Alaska by land and sea, done at maximum privacy: that's the pitch behind From Sea to Summit: Ultimate Alaska, a new package from luxury expedition outfit EYOS Expeditions launching in summer 2027. The price of entry is steep — rates start at $437,500 — but the itinerary is fully customisable and buys out two of the state's most exclusive bases.
The headline act is a complete buyout of Sheldon Chalet, a five-bedroom lodge perched at 6,000 feet on a rocky ridge just 10 miles from Denali's summit. There's no road access; guests arrive by helicopter. Stays run three or four days, with views straight down the Don Sheldon Amphitheater, named for the pioneering mid-century bush pilot. Days on the glacier can be as gentle or as gnarly as you like — think crevasse rappelling, ice climbing and skiing — and evenings end with dinners built around locally sourced Alaskan ingredients.
From the mountain, the trip drops to the water aboard Hanse Explorer, a 157-foot expedition superyacht with seven staterooms (including an owner's cabin with private outdoor space) and a crew of 15. The ship is built for ice-strewn waters and shallow fjords that standard vessels can't reach. Onboard there's a Jacuzzi, sauna and a proper dining room; off it, guests can take Zodiac tenders, two-person inflatable kayaks, or get wet via the Nitrox dive centre and snorkelling gear.
The proposed route reads like a greatest-hits list of southeast Alaska's wilder corners. The Inian Islands rank among the most biologically productive spots on the planet — Steller sea lions and bald eagles congregate there — while nearby Hoonah and Icy Strait are a humpback whale hub. Farther on, the islands of Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof offer natural hot springs plus the fjords, glaciers and waterfalls in between.
EYOS CEO Bey Lyons framed it as unlocking "an unprecedented level of access" to Alaska's most untouched landscapes, and the numbers back that up: with both the yacht and the chalet taken privately, you'd be sharing Denali's rooftop and the Inside Passage with exactly the people you brought along.
For most travellers, this is less a trip to book than a benchmark to know about — the upper limit of what an Alaskan expedition currently looks like. But it's useful signal for anyone planning the region on a normal budget: the same whale waters, hot springs and glacier coastlines can be reached on small-ship cruises and day trips, just with a few hundred more co-passengers. Full details sit on EYOS's website.