Hotels near Seward Airport - SWD, Seward

Lots of different things to do in town. Great parks (eg Waterfront park) and playground structures for kids! Trails in the woods close to town. A wide variety of restaurants and shopping. We ate at 5-6 different places and all were tasty. The Sea Life Center was very cool and great for the family. I could have watched the birds and harbor seals there all day. Tours by boat in the fjords is a must, but we did get lucky and took one on a sunny calm day. We saw orcas, whales, porpoises, puffins, sea lions, otters, a black bear on the beach, and a couple of glaciers. The National Park service office by the harbor is full of great displays and interpretive materials of all types (touch, sounds, etc). The NPS movie was fantastic. Would have loved to see the Exit Glacier and some sled dogs. Visited in late July.

Kenai Fjords cruises and hiking in the area is great. Exit Glacier and Harding Icefield as well as glaciers seen from the cruises were fantastic. SeaLife Center is a must! They do an incredible job and offer a lot of information about sea life in the area. Wish the restaurants were a bit more upscale. We really enjoyed Primrose Provisions and the The Highliner restaurants! Would go back in a heartbeat.

The people are amazingly friendly and helpful. Tours run by Major Marine could not be improved and their Harbor 360 Hotel is super convenient and modern. They take care of any and all luggage problems you might have. Ray's Grill is a really good place for local seafood. Fresh and well prepared. The Ace hardware store can take care of almost any camping need you might have. The Kodiak Saloon and Gold Rush Bistro are also good stops for dinner and evening entertainment.

We loved the charter fish trip with The Fish House, highly recommend them. The Kenai Fjords tour out to the Aialik Glacier, another great company, visiting Kenai Fjords NP, Seward ATV tour ask for Porkcrop and crew, a fantastic trip on the Iditarod trail. Walking around the town and visiting shops was fun too.

Seward was once the main point of entry to the interior of Alaska. While cruise ships still dock here, most cruise passengers immediately depart by train or bus on to Anchorage or other destinations. Seward still has a fishing industry, and many fishing charters are available. It is also the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, best appreciated by taking one of the many boat tours. We took the long tour to Northwestern Fjord, seeing dolphins, sea otters, sea lions and even orcas! Highly recommended! Seward has Alaska's only aquarium, the Alaska Sea Life Center. While not as large as say the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it still has an impressive collection of marine creatures well displayed. The exhibits are well organized. I especially enjoyed the aviary with a great assortment of birds native to the area. Seward has a reasonable set of restaurants, although travelers craving ethnic foods (Indian, Chinese, etc.) will be disappointed. Not surprisingly, fresh seafood is the star attraction in most. We were there at the start of the annual Salmon Derby, where hundreds of professional fisherman come from all over to catch the biggest salmon.

The 8.5 hr boat tour on Major Marine Tours was truly outstanding and unforgettable. We saw orcas, fin whales, sea lions, seals, puffins, otters, bald eagles, glaciers, waterfalls up close, etc. Excellent commentary from the captain and crew! Seven star tour!