Booking a trip to Fairbanks Alaska

[SONIC SAAMI]

I'm thinking about booking a 5 to 7 day trip to Alaska.
Flying up getting a hotel and renting a car.
A trip to Anchorage.
For those of you that have done this suggestions on what to do and what to see.

 

[7.62willdo]

Don’t waste your time with Anchorage.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Ask @lowlight .

His pictures from Alaska last couple of years have been amazing!

Sirhr

 

[grinnergetter]

Get to Fairbanks, rent SUV, got to Denali and spend the money to get on the bus tour. Pan for gold just North of town...sound stupid but fun. Take a day to drive a ways up the Dalton Highway. Doesnt take too long to get into some great scenery. Rental companies will forbid off pavement travel. Nothing a $40.00 car wash cant fix.

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

Need to do this has the ice broken on the Yukon?

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

Get to Fairbanks, rent SUV, got to Denali and spend the money to get on the bus tour. Pan for gold just North of town...sound stupid but fun. Take a day to drive a ways up the Dalton Highway. Doesnt take too long to get into some great scenery. Rental companies will forbid off pavement travel. Nothing a $40.00 car wash cant fix.

I don’t need to lie my way through this .
38 years of work have allowed me funds to rent a vehicle from an establishment that allows gravel road travel

 

[frankxtc]

I liked https://www.alaska.org/detail/pioneer-park & the Denali all-day bus ride was amazing.

 

[The D]

Denali, most definitely. It’s still early in the visiting season there but it’s still worth it.

 

[salks]

The thing about Alaska is it is absolutely enormous. I would definitely do some planning that includes some google searches as far as drive times. It would be easy to spend a week around Denali. They do not allow personal vehicles inside the park. You have to ride a bus. Bus tours are like 8-12 hours round trip. This pic was taken from Talkeetna, very cool town, drinking town with a climber problem is what they say. They had a cat Stubbs they elected as mayor. cool cool place.

 

[The D]

View attachment 7867850
The thing about Alaska is it is absolutely enormous. I would definitely do some planning that includes some google searches as far as drive times. It would be easy to spend a week around Denali.

This also. We went on an Alaskan vacation close to 10yrs ago(that I still talk about). We went to Anchorage for a few days, drove to Denali for a few days, then went in a cruise down to Vancouver. The drive to Denali was a decent trip and looking at it on a map makes it seem like it was just around the corner to get a case of beer. Plan as much as you can and spend as much time there as you can. I loved it so much I want to go back just to scope out places to live(not joking at all).

 

[n2ishun]

Kenai.
Go to Kenai and go halibut fishing.
Or, you might consider going to Kenai to do some halibut fishing.
Did I mention that you could go fishing for halibut in Kenai ?

BTW, if you don't like halibut (which is probably the best fish to make grilled 2" thick steaks from) you can sell it on the docks for at least $20 a lb. if it's a large one, and at least $15 a lb for the lil ones.
Since it's real easy to catch a 100 lb'r.....you do the math.
Defiantly better payout than panning for gold.
And halibut steaks grilled fresh with tarragon and bell pepper kicks the shit out of ANYTHING you've been eating.
Or, cube it up and deep fry it with a tempura batter and a good sauce.....killer.

 

[Skeptic1]

Planning a trip there myself. I'm driving though. I'm building a truck just for the trip. When it's finished I'm heading out. Truck should be done by fall this year. Probably head up in spring. I'm retired. Planning to take my time.

 

[acudaowner]

pretty lights and snow

happy puppies and more snow

yogi and boo boo and yet even more snow

for 1/3 the cost you could rent a snow maker for your back yard winter wonderland vacation while staying in a giant store freezer it's almost the same feeling and say you went all while watching natural geographic and save thousands of dollars and no divorce threat fights leading to a car crash in the middle of no where .. best of luck send pics

 

[Sniperwannabee]

Come on this is sniper hide….go to Kodiak on a guided bear hunt and then go halibut fishing

 

[The D]

pretty lights and snow

happy puppies and more snow

yogi and boo boo and yet even more snow

for 1/3 the cost you could rent a snow maker for your back yard winter wonderland vacation while staying in a giant store freezer it's almost the same feeling and say you went all while watching natural geographic and save thousands of dollars and no divorce threat fights leading to a car crash in the middle of no where .. best of luck send pics

Do you live in AK or is this just some funny shit you found?

 

[frankxtc]

It's pretty far from Fairbanks & Anchorage, but Seward is very scenic, and the boat tour of the glaciers is great!
I drove there from Florida in this RV - 2019

 

[powdahound76]

Fly into ANC.
Drive South on the Seward Highway.
Fish with Capt Suzie at Chenai Charters in Seward. Top end and always seems to have more/better fish than many others.
40 yrs as a captain.
Homer is ok, Cook inlet is fun. Resurrection Bay is amazing.
If you want another day of fishing, a day on the Kenai is awesome or a flight across the Cook Inlet to the Alaska Peninsula is pretty cool.
Can do this from Soldotna or Lake Hood in Anc. I prefer out of Soldotna (used to work there).

Drive north, check out Talkeetna.
It has changed, but is the town the show Northern Exposure was based on.
Good times at the Denali Fairview Inn.
Grab a pizza at Mtn Pie, owned by an old buddy.
Fly around Denali.
Several options for this. Can advise if you have questions.
Last time I did it, I found 2 folks who wanted to fly, booked a 90 min charter in a 185, and we split the cost down the middle. Was about 1/2 the cost per person than their “planned routes” with seats.
Flying over base camp, past Moonflower Buttress, through one shot pass, and over the Ruth glacier past the Mooses Tooth are pretty awesome.

Drive north, take the bus into Denali for sure.

I will say, 5-7 days is barely enough.

 

[Ronin_64]

Denali National Park road is compromised at the “Pretty Rocks” portion of the road. May not be worth the bus ride into the park.

 

[ironman56]

I spent a week in Mt Mckinney Park in 1978 (it was still called that back then) me and a northern airman from Elmendorf AFB took the train from Anchorage to the park ,then rode the bus halfway to the park headquarters, backpacker to the Talkeetna River, never seen the mountain it was overcast the whole week , but the memories will last me forever.

 

[hollowoutadime]

+1 on Halibut. I did a charter off Prince William Sound, caught so many my arms were tired. Get off boat, and give coolers to theprep guys who cleaned and flash freezed it, on dry ice - flew home with it a few days later.

Brooks Range is cool.

 

[Short-bus]

It's pretty far from Fairbanks & Anchorage, but Seward is very scenic, and the boat tour of the glaciers is great!
I drove there from Florida in this RV - 2019

View attachment 7867922

I stayed in that same lot, but 2 spaces down from that specific spot in 2019. Watched several local natives trying to snag silvers from the shore by the little bridge you cross to walk into town, watched 'em get into a fight, good times.

Branden

 

[Short-bus]

Denali is a great visit, they say only about 1/3 of all the visitors actually end up getting to see the mountain. I got to see it on the drive up from anchorage, and then again when we took the bus ride to the back, so i've seen the whole mountain.

I went up in 2019 but I did it the fun way. I drove. Hooked up the camper to the truck, and did a 6 week road trip. We hit the arctic ocean in Tuk (Canadia), Valdez, Seward, Homer, Haines, Anchorage, Denali, and Hyder. Best road trip i've done, and my biggest regret was we didn't go north and drive up the haul road. Woulda been nice to drive up and over Atigun pass, spend a day or two enjoying the scenery, and then come back down south.

I definately recommend Valdez, Seward, and Homer. If you're feeling sporty, check out Mcarthy (spelled wrong most likely). Chicken is fun, but you're going to spend a while on a dirt road to get there. When/If you visit Homer, make sure you're hungry, cause everybody has their own fish and chips, and they're all amazing. Charter a boat in Homer, go catch you some sockeye, or halibut, maybe the occasional rock bass. I chartered a boat for 4hrs for my daughters and I, I only pulled in one, and let my girls pull in the rest and we brought 14 on board. We had Salmon for dinner every evening for a week until my girls said they wanted something else.

If I could spend my summers in Alaska every year, i'd do it in a heartbeat.

Branden

 

[Aftermath]

Plan to spend more like 2 weeks. You can thank me later.

 

[eflyguy]

Suggest you carefully review the rental car contract and your insurance coverage.

You can drive between those major cities without going on gravel roads, if cities is all you are interested in.

Even in mainland US, we've technically taken rentals places they wouldn't have covered in ID, WY, MT, WA, and more that I can't remember.

 

[OREGUN]

+1 on basically everything Powderhound said.

Double your time frame if you can.

Alaska is bigger than F. Travel times are significant. Make a stop somewhere in SE if you can.

 

[roostercogburn98]

If you stop in anchorage, go eat some pizza at the moose’s tooth. Used to be great pizza and beer. If you stay for dinner, check out Stewart Anderson’s if it still exist. The crab stuffed halibut used to be awesome there. There is a museum downtown that shows the earthquake in the 60s that tore the place up. That’s about it for anchorage unless you want to go check out the old nike hercules missle site on the opposite side of JBEAR.

The bore tide is neat to see as you drive up or down Route 1. Can get pretty close to some glaciers on that road as well.

Plenty of good suggestions here already, but Anchorage isn’t a complete bust, just almost one.

Edit: I guess it is just called The Cattle Company now

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

This trip maybe off.
I think you have to be vaccinated against Covid to get into the state of Alaska.

 

[The D]

If you don’t plan on fishing, at least go to a salmon bake. They’re expensive but you’ll eat much more than what you pay for. And it’s amazeballs

 

[The D]

This trip maybe off.
I think you have to be vaccinated against Covid to get into the state of Alaska.

Fucking weak

 

[OREGUN]

This trip maybe off.
I think you have to be vaccinated against Covid to get into the state of Alaska.

Where are you seeing that?

 

[Short-bus]

This trip maybe off.
I think you have to be vaccinated against Covid to get into the state of Alaska.

No vaccine required, but a negative test is. That's from the travel alaska website, and I don't know how up to date it is, so it's possible that info is obsolete at this point, I would just call their information line at 1-907-258-4217 and ask them directly.

Branden

 

[thejeep]

I don’t need to lie my way through this .
38 years of work have allowed me funds to rent a vehicle from an establishment that allows gravel road travel

Sometimes there are more tourists than vehicles.

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

No vaccine required, but a negative test is. That's from the travel alaska website, and I don't know how up to date it is, so it's possible that info is obsolete at this point, I would just call their information line at 1-907-258-4217 and ask them directly.

Branden

I made that call earlier this morning they're supposed to get back to me within 72 hours

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

Sometimes there are more tourists than vehicles.

And sometimes there's more vehicles than tourists

 

[Sniperwannabee]

I made that call earlier this morning they're supposed to get back to me within 72 hours

Is that driving through Canada Or just flying into AK?

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

Flying in
I’m now thinking you just need a negative test

 

[OREGUN]

From the us mainland?

 

[OREGUN]

I’m willing to wager a case of GT that you need neither test nor vaccine to fly to anchorage from the US mainland.

On a cruise ship? Coming from east nofuckistan? Sure. But from Seattle or Minneapolis or St. Louis or Atlanta? No way.

 

[stefan73]

Rental agencies don't like you taking their stuff off the hardball/asphalt roads. Be aware of that.

I loved living in Alaska and everything about the state (minus the extra cost and a little more challenging to get powder and ammunition). If the Army would have let me I would have retired there!

 

[Ronin_64]

The bore tide is neat to see as you drive up or down Route 1. Can get pretty close to some glaciers on that road as well.

Plenty of good suggestions here already, but Anchorage isn’t a complete bust, just almost one.

Edit: I guess it is just called The Cattle Company now

Cattle Company restaurant closed during Covid lockdowns. No longer operating.

Also, there are no Covid vaccine requirements for travel into Alaska (flying) currently.

 

[eflyguy]

The problem is, requirements could change at any time, and you're not considered to be "fully vax'd" until two weeks after getting a shot or two. Any info you get today could be invalid by the time you show up at the airport, or at the discretion of TSA. We had to show proof of vax at security to fly out of ATL to SAT, but there was no check coming back 3 days later.

Been thru it all.

 

[beretta_man11]

I go to Soldotna pretty much every year. It's a quick flight from anchorage, and if the red salmon are in, it's worth the trip.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Cattle Company restaurant closed during Covid lockdowns. No longer operating.

Also, there are no Covid vaccine requirements for travel into Alaska (flying) currently.

Damn that sucks. It was a good place to eat from what I remember. Went there as often as I could

 

[Ronin_64]

It was decent. I personally like The Double Musky restaurant in Girdwood about 30 miles south of Anchorage

 

[7.62willdo]

It was decent. I personally like The Double Musky restaurant in Girdwood about 30 miles south of Anchorage

Let’s not forget “skinny dicks halfway inn” halfway between anchorage and Fairbanks…..

 

[stefan73]

Howling Dog is a fun bar in Fairbanks.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Let’s not forget “skinny dicks halfway inn” halfway between anchorage and Fairbanks…..

How could I forget about that place. What a joint.

 

[ironman56]

I spent a week in Mt Mckinney Park in 1978 (it was still called that back then) me and a northern airman from Elmendorf AFB took the train from Anchorage to the park ,then rode the bus halfway to the park headquarters, backpacker to the Talkeetna River, never seen the mountain it was overcast the whole week , but the memories will last me forever.

Found some pics from my 78 trip to denali, it was the Tolkat river we hiked to and camped on for 3 days ,got real close to a caribou buck and saw a grizzly bear swim across the river, planing on going back next year

 

[Aftermath]

+1 on The Moose's Tooth.
Also, downtown is Humpy's and The Glacier Brewhouse.
Out on International Airport Road is the Great Alaskan Bush Company. Great place to take the wife for some sightseeing.

 

[grinnergetter]

I don’t need to lie my way through this .
38 years of work have allowed me funds to rent a vehicle from an establishment that allows gravel road travel

yea, me too, I spend most of it on guns and hunting trips...not rental cars.

IIRC there were one or two outfits out of Fairbanks that would rent vehicles that did not have those restrictions. Have a nice trip.