Alaska is a perfect choice if you love experiencing really remote and spectacular places. The dramatic and humbling coastline ridged by glaciers (and the ensuing icebergs) and rocky outcrops is home to bears, birds, seals, whales and other marine life. The swells can match the drama of the surroundings with 20 foot tides and huge waves coming in off the open ocean.

Up here there are limited campsites but they're well maintained, many providing anti-bear boxes to keep your food in; you need to bring everything in and out with you on trips to Alaska's National Parks.

This kind of adventure is good for three star paddlers and up (intermediate level.), you need to be able to tackle the swell and manoeuvre around rocks and icebergs in and out of the fjords. You also need to go with knowledgeable guides, good gear and radio equipment, just in case, and you need to be prepared to suffer through unfavourable weather and bugs - but the views and the paddling will make it well worth your while. Keep in mind that for more remote trips you will need to arrange transport to your start point which can add to the cost of a trip.

One of the really nice things about paddling in Alaska is to be able to sidle up to an iceberg and chip off a piece of 1,000 year old ice to have in your single malt at the end of a days paddling. Make sure you pack your drysuit.

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Written by  Michael Gray.

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