Hi all,
We're planning a late Feb / early March 2014 trip to Alaska for our honeymoon. Our itinerary (rough at this point) is the following:
(1) fly into Anchorage, rent car
- drive to Girdwood and stay in vicinity of Alyeska Ski Resort (likely Hotel Alyeska)
(2) ski
(3) drive to Whittier, kayak or cruise Prince William Sound to enjoy glaciers and wildlife
(4) ski, drive back to Anchorage in the evening, return car and fly to Fairbanks
- rent car in Fairbanks and stay outside of town (likely Dale & Jo's View Suites)
- spend the next 4-5 nights watching the Aurora forecast and trying to catch a northern lights show
- see some of Fairbanks during the days, possibly with hikes, cross country skiing or kayaking the Chena River
I've been having trouble finding a glacier cruise for Prince William Sound in March -- it seems most companies run their boats from May to September. Can anyone recommend a company that operates through the winter, either with day cruises, kayaks or both? We'd like to depart from Whittier, but will drive to Seward if we must.
Any suggestions for things to catch in Fairbanks during our stay? We're planning our 4-5 nights around the first week of March, but have some flexibility if necessary.
Any other tips or suggestions?
Girdwood, Whittier, Fairbanks in early March -- Recommendations needed!
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I might go to Bettles for the light viewing and you could also do a scenic flight tour with them. Chena Hot Springs would also be a good choice. I doubt any tours would be running in March for the PWS. I would for sure be suprised if you were able to do a kayak tour then.
I think a lot of the things you mention are for summer. At this time of year it is going to still be snow covered and ice covered. You might check the schedule for the iditarod. You might be able to catch that. Myabe do a snow mobile tour at Girdwood.
Hi spirobulldog,
Thanks for the feedback. I think we may stay in Anchorage instead (our stay was already scheduled to cover the first Saturday in March) and catch the start of the Iditarod. It seems that Kenai Fjords does a spring Resurrection Bay tour during this time period, so if we have the determination to go to Fox Island, we might be able to do that. Either way, late Feb and early March does indeed seem to be a great time to visit Alaska!
You won't see any glaciers in Resurrection Bay.
Thanks for the tip. We may still go for the wildlife, but is there a preferred way to see glaciers from the water in March?
The problem is that the glaciers are buried so deep in snow that you can't even tell the most of them are glaciers. Taking a ferry from Whittier to Valdez is probably your best option to see any other than the drive-up ones such as the Exit in Seward and the Byron at Portage. In Fairbanks, the Chena River will be frozen solid - you can snowmobile on it, but not kayak.
"You won't see any glaciers in Resurrection Bay."
And the whales will all be down in Hawaii.