Planning summer 2022 trip to Alaska Fly/Rent
We are planning to take a trip next summer. Think we will try Alaska. Planning to fly and rent a Class C (or A). We have traveled for years including across country in a TT, but with limited time, ...
Forum Discussion
"To us Fairbanks was interesting but not the best and not so impressed with the North Pole city with Santa.
Agree with North Pole not being that interesting but the Christmas shop there is fun. Fairbanks was a bust for us this year-they have been hit hard by COVID and a lot of things were not operating or had really reduced schedules. Websites were not accurate, either, so call ahead. Anchorage isn't the city it used to be as they've been hit fairly hard as well but does have some great shops.
For Denali I'd take a bus tour. You can only go in 13 miles without doing so and parking for RVs is limited when you get to the end. There isn't all that much on that portion of the road, either. The Kenai Peninsula and Seward will satisfy the whales/glacier issues.
Whether to spend more time in the city or exploring is up to me. I'd explore. Anchorage itself is good for a day but there are places to go not far outside the city like the reindeer or musk ox farms. If you like museums there are some there also plus the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It's a matter of what your preferences are."
I'd have to agree with all of the above and I live here. Ditto on the "check everything"...both Squarebanks and Los Anchorage have lots of impacts, including a variety of "they're blaming that on covid?" impacts, that have changed the landscape for visitor activities. For me, for a 10-day trip, I'd probably skip going North and focus on the Kenai: Glacier tours from Whittier, whale / wildlife tours from Seward. Hope and/or Whittier for hiking and local flavor. Kenai and Slodotna if you are here when the reds or silvers are running. FWIW, if it was me, I'd take the time to drive to Valdez and to drive the Denali Highway (Paxson-Cantwell) but either of those trips is at least 2 days to do, more likely 3-4 and probably not worth doing on this short trip....gives you a reason to come back.
Agree with North Pole not being that interesting but the Christmas shop there is fun. Fairbanks was a bust for us this year-they have been hit hard by COVID and a lot of things were not operating or had really reduced schedules. Websites were not accurate, either, so call ahead. Anchorage isn't the city it used to be as they've been hit fairly hard as well but does have some great shops.
For Denali I'd take a bus tour. You can only go in 13 miles without doing so and parking for RVs is limited when you get to the end. There isn't all that much on that portion of the road, either. The Kenai Peninsula and Seward will satisfy the whales/glacier issues.
Whether to spend more time in the city or exploring is up to me. I'd explore. Anchorage itself is good for a day but there are places to go not far outside the city like the reindeer or musk ox farms. If you like museums there are some there also plus the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It's a matter of what your preferences are."
I'd have to agree with all of the above and I live here. Ditto on the "check everything"...both Squarebanks and Los Anchorage have lots of impacts, including a variety of "they're blaming that on covid?" impacts, that have changed the landscape for visitor activities. For me, for a 10-day trip, I'd probably skip going North and focus on the Kenai: Glacier tours from Whittier, whale / wildlife tours from Seward. Hope and/or Whittier for hiking and local flavor. Kenai and Slodotna if you are here when the reds or silvers are running. FWIW, if it was me, I'd take the time to drive to Valdez and to drive the Denali Highway (Paxson-Cantwell) but either of those trips is at least 2 days to do, more likely 3-4 and probably not worth doing on this short trip....gives you a reason to come back.
