The Port of Whittier lies on the northeast shores of the Kenai Peninsula in the Valdez-Cordova census area of the State of Alaska almost 100 kilometers southeast of Anchorage. One of the ports on the Alaska Marine Highway, the Port of Whittier is about 75 nautical miles west-southwest of the Port of Valdez and about 115 nautical miles west-northwest of the Port of Cordova. The Port of Whittier covers about three thousand hectares of land and about 1.8 thousand hectares of water. The town and the nearby glacier were named after American poet John Greenleaf Whittier. In 2000, the population of the Port of Whittier was 182.

The United States Army built a military facility with a port and railroad station near what would become the Whittier Glacier during World War II. Naming the facility Camp Sullivan, the Port of Whittier was the entry point for US soldiers to Alaska in 1943 when the Alaska Railroad spur to Camp Sullivan was finished. Until 1960, the Port of Whittier continued to be a working army facility.

The largest buildings in the Port of Whittier were built after the end of World War II, and for a time they were the biggest buildings in Alaska. One of them − now the Begich Towers − was constructed as housing for soldiers, and the other − the Buckner Building − was meant to be a "city under one roof." Today, most of the Port of Whittier's citizens live in the Begich Towers, which is a condominium.

The Port of Whittier was seriously damaged, and thirteen people were killed, by the tsunamis that followed the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. The waves reached a height of 13 meters.

The Port of Whittier was incorporated as a city in 1969. Today, it is a popular destination for cruise ships due to its rail and road connections with Anchorage and Alaska's interior. The Denali Express, a non-stop rail service operated by Princess Tours, carries passengers to and from Denali National Park from the Port of Whittier. In addition to cruise traffic, the Port of Whittier is popular with sports fishers and hunters as well as non-cruise tourists.

The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel connects the Port of Whittier with the Seward Highway to Anchorage. The second longest tunnel in North America, the tunnel passes through Maynard Mountain, allowing trains and vehicles to get to the Port of Whittier. completed in 1943, it was first dedicated to railroad traffic. In the 1960s, the railroad started offering a shuttle service for automobiles much like Amtrak's Auto Train. Over time, traffic overwhelmed the capacity of the railroad, and the tunnel was converted into a one-lane combined highway and rail tunnel in the late 1990s. With only one lane used by eastbound, westbound, and rail traffic, some travelers must wait some two hours to enter the tunnel to the Port of Whittier.

The Port and Harbor Commission is the governing body for the Port of Whittier. The ice-free Whittier Small Boat Harbor is a year-round gateway to Prince William Sound. The Port of Whittier offers 350 slips for permanent and transient vessels up to 16.5 meters long. Ferries in the Port of Whittier offer passage on the Alaska Marine Highway.

The Port of Whittier and the Whittier Small Boat Harbor participate in the US Coast Guard's "Kids Don't Float" program, offering life jackets in a variety of sizes at its walk ramps. The Port of Whittier also asks that water-skiers, boaters, and kayakers file a float plan at the harbor office.

The Port of Whittier Small Boat Harbor is currently filled to capacity. Boaters wanting to moor in the Port of Whittier must get on the waitlist with no expectation of getting a berth for years.

The City of Whittier is located within the Chugach National Forest, the second largest national forest in the United States. Visitors to the Port of Whittier will find it a wonderland of fjords, tidewater glaciers, and islands. Bird watchers will also find a wide range of birds and seabirds in the kittiwake rookery across the Passage Canal from the Port of Whittier.

Port of Whittier businesses offer a range of water-related recreation opportunities in the summer that include fishing charters, day cruises, kayak tours, and scuba diving. Winter recreation includes show shoeing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. Temperatures in the Port of Whittier range from an average high of 17 °C (62.6 °F) in July to an average low of 5 °C (23 °F) in January. The Port of Whittier receives about 248 inches of snow each year. The only months without snowfall are June through August, and snow is negligible in May and September. Average snow depth reaches 49 inches in March.

The Chugach National Forest surrounds the Port of Whittier. Stretching over salty waters, snowy peaks, salmon and trout streams, the Chugach National Forest is about the same size as the State of New Hampshire, about 5.4 million acres. It is rare in that the glaciers are still grinding valleys into the earth.

The forest near the Port of Whittiercontains three distinct ecological areas. The Eastern Kenai Peninsula, containing the Russian River, attracts thousands of salmon fishermen each year. Back-country streams and lakes in the area are abundant with grayling and trout. The Copper River Delta, an area of wetlands and rain forest, offers a driving trail where visitors can see the Childs Glacier's blue walls. Prince William Sound is a wonderland for kayakers, cruise ships, small boats and ferries, and float planes. Hunting is a popular activity in the Chugach National Forest. Big game hunting is allowed for those with permits. Brown and black bears, moose, deer, sheep, and mountain goats are the prey. There is also a wide range of game birds and waterfowl, but hunters must be aware of the regulations before they pull the trigger.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Whittier by sea can find a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.