trip to alaska?

Question

im planning a trip to alaska this summer. was planning on going to fairbanks. any suggestions on where to go or what to do. also any suggestions on flying there at a cheap rate and also your experiences of flying there as i am a little nervous of flying that far

and why do i need a passport to go from nc to alaska

Answer 1

Why Fairbanks? It will be cheaper to fly into Anchorage. Rent a motorhome or car and head south onto the Kenai Peninsula. From Anchorage, its a 45 minute drive to Alyeska, which is a world class ski resort. Granted theres no skiing in July....but if you take the tram up you get a great view. About 15 minutes after that, is Portage. There is a big game sanctuary there, where you can drive through and see lots of animals. Also in Portage is a glacier (aptly named Portage Glacier) where you can look at a big chunk of ice thats older than most Twinkies. There is a visitor center there that is pretty nifty and most important it has bathrooms. All the way down to Alyeska/Portage, you travel on Turnagain Arm, where the Pacific Ocean is about 50 yards to your right. There is also sheep that hang on the rocks that are on your left as well. Eagles, sheep, occasional beluga whales....its all there.
Also in Portage, is a tunnel to a little town of Whittier. You blink, you miss the town. however, the tunnel is 2 miles through a mountain, which in itself is kind of cool. In Whittier, you can go sea kayaking, or on a glacier cruise where you can get up close and personal with the big chunks of ice, plus see many aquatic forms of life, seals, otters, whales, birds...
Once done with Whittier, head back to Portage and continue south. You will have an option to go to Seward, or Kenai/Soldotna/Homer. If you go to Seward, from the cutoff will be another 45 minutes. In Seward they have the Alaska Sea Life Center, which is a big water zoo. No whales, but you get to see a lot of the things that you would need to be deep in the water to see. And they are alive. Every 4th of July, there is whats called the Mt. Marathon race, where people run up a mountain, then run back down. Unlike the dirt piles in some states, these actually are mountains. In early August, they have a silver salmon derby. lots of people, lots of fish, lots of money to be won.
If you take the other way, instead of to Seward, you will have several oppurtunities to fish the Kenai River. Big Salmon come out of there. Soldotna and Kenai are 9 miles apart, but its a nice little area. Continuing on to Homer, which is a little less than an hour (or faster if the State Troopers arent around) you come to the end of the road. Literally. The last part of the road is on a 3 mile stretch of land into Kachemak Bay. Called the Homer Spit. If you even remotely like the ocean, Homer has everything you could want and more. If you want to burn up some film or space on a memory card, Homer and Kachemak Bay are some of the prettiest scenery in the world.
Should you be in Anchorage and decide not to go that way, drive north. Its not a bad drive. About an hour north of Anchorage, there is a reindeer farm. yes, they do have one named Rudolph. You can actually take some feed and go out into a big lot where you can feed/pet reindeer that will come up to you. You are in there with them, and there is nothing between you and them. Not as scary as it sounds. you can also pet a real live moose, and buffalo. This is one of the only places that you can pet a real live moose and not get trampled. In the winter they are around all over the place, but most normal people know not to go up and give them a hug. those that do....well, thinning out the population I guess....
The State Fair is in Palmer in late August, where you can see some huge vegies. And they are big. 1000 pound pumpkins, things like that. When you do get to Fairbanks, there is a ton of scenery along the way. Fairbanks is a nice town, and most like it. From there, you can go to the Arctic Circle, or drive back down a little and go to Denali national Park, seeing Mt. Mckinley. They do have things like the other posters said, such as the town of North Pole, a place called Chena Hot Springs, and other things. It is warmer there than Anchorage usually, and it does frequently get into the 90's during summer.
There is a ton of things to do for every walk of life in Alaska. I wouldn't limit myself to one city. Anchorage to Homer is 222 road miles. Anchorage to Fairbanks is 350. Go to www.adn.com, or www.ktuu.com for some other things. The first is for the Anchorage Daily News website, and the second is for one of Anchorage's tv stations. Both of these places would have info or links to most items of interest in the state.

Answer 2

You don't need a passport to fly, unless you were going to stop in Canada, which would be very rare. The passport is for driving through Canada, though I guess it might be required for flying in the future.

Don't worry about the flights, there are tons of flights to Anchorage leaving from Seattle, Chicago etc. and then you either continue on the same plane or switch planes to get to Fairbanks. Alaska Airlines (Not "Alaskan" as the other person said) is the best airline to get from the lower 48 to Fairbanks. Flying up here to Alaska is just the same as flying in the other states as long as you are going through a major airline. Of course we have bush flying in small planes, but thats totally different.

Look at the Alaska Airlines webpage and go to their web specials, you can get cheaper rates there.

There are many things to do, it just depends if you are interested in history, fishing, hiking, boating, sightseeing etc. Be prepared for anything from 90 F temps to rain in the summer in Fairbanks! The norm would be a few days of rain per month, but mostly sun or overcast (especially if there are forst fires in the state). Temps would normally be in the 70s during the day and 50s to 60s at night depending which month you are going. Summer in Alaska doesn't really happen until June.

Have fun!

Answer 3

At Fairbanks you will find enough to do to keep you so busy you won't want to leave. There are guided tours or you can go it alone. Your first stop must be the visitors center right down town.

Don't miss the River Boat Discovery cruise. You depart downtown Fairbanks, cruise past bush pilots, dog mushers and end up in an Indian village. The whole show is staged but it's fun and informitive.

Next is the El Dorado gold mine tour. Again every thing is staged but you learn how gold mines operated many years ago. You also get to pan for real gold. You can get a special discount for doing both. Watch for the double ticket. Better yet order your own copy of The Great Alaskan Tour Saver Book at www.toursaver.com. It is full of buy one get one free deals. We stayed in one motel, in Valdez, and the book paid for it's self.

If you are renting a car you might want to drive North of town and visit a visitors center for the Alaska Pipeline. Then continue up to Gold Dredge #8. Here you will see how most of the gold was removed from Alaska.

Don't miss the museum at the University of Alaska as it's one of the best in the U.S.

Don't plan on doing too much shopping at Wal Mart as they do not have Super Centers. Try Fred Myers, Kroger, or Carrs Safeway. These stores are better equiped than any Wal Mart Super Center.

This could go on forever as there are so many places to see and things to do.

Research discount airlines and be flexible with your travel times and you can find a good deal. Start with Alaskan Air. We were stuck in Anchorage for two months last year when I found oneway tickets to Tampa, FL for $300.00. There are deals to be found, you only have to research them.

Don't worry about a long flight as you are going to make many short ones. You might get lucky and find non-stop to Anchorage but most likely not to Fairbanks. Don't forget you will need a passport.

Answer 4

Forget the winter cruise, unless you have plans to work your way North on a crab boat.

No passport needed as of yet but soon.

And as Arthur has pointed out tons to see in the Golden Heart City. Try heading to Circle Hot Springs, or closer, Chena Hot Springs.

A drive South will bring you to North Pole, Alaska and Santa Clause House (its a tourist thing), further south is The Knotty Shop (you'll have to see it to understand).

A drive of about 130 miles south along the Parks Highway, brings you to Denali National Park, and Mt. McKinlley (you came all this way a shame to miss it).

Camai!

Answer 5

if you were going in the winter i would suggest you take a cruise. i've heard those are very nice because of all beautiful winter scenery and they stop a few places along the way. maybe they offer summer cruises as well.

Answer 6

go to the kenai peninsula and go fishing