Expert: Michael Donaldson - 4/1/2007

Question
A friend and I are traveling to Alaska by air for 10-14 days at the beginning of June.  We are trying to select an itinerary and wondering if you think it is best to go with tour packages or contact bed & breakfast places and do it ourselves?  We plan on renting a car and then traveling from Anchorage/Fairbanks/Denali National Park/Talkeetna and we have an agenda of what we want.  I have looked at alaskatravel.com and seen the breakdown of prices to go on tours.  Basically,in your opinion, are tours better price wise or contacting places on your own?  Thanks for your advice.

Answer
Hi Lois!

Your plan of renting a vehicle and going at it yourselves, is EXACTLY what I would recommend. You don't have to stay at Bed & Breakfast's either if you don't want to, because there's many hotels/motels dotted throughout the entire state...at least in the commonly toured areas. Matter of fact, I would highly suggest going to your local bookstore (Barnes & Noble, Waldens, etc) and getting yourself a book called 'The Milepost'. This will actually be the best $28 investment you could possibly make for your trip (besides film of course). The Milepost will provide you with nearly every bit of information you would ever need for your trip - directions/maps, lodging, sightseeing places, gas stations, wildlife in the area, and tons of other interesting "need to know" facts to get you both through your own personal self-touring vacation of Alaska. This soft cover book will guide you through every single mile on every single road/highway in Alaska. Trust me, I used mine all the time while living and traveling up there. Here's their website if you want to get a peek what this book looks like (you can even order it from there too if you'd like):  http://www.themilepost.com/

From Anchorage to Fairbanks (and before you get to Denali NP), I would definitely make plans to stop and spend a day and night in the heart of the Mat-Su Valley in Palmer...your friend and you will LOVE that place!  I call it the "Switzerland of Alaska" in that area.

Once in Fairbanks, and if you feel adventurous, I would definitely set aside one full day and drive up to the Yukon River and then on up to the Arctic Circle...that would be an experience of a lifetime! It's about 75 miles of paved road from Fairbanks to the Dalton Highway, then 56 miles of gravel road to the Yukon River and only 60 miles more to the Arctic Circle. It's an awesome place to take photos of each other (or together) posing at the famous Arctic Circle sign. Plan for about a 10-12 hour day of driving and sightseeing, but what's great is that when you get back to Fairbanks, you won't "feel" real tired, because the sun will still be up high in the sky at that time of year...it'll feel like it's 3pm when you get back at 9pm. Sunset is absolutely gorgeous at around 1am...you'll see!

Other than that, browse through that Milepost and find other things you'd both like to do in all areas you're about to explore soon.

Please feel free to write me back anytime before you leave if you both have any other questions or concerns. If they're general questions, you can always write me directly at LASKANWLF@AOL.COM, and I'd be happy to help where I can. Have a wonderful trip Lois...I know you will. I always ask clients to drop me a line when they return so I can hear if my suggestions and recommendations worked out for them...so please do that for me.  Take care!

 Michael