Resurrecting: visiting Barrow in January '15
 

My boyfriend and I are planning a short visit to Barrow this January from Ketchikan. We know this isn't the most logical time to visit the Tundra, but he wants to experience the first sunrise after months of darkness, so we won't be deterred :) We will be there on January 23rd to see it for ourselves.
Has the Top of the World hotel reopened? Is the King Eirder Inn better? Do the restaurants stay open in the winter? What about clothing- is renting parka and boots out of Anchorage recommended?

Any little nuggets of wisdom you could share will be most helpful!

Welcome to Flyertalk.
I did a day trip with my son this past February. Got in around 10:00 am and left around 6. We rented a car and pretty much drove all the roads. We only stayed outside the car for a few minutes at a time. All the restaurants are open for the residents. Felt like we were the only tourists in town that day. Went to the AC Value Center and watched a youth basketball game at the rec center. We got kind of bored by the end. Without the organized tours being run in the winter it will be hard to find stuff to do. Cannot help with the hotels. Although I drove by we did not stay anywhere.

The Top of the World has re-opened as a new hotel away and to the east from the old location. Was in BRW a week and a half ago. Did not stay at the Top of the World but had dinner and it was reasonable for Barrow and nice quality meal. Crowded with locals enjoying a night out. I think all of the half-dozen restaurants are open year-round. The King Eider is nice as it is close to the airport unlike the Top of the World and comfortable; if you can afford the tariff, I would think either would be fine.

Hello everyone,

I'd really like to visit Barrow too. I'm planning to visit there this January. Is there anyone who has visited there and give me some info more than written above, especially about the transportation around? I'd like to know if it's a safe destination as well, because I'm a female at the age of 20, I don't drive, (so I have to use public transfer) I'm not American and I will be traveling alone.

Thank you ! :)

Ketchikanak,
I'll be there too on January 24th!

You will have a lot of fun! And you'll be about as safe as it is possible to be anywhere.

Barrow has a very international population. It is first of all an Inupiat village, and about half the people here are Inupiat Eskimo. They totally control the politics and government of Barrow. The largest minority are the typical Americans. They are basically transient though, and few of them expect to spend their entire lives here. They make up maybe 1/5th of the population. The rest are mostly various Asians, with a lot of Filipinos, Koreans, Thai, and Samoan and Tongan people. There are a few from Latin American, the Caribbean and Europe. Put it this way, almost no matter which restaurant you eat lunch at, you'll hear several languages. Probably two or three by employees and three or four more by other customers.

There is very little random violence or random crime in Barrow. If you choose to "party", all bets are off! Otherwise there is virtually no chance of anything. Put it this way, we all leave our keys in the truck, and in January we often leave it running too! (4-wheel ATV's, snowmachines, or 5-gallon cans of gas, however are often stolen.)

There are cabs everywhere. It costs basically 6 dollars a ride to get around town. Not bad when you consider the price of gasoline is $7 per gallon. Depending on your clothing you can walk too. From the center of town to anywhere is 1-1/2 miles. But... in January it might be anything from cold to colder. Expect -25C to -45C, though it could be either warmer or colder. -34C is about average at that time of year. Also note that the sun will come up for the first time on January 23rd (for about 1 hour). So it will be very dark at 10 AM, with daylight at 2PM, and very dark again by 5PM. Not to worry, there are street lights on every power pole in Barrow and there is no such thing as a "dark alley" here!

apaflo

YGM