How do you go about planning a trip to Alaska? (Juneau and: vacation, job)

[cremebrulee]

If one wanted to see Alaska, how would you go about planning the trip? How would one get there? Can you drive up? By boat, Plane?

Thanks
Creme

[mal_flisk]

By any of the three. You can drive the AlCan Highway, take a cruise or catch a plane. It would take 3 months to cover even a portion of the state. To see SE, better to take a ferry, and stop off at each town. Drive the highways to see portions of the Interior, get to the North Slope, and South Central. The YK delta, AK Peninsula, Seward Peninsula areas are only accessible via plane, as are the Aleutians and much of the rest of the state.

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by mal_flisk

By any of the three. You can drive the AlCan Highway, take a cruise or catch a plane. It would take 3 months to cover even a portion of the state. To see SE, better to take a ferry, and stop off at each town. Drive the highways to see portions of the Interior, get to the North Slope, and South Central. The YK delta, AK Peninsula, Seward Peninsula areas are only accessible via plane, as are the Aleutians and much of the rest of the state.

Thank you,
If I was going to fly in, where would you suggest, to fly into next summer, and what would be your suggestions of sights to see....

I tell you, the more pictures, Rance and Sweden post, the more I'd not only like to see Alaska, but also explore the possilbity of living there?

[Dusty Rhodes]

Well, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, there is a group "Rainbow Mountain Adventures" who can/and do, set up all sorts of Alaskan discoveries, just tell them what you care to see most and they will set it up. If you, like i, didn't know enough to have an intelligent opinion, they will politely suggest. We found the service to be a reasonable cost for an amazing value. They also call and check up as you leave and arrive at distinct destinations, this gives them a time line if you go missing. unfortunately, lost in Alaska can be interpreted as dead. Also, Alaska is not central park, feeding the animals is frowned upon

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes

Well, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, there is a group "Rainbow Mountain Adventures" who can/and do, set up all sorts of Alaskan discoveries, just tell them what you care to see most and they will set it up. If you, like i, didn't know enough to have an intelligent opinion, they will politely suggest. We found the service to be a reasonable cost for an amazing value. They also call and check up as you leave and arrive at distinct destinations, this gives them a time line if you go missing. unfortunately, lost in Alaska can be interpreted as dead. Also, Alaska is not central park, feeding the animals is frowned upon

WHAT??????
wull that's it, I'm not going!!!!!

seriously, thanks so much for all your help....I would love to take a fishing trip...and just be able to avoid a lot of people....noise....I'm going to look into it...thanks...would like to schedule something for next summer? We'll see...

West Virginia is still sparcely populated in areas with a lot of mountains....I also love the very northern parts of PA....beautiful and much cheaper there....Land seems so high in Alaska?

[Karla with a K]

creme
we just got back form a cruise
next time we will fly into anchorage and do a land vacation. we had about 30 hours with rance and hannah there was so much I wanted to see but we ran out of time before the ship left.
rance said lots of people rent RVs

karla

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by Karla with a K

creme
we just got back form a cruise
next time we will fly into anchorage and do a land vacation. we had about 30 hours with rance and hannah there was so much I wanted to see but we ran out of time before the ship left.
rance said lots of people rent RVs

karla

God yes, I've seen the pics, how can you not fall in love with it....I'm really not into people, hate cruises...therefore, I would probably fly in....but, everyone, says it is awesome. My brother and his buddies, rented an RV and went up years ago...he said he liked it better then Hawaii....

I love warm weather, beaches, etc...but also love camping, the wilderness, no cell phones, no TV no people...wow, can't believe it. Would love to go.

[InfectedMushroom]

I don't post often but I am planning a move up to AK because I hate where I live in PA, but the northern areas are very beautiful and have some great places that are still undisturbed. I've seen enough of PA and the people in my area just aren't what I want to live around,lol...

[cremebrulee]

Originally Posted by InfectedMushroom

I don't post often but I am planning a move up to AK because I hate where I live in PA, but the northern areas are very beautiful and have some great places that are still undisturbed. I've seen enough of PA and the people in my area just aren't what I want to live around,lol...

Hi, thanks so much for this post. Years ago, I almost bought a farm in upstate PA....sorry I didn't. It was beautiful. Way out...nearest neighbor was a mile away....the farm was 60 acres. It is most beautiful there. I am from Southeast PA, between Philly and Allentown. Used to live in the Poconos...when I moved up there, there were not a lot of people, but, that to has changed. Seems, city people moved there only b/c it was cheap....once they were there, they wanted lights, sidewalks, conveiences....complained about the smell from the neighboring farmers....especially when they fed their corn fields, spring and fall....

It wasn't for me anymore...although moving back home, gifted me with a marvelous job opporunity...I'm not into neighbors...I enjoy privacy, peace and quiet....suppose that is why I love the very early part of the day, before anyone is up or in work....people can be so loud, and they don't respect anyone else's personal space anymore...what really rips me apart, more then anything is the garbage they throw out of their cars....it makes me so sad, I could almosst cry.

Hugs, and thanks so much....and please keep posting here....as your move would be quit enlightening and informative to others like me.

For instance,

what kind of home to you look for? What kind of back up heat would you need...how bout a generator, what size....I am thinking that almost everyone has their own wells...and what kind of septics do you have...are homes up there constructed differently then homes in PA , what kind of insulation do they use....how far apart are the support beams, what kind of roof is best to hold the snows....I'm certain this is not only a whole different culture, but also, special little tricks in looking for a home, that might be helpful to a buyer. Are the floors wood floors or concrete? Are there basements? Is it best to have one? How cold does it get, and how do you keep pipes and toilet from freezing. Is there anything one must know about the bears? What other kind of wild life? What kind of snakes, bugs? Mice, rats? I'm certain, one must not put out garbage or have a compost pile where you'd throw your garbage, right? All kinds of tricks of the trade, I'm sure.

Thanks so much
Creme



Creme

[Xa'at]

Depends on what you want to see.
If you want to visit SE, you could do a cruise or take the ferry. Or you could fly into Juneau and ferry to all the smaller towns. That would probably be the most expensive option, but also my favorite. If you want to cruise, go Cruise West, it's a bit more personalized and also I won't make fun of you behind your back. Just kidding, of course.
If you want to see the Kenai peninsula or other south central towns, you can fly into Anc and rent a car to get other places. Unless your vacation is quite long, I wouldn't recommend trying to drive the entire distance, especially from PA!
If you want more of an adventure, you can fly to Fairbanks and drive the haul road north! Problem is, you don't really go anywhere. Drive for days in the middle of nowhere... just to get nowhere. Now that sounds cool to me and I dream about doing it, but you may not be the type to enjoy that sort of thing.
Another fun thing to do would be to fly into Anc or Fairbanks and drive across the state to get to the other. You could see Denali, the pipeline, etc.
Here's some places to start...

Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air
Cruise West - Small Ship Cruises in Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan and more
Alaska travel guide - Wikitravel
Alaska Marine Highway System :: Alaska DOT&PF

Have fun!