 hour tour, it broke down like this... * The first 35 minutes are navigated along on the back of an old army jeep vehicle. You'll pass over a bumpy road and through a few rivers. * From the end of the land portion of the tour...you then hop on a waterskiing boat where you'll be transported for about 20 minutes to the edge or "toe" of Knik Glacier. * Then you're afforded 1 full hour to explore along the edge of the land at your own accord, capturing pictures and venturing around...looking out upon Knik's many icebergs and the large icefield in the distance. * While on this 1-hour walk around (at your own pace)...the tour sets up a little picnic/tent area where they offer free hot chocolate and small snack items. For myself, I was so enamored with trying to snap the best and most efficient photos of Knik Glacier, I barely spent any time over at the tent area. * After the 1-hour walk along the river's edge...we then hopped back onto the waterskiing boat where the tour guide drove us straight up to some of the massive icebergs where we were afforded up-close perspectives of nature's natural wonders. We used about 15 minutes guiding through the glacial icebergs before being transported back towards the jeep land excursion and then finally to home base. - I visited and did this Knik Glacier Tour today, July 12th, 2002...and although it was pleasant outside wearing pants and long sleeves, the jeep driver recommended that I bring along a jacket because he mentioned how chilly it got out on the Knik River boat ride. And he was correct. The cold air rushing at me while heading towards the glacier was quite cold. The jacket certainly came in handy! - Although I'll post a photo of my confirmation email about the trip and where the tour begins...tours depart from this address... * 26326 E Buckshot Drive Palmer, AK 99645 - There were 7 people on my 10am tour including myself. This was a nice, personal experience. Not many people with me at all. At the Knik River's edge...we were all able to spread out and go our own ways. Overall, I appreciated my time exploring Knik Glacier. But...if you gave me the choice of doing only 1 glacial tour in this area situated about 50 - 100 miles east of Anchorage...I'd definitely choose Matanuska Glacier over this Knik Glacier. For those folks who have the time to check out both tours...then I found them each worthwhile and good in their own elements, sights and landscapes. And it's because of these glaciers and being immersed among incredible settings that I find Alaska to be one of the prettiest states in the USA.