Visiting Alaska - WOW it’s a dream, but NAH
those cruises are just so expensive. This is how most of us who love to explore
new frontiers would feel.
But there's a smart way and a better way to
travel to Alaska and feel the great treasures of this pristine land that’s
sitting next to the North pole. Fly to Anchorage, rent
a car, book the hotels in advance or just camp and take the affordable day
cruises form ports next to the glaciers. Your cost
for a family of four is cut to a third of what you would have paid on
a cruise, and the level of enjoyment is about twice.
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The
peak season is from the middle of June
till the end of August. During this time you will enjoy clear daylight till
around 10:00pm and the sun rises before you wake up. So you have all the hours
you are awake at your disposal, limited by energy and sometimes restricted by
showers.
The
fringe seasons are a month on either side
of the peak, the hotel and day cruise rates are lower, but so are the available
hours and the warm and clearer weather.
Why is it so expensive in Alaska? - Their
tourist season is limited and they have to make all the money in that time to
keep the business viable.
Images
of Alaska
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Weather
Anchorage, Alaska
Denali, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
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Key to cost reduction:
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1.
Hotels:
Go for hotels/inns/motels without franchise. If you are
comfortable you can opt for shared bath in decent hotels/motels.
List of
recommended hotels Complete
Listing of Hotels in Alaska
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4.
Take not more than two day cruises
A cruise to western Prince William Sound from Whittier is the
most popular day cruise to see the tide water glaciers. Other popular cruises
are the ones to Kenai Fords National park and Resurrection Bay cruise from
Seward and cruises from Valdez.
Cruise to
College Fjord on Prince William Sound out of Whittier
Phillip’s
Cruises and Tours
Kenai
Fjords National Park Cruise out of Seward
Kenai
Fjords Tour
Major
Marine Tour
Columbia
Glacier Cruise out of Valdez
Prince
William Sound Cruises & Tours
Alaska
Heritage Tours
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2.
Food:
McDonalds in Alaska
Burger Kings in Alaska
Wal Marts
Restaurants are expensive. You can dine in fast food chains or
get food from deli section of grocery chain stores like Eagle and Fred Meyer.
You get excellent smoked salmon and cooked halibut in the seafood section of
Fred Meyers. You can also have microwaveable noodle soup as we do.
You
can choose to locate food chains in advance.
List
of Wendys, Taco Bells, Walmarts and other Food Chains
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3.
Book flight and hotels well in advance
Start tracking www.travelocity.com
or other airlines sites for air fares to Anchorage, at least seven weeks in
advance. The fares occasionally dip and you need to act at the right moment.
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5.
Transportation
Rental car is the
cheapest option to travel in Alaska, unless you are rooted to one place. Trains
and buses are costly in Alaska. Rental car gives you the flexibility and freedom
to explore. If you plan to travel extensively in the splendid Alaskan interior,
it’s the only option
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6. Temperature
Unlike general perception, Alaska has moderate temperature
during the peak tourist season July - August. However temperature does fluctuate
and it often rains.
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Month |
City |
Avg High |
Avg Low |
Mean Temp |
Avg Precipt |
Record High |
Record Low |
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June |
Anchorage |
62°F |
47°F |
55°F |
1.06 in |
85°F |
33°F |
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Fairbanks |
71°F |
49°F |
60°F |
1.40 in |
96°F |
30°F |
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Juneau |
62°F |
46°F |
54°F |
3.36 in |
86°F |
31°F |
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Seward |
59°F |
41°F |
50°F |
1.44 in |
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Homer |
57°F |
43°F |
50°F |
0.96 in |
80°F |
27°F |
|
Valdez |
53°F |
45°F |
52°F |
3.01 in |
86°F |
31°F |
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July |
Anchorage |
65°F |
52°F |
58°F |
1.70 in |
82°F |
36°F |
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Fairbanks |
73°F |
52°F |
62°F |
1.73 in |
94°F |
35°F |
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Juneau |
64°F |
49°F |
57°F |
4.14 in |
90°F |
36°F |
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Seward |
63°F |
46°F |
55°F |
1.87 in |
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Homer |
61°F |
47°F |
54°F |
1.45 in |
81°F |
34°F |
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Valdez |
59°F |
48°F |
55°F |
3.84 in |
85°F |
33°F |
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August |
Anchorage |
63°F |
49°F |
56°F |
2.93 in |
82°F |
31°F |
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Fairbanks |
66°F |
46°F |
56°F |
1.74 in |
93°F |
27°F |
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Juneau |
63°F |
48°F |
56°F |
5.37 in |
83°F |
31°F |
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Seward |
62°F |
45°F |
53°F |
3.17 in |
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Homer |
61°F |
47°F |
54°F |
2.28 in |
78°F |
31°F |
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Valdez |
62°F |
46°F |
54°F |
6.62 in |
82°F |
32°F |
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September |
Anchorage |
55°F |
41°F |
48°F |
2.87 in |
73°F |
19°F |
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Fairbanks |
54°F |
35°F |
45°F |
1.12 in |
84°F |
3°F |
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Juneau |
56°F |
44°F |
50°F |
7.54 in |
73°F |
23°F |
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Seward |
54°F |
39°F |
46°F |
6.86 in |
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Homer |
55°F |
41°F |
48°F |
3.37 in |
69°F |
-3°F |
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Valdez |
61°F |
41°F |
47°F |
9.59 in |
74°F |
25°F |
Suggested itinerary
Fly to Anchorage
Anchorage is developed for tourism. The area around 4th Avenue
offers tourist attraction with souvenir shops, open marketplace and an upscale
mall on 5th Ave.
There are museums, zoo and day trip to Portage Glacier through
the lovely Seward Highway. But I would suggest that you keep
time for Anchorage at the end of the trip before you catch the return
flight. This is because, at the end of the over exposure to nature, you will be
looking for some fun place to relax. Also in case you have unplanned delays at
any place because of weather or otherwise, you can cash in on the buffer days
allocated to Anchorage.
Drive to Denali National
Park.
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You
can take George Parks Highway to drive to Denali National Park from
Anchorage. On the way to Denali, you can choose to take short diversions
to view Mt McKinley from the south side.
There
are two places near Denali National Park where you can find affordable
hotels / inns. Carlo Creek, 13
miles south of Denali National Park entrance, and Healy,
10 miles north of the park entrance on George Parks Highway. We stayed at The
Perch in Carlo Creek and would recommend it. Its affordable and a
great place to stay. Try the fresh baked bread from the bakery.
The
other affordable places are White
Moose Lodge , Denali Mountain
Morning Hostel, Denali
River Cabins
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Denali
National Park at the break of dawn |
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From the
Shuttle bus in Denali National Park |
The
park is open to private traffic only for the first
13 miles up to the Turnaround arm. To visit the park interiors, you
need to take the park shuttle
bus. The shuttle bus has
to be booked at least 3 weeks in advance to ensure that you get
a seat. 30% of the tickets are reserved for walk in tourists - but you may
get tickets only for buses traveling two days later.
You
have four destinations to choose from. The most popular ones are the
Eilson Visitor center (8hrs round trip) and the Wonder Lake (11 hrs round
trip) which goes further into the park and closer to Mt McKinley. You have
only limited rest stops on the way. But you may choose to get down from
the bus at the place of your choice and take some later bus to continue
your journey. The wait may be from half an hour to much more, depending on
seat availability in the next bus. |
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You
need to carry your own food and water supply for the day. You should see
bears, moose, caribou, wolf, arctic fox, dal sheep and other wild life.
Carrying binocular is a must. Try to get into the earliest shuttle
(starting at 5:15 AM) to see more wild life.
For
shuttle bus reservation and campgrounds call
800-622-7275 or 907-272-7275.
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Grizzly on
the river bed |
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Author
Soumyendu with Anjana, taking the Caribou training |
Caribou
passing the bus |
Denali Highway
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Denali
Highway leads you through a even more picturesque landscape south of the
Alaska range. Its more scenic than the National Park itself, with the
added advantage of all the freedom of mobility that you get by driving on
your own.
It
starts from Cantwell, 27 miles to the south of the Park entrance on George
Parks Highway. Its 133 miles long and runs east to Paxson on the
Richardson Highway. Just driving through the highway itself is a great
experience, though you can choose to bike or hike at places. |
view
from Denali Highway |
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view
from Denali Highway |
Before
you get onto the highway, stop at the store in Cantwell to pick up a
brochure of the highway, which lists all the points of interests and
provides useful information. Around 110 miles of the highway is gravel
road. If you are driving a car, to avoid flat tire do not exceed 35 mph.
To see the pot holes clearly, polarized glasses or add-ons are
recommended. You can also carry a Fix-a-Flat bottle from any auto store. |
| There are just three stores/delis on the
highway. So carry your supply even as you are driving. |
Peaks
of Wrangell from Denali Highway |
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sunset
from Richardson Highway |
At
the eastern end of the highway, you will hit the Richardson highway in
Paxson. Richardson highway is very scenic and it winds its way past the
beautiful alpine lakes and through the Alaska range.
If
you choose to go north towards Anchorage, you can choose spend the night
at Delta Junction, about 80 miles north of Paxson. It will make the day
less taxing and will cost less. Alaska
7 Motel and Kelly’s
Country Inn are both affordable and offers clean accommodation.
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Fairbanks
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Its
about two hours drive north west of Delta Junction. Just north of Delta
Junction, you see peculiar stuff like the Alaska Pipeline bridge over a
river. |
Alaska
Pipeline bridge |
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Moose at
the outskirts of Fairbanks |
On
the Richardson highway moose often come on to the road.
You
drive past a place named North Pole before Fairbanks. |
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Fairbanks
is well documented in many literature. The University of Alaska Museum is
worth visiting. The campus is striking. One day is more than enough for
visiting Fairbanks.
People
often feel tempted to drive along Dalton highway northwards to touch the
Arctic circle. But north of Fairbanks the landscape is boring.
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Fairbanks |
Heading south to the
Glaciers
You can take George Parks Highway back to Anchorage. It’s a
fast highway. Whittier and Seward are the two main ports from where you can take
day cruises to the tide water glaciers.
Glacier Cruise in Prince
William Sound
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Take
the Seward highway from Anchorage to Portage Glacier and then take the
tunnel to Whittier. The Seward highway between Potter Marsh and Portage is
one of the most scenic roads on the world. The gorgeous fjords and the
mountains rising to great heights from the water, and the shimmer of the
sun, and the blue of the ice coming down the slope, makes it so wonderful. |
My
dad at a look over on Seward Highway |
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View
from Prince William Sound |
The
best cruise from Whittier to the Western Prince William Sound is the 26
Glaciers Cruise offered by the Phillip’s
Cruises and Tours. They have the fastest catamaran, which gives you no
motion sickness. The cruise departs at 1:00 pm and returns by 5:30 pm. It
visits the glaciers on the College fjord.
Make
sure you request for binoculars. That way you can see the distant glaciers
and otters and other sea life better. |
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The
Whittier tunnel is open in one direction at a time and switches every half
hour. So you need to reach the tunnel by 11:30 am to catch the cruise.
Whittier
is about 60 miles from Anchorage. So you can start early from Anchorage to
spend time at the stopovers in Seward highway, before heading for
Whittier. |
On
the deck of the cruise |
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As
we were speeding through the College Ford |
A
Glacier Stop |
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Surprise
Glacier |
Anjana
with a piece of an ice berg from the Portage Glacier |
Seward
Seward is the gateway for the Kenai Fjords National Park.
Seward is within two hours drive from Whittier. The Alaskan cruise from
Vancouver ends here.
Kenai Fjords National Park is mostly a marine national park
and its access is by day cruises. But the shorter cruises do not take you to the
park, but only to the Resurrection Bay. However if you have taken the glacier
cruise at Whittier to the college fjord, you can skip taking the cruise, to cut
down on the expenses.
Kenai
Fjords National Park Cruises out of Seward
Kenai
Fjords Tour
Major
Marine Tour
Exit Glacier and the Harding
Ice Field
The
most significant aspect of Seward is the Exit Glacier. It’s the most
accessible significant glacier that you can drive to. Its 8 miles from Seward.
The shorter trails lead you to the face of the glacier and the basin downstream.
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Anjana
next to the Exit Glacier |
Exit
Glacier |
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Exit
Glacier |
Exit
Glacier |
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But
the greatest experience here is hike to the Harding
Ice Field, the source of the glaciers of the Kenai Fjords
National park.
It’s
a very steep 4 mile trail with sharp ascent which takes you upstream along
the Exit glacier to the ice field. The trail goes through the different
layers of vegetation, the woods, the bushes, the tundra and the bare rocks
next to ice.
Be
aware that there are black bears in the bushes with berries which may get
very close to you. The bears do not like surprises and you can consider
carrying bells tied to your day pack and bear sprays just as a precaution.
But bears generally avoid humans. We passed a bear in the bushes on the
way up. On the way down, though there was a bear near the trail, it
avoided us. |
Marmot on
the trail |
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Exit
Glacier |
Exit
Glacier coming down from the Harding Ice Field |
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Harding
Ice Field |
Harding
Ice Field the source of glaciers |
Kenai Peninsula
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Kenai
peninsula is a nice place to relax. The road from Seward leads through
Coopers Landing. It’s a fishing heaven, with red salmon swarming in the
creeks.
If
you carry a binocular, you will see the dal sheep and mountain goat, up on
the high slopes. It has nice lakes with strange copper blue and greenish
blue colors. |
Vivid
colors |
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Salmon
swarming in the creeks |
Cooper
Landing |
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The
beach at Kenai with the mountains rising across the water is a strange
spectacle. Soldotna is the most developed town with Fred Meyer superstore,
food chains and other shopping facilities. |
Beach
at Kenai |
Homer
at the south of the peninsula has the sea face, fjords and mountains and
glaciers across the water bodies. It’s a nice place to relax.
But
we had a bad experience with cops in this small town. I feel racial
profiling is rampant. May be because of our brown skin, we were stopped for no
reason. The cop asked for IDs for me, my wife and my dad (67) and my mom (62)
and made us sit for long. He came back to issue a speeding ticket which I feel
was totally uncalled for.
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Sunset
from the Kenai peninsula |
Outskirts
of Homer |
Back to Anchorage
I guess it’s a nice idea to spend a day or two in Anchorage
on the way back, before you catch your flight.
The pictures above were taken on our trip to Alaska on
2002. The party consisted of me, my wife Anjana, my dad Sasabindu and my
mom Dipali.
Other Destinations
Prudhoe Bay
North of Fairbanks the Dalton Highway takes you to the Arctic
Region. It ends in Prudhoe Bay at the Arctic Ocean.
Joanne's account of her trip to Prudhoe
Bay
Visitors
are invited to share their experiences and provide useful tips and info on this web site.
If you would like to share your experience in Alaska,
please write to me at sarkar_s@hotmail.com
I will post your experience in a web page and link it to the main site.
Images
of Alaska
Disclaimer: The contents on this page are my views and I
do not take responsibility for any inaccuracy of the information
presented. The readers should judiciously use the above information at
their own risk. - Soumyendu Sarkar
Email: sarkar_s@hotmail.com
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Anjana is part of all these tours.
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I inherited the addiction to explore from my dad Sasabindu Sarkar. He is our inspiration and is part of most of our tours.
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My maa Dipali Sarkar is still strong enough to explore the wild beauty of nature.
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Copyright © 2002 Soumyendu Sarkar