Alaska is on top of many people's bucket list. I was lucky enough to treat myself to an Alaska adventure trip with a friend after I have had asome busy months at work. Planning a trip to Alaska can be chalennging, since you want to make sure you end up with the perfect itinerary. I also read up on any information I could find, since there were many things about the US state, I didn't know. Frankly, there are many itineraries out there for several lengths of trips and quite a few options to get help for coming up with the one that is the perfect fit for you.
In this blog post, I share my Alaska itinerary for 14 days, which I planned and organized myself. Hopefully some of you will find this useful when planning your own trip. I went to Alaska in August, which might be helpful to know, since some of the activities you want to do (e.g. see Northern Lights) will depend on the season. If you want to know more details about my trip, check out my post about my Alaska Travel Diary!
Day 1 - Anchorage
Arirval in Anchorage: There are a couple of reall nice hotels in Anchorage but they can be pricey quickly, so I would recommend checking out AirBnBs (check out our AirBnB here).
Explore Anchorage: There is a visitor center in downtown Anchorage, which has a lot of information which might be useful for your Alaska trip. A couple of places I can recommend for food and drinks are Cafe Amsterdam, Snow City, Williwaw Social and Moose's Tooth.
Day 2 - Anchorage
Tony Knowles Coastal Walk: This is a 20 km (12.5 miles) hike along Anchorage's coast. You start your trip downtown and travel to Kincaid Park or the other way around.
Day 3 - Anchorage
Flattop Mountain: Flattop mountain is Alaska's most visited peak just outside of Anchorage. If you don't have a rental car (yet), you can book a shuttle which takes you all the way to the parking lot. There are a couple of trailsyou can chose from and the climb is worth every step, since you get to enjoy a beautiful view at the top.
Day 4 - Kenai Peninsula
Drive from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula (approx. 3 hour drive)
Arrival on Kenai Peninsula: There are a couple of options you can stay on the Peninsula, from remote cabins to hotels or AirBnBs in smaller towns such as Kenai, Seward or Soldotna. I would recommend staying in the area of Kenai or Soldotna, which is a great base to explore the peninsula more (check out our AirBnB here).
Kenai Lake: A great stop to explore nature is near Copper Landing at Kenai Lake. There are several trails and viewing points in the area from which you can chose from.
Day 5 - Kenai Peninsula
Homer Spit: Kenai beach offers a nice view of the Cook Inlet and you can drife along the west coast of the Peninsula all the way down to Homer Spit. Even though Homer Spit is very touristy, it is also artsy and I would recommend stopping by.
Try Sea food: Definitely make sure to try nice seafood when you are in Alaska, I can recommend the king salmon at Louie's steak and seafod.
Day 6 - Kenai Peninsula
Skilak Lake: There are so many options to chose from when exploring the Kenai peninsula. I can recommend driving to Skilak Lake and to hike the Skliak Lookout trail, since it is a decent but not too exhausting hike with amazing views at the top.
Kenai River Trai: If you are up for a second hike I recommend to drive further east to the Kenai river and hike the Kenai River Trail.
Day 7 - Kenai Fjords
Kenai Fjords: You can't go to the Kenai Peninsula without seeing the Kenai Fjords. From Seward, you can book a Kenai Fjords Glacier & Wildlife Tour that takes you out on a boat for a couple of hours to see wildlife and glaciers.
Drive from Seward to Palmer (approx. 3 hour drive)
Day 8 - Palmer
Stay in Palmer: We stayed in AirBnBs the entire time of our trip. In places like Palmer there aren't too many options, but we have made good experience with AirBnB as well (check out our AirBnB here).
Explore Palmer: Palmer is a small town but it has some cute shops and food options such as the Noisy Goose.
Matanuska Glacier: Matanuska Glacier is a valley glacier at 27 miles long and 4 miles wide. It is the largest glacier accessible by car. There are several options at the glacier, ranging from glacier tours, hiking trails and ox farms.
Day 9 - Talkeetna
Drive from Palmer to Talkeetna (approx. 1.5 hour drive)
Hatcher Pass & Summit Lake: Before heading all the way up, you can drive up Hatcher Pass, which is a mountain pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains and make a stop at summit lake.
Historic Independence Mines: If you are interested in history, visit the Independence Mine State Historical Park across Hatcher Pass. It is a site of a former gold mining operation and its history dates back to at least 1897.
Stay in Talkeetna: There are a couple of really cute cabins in the area so if you are an adventure or outdoorsy person I would definitely recommend a remote cabin in the are versus the more touristy Talkeetna town (check out our AirBnB here).
Explore Talkeetna: Although Talkeetna is also fairly touristy, it is worth stopping there to explore the cute shops and to spot a glance of Denali in the distance (if the weather conditions are right).
Day 10-12 - Denali
Drive to Denali National Park and Preserve (approx. 2.5 hour drive). There are a couple of nice options for food along the way just before you go into the National Park, such as the McKinley Creekside Cafe.
Denali National Park and Preserve: You can book tours of several lengths at Denali National Park and Preserve, starting at the bus terminal near the visitor center. Depending on the level of adventure you are going for, you can chose between several days in the park or staying in a hotel or AirBnB outside the park.
Drive to Fairbanks (approx. 2 hour drive)
Day 13 - Fairbanks (or stay in Denali)
Explore Fairbanks: If you want to drive further up North I recommend a stop in Fairbanks, however, I find the city slightly underwhelming. I recommend checking out the Museum of the North at the University of Fairbanks and a walk along the river with the Antler Arch.
Day 14 - Anchorage
Drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage (approx. 6 hour drive)
Departure
What do you think of this Alaska itinerery? Have you been to Alaska?
Kate recommends: The Great Alone follows the Allbright family, who moves to the Alaskan wilderness anf faces several challenges. First, Alaska seems to be the answer to their problems, including the traumas the father had to endure in Vietnam. Kristin Hannah paints a fragile and resilient portrait of a family and the wilderness that lives in both man and nature.