Planning A Trip

[B33Bs]

Originally Posted by allforcats

As Barkingowl mentioned, getting to and getting around Alaska can cost quite a lot of money -- because Alaska is far away, and extremely large to wander around in. A lot of geography to cover, either way.

Every trip I've ever taken to different parts of Alaska I've planned by researching on tripadvisor.com. It's a venue where real travelers tell their real experiences of areas, cities, attractions, accommodations, restaurants, for everywhere in the world. Each category, such as B&B's for example, are ranked by travelers and include current prices as provided to TA.

This link will open on the general Alaska page. Alaska is a very, very big place -- see the graphics below to compare its size to the lower 48. You could spend a couple of months to see everything you might want to see, or narrow down your target locations.
[URL="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g28923-Alaska-Vacations.html"]Alaska Tourism - Alaska Vacation Reviews - Alaska Vacations - TripAdvisor[/URL]
And if you Google tourism Alaska, you'll find a multitude of helpful, official AK state info sites -- quite informative and inviting! -- such as
[URL="http://www.travelalaska.com/"]Travel Alaska - State of Alaska Travel & Vacation Information[/URL]
and
South East Alaska - Main (http://www.alaskainfo.org/CMS/index.php - broken link)

Whatever kind of budget you plan to use, you can do it. I wish you happy planning! You'll have fun!

Thats excellent! Thank you so much for those links.

[My2cats1]

I've planned a 5-day trip for just under $1,200 (flying from Chicago to ANC). Hotel, car rental, two flightseeing tours, one 4-hour cruise....I can't wait! Book the hotel well in advance - I noticed they fill up fast. I'm sure you can plan something to fit your budget. Perhaps camp part of the time to reduce hotel expenses.

[Jeanieb]

Hi B33B's: I have a website for awayside B & B you can check out. There are links for places to see in the Mat-Su Valley.

Check out coupons for car rentals on the web. Check out train tours once you are in Alaska. There are many sites on line to view for tourism.

Whatever you do, start saving now!

[Barkingowl]

Mat-Su is definitely less expensive for lodgings than Anchorage is.

[IceCold]

Dude. DUDE. Get an Alaska Airlines card if you are planning on flying around. If you charge like there is no tomorrow on it, you will be able to cover some flights with miles. Right now, intra-Alaska flights are sometimes as low as 7.5k air miles. I am doing an interior dash in a month, and booked one of my three flights for $2.50. Two dollars and fifty cents.

I could have done two flights, but I chose to pay $160 instead, since I can spend the same miles later on a flight that costs $500. A free round trip from Juneau to Nome, now THAT'S saving

[tmelwood]

Hi:
We have found the bed & breakfasts to be cheaper. We rented a van for around $100/day with unlimited mileage.
tmelwood

[tmelwood]

We found the Bed & Breakfasts to be cheaper than the hotels. We also rented a mini-van for around $100/day with unlimited mileage.