If you are like a lot of people I talk to, then you would love to travel to Alaska. You hear the many stories of how beautiful it is, and see all the amazing pictures. These stories and pictures don’t do the 49th state of the US justice at all. I was born and raised in Alaska, if you get the opportunity to tour Alaska I suggest doing some research. Find out what you want to see, what’s important to you to view and then create your own tour.
There are a lot of “premade” tours available, and they may seem very convienant and perhaps even inexpensive. These “premade” tours may be for some people, but definitely not for everyone. A “premade” tour will take you through the sites of Alaska and give you some time to see the popular sights of Alaska. However, some of the best sights are seen on your own. If you’re looking to see the panhandle there are cruises you can take and they will take you to several stops along the Inside Passage of Alaska and you can see the capitol of Alaska. If you like any of these places more than just seeing it for two or three hours, you won’t be able to if you go on one of these cruises. The cruises pull into port and you get a short amount of time to tour these areas, and buses will be happy to take you to popular sights along the way. You can do all these mini sort of tours even without having a “premade” tour. You can work it into the things you want to see, when you want to see them, and for how long you would like to see them for. Seeing as though I have seen and done most things in Alaska, these are some of my recommendations when touring Alaska.
For the fisherman, what would be cooler than to catch a 300 pound halibut off the coast of Seward? You can charter a boat and have someone else do the dirty work, such as reeling in the big catch, as well as clean it for you. However, you still get the benefit of keeping all that fresh halibut meat! It’s so delicious. Fresh salmon pulled straight from the Kenai River is also amazing. The trout fisherman would not be disappointed either. Fisherman rejoice in all the options in Alaska to feed your fish cravings! If you don’t catch anything the first day, stay as long as you like, you won’t be in any hurry to catch a bus or a train, you scheduled it!
While that man in your life is out catching the “big one” and you don’t prefer to eat fish, or catch it, there is something else you can do on the water that doesn’t involve a fishing pole. You could go whale watching. There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t see a pod of killer whales in the Homer Spit. You can hop aboard a sightseeing boat, and the captain will take you right out to them. Bring your poncho, you’re like to get blow hole water on you! You can film them or just take pictures. I don’t recommend swimming with them, even though it’s the summer season, the water is still quite cold.
You can take the train from Anchorage all the way up to Fairbanks. The trip is amazing and you’re guaranteed to see at least one bear, one moose and perhaps some other wildlife. The train can stop at the Denali State Park, you can even overnight there, go for a hike up North Americas highest mountain peak -- Mount McKinley, also known as Mount Denali. The view from this park is breathtaking, even if you don’t have the ambition to climb the mountain. This is also an amazing drive if you were to rent a car and drive it. With your own car you would definitely be on your own schedule. Staying for as long or as little time as you would like, with a tour you would be on a schedule with other people who make the time slots for you, who choose how long you get to see what.
In Fairbanks at the right time in the summer, the sun won’t actually set. You can stay up all night and just watch the horizon. All you will see is the sun hovering, only threatening to fall behind the mountains. Then it will rise again. It’s absolutely amazing to see!
At any point in your stay in Alaska, so long as it gets dark, you may be blessed to see the Aurora borealis, also known more commonly as the Northern Lights. Never a sight will you see such as the northern lights in Alaska, the way the greens and purples and reds move through the sky. Waving and flying through the dark night, streaking it with color. Residents of the state pull over to witness and capture on film this spectacular sight.
In short, if you are limited on time and funds, a cruise or a packaged tour may be the way to go. However, if you want to truly see Alaska through the locals eyes, do you it your way. Tailor your trip to your lifestyle. If you’re an outdoorsman get the fishing and the hiking. If you’re a bird watcher, take the train or a car up the State Highway 1. No matter how you see Alaska, make sure to see it, and don’t forget your camera.
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