Planning Links for Alaska
General Information Links
- The Alaska Travel Industry Association
- Phone 800-862-5275 or 907-929-2200. They can mail you an Alaska travel
planner.
http://www.travelalaska.com, has basic information. Use it along with the sources below.
The State of Alaska Web site at
http://www.dced.state.ak.us/tourism/
has background information on Alaska geography and culture and links to
travel-information sites.
Links to much good information from state newspapers, as well as (often)
special sections of visitor information, can be found on our
Alaska News Sources page.
Ferries
For a cheaper and quicker alternative to a cruise ship, you
can travel from Bellingham to (and within) Southeast Alaska on the Alaska
Marine Highway System ferries. For the 37-hour Bellingham to Ketchikan trip
there are cabins with bunks — but they sell out fast. If you miss one, you can
even
pitch a tent on the deck!
There also is a once-a-month "cross-the-Gulf-of-Alaska" ferry trip in summer
plus routes in Southwest Alaska. Travelers can also easily "ferry-hop"
between Southeast Alaska towns like Juneau and Ketchikan.
An alternative, more complicated route uses the B.C. Ferries. Drive to
Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island (an all-day trip from Seattle), take the
all-day Inside Passage sailing to Prince Rupert on the northern B.C. mainland,
then the next day board an Alaska ferry in Prince Rupert bound for Southeast
Alaska. You can sightsee on Vancouver Island along the way (and there are
long-term parking lots in Port Hardy if you're not taking your car).
You can reach B.C. Ferries at 250-386-3431, 604-444-2890 or
www.bcferries.bc.ca.
Driving to/within Alaska
Roads can be rough (only major and urban roads are paved) and distances are long (Seattle to Anchorage is more
than 2,400 miles), so drivers to and within Alaska need to be well prepared.
If you want to drive to Alaska, and visit British Columbia and Canada's Yukon
Territory along the way, the State of Alaska's Web site has useful
information (see above). At their web site, click on "Getting to and around
Alaska." It has information on route planning, distances, RV travel and more.
Other Guides will be found on our Visitor
Guides page
Air Travel
Alaska Airlines dominates travel to and between the state's main cities,
since Delta dropped out.
For discount, last-minute air fares, watch for the airline's Web specials at
http://www.alaskaairlines.com. For travel to more remote, backcountry areas
(the "bush"), there are many small air
services. Frontier Flying Service is one of the biggest, with scheduled
flights to small communities from Anchorage and Fairbanks. 907-474-0014 or
http://www.frontierflying.com.
See also our Air Transportation page.
Rail Travel
The state-owned Alaska Railroad offers three scenic routes, including
from Anchorage to Fairbanks (with a stop at Denali National Park) and south from
Anchorage to Whittier and Seward. 800-544-0552.
The White Pass and Yukon Railroad offers scenic excursions, from three hours
to a combination train/bus overnight tour on the historic, Gold Rush-era route.
800-343-7373 or
http://www.whitepassrailroad.com.
Wilderness Recreation
The Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association is
devoted to smaller-scale, outdoors-oriented travel with a strong focus on
ecotourism. Its Web site has links to tours ranging from
bird-watching to mountaineering, and links to lodges,
cultural/native tours and air-charter services. 907-258-3171 or.
The Alaska Public Lands Information Center unites various federal and
state agencies to provide information on fishing, hiking, renting Forest Service
backcountry cabins and other recreation on government-managed lands in Alaska.
It has offices in Anchorage and three other locations. 907-271-2737.
You can reserve Forest Service cabins in Alaska through the National
Recreation Reservation Service at 877-444-6777 or
http://www.reserveusa.com.
There are
maps and descriptions of the remote (and primitive) cabins on their web site.
Tours
Links to the Web sites of small-scale outdoor- and adventure-tour
operators can be found through the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism
Association at http://www.awrta.org.
For more conventional sightseeing tours, Gray Line/Holland America
offers tours from half-day city sightseeing to weeklong railway/coach packages.
800-544-2206 or www.graylinealaska.com.
Native tourism
The Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage is a museum and
cultural-research center: Its Web site (http://www.alaskanative.net)
gives information on Alaska's native peoples (about 16 percent of the
population). Phone 907-330-8000. Local tourism offices (see below) also can give information on other native
heritage sites and museums. Another really great resource is the
University of Alaska Museum in
Fairbanks. Or take a flight from Fairbanks to one of the outlying villages and
meet them firsthand!
Guidebooks
Need more? See the special page we made for you on
visitor guides.
