Road Trip in Alaska: Potentially Stupid Questions from a Tourist (Anchorage: houses, rental)

[Sunshine State]

[b]THAT IS SOOO GORGEOUS, thank you for sharing this beautiful picture, it reminds me of Switzerland....!!!!

[mal_flisk]

Switzerland should be so lucky!

[rotorhead]

If you're prone to seasickness but still want to see some glaciers and such, try the high speed catamaran tour boat based out of Whittier. Their tour covers a LOT of the area, that thing pushes 50 knots when its going flat out. I've done it a couple times with the family when they were visiting, not the most personalized experience (maybe 200 people on board) but it was dead steady and the area is quite pretty. Driving through the tunnel is kind of a strange experience in itself, its one lane wide by one traincar tall and theres a rigid schedule when its open from either end since its mandatory one-way traffic.

If your're set on Homer go for it, it's a beautiful place. I do agree that the drive down through Ninilchik and Anchor Point gets pretty tedious except when the views open up and you can see the volcanos on the other side. The scenery through Moose Pass and on into Seward is much nicer, and Sewards fishing is pretty good as well. The Seward Sea Life Center and the visitor center at Exit Glacier are worth a stop as well, and theres no getting around the fact that the drive to Seward is much closer than the drive around the point to Homer.

Probably the best, most stress-free way to get to Seward is on the train, its an extremely scenic and very relaxing trip. The tracks run separately from the road through much of the route, and you don't have to worry about traffic. Seward is small enough that you can easily see it on foot when you get there, but its always a good idea to bring a rain coat. Heres a photo of the train trip down.

[zedzul]

You asked some great questions and got some great answers too just though I would add my 2 cents worth, (full refund available on request). I have taken 2 road trips in Alaska so far and am scheduled for another the second week in June of this year, first, on this whole sward vs. homer debate, I have been to both and while the dive down to homer is a little nicer there wasnt much to do once I got there (unless you like to fish) I had a lot more fun in sward. the exit glacier is nice there as well as an aquarium and a lot of nice day cruses if you have the time. The drive down to sward took me about 3-4 hours from anchorage (PS. Make sure to have extra batteries for the camera I had to drive all the way to anchorage and back in one night to get new batteries for my camera )
If you are looking for scenic drives the one down to Valdez was my favorite with great views of the ocean and glaciers and water falls.
Denali is a really nice area with good day hikes with good chance of seeing a moose and the bus tours in to the part are a must (you can’t drive your vehicle past the 15 mile mark)
On the mosquitoes I did not find them to be that bad unless you were around a lake where they would eat you alive, so bring repellent with you.
Gas was never a problem for me and every where I went there was a subway to eat at.
I have luck out on the weather so far I think, while I while I was there it was always good pants/t-shirt weather unless you went hiking someway high up where the wind could get you.

PS: My upcoming Itinerary looks like this I have been looking for some good hikes to do if you know any please let me know thanks

Anchorage
Seward
Valdez
Denali (by the old Denali highway)
Anchorage

[rotorhead]

If you're looking for good eats, don't miss the Double Muskie restaurant in Girdwood, it's about an hours drive from Anchorage, towards the Whittier cutoff so you'll be passing by it anyway if you're driving to Seward or the Kenai. It might seem strange to have a Cajun restaurant at Alaskas biggest ski town but its always busy, probably the best place in town. Their peppercorn crusted steak is tops (perhaps a bit spicy, but hey, its Cajun) and everything I've ever had there was good.

In Anchorage, make sure to get reservations early if you're eating at the nicer places (Orso or the like) or if they don't take them, show up early and be prepared to wait a while. If its more casual fare you're looking for try the Roadrunner, its a fast food place in the middle of town that has a famous halibut burger. Its actually shredded halibut instead of a fillet, but they have a "secret recipie" of spices and such that makes it pretty tasty, lots of repeat customers, always packed at lunchtime. Of all the downtown places, my favorite was Humpys, a bar and grill that had consistantly good food and interesting decorations.

Some of the best fried halibut I've had was at a little Chinese place somewhere down along the Kenai...Clam Gulch? Ninilchik? I forget. Anyway, they had it down to a science, crisp, tender, delicious and cheap...can't beat that!

[wan2Batraveler10]

Hello Guys
I just love it when you you guys give advice. The pictures are absolutely breathtaking! Alaska sounds like another world. I think I've said that before. I must say Murlough, I am so envious of you. To me, any kind of trip to Alaska is better than no trip at all. I hope you have a great time regardless of your itinerary.

Wan2Batraveler10

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by zedzul

I had a lot more fun in sward. the exit glacier is nice there as well as an aquarium and a lot of nice day cruses if you have the time.

We might go on one of those half-day or dinner cruises, if we find one we like that isn't too pricey. But it's not a must. I'd be happy exploring on land.

Originally Posted by zedzul

The drive down to sward took me about 3-4 hours from anchorage (PS. Make sure to have extra batteries for the camera I had to drive all the way to anchorage and back in one night to get new batteries for my camera )

I always make sure to have more lithium batteries than I need for my digital camera. My wife has one too, so if one of us runs out of batteries the other one can bust out their camera, and we'll put the pictures back in sequential order later on.

I'm assuming your 3-4 hours was one-way, and with stops?

Originally Posted by zedzul

If you are looking for scenic drives the one down to Valdez was my favorite with great views of the ocean and glaciers and water falls.

Would love to do the drive to Valdez, but I'll have to save it for another trip. The closest we'll be to Valdez is Glennallen; we'd have to drive down there, back up, and then to Fairbanks all in one day.

Originally Posted by zedzul

Denali is a really nice area with good day hikes with good chance of seeing a moose and the bus tours in to the part are a must (you can’t drive your vehicle past the 15 mile mark)

I'm glad that we set aside a full day for Denali; it'll be less of an issue of how much time we have and more an issue of how long we can stand being on a bus.

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

In Anchorage, make sure to get reservations early if you're eating at the nicer places (Orso or the like) or if they don't take them, show up early and be prepared to wait a while. If its more casual fare you're looking for try the Roadrunner, its a fast food place in the middle of town that has a famous halibut burger. Its actually shredded halibut instead of a fillet, but they have a "secret recipie" of spices and such that makes it pretty tasty, lots of repeat customers, always packed at lunchtime. Of all the downtown places, my favorite was Humpys, a bar and grill that had consistantly good food and interesting decorations.

Those places sound really good, like something the wife and I would agree upon. We'll probably be having more quick meals than fancy ones in Anchorage proper, since I think we'll be there for Sunday dinner (the day we arrive, we'll probably want to make the meal quick to have more time to explore), Monday and Tuesday breakfast (both served at the B&B we're staying at), and maybe Tuesday lunch before we depart for Glennallen. Monday will be the trip to Seward and back. When we get back to the airport on Saturday (driving from Healy - that's the one day I'm not looking forward to because it's long and we'll have to get up early to make our flight) we'll probably have to grab a quick lunch on the way.

We generally don't eat super-fancy meals out when we're travelling, maybe once during an entire trip, because for the most part we like to eat inexpensively and not take up a lot of time doing it. We'll probably end up having our "nicer meal" for this trip in Fairbanks.

Originally Posted by zedzul

Some of the best fried halibut I've had was at a little Chinese place somewhere down along the Kenai...Clam Gulch? Ninilchik? I forget. Anyway, they had it down to a science, crisp, tender, delicious and cheap...can't beat that!

Maybe on a return trip we'll have to check that out, "just for the halibut".

[silviodante]

Hey there,

I did a similar type trip last year, so maybe I could offer a little advice. First, if you are going in June, I wouldn't worry about weather or anything like that. There is always a chance of encountering a moose on the road, but its the same as driving through Maine or somewhere like that. Amenities are not as common as elsewhere- but you will never be stranded. I didn't find Alaska's road system to be that isolated (especially compared to Wyoming or northern Nevada) since the road system is so limited and everyone takes the same route. So, I wouldn't worry about driving around the Alaska roads anymore than you would for a road trip in the lower-48.

That said, my biggest advice to you involves your itinerary. I would spend at least more than one day down in the Kenai peninsula-- particularly down near Seward. It's only a 4-hour drive total from Anchorage, and its such an awe-inspiring place. You can go on whale/glacier watching tours, and the sea is just surrounded by these huge snowcapped mountains.

Once you get to the interior- I recommend stopping at the Denali entrance and taking a bus into the park. Definitely the American version of a Safari as we saw tons of grizzleys, wolves, and all sorts of moose, mountain goats, eagles, foxes, etc on our bus tour. Don't waste too much time in Anchorage or Fairbanks as these cities don't offer much (compared to the nature just outside them). I actually found Anchorage kind of depressing (again, just the city limits, not immediately outside them).

But, yeah, since there are so few roads in Alaska, I basically saw the whole thing, and Denali and the Kenai Peninsula were definitely the highlights.

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by silviodante

That said, my biggest advice to you involves your itinerary. I would spend at least more than one day down in the Kenai peninsula-- particularly down near Seward. It's only a 4-hour drive total from Anchorage, and its such an awe-inspiring place. You can go on whale/glacier watching tours, and the sea is just surrounded by these huge snowcapped mountains.

As I said several times back on page one, I can't change the places I'm spend the night at this point. That's a done deal and I have no regrets about how I planned that or the places I'm not going to be able to make it to.

But the big cities are largely serving as hubs for nearby exploration. Just because I'm spending a few nights in Anchorage/Fairbanks doesn't mean I'm spending the entirety of those days within those cities.

I'll leave early in the AM and make good use of the extra daylight to maximize our time in Seward, I can promise you that.