I want to come visit Alaska from the UK - Totally confused as when to come.. (Anchorage: where to stay, to rent)

[Tom UK]

Right

I've wanted to come to Alaska for years. I love the cold and snow but also hiking and cycling so I'm sure I'd love the summer there too.

It's expensive to get there from the UK but now i've saved up enough frequent flyer miles to fly there and also for 2 internal return flights (taken 5+ years). I know internal flights are expensive hence the reason I've waited so I can do it for "free".

I want to do the trip as an independent traveller and cost will be a factor. I think I'll come for around 2-3 weeks. I like the idea of the "fringe" season (May) as it will be less touristic and less people there from the lower states. I want to see life in Alaska.

What I want to do whilst there:
Fairbanks (probably fly to here from the UK via Seattle) (I'll fly into Fairbanks and out of Anchorage)
See the Northern Lights
Take some random internal flights for a couple of days at a time - Adak / Barrow etc..
Take the train from Fairbanks to Anchorage (or vice versa).
Find some good cafes and bars and meet the locals.
Camp / hostels / some hotels

Other thoughts if they fit:
Juneau
Take the train: Skagway-Whitehorse

Basically I want to do a trip that most people will think it a bit crazy. I will find it all interesting, I just like seeing things in a different way.

Ok, when to come? if it was my choice and logistics didn't matter I'd be happy there in winter sitting drinking coffee and finding out what people do when it's dark a lot.. although now I appreciate I might not find anywhere to stay and it will be hard to get around.

March / April? Is this even an option, although I'm not sure the train will be running until May? Will there be anything going on?

May? Sounds a good compromise (but harder to see the northern lights?)

Final Point, I don't drive (I never got round to it by the age of 27).. I think it going to be essential I get my licence before I come so I can hire a car? (I could do this if I have to). I live my life on buses / trains and planes with the odd taxi. Is it possible to do Alaska this way?

Any pointers, opinions would be very welcome.

Tom

[Jonotastic]

Your plans include many unnecessary expenses...Do not fly into Fairbanks from Seattle and then fly out of Anchorage. You would save a lot by doing a round trip flight to and from Anchorage. With 2-3 weeks, don't fly to Barrow or Nome or Adak. You can see the real Alaska without having to take an expensive flight to one of these remote towns. Instead, hire a bush plane for a few hours to fly you over Denali from Talkeetna for example. If you want really want to experience Alaska and meet locals, you will have to drive. You can take bus, train, cruise tours, but you will be among tourists visiting touristy locations and points of interest. Do not go in April! It's ugly, the snow is melting and everything looks dirty. I think Alaska looks beautiful during the winter and you can see the Northern Lights if you are in the Fairbanks area, but days are short and access to many beautiful areas are restricted and if you don't know locals ahead of time, you will be bored with 2-3 weeks. I would recommend visiting during the summer end of May to August...June would be my recommendation. Camping is also difficult if you are a tourist on your own that doesn't know any locals ahead of time. Tents and camping gear are expensive and bulky, so I don't know what you will do with them at the end of your trip. Stay in B&B's, many of the inn keepers can offer great advice on what to do and see. I would visit Denali, Valdez, Seward, Homer. Some points of interest in between these areas or in these areas...Denali National Park (ATV, Wildlife, White Water Rafting), Little Su River (Salmon fishing - depends on what's running), Hatcher's Pass (hike on your own to Summit Lake), Matanuska Glacier (hike on the glacier on your own, just be careful, you don't need spiked shoes), Girdwood (hiking), Kenai River (Salmon Fishing, once again depends on the season), Exit Glacier (Hiking), Cruise Kenai Fjords National Park...these are just some POI I'd recommend. Make sure you get your drivers license!

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a direct message, I've been playing tour guide lately because many of my friends from out of state have been visiting.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Jonotastic

With 2-3 weeks, don't fly to Barrow or Nome or Adak. You can see the real Alaska without having to take an expensive flight to one of these remote towns. Instead, hire a bush plane for a few hours to fly you over Denali from Talkeetna for example. If you want really want to experience Alaska and meet locals, you will have to drive.

Errrr... have you actually been to Alaska????

A trip to Adak is not likely to be cost effective, but the rest of that is just hilarious.

You can't see much of Alaska from a highway. What you do end up seeing is the closest thing we have to the Lower-48, and he could drive around just about any 1000 mile loop from Seattle to somewhere and be just as enlightned.

To see Alaska go to Bethel, Kotzebue or Barrow for a week. An even more adventurous trip would be to visit virtually any of the villages around one of those locations. (That's a little harder though, and probably isn't a good idea to try arranging it long distance but it would be worth the effort to look into once on the ground in the larger town.)

[bortstc37]

i'd recommend march if you want anything winter related (i.e. dogsled races) and northern lights. you won't see northern lights in may or june, as it won't be dark enough. the only thing about coming in march is that most everything will be covered with snow, so if you want any greenery (besides spruce trees), you're better off in may or june.

fall is also very pretty. you can see some amazing fall colors that you don't see elsewhere- the tundra in particular has a very unique palette of colors (and they aren't the same as you'd find in deciduous forests, that's for sure).

you might wanna try the train from fairbanks down to seward. that would be fun and you'd see a lot of different environments throughout the state.

seems to me that 2-3 weeks would make it impossible to get a good feel for everything. the simplest thing might be to rent a car or buy a junker and drive around everywhere you can on the road system. i'd really recommend getting off the road system if you can, but this can be pricey and difficult if you don't know anybody in the places you'd be going. the majority of the state is off the road system, and you'd never be able to explore it sufficiently without an extra lifetime to spare. even though i much prefer living in the bush to living in anchorage, i wouldn't recommend spending too much time out here- access to tourist services can be very spotty. that being said, dillingham (small town) and unalakleet (bigger village) are a couple of lovely towns (very pretty settings, too) that you can get to with a direct commercial flight from anchorage. you'd need to do some much more serious research and planning to include those in your plan and not get frustrated.

[Marty Van Diest]

As as been said before, you won't be able to see Alaska in 3 weeks. But you can at least see some nice mountains, snow if you want, scenery that will knock you out, and have a good experience.

Don't fly to Adak...do you realize how far that is...from anything?

Do go to Barrow.

If you come in mid to late March it should be sunny, light, and lots of snow.

If you want summer come in mid to late June. If you come in May you will see the trees just getting their buds depending on where you are.

You can get around in Fairbanks and Anchorage on busses, otherwise you will have a tough time. In Barrow, or other small towns, large villages you should be able to get a taxi or just some local to take you where you can't walk.

Either way, you will only get a taste of Alaska. I have lived here all my life, I have never been to Juneau, Barrow, Kotzebue, or Adak. I would like to visit Barrow and Kotzebue...no desire to see Juneau or Adak. I grew up on the Yukon and lived in many other places off the road system, but still have never seen Alaska in over 50 years.

[stiffnecked]

You want a good trip and want to do it on the cheap. Nothing wrong with that. Fly into Anchorage. Rent a car. Spend a few nights in a hostel while you get your bearings. Drive the road system and campout. Cheap tent at WalMart, sleep up in the car when it gets to wet or cold.

To get a real feel for Alaska do as Floyd suggests. Plan a couple of fly out trips to Barrow, Nome, Kotzebue, Bethel or even Kodiak. You have to get past Anchorage and Fairbanks if you want to see the real Alaska.

[arctichomesteader]

Definately go to Barrow, it's on my list of places to go to someday, preferably (for me) while whaling is going on...Barrow is completely different than Fairbanks and vicinity, just as Fairbanks is completely different than anything in Southcentral or Southeast Alaska. Alaska is a big, varied state. The best parts are not the two larger cities (Fairbanks and Anchorage).

There's much more to Alaska than what you can drive to. It will be impossible to see everything in 2-3 weeks, but you could see a decent amount with some planning. Don't go during breakup (a.k.a. mud season).

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

Errrr... have you actually been to Alaska???? A trip to Adak is not likely to be cost effective, but the rest of that is just hilarious.

Are you saying if there is more than 5000 people living within 100 miles of each other, it's not Alaska?

That any city between Denali to Anchorage, Palmer to Valdez, Anchorage to Seward is not Alaska and in no way gives an idea of what Alaska is like?

Instead, after flying across the globe, you have to spend an additional $400-$500 to fly to Barrow to actually see what Alaska is like.

What's hilarious is that you think only 0.01% of Alaskans actually live in Alaska.

You don't have to fly to a tiny town that costs the same as flying to almost any other city in the United States. Unless you have been to Alaska numerous times or live here, spending $400-$500 to fly to Barrow won't be worth the money because you can visit remote places without having to fly, it's unnecessary for a first time visitor unless money isn't an issue.

In my opinion Barrow is more of a tourist spot for Alaskans, I don't consider it to be the "real" Alaska.

[stiffnecked]

If you can drive there it isn't remote, it's rural. Remote or bush Alaska means it's off of the road system. There isn't one single village, town or city on the road system that compares to Barrow, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue or even Unalakleet. Two very different experiences. And I've been to every nook and cranny that you can drive to on the Alaskan road system. Still many, many places I haven't been able to fly out yet. Unalakleet is one of them.

[tigre79]

Camping is also difficult if you are a tourist on your own that doesn't know any locals ahead of time. Tents and camping gear are expensive and bulky, so I don't know what you will do with them at the end of your trip.

I flew all my backpacking gear up from Florida in a big duffel bag. No problems at all, and I didn't know a soul up there. There are lots of places to camp, and there wasn't anything difficult about it.

I'd suggest hiking up to the Harding Icefield, which feeds Exit Glacier (among many others) down near Seward. It's a wonderful, strenuous hike with outstanding views and lots of varied terrain and vegetation (woods, wildflowers, talus, snowfields, etc). The icefield itself is amazing - just almost surreal. And when get back down you're close enough to Seward to go find some good food and a beer. Oh, and there's a pretty nice free campground near there too, on the river.