OT: Question for Una and others who have been to Alaska

Steph

My boyfriend and I are trying to plan our next vacation and are strongly considering Alaska. The problem is that everyone I know who has been has gone there as part of a cruise. My boyfriend and I are decidedly not the cruise type, so I'm wondering if it is possible to plan a trip to Alaska by just flying in and then doing our own thing. If we went that route, what part(s) of the state should we focus on? I know it would be mostly an outdoorsy trip, but I'm not the camping type and am wondering if there are any really nice hotels that we should be looking into.

Thanks!

14 years ago

General

8 replies

Latest reply was from catgirl

Anonymous

Seph, a cousin and family flew in and rented an RV and drove a circle route. She said that there were not many places to stay or eat. They spent 3 weeks and had a great time. However, they really stuck to the interior.
DH and I are not cruise people but did enjoy a cruise that got us to the places we'd like to visit and where we could do excursions, organized or on our own, once there. It's really a great way to see glaciers, whales, etc. The inland passage is not like being out in the open sea. We are still not cruise people (casinos, art auctions, etc.) but I'd do this one again on Norwegian where you don't have to dress for dinner and are not assigned to anything.

14 years ago

Steph

Veteran

Thanks Joy! Our problem with cruising is more one of scheduling. My boyfriend is a true insomniac and when he's on vacation he really needs to be on his own schedule, which involves sleeping in and lots of naps. Vacation is definitely a way he catches up on his sleep. My fear of a cruise is that they tend to blare their horns when they get to points where you are supposed to disembark, and because you are only at each disembarkation point for a short time, if he wants to nap for a few hours in the middle of the day, we could miss out on a lot. (This is my understanding of a cruise, at least.)

We do enjoy doing driving tours--we have done one from the Rhone Valley, through Burgundy, and into the Loire in France, one through the Rhine and Mosel Valleys in Germany, one through New England, and two down the coast of California. If we could do a driving tour of Alaska, especially in a loop (maybe in and out of Anchorage, which seems to have pretty reasonable flight fares with only one stop), that would be great. Sounds like finding places to stay could be difficult.

14 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Absolutely! In fact, a lot of people do that. I have a ton of advice, of course, and I will write you a much more detailed response when I'm not so delirious. You really can also do a day cruise to get a sense of the cruise scenery (which is unlike what you'll see driving) without having to be stuck on a boat all day. There are day cruises out of Seward and also the famous 26 Glacier cruise out of Whittier, close to Anchorage.

From Anchorage, you'd want to drive both south to the Kenai Peninsula (Kenai, Seward, Homer at the tip of the spit), and then north to Talkeetna and Denali. That's the most common route and I'd suggest two weeks for the whole thing. The distances here are more than people anticipate, and there's usually only one possible way to drive anywhere (i.e. no alternate routes). The scenery along the drives is a major part of what there is to see. Will you be camping, RVing or staying in hotels/B&Bs? ETA: Oops, I see you said you wouldn't be camping. RVs are a good way to go (and you can sleep any time!), but crazy expensive between rent and gas. There are lots of small places to stay depending on what your route is, but summers do book up. Again, let me know what you're interested in and I can give you more specific pointers.

There are lots of other fascinating places to go, like Sitka, Kodiak island, and Juneau, but those all require flights of some kind.

The other thing I recommend to the adventurous is the REI tours, if you want to get a taste of the real outdoor stuff. A college friend of mine is coming here to do one - they're going to go white-water rafting, kayaking, hiking and do some glacier climbing stuff. Even if you're not that extreme, Anchorage has some great hikes close by that are well worth checking out (and depending when you're here, I'd be happy to take you, of course!).

If you're into fishing and hunting, that's a whole different world too.

Let me know - I'd be thrilled to give you more specific tips and guidance!

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

Check the Alaska and BC Ferries (Canadian) schedules and online sites. In 1998, I was working in the Yukon for the summer (the Canadian province next door to Alaska) and at summer's end, I took the ferries from Skagway, AL, to Prince Rupert, BC, then to Victoria, BC, then down to Seattle, WA, and back up to Vancouver, BC (by bus). I was trying to take "the long way home" so I could avoid the expense of flying. It was considerably less expensive as I was a "walk-on" passenger, but you can take a vehicle too (but book your vehicle well ahead of time if doing so, I believe reservations are needed).
It's easy to travel around by ferries as a "walk-on" passenger and take trains and buses in the interior. I don't have all current travel links but they should be easy to find with a travel agent or online. Distances are long between places in both Alaska and the Yukon, but the travel is reasonably good.
Also, since 1998 was the centennial Gold Rush celebration year, it was very busy tourist wise. I personally didn't like spending a lot of time in Skagway -- very touristy and crowded, though some good (but expensive) shopping. I arrived from Whitehorse, YT, early in the morning and only spent maybe a couple of hours there b/c I quickly took a local ferry to Haines, AL, and spent the day there instead. That was more my pace and there were enough things to do in Haines for the day. I returned to Skagway in the evening to catch my ferry down the Inside Passage.
I took the Kennicott, a great big ferry, and it was very comfortable doing that backpack style -- you can sleep on the boat in designated areas if you don't book a cabin. But my favorite ferry was the Malaspina, a smaller boat where the backpackers slept in a covered area that was open at the back of the boat. It was fairly warm still and the night sky peaking out of the opening was beautiful. The great thing about travelling by ferries is that if you leave enough time, you can spend more than a few hours at each port. Jut make sure to get the schedules ahead of time b/c not all boats run at all times. My regret is that I didn't spend more time in Juneau, AL (was only there a few hours b/c I needed to catch my connecting ferry) and the Malaspina Glacier.
I haven't been into the interior of Alaska, b/c I was in the Yukon working that summer and only visited a few border places up north. I would like to go to Fairbanks, Anchorage and Katmai National Park.
You may find it worth your while if traveling by car or bus to cross the border into the Yukon for part of the trip and work your way back to Alaska near the Inside Passage. Depends on what you want to see though. In the Yukon, Whitehorse and Dawson City are the major places to check out.

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.shtml

http://www.ferrytravel.com/

http://www.bcferries.com/

http://www.travelalaska.com/

http://www.travelalaska.com/De.....kaMap.ashx (good map of both Alaska and Yukon).

14 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Ooh, Rosee, those are great suggestions for a totally different way of seeing another part of Alaska. I have never been to Skagway but would love to go someday.

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

Una (AG), looks like we posted at the same time previously. If it's not too personal to ask, are you in the South-central part of Alaska or the Interior?
Those are parts I will have to visit in the future.

14 years ago

Steph

Veteran

This is all really great advice! We would probably only have a week in Alaska (we would have about nine days, but I'm allotting a day on each end for travel and everything). I just discussed it with my boyfriend and here is what he wants (and I agree):
Wants to see glaciers and pretty scenery.
Wants to see animals (but definitely no hunting or fishing--I'm a vegetarian, after all!).
This will probably be the only time we go to Alaska, so if there is anything that absolutely has to be seen, we would love to know, even if it is way out of the way (we could always look into taking a small flight somewhere).
We aren't outdoorsy enough to do ice climbing or rigorous hiking. An easy "hike" with pretty scenery, sure. Nothing that involves needing to use an ice pick or other apparatus.
He would probably like to take a helicopter ride. I'm not sure if that is too scary for me (in Hawaii he did this and I passed, and he said there was nothing scary about it).
Since we'll only be there a week, maybe it means we have to choose between Anchorage and Denali and Anchorage and Kenai. Which would be preferable? Or could we do both as day trips with Anchorage as a home base?

If there are any nice hotel recommendations (I like nice hotels that are easy and comfy--no cabins for me), I would love to have those as well. I have done some searching on tripadvisor and it looks like the Embassy Suites has the best reviews, although I was surprised to see the cost of $400-500 a night (and I go to big cities all the time, so I thought I was immune to price shock--but $500 for an Embassy Suites?!). Is Alaska generally very expensive?

14 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Steph, I'm bumping this up so I can respond in more detail. Yes Alaska is more expensive (gas and food especially - only Hawai'i is more expensive!), but we have no sales tax in most places. The Princess lodges are good but also pricey. Honestly, some of the B&Bs are your best bet in the smaller towns, and you'll meet some nutty locals full of bear stories and quaint folklore that way.

The big "must-see" here of course is supposedly Denali National Park, but you may not see animals or even the mountain, depending on weather and luck. It is pretty awesome, but you may prefer going to Seward and Homer. Girdwood, the ski resort, is on the way there and worth a stop, and there's a cool wildlife preserve along the way also. The drive is spectacular and will blow you away. The town Seward has a cool Sea Life Center and a good day cruise where you'll see water creatures and glaciers. On the drive down you can even stop at Exit Glacier, which is a glacier you can hike to from the road on an easy mile-long path. Also on the Kenai Peninsula, Homer is the artsy community of southeast Alaska and just a cool little town.

You can also drive up to Talkeetna from Anchorage in 2.5 hours and spend a night there at the Talkeetna lodge. It's a hippie/climbing town, a lot of fun in summer. You can take a flight-see from there that will land you on Ruth Glacier and probably get you great views of Denali without having to make the 6 hour drive.

I think both south and north would be a lot to do in 9 days, unless you are a maniac like my husband who loves driving just for the sake of driving. But it's possible. 3 days south, 2 -3 days Anchorage area, 3 days north...

Anchorage has a great art museum and Native Heritage Center, and all the requisite animals are at our little zoo, which only houses orphaned or injured animals.

It's a lot like asking someone where in the US they should go - there's so much distance and lots of options. You really should narrow it down and take your time enjoying what you DO want to see, instead of rushing to check off a bucket list. Just my humble opinion! And who knows, you may love it and decide to come back again!

14 years ago

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