Is Homer a good central location?
 

Our 15 day itinerary is very simple, at least for the moment.We are arriving in Anchorage on the 26th of June; we have rented a van for 8 days -we do not know yet where it will take us- and then off to Homer for a 5 night stay where we will probably rent a car or bikes. Is Homer central enough to stay for 5 days? We do not want to be driving around for 15 days (but want to kayak, bike, hike. Is there a better central location? From what I read, Homer seems great. Any suggestions on places to stay aroud $100.

Homer isn't central at all. It's at the end of a very long drive from Anchorage.

Tom Bodett, he of book and motel promotion fame, wrote a book about Homer, entitled <i>The End of the Road</i> because in his opinion it was the logical end of the North American road system and in fact of the Pan American Highway. People in Inuvik might take exception to that, but evidently nobody there cares to make an argument.

Homer is not central to anything except maybe Homer and Seldovia. Beautiful country, sure, but with your aims you might find Seward a better compromise.

i would have to agree that two nites in Homer would probably give you plenty of time to visit the Spits, kayak, go over across the bay for the day and head out. Spending 2 or 3 nites in Seward would allow you to see Exit Glacier, only part of Kenai Fjords NP reachable by land. The Kenai Fjords boat tour, at least 6 hr one, will give you highlights of the glacier and wildlife in area. Anc is much better place to anchor your visit for day trips in all directions and give you more options, like to go to denali or talkeetna.

At the risk of sounding obvious, I think if you are driving around Alaska, getting a map would be a wise investment. One look at the map could tell you where all you can go from Homer -- not many places.

As others have suggested, look at a map, and definately get a copy of THE MILEPOST. For Alaska touring, in my opinion, you do need to consider being on the move, stay a few nights then drive a couple hundred miles to the next location. Looking for day trips out of a single location will be very limiting. Alaska is vast. :)

buget queen has it right. i did two weeks in alaska, first half was a camping tour, second half was on my own. 2days (3 if you do a halibut fishing trip) was enough for homer. i did the trip to seldovia one of those days, boat over in the morning fly back in the pm. lots of folks were kayaking at seldovia. eagles all over the place... another afternoon you can walk the spit.seward was also a great place, i'd break up my week between the two locations. exit glacier, russian river, kenai fords. i also highly recommend the flight out of talkeetna AROUND the summit of the Mt. McKinley. awesome! as to your last q. check out some of the b&amp;bs in the area. had great experience using them, they likely book fast tho in july. i was there in june and had no problem...

I've always liked Tom Bodett's line describing Homer: &quot;Once you get there, the only place you can go is back&quot;. He was even kind enough to give me permission to use it in an article I did several years ago on end-of-the-road towns.

If you are driving, the line is almost literally true. There's a short (25 miles or so) road out into the Russian settlements east of Homer. Other than that, your choices are go back, fly, or take a ferry.

Great Bed and Breakfast in Homer is Chocolate Drop Bed and Breakfast. The inn keeper Brittany was wonderful to us. The view was incredible. Very clean and we felt right at home. Rates are around $130-150 per night.