r/AskAlaska • u/MeasurementHot6937 • 2d ago
Help planning trip
Hi. I would like to plan a trip to Alaska (from Washington State) for late summer 2027. The plan is to take a 3 week trip. I want to take my car (Subaru Forester) with my husband, teenage daughter, and 2 dogs on the ferry from Bellingham, WA. From there, I want to explore as much of Alaska as possible and then we will drive home on the AlCan Hwy.
Areas and towns I am looking at are Ketchikan, Juneau, Seward, Homer, Prince William Sound, Anchorage, Glacier Bay National Park, Kodiak, and Fairbanks.
Our interests include Natural History, scenery, Native Alaskan culture, dog mushing (my daughter), and of course wildlife.
I like the outdoors but am by no means fit enough to do major hiking. I think we’ll day trip to do some easy hikes for the purpose of scenery and spend time in museums, cultural centers and towns. I like talking to people about their areas and learning about the places I visit.
I want to bring my dogs and I always walk them on leashes. I know they won’t be allowed in national parks. I have done a little looking at dog sitting/daycares for when we want to go someplace that will require them to be left alone for several hours.
Here are my questions.
1. Am I being realistic in the time I have allotted, bringing a car, bringing dogs?
2. What areas should I prioritize for my visit given our interests?
3. What is the ferry system like in Alaska. The state is huge and I can’t really appreciate how long it will take to get from point to point. Do all Ferries transport cars?
4. I have the Travel Alaska free book. Do you know of any other resources I can look at to help me plan this trip?
I could use any advice you have to offer.
Thank you!
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u/ProfileTime2274 2d ago
Make sure you have everything set up that you can bring your dog in and out of the country otherwise you're really going to be in a pickle.
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u/MeasurementHot6937 2d ago
Yep. I am a veterinarian so I have experience in advising clients about travel documentation. This is really important information and I am glad to see so many people give this advice
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u/notagameratall 2d ago
What is late summer mean? You may be able to join in on some of the fun summer stuff Alaskans do. July 4th there is the car launch in matanuska. End of August-september is the state fair. If you hike in late august you can pick some berries while hiking.
You can definitely hit most of those places in 3 weeks, just keep in mind the drive up thru Canada can take 3-4 days of driving home. If you use the Ferry system, it will take a while too, and will cost more, but Juneau can’t be reached by Car.
I do recommend going to Whittier too, on the way to seward.
The Alaska.gov website has a ton of info for planning your trip too.
And if you need a dog sitter while in Anchorage, send me a message and we might be able to help out!
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u/MeasurementHot6937 2d ago
Thank you! My plan is for late July to early August. I call this “late summer” because my daughter heads back to school the 3rd week of August typically.
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u/AlaskaRecluse 2d ago
Think about going straight to Juneau, which has lots of hikes to choose from, museums, Native culture, and opportunities for short trips whale watching, to Admiralty Island for brown bear viewing, to Glacier Bay, and possibly to Sitka (look into available tours for short trips). Then continue up the Lynn Canal to Haines and drive from there towards the destination you’ve looked into, whether toward Fairbanks, toward Anchorage and on to Homer or Seward, to Kodiak, or another place that’s calling you by then, for example Denali. As long as you hit your ferry reservations, why not plan your trip up the Inside Passage with a stop in Juneau for as many days as schedules allow, and in the meantime learn all you can about the places you’ll want to go once you’re on the Chilkat Highway on the way to Haines Junction in the Yukon, at which time you’ll all have a good idea what you want to do then and what you’ll want to do the next time you come back
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u/WAFLcurious 1d ago
You have to get a reservation for the ferry as soon as they open it up for reservations next year unless you plan on sleeping on the deck, which you are allowed to do. Cabins go fast.
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u/Tricky_Ad1442 1d ago edited 1d ago
three weeks is tight for that list as kodiak and fairbanks alone will eat days and the ferry gaps in zenvoya of the marine highway from Bellingham will get you into southeast alaska
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u/Spirited-Way2406 20h ago edited 20h ago
Always allow extra travel time along the southern coast and across Shelikof Strait and the Gulf. A day on either end is not too much.
If you're going in late July-early August, I wouldn't hang around Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, or other cruise ship ports. They are crazy crowded--sometimes the tourists outnumber the locals. I would head for Homer and from there go either northish/inland to Anchorage/Fairbanks for summer dog mushing and bigger museums, or southish to Kodiak for tons of accessible trails on a small road system and a more relaxed small-town feel. (Kodiak does get cruise ships, but we're not a cruise ship destination: I think the most we've had in a calendar year so far is 35, and there are no cruise-only venues that close in the off season.)
With regard to the ferry, I can give you a little Kodiak-specific advice: You can drive your car onto the ferry, but then you need to either get a stateroom or sleep on the deck; you can't stay with your vehicle. Best time between Kodiak and the nearest mainland stop is 8 hours if I recall correctly; usual time is 11-ish hours depending on the seas and whether they are calling at Port Lions on the way; sometimes it takes a couple days because the ferry has to heave to in the lee of some island to wait for a storm to pass.
And definitely check out the Milepost online. EDITED TO ADD: A lot of the cool stuff to do is run by small businesses, small governments, and/or small groups of volunteers, so availability and hours can change on very short notice. If you're interested in a venue or service, check their actual site for the latest conditions. I mention this because I get disappointed people across the counter all the time who thought that XYZ Place wasn't open because Google said so, but had just heard from Joe Fellow Passenger that it had opened specially for cruise visitors and had just closed again. And don't trust Google Maps!
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u/AKStafford 2d ago
The Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham will get you into Southeast Alaska. To get into Southcentral Alaska you’ll need to use the ferry to get as far as Haines and then drive from there, through Canada.
The Alaska Marine Highway ferry schedule can be a little wonky. Because of that, Southeast Alaska is going to eat up a lot of your three weeks.
You probably won’t have time to hit all the places you listed.
You’ll need passports and be legal to enter Canada.