Planning a trip to Alaska? You’re in the right place! Between its sheer size and distance from the rest of the US, planning a trip here can quickly become overwhelming. Luckily, we spent a whole summer Alaska in our van and have distilled everything you need to know into this guide. Keep reading for 5 trip-planning tips, must-see spots in Alaska, and more expert advice to make your Alaska vacation a breeze to plan!
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💁🏼 5 Tips for Planning Your Trip to Alaska
Here are the top 5 tips, arranged in the order that helped us plan our own Alaska trip. Whether it’s your first time or you’re returning, these steps will guide you toward making the most of your adventure in this incredible state!
1. Start With Your Alaska Priorities and Interests
Before researching everywhere there is to go in Alaska, we recommend starting out by deciding what excites you most. Whether that’s wildlife viewing, hiking, exploring national parks, or sticking to small towns, getting clear on this will help you narrow down your choices from the get-go. Below, we’ve detailed some key preliminary questions to guide you.
- What interests me the most? Wildlife? Marine Life? National Parks? Northern Lights?
- How much time do I have?
- How much money am I willing to spend?
2. Choose the Best Time to Visit Alaska
Once you’re clear on what you want to do, how much time you have, and your rough budget, it’s time to think about when to go. Alaska’s seasons offer very different experiences, with summer being the most popular due to warmer weather and longer daylight hours, and winter being the least popular.
From June through August, you’ll find mild temperatures, accessible trails, and more wildlife activity, making it the ideal window for most visitors. This is when we were traveling through Alaska, and what we recommend for the average visitor, especially if you’re interested in camping.
Depending on where you choose to visit, the weather in Alaska can vary greatly. For example, Fairbanks, Alaska, has some of the coldest temperatures in the United States, and its summer temperatures are warm due to its relatively flat landscape and its interior Alaska location. Compared to Anchorage, Alaska, which has a more temperate climate due to its location on Cook Inlet, the winter and summer temperatures are much milder.
Anchorage, Alaska Weather
Fairbanks, Alaska Weather
That said, several Alaskan activities have narrower timeframes. For example, bear viewing tours at Katmai National Park are best during the last few weeks of July and the beginning of August when the salmon arrive. If your goal were to explore Denali National Park, you would have a broader range. Anytime from June through early September is a fair time to visit the park.
We recommend researching the season windows for the specific activities you want to do. Some wildlife cruises, glacier tours, or fishing trips may only operate during certain months or have peak times when wildlife is most active. Planning your trip around these windows ensures you won’t miss out on the experiences you’re most interested in.
3. Plan How You’ll Get To & Around Alaska
Getting to Alaska is an adventure in and of itself, and there’s not just one way to do it. Between flying into major hubs like Anchorage or Fairbanks, road tripping through Canada, and even taking a ferry from Washington state, there are many ways to get to Alaska. Below you’ll find a breakdown of each.
Via the Alaska Highway
The most popular overland route, the Alaska Highway, stretches about 1,390 miles (2,236 km) from Dawson Creek in British Columbia, Canada, to Delta Junction in Alaska. This iconic drive takes you through vast wilderness, offering plenty of wildlife spotting and roadside attractions. Depending on how many stops you make, the trip can take 7 to 10 days each way. There are plenty of hotels and campgrounds along the famous highway.
Via the Stewart-Cassiar Highway
For a quieter, more rugged alternative, consider the 450-mile (725-km) Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Highway 37). Starting from the small town of Kitwanga, this route has fewer services but rewards travelers with stunning natural beauty and excellent wildlife viewing.
This road eventually connects with the Alaska Highway at Watson Lake, Yukon, where you can continue to Alaska. This highway takes a similar amount of time to travel, including the drive up from the lower 48.
Via the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry
If you want to bring your car but prefer to skip the long drive, the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry from Bellingham, Washington, is the quickest option. It’s more expensive but delivers you and your vehicle directly to multiple coastal destinations along Alaska’s southern coast, combining travel and sightseeing on the water.
Flying to Alaska
For the fastest and most convenient option, you can always book a flight into one of Alaska’s major airports, like Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau. Once there, we ideally recommend renting a car or campervan to explore more of the state.
The Alaska Railroad is another popular way to move around South Central and Interior Alaska. If you’re interested in traveling through Alaska by train, you can find the complete Alaska Railroad Schedule here.
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4. Book Key Activities and Accommodations Early
How far in advance you need to book your Alaska trip depends largely on the activities you want to do. Highly sought-after experiences like staying in Katmai National Park’s Brooks Lodge require booking at least a year and a half ahead to secure your spot. We recommend booking once-in-a-lifetime experiences like a flightseeing tour in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park early. We learned this the hard way when we went to book a glacier kayaking tour and found out it was already fully booked months before our trip.
For other activities, booking even just a week or a few days in advance can be sufficient. For example, when the glacier kayaking tour was unavailable, we booked a kayaking trip in Seward’s Resurrection Bay just a week ahead. We also booked experiences like our Kenai Fjords boat tour, our ferry to Kachemak Bay State Park, and our Denali National Park bus tour the week of, so last-minute planners can still find options.
5. Map Out Your Must-See Alaska Destinations
Alaska’s immense size means travel between destinations can take longer than expected, so it’s important to plan a realistic route. Whether you’re focusing on the entire Kenai Peninsula, the southern national parks, or just a few coastal towns like Seward and Homer, clustering your itinerary in advance will help you avoid spending too much time driving.
We recommend using our map below of Alaska to decide on an area that has a cluster of spots that you’re interested in visiting. From there, you can start to think of how to get there, and how to best move between each of the individual destinations.
🗺️ Map of the Best Places in Alaska
In this map, we’ve pinned all the Alaskan National Parks with a green tree symbol, popular cities with a blue pin, airports with a purple airplane symbol, and charming small towns with an orange pin. Keep on reading for more information about each of the places pinned in this map.
How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.
🐻 Best Places to Visit in Alaska
Below, we’ve listed our seven favorite destinations in Alaska along with a more complete list of the most popular small towns, cities, and national parks. You can find the locations of all the following places mentioned pinned on our map of Alaska above, as well, where you can start to visualize which section of the state you’d like to visit.
Our 7 Favorite Destinations in Alaska
- Homer: Known as the “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World,” Homer is a charming coastal town with stunning views of Kachemak Bay. It’s a great base for fishing, kayaking, perusing art galleries, and even hopping over to Kachemak Bay State Park across the water, one of our favorite Alaskan state parks.
- Seward: Also nestled on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. From here, you can embark on boat tours to see glaciers and sea life or hike the famous Exit Glacier trail.
- Kenai Fjords National Park: This park boasts dramatic fjords, tidewater glaciers, and abundant marine wildlife. Large and small-ship cruises from Seward offer incredible opportunities to see whales, puffins, and calving glaciers up close. We hiked one of our favorite trails of all time here, the Harding Icefield Trail!
- Kenai Peninsula: Beyond Seward, Homer, and Kenai Fjords National Park, the entire Kenai Peninsula is one of the most popular areas to visit in Alaska. We highly recommend planning a road trip to visit it over the course of a week or so. And with Anchorage located right at the base of it, it’s super accessible.
- Denali National Park: Home to North America’s tallest peak, Denali National Park offers unmatched wilderness experiences. Whether you’re hiking, wildlife spotting, or taking a bus tour, this park is a must-see for any Alaska trip.
- Katmai National Park: Famous for its bear viewing at Brooks Falls, Katmai offers one of the best wildlife experiences in Alaska. We were blown away by our time here and had a blast camping, hanging out in the lodge, and watching bears in their natural habitat!
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park: The largest national park in the U.S., Wrangell-St. Elias features towering mountains, vast glaciers, and remote wilderness. Flightseeing tours, glacier hikes, and mining history tours are the most popular activities in this park. It’s the perfect destination if what you’re seeking is a bit more solitude.
More Small Towns & Cities in Alaska
Alaska is full of incredible cities and small towns beyond the spots we’ve listed above. Here are some additional destinations worth considering as you plan your adventure, with some quick info about each.
Best Small Towns in Alaska
- Cooper Landing: Gateway to fishing and hiking along the Kenai River.
- Girdwood: a resort town that is nestled within the Chugach Mountains.
- Whittier: Small port town known for glacier cruises in Prince William Sound.
- Valdez: Outdoor hub for fjords, glaciers, and fishing adventures.
- Haines: A charming Alaskan town with Tlingit culture and excellent wildlife viewing.
- Ketchikan: Alaska’s first city and salmon capitol of the world.
- Skagway: Located on the Chikoot Inlet, this small town is full of charm.
- Sitka: A coastal town where Russian history blends with Indigenous culture.
- Kodiak Island: Rugged island famous for brown bears and world-class fishing.
- Cordova: Fishing community near Prince William Sound and the Copper River.
- Nome: Historic gold rush town and Iditarod sled dog race finish line.
- Skagway: Historic Gold Rush town with scenic railroads and hiking.
Best Cities in Alaska
- Anchorage: Alaska’s largest city, balancing its urban culture with its proximity to nature.
- Juneau: Alaska’s capital with whale watching, glaciers, and a rich local culture.
- Fairbanks: Interior Alaskan city known for northern lights and gold rush history.
National Parks in Alaska
There are a total of eight national parks in Alaska. Although we’ve only visited the four southernmost parks (Katmai, Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell-St. Elias), we didn’t want you to miss out on the others we have pending. You can click on the name of the park to hop over to its NPS page and read more.
- Glacier Bay National Park
- Gates of the Arctic National Park
- Kobuk Valley National Park
- Lake Clark National Park
More Great Places in Alaska
There’s only so much time in a day, so obviously, there were places we didn’t have time to visit during our first trip to Alaska. Here are some of the places we heard raving reviews about but didn’t get to explore, so they remain on our list for next time:
- Chugach State Park
- Hatcher’s Pass
- Matanuska Glacier
- Worthington Glacier
- Tongass National Forest
⚓ The Best Alaska Cruises, Land Tours, and Flightseeing Tours
Below, we’ve gathered some of the best day cruises, land tours, and flightseeing adventures in Alaska. This state’s wilderness can get pretty remote, which makes guided tours the perfect way to access incredible sights and experiences that often become difficult, if not impossible, to reach on your own.
Alaska Cruises
- From Seward: Kenai Fjords National Park Glacier & Wildlife Cruise: From $300/person
- From Whittier/Anchorage: Prince William Sound Glacier Cruise: From $250/person
- From Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier Waterfall & Whale Watching Tour: From $200/person
- From Valdez: Columbia Glacier & Wildlife Cruise: From $180/person
Alaska Flightseeing Tours
- From Talkeetna: Denali National Park Flightseeing Tour: From $300/person
- From McCarthy/Chitina: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Flightseeing Tour: From $330/person
- From Glacier View: Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains: From $200/person
Alaska Land Tours
- From Fairbanks: Arctic Circle Northern Lights Day Trip: From $300/person
- From Anchorage: Alaska Wildlife Center & Turnagain Arm Tour: From $140/person
- From Skagway: White Pass and Yukon Suspension Bridge Tour: From $130/person
📰 Alaska Itinerary Ideas
Below, we’ve linked out to all of our Alaska Itinerary posts if you are interested in a day-by-day breakdown of different trips.
- Kenai Fjords National Park 1 to 3-Day Itinerary
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 2-Day Itinerary
- Denali National Park 1 to 3-Day Itinerary
- Katmai National Park 1 to 3-Day Itinerary
- Kenai Peninsula Roadtrip Itinerary (Coming Soon)
- Alaska 5, 7, & 10-Day Itinerary (Coming Soon)
🎒 Alaska Packing Guide
What you pack for Alaska really depends on your plans. Are you going hiking? Planning on camping in a tent? Want to travel in your van? Beyond the specialized gear needed for hiking, camping, or van life, there are a few essentials everyone should bring to Alaska.
- Your best photography gear to capture Alaska’s stunning landscapes and wildlife. We use the Canon R5.
- Binoculars for spotting distant animals and enjoying panoramic views. Here’s an affordable pair we recommend.
- Layers of clothing to be ready for warm days and sudden temperature drops. We suggest a warm base layer (women’s | men’s), a mid-layer (women’s | men’s), and a jacket or coat (women’s | men’s), depending on the month you visit.
- Rain gear to stay dry during Alaska’s frequent showers. We use this women’s rain jacket and this men’s rain jacket. A rain backpack cover is also handy if you plan on backpacking.
- Bear spray if you plan to hike or spend time in bear country. You can buy bear spray if you plan on driving in (not allowed on planes) or rent some in Anchorage at somewhere like Alaska Bear Spray Rental.
- Sun protection, including sunscreen and hats, to guard against strong UV rays.
- Eye mask for better sleep during long summer daylight hours.
🚐 Campervan and Car Rentals in Alaska
Alaska is home to some of the most scenic and breathtaking roads in the world, making a road trip in a car or campervan an incredible way to explore the state at your own pace. This is what we did, driving up from the lower 48 in our self-converted Sprinter Van, and we can’t recommend it enough!
You can either drive up the famous Alaska Highway or the Stewart-Cassiar Highway from Canada, take your vehicle with you on the ferry from Bellingham, Washington, or rent one locally once you arrive.
Traveling by campervan in particular lets you immerse yourself fully in Alaska’s wild beauty, giving you the freedom to stop whenever and wherever you want. This flexibility, combined with the comfort of having your own mobile base, is why we truly recommend it as one of the best ways to experience Alaska. Here are a few highly rated campervan rental options we found in Anchorage:
📰 Related Articles
- Anchorage to Denali National Park: The Perfect Alaskan Road Trip
- Alaska Highway Roadtrip: Where to Camp, What to See, & More!
- How to Drive the Dempster Highway: Ultimate Road Trip Itinerary
- Stewart-Cassiar Highway: The Perfect Canadian Road Trip
- Where to Camp on the Alaska Highway: Road Trip Guide
- The 3 Routes for Driving to Alaska in Your Car
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🔍 Ready to Visit Alaska?
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