Alaska – Cruise to the Arctic Northern Scenery

Alaska is the last place in America that can be considered a territory, despite being an equal member of the Union for more than eighty years. Alaska is the largest and most sparsely populated state in the US, with more than half a million people living in an area almost the size of Greenland. The bulk of Alaska's accessible land lies in the south along the Pacific coast. In the Alaskan tundra, bordered by the Canadian Yukon Territory, the ancient and famous Russian capital of Sitka is located.

• To the north, on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, is the large city of Anchorage. Anchorage was almost the only gateway to Alaska until the development of the giant cruise lines that depart from the ports of Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle and sail as a floating hotel to the wild nature and glaciers of the northern state.
• From Anchorage, you can drive north towards Fairbanks, the northern city known as a place to view the northern lights. Between the two cities is Denali National Park, where the giant Mount Denali (formerly McKinley), the highest mountain in North America, is located.

 

How many days do you need for a trip to Alaska?

A trip to Alaska is once in a lifetime and requires plenty of time and patience. Most Alaska cruises are sold in packages ranging from a week to two weeks, including stops along the way.

If you're not coming to Alaska on a cruise, it's worth finding a place to stay in Juneau or Anchorage as a base for exploring the amazing coastline.

Click here to find a place to stay in Juneau…

Click here to check availability and prices in Anchorage hotels…

 

12 Must-See and Must-Do Things in Alaska

1. The Northern Lights in Fairbanks
2. Majestic nature and landscape at Denali National Park and Preserve
3. City vibes in Anchorage
4. Alaska at its best in Ketchikan
5. History of Russian settlement in Sitka
6. Urban adventure and entertainment in photogenic Juneau
7. The northern Wild West in Skagway
8. Sail among the six glaciers of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
9. Abandoned mining towns of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
10. Natural recovery and beauty of Valdez
11. Seward's Underwater Observatory
12. Local fishing scene in Homer

Click here for a whale watching cruise and Mendenhall Glacier (departing from Juneau)…

 

What is Alaska?

Alaska is the 49th state of the USA (it joined just a few months before Hawaii) and holds some significant records compared to the union of states:

• It is the largest state in terms of area, being 2.5 times bigger than Texas, the second largest state in the USA
• Alaska is the third least densely populated state in the USA, following Vermont and Wyoming, with only 650,000 residents
• In terms of population density, Alaska stands out massively, in a state considered almost completely deserted. Move twenty kilometers away from the Pacific Ocean's coastline, and the entire state is nearly an absolute wilderness
• Alaska is the northernmost state in the USA, and it's one of two states (along with Hawaii) that do not share a contiguous border with continental USA. Its only land border is with Canada, though it has a significant maritime border with Russia to the west.

In Alaska rises the highest mountain in the USA and all of North America. Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, as it is officially called today, towers nearly 6200 meters above sea level. The peak is the pinnacle of the Alaska Range in the southern part of the territory, with the southern slopes being a hub of development and settlement. To the north lies the vast Yukon River Valley, an area of tundra vegetation that freezes severely during winter but in summer becomes a wild natural paradise with roaring waters, grizzly bears, and all the fun of America (and even quite warm).

In the valley, a few roads run that are usually passable only in the summer and they connect some remote villages and settlements related to the land's rich mineral mining. The valley is bordered on the north by the Brooks Range. North of this ridge is already the Arctic region along the Arctic Ocean, a frozen area where only mining takes place in extreme conditions.

Click here for a 6-hour sailing journey in Kenai Fjords National Park (departure from Seward)…

The Evolution of Alaska

The western part of Alaska, the Bering Strait, forms the maritime border between Russia in Asia and North America. When the straits froze, Siberian tribes migrated to America and settled along it down to parts of South America. This migration is the origin of the initial settlement of what are known as Native Americans, meaning the Indians and Eskimos.

• In 1741, Danish explorer Vitus Bering crossed the straits under the Russian flag. Throughout the century, additional Russian expeditions arrived and even established a settlement focused on fur trading.
• Following the Crimean War in the mid-19th century, Russia was desperately in need of cash. Thus, in 1867, they sold Alaska to the Americans in what became one of the most lucrative deals in the history of human economics.
• The southern part of Alaska developed rapidly with the gold discoveries in Dawson City to the north (in Canada's Yukon Territory), which led to settlement and accelerated development along the state's southern coastline.
• Another surge of development occurred at the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. During this time, large military bases were constructed in Alaska due to its geographic proximity to the USSR, effectively making it the Western Iron Curtain, i.e., the Bering Strait.
• On January 3, 1959, the territory joined as the 49th state of the USA, and about a decade later, vast oil deposits were discovered, which also led to development, mainly of the barren area north of the Alaska Range.

 

Map of Alaska

 

How to Get to Alaska?

How to Fly to Alaska?

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) – The main airport of the state of Alaska is the relatively large Anchorage airport. It's situated on the west side of Anchorage, Alaska's relatively big city, just a ten-minute drive from downtown. This airport is a hub for Alaskan Airlines, which connects the city with major airports in the western U.S.

During winter, flights to the airport are limited, but in the summer, you can reach the city from various airports across the U.S., Hawaii, Canada, and even Europe. The airport offers numerous connections to smaller airports and airstrips across Alaska and is considered the main gateway to the state (except, of course, for cruise ships).

Juneau International Airport (JNU) – Juneau's airport is situated west of the tiny downtown area of Alaska's capital, just a ten-minute drive away. It's a secondary airport with fewer flights, but it's convenient for those aiming to reach more populated areas of the wilderness. The main line connects with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and it is primarily accessed from there. Smaller aircraft also operate from this airport, linking all major airfields and landing strips across Alaska.

 

Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) – Although Fairbanks is quite remote, this international airport is surprisingly large and developed given its location in the unimaginable wilderness north of Alaska's mountain ranges and the Yukon River Valley. It serves as a hub for the seasonal tourist traffic headed to Denali National Park, one of the most popular attractions for tourists in Alaska. The airport is accessible with regular flights from Seattle, and during the summer, flights are available from other airports like Chicago and Denver. Located on the western outskirts of the state, it is also accessible from other airports and smaller airstrips throughout Alaska. The travel time from the airport to the national park is just over two hours (only during the summer).

How to reach Alaska by cruise?

Cruise lines to Alaska are quickly becoming the most popular way to reach the state. Major companies, led by Royal Caribbean, launch massive cruise ships from Pacific Coast ports of the USA, from San Diego, Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and more, to routes reaching the seaside towns and villages of Alaska. More than one and a half million tourists arrive each year in Alaska (between late spring and mid-fall), outnumbering those who arrive by flights.

Alaska cruises offer a very high hotel standard, plenty of attractions on board the ship, food around the clock, and heaps of entertainment. The cruises to Alaska fit like a glove to the state's challenging geographical and climatic structure, mainly taking place in the summer season and opening up the coastline. During docking, there are tours into the heart of Alaska including to the popular Denali National Park.

 

When is the best time to visit Alaska?

Accessing Alaska isn’t a question of when you should, but rather when you can. The weather in Alaska is a critical factor for visiting the state. Those who come in winter are not part of the tourist movement; they are mainly here for local economic purposes. Winter in Alaska is unambiguously harsh, from the settled southern parts to the northern areas, where getting there presents a wild logistical challenge.

• Generally, you can reasonably visit Alaska from March to early November
• The perfect season to visit Alaska is, of course, the summer. However, even during the summer, there are periods when it’s better to visit and times when it’s less ideal
• June and July are the ideal months to visit the southern part of Alaska weather-wise. During these months, there’s hardly any rainfall, daylight hours are very long, and it’s not even that cold
• August and September are relatively rainy months, but the weather is still pleasant to moderate. As the year progresses, the weather cools down rapidly and the latter part of September can already be snowy.
• In the spring months, from March to May, you can explore some of the southern parts of Alaska. They include plenty of beautiful, sunny but cold days, and of course, plenty of snow on the ground, although it hardly falls anymore.
• The fall months can already be tough, with snowy and even stormy days.
• In late fall and winter, it's really not advisable to approach any parts of Alaska.

 

How to plan a trip itinerary in Alaska?

The travel route in Alaska is extremely laid-back and relies more or less on the very limited options for touring the vast area. Unlike other places, in the largest state in the USA, there is not a network of roads or paths at all, and in extensive parts, there are no roads whatsoever. Access to a large part of the places in the state is either by plane or by ship. Most people who come to Alaska arrive by cruise ship whose route is quite fixed. The ships and ferries stop in the towns and cities along the Pacific Ocean coastline.

Ferries and cruise ships arrive from British Columbia or Washington State, first stopping at the Panhandle towns – Ketchikan, Sitka, the capital Juneau, Skagway, and sailing through the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. After the Panhandle, the routes continue to the towns and cities of the Kenai Peninsula, first to Valdez, and then to Homer and the large Anchorage. From Anchorage, you can continue by car to Denali National Park, Alaska's top travel destination, or fly to Fairbanks and from there head south to the park.

 

Everything to See and Do in Alaska

Ketchikan

The town of Ketchikan is the gateway to Alaska for those arriving in the territory by sea, and it serves as the first stop in Alaska for cruise ships running from Vancouver towards the towns along the Pacific Ocean coast. The town is located at the western edge of Revillagigedo Island, across a narrow strait (less than a hundred meters wide) from Gravina Island, where the town's small airport is situated. Access to the town from outside the Alexander Archipelago is only via light aircraft or ferries and cruise ships. Ketchikan is the first significant settlement of the Alaska Panhandle.

The heart of the town is the large cruise port with several attractions specifically built for tourists coming off the ship. As soon as you step off the cruise, you arrive at Front Street, right along the waterfront. Opposite the disembarkation, Mill Street and Mission Street lead into the town's commercial center and act as the main streets housing shops and attractions alongside Main Street. On Mission Street, you'll find the tall 'Welcome to Ketchikan' sign, often the first thing tourists pass through when arriving in this remote state.

The town center attractions include the small Tongass Historical Museum, which offers a glimpse into the historical aspect of the place, and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, providing loads of information for tourists. Also, there's the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, a touristy yet charming must-see in town.

Next to the great totem of Chief Johnson, you'll find the bridge leading to Creek Street, the most photo-worthy spot in town. What once was the street of saloons and illicit activities, is now one of the prettiest spots in urban Alaska, with restored wooden houses and stilts right on the waterline. Not far from there is the Totem Heritage Center, a museum focused on Indigenous sculpture amidst endless coniferous forests.

Sitka

The town of Sitka is the most historically significant place in Alaska. Founded in the early 19th century by Russian explorers, it was a Russian colony known as Novo-Arkhangelsk. The current name of the town reflects the native perspective on the Russian colony, meaning 'place of those who came from outside the island' in the local language. When the colony was established in 1799, it was attacked and destroyed by local tribes, but was rebuilt about five years later by a Russian military force that subdued the locals. In 1808, the colony was declared the capital of Russian America, the territories of Alaska under Russian control. After Alaska was sold in 1867 to the United States, the town lost its prominence, but to this day, you can still see the Russian presence there.

In the heart of Sitka, you'll find several historic sites and attractions worth visiting for a few hours. Right along the shoreline of Crescent Bay stands Baranof Castle, named after the Russian Governor of Alaska, Alexander Baranof, the same namesake as the island on which the town is located. Nearby is the Russian church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, originally built in 1848. The church was restored in 1966 after a fire. Atop the church is a tower with an onion dome, characteristic of the Orthodox style.

To the east of the town center, at the beach's edge of a forest, lies the Sitka National Historical Park, the site of the battle between the local Tlingit tribe and the Russians. The park features enormous totem poles and native artisans showcasing their heritage and traditions in the park's cultural center. Another attraction in the town is the Alaska Raptor Center, a conservation and rehabilitation center for local birds of prey. You can wander around the center and see a variety of large-winged birds.

Juneau

The small city of Juneau is the capital of Alaska and the next destination on your cruise trip through the Alexander Archipelago. About thirty thousand people live there, making it the second largest city in Alaska (alongside Fairbanks), far behind Anchorage, which houses almost three hundred thousand people. Juneau was declared the capital of the Territory of Alaska in 1906 after the title moved from Sitka. The city is situated on a narrow strip of land between the massive Mount Juneau to the east, with a height of about one kilometer (its peak is located about one and a half kilometers from the city center as the crow flies), and the Gastineau Channel, which separates Alaska’s mainland from Douglas Island.

Your adventure in Juneau kicks off at the large ferry terminal sprawling across the southern part of town, nestled against the wooded slopes of Mount Juneau (or at the city's airport from the north). At the terminal, you'll find the Roberts Peak tram station, where you can take a spacious cable car up to the mountain summit overlooking the city, standing at 1150 meters. From the top, you'll be treated to breathtaking views of the city, Douglas Island, and the channel.

Just a bit north of the harbor, you'll find Juneau's downtown, a miniature commercial hub encompassing a few blocks with restaurants, small hotels, shops, galleries, and more. Despite its compact size, it's a great area to wander around, particularly along South Franklin Street, perhaps the coolest street in the state. At the northern end of downtown stands the Alaska State Capitol building, one of the dreariest capitol buildings in the entire United States. Not far from the capitol is the Alaska State Museum, which, unlike the capitol, is housed in a modern building and is truly fun to visit. The museum showcases collections related to the state's history, its indigenous cultures, and its natural environment.

Juneau is indeed an isolated city with no roads leading out to other places in Alaska, but there's a road that heads north to the Mendenhall Glacier at the town of Mendenhall Valley. The town lies between the lake formed by the glacier's retreat and Gastineau Channel. In summer, the lake expands while in winter, it freezes and reconnects with the massive glacier towering over the valley. There are organized hiking trails around the lake and near the glacier.

Click here for a sail from Juneau to whale-watching adventures…

Skagway

The iconic gold mining town of Skagway is at the northern tip of Alaska's panhandle and is one of the most beloved travel spots in the state. The town serves as the starting point for the White Pass and Yukon Route, a historic railway that connects the town with Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory. The route provides access to the White Pass, a challenging crossing point for gold miners heading north. The railway takes a three-hour journey north to the mountain range and is a very popular tourist attraction.

The town quickly developed at the end of the 19th century as part of what is known as the Klondike Gold Rush, serving as the gateway to the territory that is now part of Canada. The visit to the town begins at the cruise ship port, from where you walk to Broadway Street lined with restored houses from its golden age. During the gold rush, it was one of the most colorful and lawless places in the wild northwestern frontier, full of saloons, brothels, and particularly rowdy bars. Today, the tourist street tries to capture that old-time atmosphere, almost like Disneyland, accompanied by the breathtaking views of Alaska.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Glacier Bay National Park is the southernmost gem among a splendid list of national parks in Alaska. It caps off Alaska's panhandle to the north, alongside the Canadian Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park across the border (and completely separate). The unique thing about this national park is that visiting it is almost exclusively possible by cruise. The park is part of the Alaska cruises and ferry route, and the trip through the park takes you through the great inner bay between glaciers cascading down from the peaks.

The bay was part of Captain George Vancouver's journey along the Canadian coast to Alaska in 1794, carved out by the glaciers and their retreat, forming a V-shaped valley that filled with ocean waters. Along the bay are six glaciers visible from the ship, shedding large chunks of ice floating on the water. There’s an abundance of northern wildlife, like whales, seals, pods of dolphins, large waterfowl, and more.

Click here for all the information on visiting Glacier Bay National Park…

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the largest of the American parks by area, covering 52 thousand square kilometers, double the size of the state of New Jersey. The park is a gigantic nature reserve on the northern slopes of the Wrangell and St. Elias mountain ranges, home to some of the highest peaks in the USA and all of North America. It's a vast, primeval area largely inaccessible. Throughout the park, there are nine partially abandoned mining towns serving as the base for park exploration. The small village of McCarthy is the gateway to the area, where there's an airstrip active during summer days.

 

Valdez

The town of Valdez is home to about four thousand permanent residents. The town is located east of Anchorage and is even connected to the large city by road (over a five-hour drive), one of the scarce commodities in Alaska. The town is nestled on the shores of Valdez Bay, entirely surrounded by high peaks in a breathtakingly picturesque setting. The main significance of the town is actually in the industrial aspect, as the southern outlet of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Oil is part of the town's history, primarily due to the disaster of the Exxon Valdez tanker, which ran aground near the town and spilled vast quantities of crude oil into the bay, creating an enormous environmental disaster. You can learn about the disaster at the small Valdez Museum, which also provides information about the settlement in this godforsaken area. A relatively short sail westward will take you to the Chugach National Forest, where you can find glaciers and stunning nature during the summer.

Seward

The town of Seward is home to three thousand permanent residents and is one of the most beautiful attractions on Alaska's cruise line. The town is located at the end of Resurrection Bay, a stunning fjord surrounded by snowy peaks and coniferous forests. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Kenai Peninsula, the main settlement area in Alaska, mainly due to the presence of the large city of Anchorage that marks the peninsula from the west.

Ferries and cruise ships depart from Seward to sail in Kenai Fjords National Park, along the southern coast of the peninsula heading towards Homer. Today's town is more of a fishing village than an urban location, with a giant fishing boat marina near the ferry dock. In the southern part of the town is the Seward Marine Science Center, where you can see Alaska's best marine wildlife. The Science Center is the town's central attraction and one of the only museum attractions in all of Alaska.

Homer

The town of Homer is one of the largest settlements on the Kenai Peninsula, with five thousand permanent residents. It's one of the most popular travel destinations in Alaska. The town's cruise port is located at the tip of the Homer Spit, a narrow strip of land that is 100 meters wide and more than six kilometers long, stretching into Kachemak Bay.

Aside from the cruise port at the end of the Spit, there is also a fishing boat harbor along it, part of the town's most extensive industry, halibut fishing. Along the Spit, you'll find companies offering fishing trips in the bay, an RV park, hotels, restaurants, and long beaches. From the island, there are breathtaking views of the ranges of Kachemak Bay State Park to the southeast.

The main street of the town is Pioneer Avenue, lined with motels, restaurants, and even the charming Pratt Museum where you can learn a lot about the town. Bishops Beach is the town's endpoint, stretching for miles westward. The town is connected with Highway 1, known as the Sterling Highway, which runs along the coast and through the western parts of the Kenai Peninsula. The drive from Homer to Anchorage is more than a four-hour cool road trip in Alaska. Before reaching Anchorage, it's worth visiting Portage Glacier, about an hour's drive from Anchorage.

Anchorage

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and the only one that can truly be called a city. Almost 300,000 people live there, and its metropolitan area has another 100,000, meaning over half the state's residents reside there. It resembles more a grey Canadian prairie city than what we typically think of as Alaska. Although the city isn't particularly interesting and many who visit are mainly heading to the city's central airport en route to Denali National Park to the north, it's still worth exploring a bit to get a sense of the northern essence. The city's downtown, even though it's quite grey, is filled with rather rare commodities in Alaska such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, hotel and motel chains, and even high-rise buildings up to twenty stories tall.

Among the first Europeans who arrived in the city was the British navigator James Cook. He explored the coastline of Alaska in search of the northwest passage, later called the Bering Strait. The captain's statue stands on the city's shoreline overlooking the open ocean. The city was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1964, and most of its buildings were reconstructed later on the layers of the earthquake’s destruction.

The city has several attractions, such as the Anchorage Museum, which showcases the city's history and an impressive collection of paintings by local artists. East of the city is Earthquake Park, featuring forests and extensive pasturelands. In the eastern part of the city lies the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where there is a reconstruction of an ancient village.

Click here for a guided nature tour near Anchorage, including glacier and wildlife viewing…

Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park is arguably the number one travel destination in Alaska, whether you're flying in or arriving by cruise, this place is a must-see to experience Alaska at its finest. The official size of the national park is 24,000 square kilometers, which is two and a half times the size of Cyprus, and most of it is unspoiled wilderness and frozen plains or mountain ranges topped by the immense Denali Mountain.

The mountain, standing at nearly 6200 meters tall, towers above the rest of the range, whose other peaks kiss 3000 meters. Although the range is very high, the prominence of Denali Mountain, formerly known as Mount McKinley, is simply a breathtaking sight. It is the tallest mountain in North America and one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. The mountain can be seen from every corner of the park on clear days, and naturally, the park itself is open from mid-May until mid or late September, depending on weather conditions.

The trip's base in the park is the Denali Visitor Center, a four-hour drive north from Anchorage or a two-hour drive south from Fairbanks. You can fly into either Fairbanks or Anchorage and head out to the park from there. The park road, where park buses run with rangers explaining the unique nature and geography along the route to the ridge, starts from the visitor center. You can drive your car only up to the Savage River Camp and continue from there only with the park's transportation. The road is the only access into the park, reaching the Eielson Visitor Center and ending at Kantishna.

Explore the northern slopes of the Alaska Range of Denali and witness the park's wild animals like grizzly bears, moose, and all the fun of the northern nature. The park houses several areas where you can go for a short hike, join a kayaking adventure, or hop on a light plane to fly above Denali.

Click here for all the information about visiting Denali National Park…

Fairbanks

The city of Fairbanks is one of the most unique places in Alaska. It is the second largest city in the state along with the capital, Juneau, with about thirty thousand residents (one-tenth the population of Anchorage). Unlike the few other cities and settlements in the state, Fairbanks is located far from the Pacific Ocean, deep within the vast and wild Yukon Valley on the northern slopes of the Alaska Range. Access to the city in the summer is a six-hour drive north from Anchorage, via a road that passes through Denali National Park, or by a domestic flight.

The city is connected to the national park by a train line that's about four hours long and a separate line to Anchorage that takes several days. Fairbanks is the northernmost large city in mainland America, just 250 km south of the Arctic Circle, the line where the sun doesn't set on the summer solstice, June 21st. On this day, the city experiences only two hours of twilight from sunset to sunrise. On the winter solstice, December 21st, the city has just two hours of twilight during what should be daylight, and the rest of the time, it's dark.

Summer in Fairbanks is fantastic, with plenty of sunshine (sunset is between 12 and 1 AM, with sunrise three hours later) and warm temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, which come from the tundra desert it's located in. The city is an incredible destination for aurora borealis enthusiasts, with the most recommended months to come and see the northern lights being April and August (in August, you can see the phenomenon after midnight).

The city's main street is Cushman, lined with restaurants, hotels, and a few shops. Nearby is the Fairbanks Ice Museum, considered the city's top tourist attraction. The heart of the city is the intersection with the Second Avenue (the avenues are measured south from the Chena River), where you'll find several bars and entertainment spots.