Up to Alaska? What would an idea vacation in Alaska be for me?

Question

5 day in Alaska, 7 day total I guess with traveling by plane for a day each way?

No cruise unless it doesn't involve a passport. No Canada involved please! A lodge somewhere nice, and a place to see wild bears?

Ideas perhaps?

Answer 1

First, let me make some minor corrections from the previous posting:

Any cruise going to Alaska will require a passport as they all port in Victoria, British Columbia Canada when sailing out of Seattle.

The White Pass and Yukon Rail Road only travels between Skagway and as far north as Carcross (not Whitehorse; last train from Whitehorse Sept. 1982, and I was on it) Yukon Territory Canada.

Skagway has all paved streets and has for many, many years, the rest is good to go.

Now as far as where to go, lodges and such:

The list can get quite long and extensive. I would recommend a circular trip from Anchorage towards Homer if fishing the mission, crossing Prince William Sound on the Alaska Marine Highway (The Ferry) to Valdez and then overland to Chitna and McCarthy and spend some time at the Kennecott; on to Fairbanks, And then head south to Denali, and Talkeetna, before returning to Anchorage.

This is obviously only the tip of the iceberg but a good start overall. There are a tone more sites I could steer you to; but as you can see, which way to go?

You might want to consider a more inclusive tour, that covers much of the area you want to see. I have included my companies web address (saved teh best for last) and you can do just a land only tour, or we can customize an entire itinerary for you. Check some of the web sites listed for more ideas and pictures.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

I live there and am a travel pro.

Camai!

Answer 2

I would highly recommend taking a cruise on the inside passage. You can pick up a cruise boat in Seattle, so you shouldn't need a passport. You will get to see the best of Alaska from the comfort of the boat. Go in late June when there is the most sunlight, it will only be dark for a few hours at night. The inside passage is so narrow that you can easily see the shore off both sides of the boat. Also there are naturalists on board that are explaining what your seeing while going past it.

When you get to Skagway, take the train to White Horse in the Yukon, then fly out from there. Skagway is like Dodge City from the old Gunsmoke TV show. Dirt streets, with wooden sidewalks to walk on - at least it was when I was there.

The drawback to this trip is that you probably won't see bears, but you see lots of eagles, seals, dolphins and probably whales.

There are fishing lodges, but I've never stayed at one - so no comment on those. I did go with a guide on the Kenai river in July during the King salmon run - caught a 49 pound salmon - also saw many moose some w/babies during this fishing excursion.

Another cool fishing place is Homer - they go for halibut there.

I've seen a piece on the travel channel about a lodge up at Denali that sounded real good too.

If your into riding a motorcycle - Edelweiss tours has a 7 day MC tour that covers the best of Alaska from Anchorage to Seward - up to Fairbanks and back to Anchorage. Suspect you'll see tons o wild life on that?