Hi there,
I'm going to be travelling to Alaska for my holidays with Mrs apx068. We have tickets booked for LHR-SEA on 8th September and we leave ANC late on 21st September.

So, do you have any recommendations / suggestions on what to do?


I'd quite like to relax for a lot of this, so I thought of getting the Alaska state ferry from Bellingham to Juneau and spend a few days in & around Juneau. I'm not sure what to do after that. One option is to get the state ferry cross gulf service to Seward. Another would be to fly to ANC and explore around there.

Oh, I like bears and would really like to see some in the wild. Hey, I live in a city in England where the most exciting wildlife are the squirrels!


From having a look around on the web, it appears that the dates I have mentioned are the very end of the tourist season and some things have already closed down by then. For example, does the train from Seward to Anchorage run after 15th Sept?

Any help of any type will be greatly apprieciated!
Jason

Some observations from a past life in Alaska:

. Temperatures drop sharply during the month of September. Daytime highs in the 60s at the beginning of the month can degrade to snow squawls by the end of the month.

. The aspens are in glorious color in September.

. It's fun to watch the "termination dust" creep down the Chugach Mountains during September from any viewpoint in Anchorage.

. I like to walk the Tony Knowles bike trail in Anchorage. Great water views!

. My favorite hotel is the Alyeska Prince in Girdwood.

. My favorite B&B is on the hillside overlooking Homer and Kachemak Bay (I wish I could remember the name).

. The bakery across from the excursion dock in Seward makes the best scones in the world.

. In Juneau, I like to assemble a bag lunch at Carrs and eat it at a picnic table at the foot of Matanuska Glacier.

You can see all there is to do in JNU in a whole day (seriously).

If you want to relax, I'd recommend catching a oneway cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage if the cruise season hasn't ended yet.

FWIW, you might want to buy Alaska Airlines flight passes from the U.K. ($108/segment + taxes/fees) Much cheaper than fares.

We just got back from a 7 day cruise from Vancouver to Seward. It was awesome!

We were a little nervous abou the prospect of a cruise (mainly the other passengers, the "all-inclusive" atmosphere and the lack of independence) but, overall, I'd say it's really the best way to see a lot in a relatively short period of time.

If you're going independetly, I'd not spend much time in Juneau at all. Ketchikan and (even more so) Skagway are much more interesting and fun places. Even with a cruise ship in, they had real atmosphere and, while the port area was blighted with gift shops etc, they seemed to have somthing of the old Alaska about them

Forget about the Southeast. That is a whole nother trip best done by sea.
You should rent a car in ANC and head straight for Denali. Then hit the road for Fairbanks, come down the pipeline route to Valdez, take the ferry over to Whittier, put your car on the train to Portage, make sure to stop for a couple of nights at the Alyeska Prince in Girdwood, drive down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer and Seward and then go back up to ANC. This should be just about a two week trip.
I don't know the weather situation for that time of year is but a great one day side trip is by air from Fairbanks to Barrow at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. We did that once in late August and the weather was pretty good altho it did get down to about 32F at the end of the day.
Have a great time. Alaska is one of the most fascinating places in the world.

"put your car on the train to Portage" Nope no need to. DRIVE THE TUNNEL! Toll just reduced to $12. Actually Whittier to Portage direction is free!

This came into my mailbox. You'd have to fly up to ANC the same day you arrive in SEA to make the cruise. $636 p.p. inc. taxes for 7 nights isn't too bad.

http://11th.com/fmv.php3?RP=130456&dest_ship=779_3666

Hi there,
Thanks for the info. I'm still putting together this trip and this is going to help.

I don't think the cruise from Seward to Vancouver is going to be possible. a) the times are a bit too tight. It's impossible to get from SEA to Seward on time and I can't change the dates. b)Mrs apx068 will need another visa for Canada and that's a whole other issue for later.

I really get the feeling that I should look for an alternative to a few days in Juneau. Thanks for the suggestions there.

Once I actually get things booked, I'll post what we're going to do.
Thanks,
Jason

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 0524:
In Juneau, I like to assemble a bag lunch at Carrs and eat it at a picnic table at the foot of Matanuska Glacier.</font>

0524,
Carrs isn't Carrs anymore (its Safeway) and the Matanuska Glacier isn't near Juneau (you can find it north of Anchorage off the Glenn Highway). The Mendenhall Glacier is in Juneau but the foot of the glacier is only accessible by kayak or after a 3 mile hike on the West Glacier Trail. But the visitor center area is still a nice place for lunch. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Trips down to Tracy Arm or over to Glacier Bay are very enjoyable as is the hiking. All of which were unavailable when Terenz visited early in the year. Taking the ferry up to Juneau from Bellingham can be a lot of fun. Great scenery and a truly interesting trip you'll meet a lot of great people. You can bring your sleeping bags and sleep on deck chairs in the solarium or book a cabin. I wouldn't do the cross sound trip (besides its only available a few times a year). Taking the ferry out to Dutch Harbor is an experience too.
jerry

Thanks for refreshing my memory, Jerry. Has Carr's disappeared throughout Alaska?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 0524:
Thanks for refreshing my memory, Jerry. Has Carr's disappeared throughout Alaska?</font>
0524,
Safeway bought them a couple of years ago and kept both names. About a month ago they took down the carrs signs here and put up safeway signs and had a grand reopening of the store. Apparently this is supposed to be happening throughout Alaska.
jerry

Jerry, as a bachelor in 1966, I used to buy my grub at the then new Carr's on Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by 0524:
Jerry, as a bachelor in 1966, I used to buy my grub at the then new Carr's on Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage.</font>

I've been there!