Planning trip to Alaska -- advice?

Parent Cafe
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We are planning to go to Alaska for vacation Aug 8-17. I got so much great advice about our spring break trip to Washington DC (with a grumpy tween), that I wanted to ask here for advice about Alaska.

All we have so far are the flight reservations into and out of Anchorage. We have advice from some friends who had a great time in that area last summer. (Mainly: bring rain gear)

Our kids are 16 and 12 years old. We are a pretty active family, so hiking will be a big part of the trip. We aren’t mountain climbers or extreme sports people, however.

DS is interested in physics/engineering and my (not so grumpy these days) tween daughter currently likes art museums. But I think this is mainly a nature trip. We’d love it if someone could arrange for Northern Lights during the few hours of somewhat darkness.

DS will have just completed a geology class at the local UC and I’m a geology fan, so that’s an interest. DD may be interested in cool, local folk arts and crafts.

My husband and DD get seasick fairly easily, so they’d need a good reason for boat trips beyond a couple hours. (Oddly, DS and I love being on semi-rough oceans.)

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Good Luck! Alaska has a very short tourist season and few accommodations, so many of the good places fill up early. I could have made some suggestions in January for an August trip, but as late as you are planning your best bet might be to work with a travel agent who can search for opportunities from cancellations.

3

Our trip years ago: We flew into Anchorage and rented an rv and drove to Denali, then we rented a car and drove to Homer where we rented a cabin. We also managed to get down to Seward where there is a phenomenal aquarium built by Exxon (part of the Valdez repayment). Alaska is a huge state. You cannot see all or even half of it. Roads will be under construction. Everyone advised us to take out windshield insurance. We did but did not use it. Go on Tripadvisor to the Alaska forum and you will get many ideas. Great vacation!

4

It’s my dream to see Northern Lights! I went to Alaska in the winter, in part to see them, so no advice for a summer trip, but unfortunately it’s unlikely for you to see them in August. The season for them is October through March, and even then you really should be as far north as possible - I went to Fairbanks and as far north as the Arctic Circle - unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate (it was cloudy).

5

Bring rain gear and bug repellent!

Anchorage has a small town feel and is small, so you will not need to plan much time to explore the city. There aren’t many hotels or fancy restaurants. We stayed at the Marriott and could walk all over town from there. The waterfront trail in the park where I ran my marathon is amazing. Saw a moose and her baby munching on grass just a few feet away - awesome.

We plan to go back someday when I don’t have to spend half a day on gearing up for a race and racing and then rush back home… so I’m too all ears for the Alaskan adventure suggestions. :slight_smile:

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We did what you did about four years ago and it was a spectacular trip.

I’d definitely recommend:

  1. Seward - the boat trip to the Kenai fjords and glaciers. Bald eagles, sea otters, orcas, whales.
  2. Valdez - the boat trip through Prince William Sound. Fantastic glaciers and ice bergs.
  3. Just north of Seward - the short hike to the Exit Glacier.
  4. The bus in Denali offers opportunities for hiking. There are bus tours and on and off buses for hikers. Also at the end of the road (as far as private vehicles are permitted to go) there is a nice hike.
  5. The Homer spit is a very long beach, good for walking and seeing bald eagles.

Oh, dear. Just read the part about some of your family getting sea sick. The day we were at Resurrection Bay (Seward) the seas were very rough. But sitting or standing in the open air keeps me from getting sea sick. But the day on Prince William Sound was as smooth as glass.

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take plenty of meclizine for sea sickness- take it before you are sick! usually non drowsy and over the counter. a real lifesaver :slight_smile:

8

Scopolamine patches seem to work reasonably well for both of them for seasickness, so we will just need to renew the prescriptions.

Thanks for all the ideas so far!

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We went maybe 10 years ago with my not-very-mobile parents.

The place I really loved was Sitka, an island along the south-eastern coast. The area around Denali was nice, too, as long as you didn’t expect actually to see Denali ever. (Caught a glimpse of it once. I think. Then the clouds moved back in.)

I wouldn’t hold out much hope for northern lights in mid-August.

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Yeah, I was kidding/wishful thinking about the Northern Lights. We’ve seen 3 total solar eclipses, so we shouldn’t complain.

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Also, get moving on booking places to stay. When we went I had trouble in February booking a place in Seward for July! Valdez has only one or two places to stay. Denali books up very fast.

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I went to Alaska in my twenties, I was advised that “no one gets sick on a cruise ship”, I was seasick the entire time and lived for the excursions. If they know they get seasick, don’t get talked into a cruise and if you book day trips, take Bonine, patches, anything to help, but if the weather is marginal, let them skip it if they want.
I was young & from SoCal so did not bring a coat, I had a light jacket, but not a big coat & had to buy one. Dumb kid, it never occurred to me it would be that cold in July. Bring plenty of layers, a scarf, etc. so you stay warm on cold days.

13

It’s hard to assess fitness and hiking experience online. I can recommend specific hikes given more info.

Denali is exceptional if you are prepared to get out and explore. I don’t recommend it as much if you just plan to sit on the bus all day. Plan this ASAP.

The water can be choppy, but boat tours are very popular for a reason. I can recommend Kenai Fjords Tours out of Seward and Prince William Sound Tours from Whittier. The new fast ferries are large and handle waves very well, so you could look into that as well (it is pricey, but you could drive the Glenn and Richardson Hwys to Valdez and then take the ferry back to Whittier).

The good news is that you will be past the worst of mosquito season (still be prepared). But expect some rain. It is badly needed so far this year, so try to enjoy the showers.

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Does take me count as advice? I am paying attention tothe thread, because Alaksa is a plce I’m hoping to get to in the next couple of years. My thought was to do a cruise (I’ve never been on a cruise) and then do a land tour at the end. But maybe the cruise part is unnecessary.

15

We used High Adventure Air to do a seaplane, bear viewing and salmon fishing trip. It was amazing!! My daughters loved it. (Some of us get motion sickness and had no problem on this trip.)

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We enjoyed Juneau although it was not easy to get there. The Mendenhall glacier was amazing. We went twenty plus years ago, camping two or three nights (very rugged - no facilities) and then staying in a hotel for a night. Don’t recommend driving to the Arctic Circle. We drove to a deserted campground there and had to sleep in the SUV as the mosquitoes were too bad to let us get the tent set up. We went halibut fishing (in Homer?) and shipped a lot of halibut home.

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Just got your message, and am reading through the advice you received. The good news is that August is not terribly buggy, and this has been a low bug year so far anyway! August could be rainy, so rain gear is good advice; plan on dressing in layers, and avoiding cotton clothing as much as possible.

There are lots of hiking options, if you have a specific itinerary, I could probably give you some ideas. A few areas to consider visiting close to Anchorage…Arctic Valley (may have blueberries in August), Hatchers Pass (check out Independence Mine), Eagle River Nature Center (hike on some of their trails), Girdwood (find the Winner Creek trail behind Alyeska Hotel, or if you are feeling ambitious, the trail to Raven Glacier is SPECTACULAR, and is the first part of the famous Crow Pass trail. You can also ride a lift up Mt Alyeska, and there’s a restaurant up there. The Double Musky is a nice, nationally known restaurant in Girdwood too.) Portage is not far from Girdwood, and the short trail to the Byron Glacier is nice. There’s also a salmon viewing area that will probably be active then.

Talkeetna is a fun place to go, and you might enjoy a visit to Matanuska Glacier, if you want actual glacier contact. There’s a zipline somewhere around Talkeetna, I think. Try Googling for that.

I would strongly suggest a drive to the Kenai Peninsula. Consider going to Homer, abt a 5 hour drive, and worth the trip. It may not be too hard to get a hotel or B&B res for August, even this late. The tours here are worth doing, and will get you across the bay. Try to arrange something during a minus tide for cool tidepooling: http://www.akcoastalstudies.org/guided-tours/book-a-tour-or-a-program.html Or go to Seward, and check out Miller’s Landing for kayak rentals. See if you can book a guided kayak tour. They have boats in Seward that will take you fishing or wildlife viewing in Kenai Fjords Nat Park. Check out the Seward Sealife Center. I love the Harding Icefield hike at Exit Glacier just outside Seward.

And there’s Denali. Denali can be a bit of an undertaking, as you can’t drive in very far, so there are buses to book and such. May not be too hard in August. You CAN drive in about 15 miles, and there are hikes to be done even in that short distance.

Northern Lights…well, maybe. But I wouldn’t count on that. :slight_smile:

18

We went on an Alaska cruise in mid-September, the last of the season a few years ago. The water was very calm and H didn’t suffer any seasickness, tho he usually is not a good sailor.

I’d like to explore AK more and am enjoying this thread. We had NO bugs and very little rain during the week of our cruise. Layers and little or no cotton clothing is best. Wicking clothing and a good windbreaker, as well as layers are good to stay comfortable.

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Why is cotton not a good idea for Alaska?

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Alaska is wet and cold.
Cotton absorbs moisture (bad) and doesn’t dry fast (bad). Not a good warmth source (bad).
Polyester drys fast and layers well.
Wool is great source of warmth.

Cotton is a prescription for cold and clammy.