jb99jb99

My wife and I don't want to spend a ton of money on a Alaska vacation. We will be able to fly for free, but we are not sure where to stay of what to visit. We will probably have 5 to 7 days there in late April.

Any suggestions?

JB

Postal

Things will be relatively inexpensive in April (at least, compared to the summer), but it's not the greatest time of year to be there. What do you want to do while there? Are you outdoorsy types? You can be in wilderness within an hour of Anchorage but that won't help much if you're not the outdoors type.

Gardyloo

I'll go a bit farther - unless this spring is really unusual (and the winter thus far has been unusual, but no guarantees...) April is a poor time to visit Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage etc.) due to "breakup" which leaves roads potholed, everything muddy, rotten snow on the trails and in the hills; for sure you won't be seeing it at its best.

That said, a muddy Alaska is better than no Alaska at all, so I would probably opt for a three or four day jaunt across Prince William Sound on the ferry from Whittier to Valdez and return. You'll have an okay chance for seeing glaciers, big creatures in the water, and lush scenery, without the need to get covered in mud and soaked. Everything will still be on winter schedules, so plan accordingly.

An alternative might be to book the ferry from Bellingham (WA) to Skagway/Haines or vice-versa. In the winter/spring this is a lovely trip through the Inside Passage - very relaxing and scenic, plus a good way to meet the locals in SE Alaska. Get a cabin, don't expect cruise ship amenities (or prices) and snuggle your way through the islands.

Connie

In southcentral Alaska, the closer to the ocean the prettier the scenery. Even though it looks like you could make day trips out of Anchorage, everything is farther than it looks. Concentrate on the Kenai Peninsula--Homer and Seward. There are lots of things to see and do in the area.

NatalieM

How about flying into Ketchikan (the most SE city of southeastern Alaska) & taking the ferry system north? We did this a couple years ago and loved it. Having done "inland" Alaska as well (Anchorage, Denali, etc.) the Inside Passage is far & away our favorite. Check out www.alaska.gov/ferry site for all the info. You can also book very reasonably priced cabins on the ferry with or without bath (esp. given how early you're going). The places you'd most want to spend some time would be Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines & Skagway. Petersburg is also beautifuly, but quite small. Sitka is wonderful, but time consuming & complicated to get to by ferry, if you only have 5 to 7 days. What we did was schedule ferry travel so we could get off & spend a couple days in towns along the way. We rented a car most places & stayed at B&B's. I wanted to see Glacier Bay but couldn't figure out how to do it affordably with 4 people & limited time. We took an incredible "flight seeing" trip out of Haines that remains one of the highlights of our lives. (You can also do this out of Juneau, but more expensively). Anyway, feel free to e-mail me if you'd like more info. I have southeast alaska fever!! ([email protected])