If you had one opportunity to see Alaska - how and what would you do?
 

It's early days yet, but we would like to do a trip to Canada and Alaska in 2008. We don't really know that much about Alaska or Canada, but I will stick to Alaska for this post.

We live in Australia and the only product that gets promoted for Alaska are cruises. As such my husband thinks going on a cruise is the answer to seeing Alaska. I on the other hand am not fond of the thought. I think that there might be another way to see it.

I guess the real question is - If you had one opportunity to see Alaska, how, what and when would you do?

To give you a little background, we are in our early 30's, fairly fit - sporty, love animals, love nature, photography is a keen interest and we would be travelling on a budget :)

Looking forward to hearing everyones thoughts

Well, we were much older when we finally decided we had only ONE opportunity to see Alaska. We opted to drive. We spent four weeks IN Alaska. The highlights were backcountry wilderness camps for three days each in Denali and Kenai, as well as on overnight in Seldovia. We entered from Dawson City, Yukon and drove the Top of the World highway, which we'd have just as soon forgotten. Fairbanks didn't do a lot for us either, but the Kenai peninsula, Homer, Anchorage, and Denali were all great. Then we took the Alaska Marine Highway System (the ferry) down to Bellingham stopping for several overnights along the way (Haines, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan). I felt that was better -- having a few days in each "port" than just stopping for a few hours.

I just want to compliment you on your question. I hope to someday plan this same trip and look forward to the advice given here. Make sure to do a search as there are so many wonderful trip and photo reports that have inspired me to hope for a trip.

Actually, I think the one way cruises and at least another week interior Alaska touring is ideal. The Inside Passage ports are all distinctly different and very worthwhile, the sailing, very scenic.

Interior Alaska top choices for me are Denali Park and Seward, plenty more too.

I suggest you get to your library and take out Fodor's Alaska, Frommer's Alaska and make a list of areas of interest for you.

Determine how much time you have, then repost.

MollyJones,

I'm an Aussie now living in Alaska - here's how I ended up here.

Alaska was somewhere I'd always wanted to visit and in 1982 I did a 5 week camping trip thru Alaska & Western Canada with TrekAmerica. Had a great time.
In 1991 I returned to do a 10 day dog sled trip in the Brooks Range and then travelled on the Alaska Marine Highway along the southeast panhandle. Just when I least expected it, I met the "man of my dreams" in Ketchikan, and we have been happily married and living in Alaska ever since.

A cruise along the southeast panhandle and then maybe another 7-10 days travelling south central/interior Alaska will give you a great overall view of the state.

Accommodation is really expensive in summer, have you given any thought to renting a small RV? You will then have the option of cooking some or all of your meals or eating out for dinner maybe.

There are some great trip reports on here and you can look on TripAdvisor too.

Good luck with whatever you plan.

Gilbert
(ex Melbourne)

Gilbert, what a great story!
Molly, first I loved visiting in late June that included 4th of July. I enjoyed seeing a variety of wildflowers and it was the beginning of the salmon runs. The Kenai Fjords trip out of Seward to see glaciers and sealife was a favorite but so was going to the Forest Fair in Girdwood, seeing the Kenai 4th of July parade. Each town in Alaska seems to be quite different. I also liked Homer (very artsy) and Palmer. We don't happen to like cruises but enjoyed the ferry from Bellingham to Skagway. We prefer to wander around by ourselves on our own time.
Try reading the Anchorage Daily News on-line to see what's going on and where. I think there are a lot of events tourists miss. I liked going to the farmers markets esp the one in Anchorage. Managed a free neighborhood garden tour on one trip. What fun to see people's backyards. Some of the B&Bs have kitchenettes so you can do some cooking. The larger towns have great supermarkets so you can grab something for lunch/picnics.
The advice to get a Milepost and other guides to Alaska are good.

"Seeing" Alaska is like "seeing" Australia - it's too big and diverse and sparsely settled to "see" more than a smidgeon at a time. Like Oz, there are areas that are quite urban and other areas that are for all practical purposes inaccessible to anyone without a float plane, snow machine, or both.

I would characterize Alaska as possessing three separate "zones" (not regions) that a visitor should try to experience. The first is coastal Alaska, where cruise ships or the ferry system are the most effective means of access for visitors. BQ's idea about a one-way cruise is a good one, but you can also ride the state ferry system, get off in small towns for a day or a few, then get back on and repeat up the line, and so on, for a less luxurious (and frankly often more expensive) but more leisurly pace.

The second "zone" is that part of the state not easily accessed off the road system. Like Oz, not all areas of Alaska are accessible by road, and they constitute the vast bulk of the state. The arctic, western Alaska, the Aleutians - these areas are not accessible either by road or - for the most part - by cruise ship or ferry; only planes can get you there. Still, they are enormously interesting areas, and not making the effort to experience a little of that part of the state is a real shame, although the vast majority of visitors never do.

The third zone is the road-accessible portion of the state, generally the Kenai-Anchorage-Interior areas that include Seward, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali, and all that. There are many, many things and places of interest that are easily accessed by car in this zone, and aside from cruises this is where most tourists spend virtually all their time, and with good reason.

So a one way cruise, followed or preceded by a week or two on the road system is a fine introduction. Adding a few days in the bush off the road system is a huge plus, and as you decide on your money budget and time budget, I'd urge you to give some thought to getting off the highway, and experience the human story that's being lived on the other side of the mountains and across the big rivers.

Hello,

I used to work on the cruise lines and I spent 7 months in between Canada and Alaska.

Alaska is one of my all time favourite places and second to that is Canada. I saw a great deal in my time as we did almost the same route for the entire 7 months which meant I got to do something different each time.

A cruise is a great way of getting a 'feel' for certain places a sort of preview to somewhere you might want to stay longer.

The cruise through the inside passage is breath taking, I never got tired of it. We saw so many whales and seeing the glaciers is something else!

The only thing with a cruise is the amount of people sharing your moment, the decks are packed with everyone trying to get a good view of the same thing.

Time in each port is limited we had a few late sails but most of the time we arrived at 10am and were sailing again at 6pm, last pax need to be onboard 30 mins before sailing.

Alaska cruises are very popular however you can get some great deals if you book shortly before the cruise dates. Inside cabins have no windows and if you are claustrophobic this may prove to be a problem, I would suggest trying to get a lateish deal in an outside cabin mid ship, sea sickness can be a factor and mid ship is the best place to be on the lower decks.

I love the motion of the ocean and everything that goes with it, I worked on cruise lines for 3 years and still miss it!

Alot of the ships that cruise Alaska are nice, it depends on your budget and the kind of age group you like to be around.

Personally although I loved cruising, knowing how limited time is and how much I love Alaska and Canada I would opt out of a cruise and choose the adventure of staying awhile in such beautiful surroundings.

Whatever you choose I hope you have a wonderful time.

Ps if you visit Ketchikan take a light Jacket it rained every week we were there!!!!

Planning so far ahead is a great strategy. I just booked a 2008 Alaska trip. I know your predicament with cruising because I felt the same way before my first trip. Despite their many advantages, I just did not want a traditional cruise and all it offered. I ended up doing an 8-day wildlife cruise on a 70-passenger ship that did hikes and kayaking for activities instead of port visits. It was a great decision for me and I mention that because you seem to have those same cruise issues that I did. The company I used is no longer around, but here are some options that would be similar. Actually these boats carry even fewer passengers.

http://www.snowgoosealaska.com/

natural habitat
http://www.nathab.com/app/cda/nha_cd...entureId=10062

mountain sobek
http://www.mtsobek.com/cgi-bin/trip.py?tripID=INN

wilderness
http://www.wildernesstravel.com/itins/glacier.html

There are probably lots more than this.

Much as I enjoyed that outstanding cruise, I think I still liked the land activities even more. You might consider a few boat activities where you spend the day at sea but are not on an actual cruise. For example, Glacier Bay was awesome. I visited it as part of the 8-day cruise itinerary and went back to stay at Glacier Bay on my second trip. If you fly to Juneau, there is a ferry that goes to Glacier Bay, actually Gustavus, and it also does whale watching en route in some of the most productive whale watching waters. Then you can do one-day boat trips from Glacier Bay with beautiful scenery and wildlife. Plus you can hike and kayak in the Glacier Bay area.

You could also do a day cruise from Seward, Alaska. Seward is often included on itineraries and is easily reached from Anchorage by car. We went by train. You can cruise Resurrection Bay and see the Northwestern Glacier. As in Glacier Bay, wildlife and scenery was spectacular.

I would think you’d want to visit Denali. Staying in the park at a place like Kintashna Roadhouse (which I would recommend) gives you a more in depth experience. But it is the school bus ride to and from that produces the most wildlife viewing.

If maximizing your bear viewing and photographing opportunities appeal to you, I’d suggest time at Brooks Falls or other bear spots. It is easy to arrange one-day trips from Anchorage to Brooks to view the bears fishing for salmon. However, you would have to go late June to the end of July or Sept, not Aug, to witness this. You can also stay at Brooks for up to 3 days in their cabins or a week at their campgrounds during these peak bear times. I’ve only stayed at Brooks and never flew in for the day. You might also consider less crowded bear viewing by including Homer in your itinerary and taking a bear trip from there to Katmai. Emerald Air gets rave reviews for their one-day bear trips from Homer. I’ve stayed at Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp, with flights from Homer, and had outstanding bear viewing, plus wolves, foxes, eagles, harbor seals. You can spend just a night or two up to a week or more there. My 2008 trip is to Katmai in late June to view bears from a boat.

Some of these ideas are not inexpensive. It appears several other posters have extensive Alaska experience that will be helpful, especially with logistics and driving around.

Best of luck and have fun planning and going.

Molly,

Everyone else has the 'cruise' option covered, and my only trip to Alaska involved a DRIVE from Seattle, 800 miles northeast to the START of the Alaska Highway and then another 1600 miles to Anchorage.

There is basically only ONE road up there, and there are nature scenes along it that are breathtaking and spectacular. I went in very early April, while all the lakes were still frozen, and the photography was unique as a direct result.

Another benefit to going when I did was that traffic was almost non-existent. I drove for 7 hours one day and saw just two cars heading in my direction on the two-lane Alaska Highway.

Because of this, anytime I saw a great photo opportunity, I just STOPPED the car right in the middle of the road and took whatever photo I wanted. (would have heard any vehicle approaching for 5 or 10 minutes before it arrived)

Depending upon what you wish to see of Canada, the drive to Alaska might be a nice match.

Because the area up there is so sparsely populated, Bison and cariboo graze at the side of the highway in different spots.

Most of what you'd see in the British Columbia segment of the highway is just TREEEEEEEEEEES and thick forest, with a spectacular lake or two mixed in.

My favorite area was Kluane Lake in the southern Yukon - the photography was excellent.

Alaska has tons of mountains all over and just driving past and through them is enough to be WOW'ed!

If considering driving to Alaska, I would target a point in time beFORE the middle of June... as the tourist traffic and the mosquitoes get to be factors after that. (there was no hint of mosquitoes when I went, with temperatures mostly near or just above freezing. (my first night in Alaska it dipped to -22C while I was safely in my motel room)

I'm not really "suggesting" this method of seeing Alaska and Canada, but I sure wouldn't turn it down if inclined to do it over again. It should certainly be represented among your responses here.

The nature on my trip was so impressive that the Canadian Rockies lost some of their spectacular appeal for my having just come from far more awe inspiring mountains.

As for the budget, the price of GAS would be a huge variable, but also one more reason to try to make the trip in late April or May, before touristy northern summer increases demand and raises prices. Just driving on the long path is 'entertainment' enough, and at least lets you predict ahead of time what budgeting is needed.

Hope this makes you think...

I remember seeing a newscast within the last 2 weeks that the only road into/out of one of the large cities, Fairbanks, I think, was flooded away because of the heavy rains in Alaska last month. If you are driving, you will want to be aware of the weather and the road conditions. I have heard many horror stories about the conditions of the Alaska Highway, but people do still drive it every day! (Alaska also has major earthquakes, at times.) Alaska is my favorite place on Earth. I have only been there by cruise ship for one week at a time (5 times) but when we retire, I hope to visit for 3 long weeks, and possibly look for a nice piece of property to retire my soul. Ketchikan rains almost everyday. They are a rain-forested area and measure their yearly rain by FEET, not inches.

Excellent question and excellent responses!
thank you for sharing!!!

Driving from the lower 48 for overseas visitors is really not a viable option. Most if not all of the rental car companies won't let you.

Why must people post complete misinformation here to dissuade sincere visitors who merely want to drive around the continent?

It would be downright laughable to suggest that someone from Australia cannot rent a car in the U.S. and drive into Canada with said car!!

Stop spewing such idiocy.

ANY of the big rental car companies would permit a round-trip rental into and through Canada.

NorthwestMale, have you done it? If so have you told them you were driving into Alaska? I'm not sure about recently but I do have friends who tried three companies for rental cars from Seattle and all told them they COULD NOT drive it to Alaska and back. Finally they just lied and didn't tell the company they were going to Alaska, but they worried what would happen if they had a wreck and got "caught". Has that changed more recently?

I rarely spew.

Thank you everyone for your comments, recommendations and wonderful stories. It is wonderful to know that there is so much more out there that travel brochures never tell you about. I also think it's very lovely of you all to give such in depth replies and considerations, much to my appreciation, thank you kindly.

I can see I will need every bit of the next 18 mths to plan this trip. There is just so much to consider ...

Since you are young and fit, I agree with a previous poster that you might consider taking the Alaska ferry, which follows the same route as a cruise ship. They have basic cabins on board for sleeping, or you can get off at various towns to stay overnight.http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/ has tons of information.

This will take you up the coast. As for the rest of Alaska that's accessible by road, I'd opt for a small RV. We rented a truck camper that was just perfect for the two of us. I couldn't find any campervans like you'd rent in Australia, but maybe that's changed in the three or four years since we did this trip.

With the truck camper, we parked up - what you call freedom camp, I believe, a few nights and stayed in government campgrounds on some others. Once you get out of the populated areas, you really have to plan ahead for places to stay if you're not camping. They're not cheap and I would guess in the summer, they'd be filled up if you didn't have a reservation. I'm not big on planning ahead that much.

If you rent a camper, make sure you have sleeping bags. Ours came with three velour type blankets and we were very cold. This was our first experience renting a camper and now know to ask that question. If the camper company doesn't supply sleeping bags or comforters, consider bringing them or buying cheap ones at Walmart in Anchorage. This was our only complaint about the camper, which we rented from ABC Motorhomes.

The highlight of our trip was driving the Denali highway. It's 100 or so miles on a mostly dirt road running across the state. We did it east to west. Stunning scenery and lovely solitude. We just camped by the side of the road. Lots of opportunities for this on the Denali Highway. As we reached the western end, there was Mount McKinley, called Denali, sitting highlighted by the sun.

Don't turn up your nose at Anchorage. The Saturday market was great. We also like the musuem.

We also went to Seward and Valdez. Very stunning scenery on the way there.

We went toward the end of May. It was still quite cool, but there were no crowds, no mosquitos and we liked seeing snow on the mountains.

Molly -- We did a completely independent (non-cruise) visit to Alaska in 2000 and absolutely loved it. Of all the many great experiences on our trip, two stand out in our memory:

1) The small boat trip out of Seward to Northwest Glacier, with Mariah Tours. This was an "up close and personal" visit to the face of calving glaciers, Kittiwake rookeries, sea lion habitat, and an encounter with a pod of Orcas. The small boat trip with Mariah made it possible to hear the glaciers cracking as they calved, and to feel the ripples which rocked the boat as the resultant waves passed under us. The crew was expert at finding Orcas and Humpbacks. and they shut the engines down so we could get close and see and hear these magnificent creatures.

2) Our other favorite was a three day stay at Camp Denali -- 90 miles deep inside Denali National Park. The accommodations and the meals (and the sack lunches for the day outings) were great. We had magnificent views of the great mountain (both from our canoe on Wonder Lake, and through the window of our outhouse). If you should consider Camp Denali, be sure to stay in one of their log cabins (they also have motel-style accommodations nearby) for a true Alaska experience.

We're a couple in your same age group, and we did Alaska for the first time this early summer. We did a one way north bound cruise from Vancouver to Seward. Took the train to Anchorage. And drove to Denali NP and back to Anchorage. If you have more time, stay longer on land.

We were very active and did a lot of hiking and one-time kayaking. The Inside Passage that we saw on the cruise was very beautiful and different from the landscape in the north. See my trip report below. I also had a link to some photos that we took. Let me know if you have questions.
Good luck!

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