Anchorage & Fairbanks - trip planning
 

We are going to spend the last week of Dec. in Anchorage & Fairbanks, 3 or 4 days in each city and its surrounding areas. A few questions here:

1. Accommondation in Anchorage
We are going to spend one night at the Alyeska Prince Hotel, others nights in Anchorage, doing dog sledding/xcountry skiing/fishing/site seeing. Is it better to stay in downtown or Greater Anchorage?
How long drive it is between ANC airport and Alyeska Prince Hotel?

2. Accommondations in Fairbanks
We are going to spend one night at the Chena Hot Springs Resort, other nights in Fairbanks, doing whatever AK activities we didn't do in Anchorage + site seeing. Fairbanks seems to be small, and staying at anywhere would be fine. Is this assumption correct? If not, any recommendations? Thanks.
How long drive it is from Fairbanks airport to Chena Hot Springs Resort?

3. Arctic Circle
Is it worth a day trip in Dec.? Drive or fly?

Thanks!

You can get from the airport to Alyeska in under an hour.

http://www.anchorage.net/629.cfm

Fairbanks isn't nearly as scenic, but it will be much colder -- usually at least 20 degrees cooler and sometimes more than 40, i.e. Dec. ave. is high of 24, low of 11 in Anchorage and high of 5, low of minus-nine in Fbx.

I'd spend more time in Anchorage than Fbx. More to do, better scenery. It's a more than an hour (can't remember exactly) from the airport to the resort and just how fast depends on road conditions.

Note too that it will be dark - a lot. Sunrise in FAI will be around 11 am, sunset around 2:45 pm. At the arctic circle there will be no more than a couple hours of daylight.

I changed the flight to shorten my stay in Fairbanks to 2 days. Thanks!

Be sure to look UP at night. The northern lights show should be showing in December.

There is nothing to do in Fairbanks in Summer. What are you planning to do there in Winter ?!!
My advice: replace Fairbanks with Homer.
You can fly there from ANC. ERA local flight - 50 min.

Back! Thanks for all of your input! We had a fabulous time in AK!

Northern lights. Mother nature... The lights were seen every night the week before we arrived, and SIX hours the night before we arrived. But we didn't see a bit, not even on a clear night...

Day light. 10-4, a good reason for sleeping in and retiring early to the bar. :-)

Happy new year!