Alaska Travel Forum

I am curious, although I know it is not a very important question. When a 50,000+ GRT cruise ship leaves Vancouver to sail the Inside Passage, does it go through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and out into the Pacific, or does it stay in the channels to the east of Vancouver Island? Maps I have consulted indicate the eastern passage, but when I zoom in on Google World, it looks very restricted. So, I am curious.

Can you ride 4 wheeler on the spit in Homer, or anywhere else in Homer? Are there any ferries to Seldovia anyone would recommend? Can people rv camp anywhere on the spit, or are there designated spots? Any info is appreciated!

I am a 79 year old man looking for a companion for a trip to Alaska through the Carribean Cruise to avail discounts on twin sharing basis. Dates are flexible.

My husband and I will be traveling from Fairbanks to Denali, Denali to Anchorage and Anchorage to Seward. We were wondering about the carry on restrictions. The AK RR web site says that they only allow a carry on the size of a small briefcase. Does anyone one know how stringent they are? We have camera gear that cannot be put in checked baggage so we are trying to figure the best way to carry it all on and still stay within the restricted carry on size. Can someone give us some tips? We have two DSLR camera bodies and several medium to medium large lenses that we are taking. We can take our shoulder bags for a body and one lens and a vest for the rest will that work or will we be told we can't take our cameras on board?

Should I spend $166.00 on a cruise thru FiJoirds or spend less and do Totem pole saxman excursion?

Hello,
we are have rented one car in Vancouver and going thru Canada to Alaska.

For coming back we are planning to go from Seward to Haines - Haines to Ketchnikan and from Ketchnikan to port Hardey(Vancouver island)- Canada by ferry lines.
Somebody knows which can be the total cost for 2 adults+cabin+car separately. Depending of the costs we will thing about the possibility of leave the car in Haines and back without the car.

Tks and rgds,
Guillem.

Hello,
My wife and me are planning to come to SE Alaska on August arriving from Canada by rental car. We weill spend 4 to 5 days in the zone.The intention is to take a fery from Skagway and arrive at Ketchikan or Prince Rupert but we don't know how to do this. Would be very nice if somebody can help us with the following questions:
- The ferry it's the cheapest way to travel? (Is the company www.ferryalaska.com the cheapest and it's good?) What it's the cost approximately?
- Exist any kind of pass for some days for two adults + car?
- It's better to travel with our car? or leave the car and travel alone?

Otherwise:
- Can you recommend the best places for not miss and the best glacier?

Tks inadvance for yr great help on this.
Rgds,
Guillem.

We are coming to go a mission trip--vbs for a small church there. Most days will be working with the children from 1-4. I would like to go kayaking, but do not want to go with a group tour type thing. Is there anyone who does kayaking around this area more one on one?

Also...might be interested in hiking.

Husband will probably be fishing...so...I want to do something more to my interests.

Pat

Hi there,
I am planning to visit alaska next month, june, please somebody help me to book my trip, please give expert opinion on what is worth seeing, how many day we can stay in each place etc, i am 35+ visiting with my wife and kid of 8 yrs age, planning 9 days trip, interested to see anchorage (glaciers around this place ? which cruise and trains to explore must see glaciers ?), denali national park(what to do there ? and where to stay?), mt mckinly, dog sled(which is better ?), is it worth visiting Juneau ? how many days expert suggestion to see 'glacier bay national park, best place for whale watching ?
best place to see wild life ? please reply in detail.

thanks you verymuch.
bellakka

We were not going to take a trip this year but seeing the great low rates of Alaskan cruises, we decided we may do one this summer. Some start in Seattle, some in Vancouver and some in Whittier, all 7 day with different stops from four to seven. I researched several ships and most seem to be ok, mostly complaining about the cost of excursions, the rain and cold and mosquitoes. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi
Heading to Seward for 2 days next Aug, will have the 8 hours Kenai Fjords boat, exit glacier, Kayaking where ! and other tours if we have time.
We are a family of 4, including 2 teens and yes we will have our rent car, what we are looking for is:
A nice hotel, breakfast is a must, room accomodate 4 of us, 200-400 USD a day.
All recommendations and advice are highly appreciated.

I will be in Juneau from June 7 through the 11th. Are there any hiking groups in town? I feel a little apprehensive about hiking alone (bears and all).

Thanks,
Cass

I'm new to Virtual Tourist and my husband and I are taking a Cruise tour to Denali and cruising south to Vancouver. Our first time to Alaska and wondering if anyone has ideas for must see shore excursions and things to do. Our ports of call are Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. We spend time in Denali and Mt. Mckinley before the cruise.

My parents are going on an Alaskan cruise in a couple of weeks. I was told that insects are a problem, specifically mosquitos. Should they take lots of bug repellent?

We're going on a 7 day cruise via Holland America and we got the shore excursion brochure. Most of them are very inviting but if we do all those excursions, we might end up broke because they are very expensive. Can somebody give me a tip/suggestion which shore excursions should we take in Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan that is also value for money? We're interested in water rafting, glaciers, wild life sightseeing, hiking and biking with spectacular views of snow capped mountains, beautiful lakes, glaciers and wildlife.

I would like to get some help for the travelling from Skagway to Anchorage, via the white pass, white horse, to yukon dawson city , denali state park to Anchorage.

we, my daughter and father will arrive on the 29 th of may evening with the ferry and would like to make a combined tour with train,bus,car,canoe,

can you assist with information on where to go

Skaway bus to
White Pass-historic train

as described above

thanks for a speedy answer

frank

Hi
Heading to DNP as a part of our post-cruise land tour, we are family of 4 including 2 teens: 17 & 18 years; this will be our first visit to Alaska and probably the last, we have only 2 days in Denali and one day in Talkeetna, also, we will rent a car, we decided to have the shuttle bus for our one day tour to DNP, we are so confused about which shuttle bus we should have: Eielson visitor center Vs Wonder Lake.
We are really appreciate any suggestions regarding our DNP trip; where to stop, must see and do and, any other tips for the second day.
Thanks

Hi all,

We're off for our honeymoon next week which is a cruistour to Alaska with Princess. One of our stays is at the McKinley Princess Lodge for 2 nights. We've been trying to book some excursions (through Princess) but all we've been getting as a reply is NOT AVAILABLE. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do please? As I've been trying to find some info online but now we're finding out it seems to be in the middle of nowhere with not much to do!! We were trying to book somewhat active excursions such as kayaking, hiking, etc.

Would really appreciate any suggestions as we have a full day and a half and we wouldn't like to just stay in the lodge - which we've read mixed reviews about - good and bad!!!

Thanks for any help you can give!!

oRi

Hi,

Never in my life have I been so confused with my itinerary/travel this much....only in Alaska whew! There's soooooo much to do and so many great places to see with limited access and yet soooo expensive!

My friends and I have 3 days to spend in Alaska before our cruise starts from Seward. We really wanna kayak in Bear Glacier bec. we were stunned with the photos we've seen and the view is amazing. We are from a tropical climate country in Asia so we don't have snow in our native land. We wana wow our friends with our fabulous photos kayaking next to glowing blue icebergs and seals.

The problem is, we will be in Seward on May 21-24, which are not good dates to go to Bear Glacier because of the tides. According to the tour operator (Seward Water Taxi) we can only do either:

1. A very short trip (4 hours at $150 per person, but NO KAYAKING! Oh no!), or

2. Stay there overnight at a camp, in which case we can kayak all afternoon and all night. However, it can get cold (down to about 32 to 34 degrees F) at night in that area during May. Also, the overnight trip is expensive ($585 per person, more than the cost of our 7 day cruise!). Of course, it includes meals and camping gear and we don't have to pay for lodging in Seward that night, but it still seems kinda expensive.

Enough of the background, my question is, is this kayaking adventure worth the trip? I fell in love with Bear Glacier but I'm having second thoughts. What if after 8 hours of kayaking we wanna go somewhere else, but we're already stuck there bec. the water taxi has left, and can only pick us up the next day during high tide? Can we do something else there aside from kayaking? I've never been camping nor slept in a tent with temperature that low! Can we survive the coldness of the night? Are there any other kayaking alternatives near seward that offers almost the same experience, view of the glaciers, and nice photo opportunities, but without being so complicated to plan?

Or should we go to Prince William Sound? It seems so far from Anchorage (where our flight arrives on the 21st) and Seward (where our cruise starts on the 24th). Do we have enough time?

Help!

I am in the planning stages of a trip to Alaska and it seems there are so many glaciers to walk on, places to kayak, and take scenic boat rides.

Does anyone have any advice on the best places to do these activities because they are all expensive to do and I think I can only do each once....

As far as glacier walking and kayaking go, I am really only looking to do no more than a full day's worth. As far as the boat trips go, I think I need to decide between the Kenai Fjords from Seward or going to Whittier though Prince William Sound.

Also -- on a map it looks as if there is a road from Valdez to Glennallen....but I can't seem to find any public transport in between them....anyone know of any? I want to eventually get to Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

Finally, if I do a ferry trip through the Inside Passage, I think I will start in Skagway and stop in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan, ending in Bellingham. How many days would you suggest is enough to take all that in?

Thank you so much!

How long does it take to get to Skagway from juneau on the ferry?

Hi,

What major credit cards are accepted in alaska? Which is best - Visa or Mastercard?

Thanks

We have most of our Alaska trip planned out except one - we are having a hard time deciding of the one day cruise offers the best Port William Sound glacier tour? We will be traveling the Glenn Highway and the scenery near Valdez we've read is beautiful but the Columbia glacier is not as good as in years past. We also are visiting Kenai and a side trip to Whittier is not out of the question either. We are doing a day cruise to Kenai Fjords.

Any feedback is welcomed - we will be in these areas last week of May in an RV.
If we don't do the cruise out of Valdez, we probably would spend that time in Kenai area instead. That is why we really could use some feedback.

We plan on being in the Mat Su valley and have read about the use of the Knik Glacier for many film crews because it is so photographic. Any opinions on the air boat tours. Any recommendation of either of the two air boat operators. We don't have lots of time, but thought it might be a nice side trip to get closer to the glacier.

If there are better photographic opportunities in the Mat-Su area please let us know. Not professionals - but would like some amazing images to come home with.

Thanking you in advance for any responses..

Hi my friends and I are planning to go to Alaska between May 24-June 2. We found a discounted 7-day Glacier discovery cruise via Holland America although it's only inside cabin. We need to know if that 7-day cruise would be spectacular during the month of May. We are wondering why is it cheap maybe because it's rains frequently on that month or there are less snow/glaciers? Since we don't have balcony nor ocean view window can we sit outside the balcony of the ship or it is always full?

If ever we take the 7-day cruise we will arrive at Seward port on May 30 at 6am i think. So we have 3 extra days to go around Alaska. From there we don't know else where to go or how to go to the places we'd like to see. We are a budget traveller and we'd like to see the heart of alaska as much as possible at the least cost possible.

We'd like to go on a kayak and we'd like to know which location should we go for kayaking where there will be spectacular views such as snow-capped mountains, glacier and marine wildlife, if possible. I've received the 2009 official guide to anchorage and i saw a picture of a girl kayaking in Bear Glacier in Resurrection Bay and i found it stunning bec. she enters inside a glacier (like a cave). However i've read that Prince William Sound is popular destination for kayakers. Can you tell us which location should we go for kayaking if we have very limited time?

My dream is to see the northern lights and i've read that it's in Fairbanks where i can see it best however it's not guaranteed during the month of May. Is it possible to see this between May30-June1? We wanted to see Denali coz it's included in the 1000 places to see b4 u die. I love animals and i want to see the bears as close-up as possible. Alaska is huge so we'd like to know which location we can see more bears up close? I always watch Animal Planet and I'm fascinated by the Alaskan wilderness. I wanna see in person grizzly bears waiting for the salmon to go upstream and they will catch and eat them. I wanna see also the carribou or moose coz we don't have them here in Asia. We also wanted to try skiing. Which ski resort offers spectacular views and ski 4 beginners? Are the ski resort open even in month of May when it's already summer?

We also like to ride a glass train. Is this only in Denali Park?

Given all these things we wanna do or see what is only the most reasonable places we can go or activities we can do given that we only have 3 days to spare in ALaska? If we wanna do all those things i mentioned how many days should we spend in Alaska?

We are deliberating if we will give up the 7day cruise and spend that 7 days instead in Alaska. However, we think it would be very very expensive bec. the cruise is only $500/person all in including meals whereas if we spend more days in Alaska definitely we will be spending more than $500 each.

Is it easy to commute in Alaska? If we wanna go to various places can we find a means of transportation easily? Or you would suggest that we rent a car instead? Or is really cheaper to get a package tour instead?

We are still thinking what is the best route of cruise is it northbound or southbound? If we take the May 24-May 30 vancouver to Seward, we only have 3 fulldays to spare in Alaska. If we take the Seward to Vancouver, we can go to Alaska on May 20 or May 21 and leave on May 24 for the cruise. Sorry i have so many questions and this trip is not cheap at all. In fact it's even comparable or even more expensive than a Europe trip. We will be coming from Southeast Asia so our airfares alone is already expensive. So we need to evaluate carefully so we can decide as soon as possible. Thank you in advance to those who will be kind enough to answer all my questions.

We will be taking a cruise from Seattle Washington to Alaska, visiting these ports; Ketchican, Sitka, Juneau and Victoria Canada. I would really appreciate some help on the tours to take. I don't like to take the excursions from the ship...too expensive. We usually do our own; however, I would like any suggestions you might have. Everyone says to make sure we take the helicopter or float plane to the glacier. Any recommendations?

Hello to all the Alaskans!

I was just reading about the eruption of Mt Redoubt. It seems to be quite active with some floods and ash being spewed into the air!

What's the situation like right now? Is it dangerous? We are coming to Alaska in May for our honeymoon and we're getting worried!

We will be going through Ketchikan,Juneau, Skagway, Glacier bay, Anchorage (& Whittier), Denali & McKinley. Do we need to be worried? Or should these areas be ok? I hope we won't be seeing everywhere covered in ash instead of lovely snow and greenery!! :(

2 active pensioners looking to cruise the Inside Passage and spend a few days ashore in Alaska.May- Aug.'09. Any tips on boats (large or small?), where to get best deals, best time to go, must-do and don't-bother-to-do places.Is it worth the extra to have a balcony cabin or, as most cruise time will be spent topside, is an inside cabin OK ? Allow us to spend more on the 'land tour'. We both like wildlife and places which are spectacular or unusual. I love fishing! There are so many travel offers and so much info out there that we are getting confused. Hope you can help. thanks , Petermam (peter & Mavis, UK.)

looked at white pass to yukon and there are mixed reviews. looking for something romantic in august... we;re getting passes on alaska air...so can go anywhere alaska flies. doesn't have to be a rr trip...no heavy hiking....no cruise crowds...any suggestions..thanks

I will have a little Cinco de Mayo adventure in Anchorage, Alaska (first week of May). Was able to get off work on that week! Anyone with suggestions on what to do, little day trips or just a few hour expeditions? I really just intend to stay in Anchorage only - staying in a friend's condominium. This trip just came up unexpectedly today ----when I was offered to stay at the condominium, I booked the flight, hehehe... Anybody done the 26 glacier tour? Thanks for the suggestions....Greetings from sunny Arizona, jumpingnorman :)