Short Trip tp Alaska
 

Hi! I am from Brazil and I'll have the opportunity to visit Alaska for 3 days during the end of Apri, 2012. I would like to see some glaciers, as a primary objective. Can somebody kindly advise me:

- What city should I visit?
- What to do in this small period?
- Hotel indication
- Any flightseeing company, one day cruise to indicate?

Thanks a lot!

I think it's too early in the year, most tourist services are closed. Can you go late May or June, or August or early Sept?

If you can only go in April then maybe fly to Anchorage and drive to Seward, stopping at Portage Glacier. Seward has a lot of good cruises in the summer but I doubt there is much open in April. Here are some suggestions for sightseeing on that drive:

http://www.anchorage.net/624.cfm

Hi Bill, thanks a lot for the answer and link. Unfortunatelly, late May and June are not possible at all. A big (and tending to "no") in August. What do you say about early March vs. end of Abril?

Again, tks!!

You could fly into Juneau and take a city bus to Mendenhall glacier.

<b>What do you say about early March vs. end of Abril?</b>

More daylight and better chance of non-wintry weather in April (our seasons are the exact opposite of Brazil's, March is still winter, April is getting close to our spring, though still early in Alaska).

emalloy's Juneau suggestion is a good one but on our one trip to Juneau we ran out of things to do pretty quickly.

<i>- What city should I visit?
- What to do in this small period?
- Hotel indication
- Any flightseeing company, one day cruise to indicate?</i>

Anchorage.

Visit the city - Native Heritage Center, museum, drive down the Seward Highway to Portage Valley and Girdwood. Go on a flightseeing flight.

Any major downtown hotel - Captain Cook, Marriott, Sheraton, etc.

Rust's - http://www.flyrusts.com/ Too early for cruises.

Meant to add, if you can go in late February or VERY early March, even better. http://www.furrondy.net/

Gardyloo is right. Late February, early March would be an excellent time to visit, if you're flexible. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, our big winter celebration, starts on Feb 24 and runs for two weeks. The next weeked, the first one in March, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race starts in downtown Anchorage. There's a big community ski race that same weekend called the Tour of Anchorage.

If late April is a better fit, there's still plenty to do. The Anchorage Museum expanded a few years back and has a Smithsonian display of 600 Alaska native artifacts. Some of the seasonal tours are gearing up in April too. Just one example: Grey whale watching http://www.majormarine.com/schedule/

Don't worry about finding glaciers, here's a list of the most accesible.
http://www.anchorage.net/602.cfm

I work at the Visitors Center in downtown Anchorage. Come by and see us when you make it to Alaska!

I've been to Alaska twice in winter.

The first trip was to Juneau over Thanksgiving break (November). As mentioned above, you can visit Mendenhall Glacier and it would be a great short trip option. One thing to ask about is the weather. I met a lot of folks during the layover in Seattle and most planned to fly back on different days. When I got to the Juneau airport, they were all there. The airport had been "socked in" for days and no planes had taken off for several days. We took the ferry from Juneau to Haines and then got on the AlCan highway and drove up into the Yukon. It was gorgeous. We saw just a few other vehicles on the road (mostly truckers). It was announced as we were leaving the ferry that driving conditions were excellent - a deep bed of snowpack. Beautiful views of glaciers on the ferry ride to Haines.

The other winter trip was to Anchorage and Fairbanks in mid-Feb. We were in Anchorage the week before the Iditarod and the excitement in the city was wonderful. I was there for work and the following weekend we drove to Talkeetna and took a flight plane tour over Denali. It was GORGEOUS. I think there's an option to land on a glacier. We just flew around in a 7 seater. Fabulous experience. We drove on up to Fairbanks for work, but I wouldn't do that in your limited time. Somewhere along the drive we saw a dog sledder along the road and then he turned into a lane. We followed. My co-worker was freaking out, but I said he wouldn't mind. It turned out that the lane was his driveway. I apologized but said I was just amazed at the dogs. We ended up staying there, talking to him and his young daughter and he unhooked the dogs, feed them, etc. It was a great experience. I'd love to take a dog sled ride but it was a blast just spending time with a sledder talking about the dogs.

I loved both experiences equally - Juneau with the ferry to Haines and Anchorage and a flight plane ride over Denali. Choose either one and I think you'll be pleased.

You do realize that you are going to Alaska in winter, right?

If you're coming from Brazil and going in February or March you had better expect COLD weather. February lows and highs are from 11-25 degrees F. March are 18-33.
http://www.rssweather.com/climate/Alaska/Anchorage/

Hi Embumirim,

Sorry that so many of these other people are so far off with regard to your stated criteria.

I drove to Alaska from the 'lower 48' states in early April one year. The driving was fine all the way, and daytime temperatures never dipped below 0F or -18C.

Late April may well be ideal for your journey, although weather can certainly be a variable, especially in Alaska.

The first person to reply probably gave you the most sensible and related information as a drive from Anchorage to Seward sounds like a great fit.

If you can time a one-day cruise from Seward ideally then that would be a good move.

The town of Seward will have impressive surroundings very easy to appreciate at that time of year.

I would definitely make the effort to see Alaska... and be aware that merely flying IN will show you a mountainous climate unlike most others.

The 125-mile drive to Seward will offer you water views, mountain scenery, and a whole lot more, on roads that are relatively empty and likely trouble-free.

Dress warmly and have a good time!