Alaska

Alaska

Most people who go to Alaska do a one-week cruise up the Inside Passage with several stops along the way and then spend a day or two in Anchorage and/or Denali National Park. That’s a terrific trip (if the weather is good), but if you are not a “cruise-person” another idea is to take the Alaska Ferry for part of your excursion — it’s great! We flew from Seattle to Ketchikan and then took the ferry to Wrangle, planning to then take it from Wrangle to Juneau to get ahead of the wave of people on major cruise ships we went in mid-May. That turned out not to be such a good idea because of ice still on the rivers and Glacier Bay.

Alaska is absolutely beautiful and here are a few recommendations, from my limited experience there:

Don’t go before June 1; ice can limit your activities if you do.
DO consider taking the Alaska Ferry; it’s a much more intimate experience. If you do this, stay at B&Bs – the people are wonderful. Go to the Alaska Ferry website (http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs) and it’s easy to book you passage and decide how long you want to stay in each town.
In Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier really is a must; it is spectacular. The cable car ride right from downtown is also worthwhile. There is a road that goes about 20 miles each way out of town and ends; there’s nowhere to go from Juneau except by boat or plane.
In Anchorage I highly recommend the 3-hour “flight-seeing” trip on a small pontoon plane up to Mt. McKinley (Denali). The first and last hours of the flight are pretty boring getting up to the Alaska Range but once you are there it is truly spectacular.
If you are willing to do your homework, you can personalize a great trip. If you’re not willing to do some homework, get on a cruise ship and book their tours.