Air

Scheduled flights are cheaper than charter flights.

Airlines in Alaska

Alaska Airlines serves a surprisingly comprehensive list of destinations. The rest is picked up by several smaller airlines:

Alaska Seaplanes Juneau, Haines and Northern Panhandle

PenAir Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula and Bristol Bay

Ravn Alaska Fairbanks, Nome, Barrow, Deadhorse, Valdez and Kodiak

Taquan Air Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island and Southern Panhandle

Bush Planes

With 75% of the state inaccessible by road, small, single-engine planes known as ‘bush planes’ are the backbone of intrastate transport. They carry residents and supplies to desolate areas of the Bush, take anglers to some of the best fishing spots in the country and drop off backpackers in the middle of untouched wilderness.

In the larger cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan, it pays to compare prices before chartering a plane. In most small towns and villages you’ll be lucky if there’s a choice.

Bush aircraft include floatplanes, which land and take off on water, and beachlanders with oversized tires that can use rough gravel shorelines as air strips. Fares vary with the type of plane, its size, the number of passengers and the amount of flying time. On average, chartering a Cessna 185 that can carry three passengers and a limited amount of gear will cost up to $500 for an hour of flying time. A Cessna 206, a slightly larger plane that will hold four passengers, costs up to $550, while a Beaver, capable of hauling five passengers with gear, costs in the vicinity of $600 an hour. When chartering a plane to drop you off in the wilderness, you must pay for both the air time to your drop-off point and for the return to the departure point.

Double-check all pickup times and places when flying to a wilderness area. Bush pilots fly over the pickup point and if you’re not there, they usually return to base, call the authorities and still charge you for the flight. Always schedule extra days around a charter flight. It’s not uncommon to be ‘socked in’ by weather for a day or two until a plane can fly in. Don’t panic: they know you’re there.

Bicycle

For those who want to bike it, Alaska offers a variety of cycling adventures on paved roads under the Arctic sun that allows you to peddle until midnight if you want. A bicycle can be carried on Alaska Marine Highway ferries for an additional fee and is a great way to explore small towns without renting a car.

Most road cyclists avoid gravel, but cycling the Alcan (an increasingly popular trip) does involve riding over some gravel breaks in the paved asphalt. Mountain bikers, on the other hand, are in heaven on gravel roads such as the Denali Hwy in the Interior.

If you arrive in Alaska without a bicycle, some towns have rentals; expect to pay $30 to $50 a day. You can take your bicycle on the airlines for an excess luggage fee. Alaska Airlines charges $75.

Anchorage’s Arctic Bicycle Club is Alaska’s largest bicycle club and sponsors a wide variety of road-bike and mountain-bike tours during the summer. Its website includes a list of Alaska cycle shops. Other bicycle groups:

Bike Anchorage The main bicycle advocacy organization in Anchorage.

Fairbanks Cycle Club Has info on cycling in the Fairbanks region.

Juneau Rides Advocates for cycling in Juneau; the website has plenty of local cycling information.

Boat

The Alaska Marine Highway ferry calls at 35 ports across 3500 miles of coastline from Bellingham, WA, to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. There are nine regular vessels serving four main regions: the southeast (Ketchikan up to Skagway), the Cross-Gulf Route (Juneau to Whittier), Southcentral Alaska (Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak) and the Southwest (the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands).

In some cities – namely Juneau, Sitka and Haines – the ferry terminal is located several miles outside town, necessitating a bus/taxi transfer.

The Southeast is also served by the Inter-Island Ferry Authority, which connects Ketchikan with Prince of Wales Island; and Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry, linking Skagway and Haines.

Bus

While there is no statewide bus network, and no Greyhound, various shuttle buses (usually 12-seater vans) cover most of Alaska’s main highways in the summer, though they don’t always run daily. Check online for schedules and prices and book in advance.

Car & Motorcycle

Not a lot of roads reach a lot of Alaska but what asphalt there is leads to some seriously spectacular scenery. That’s the best reason to tour the state in a car or motorcycle, whether you arrive with your own or rent one. With personal wheels you can stop and go at will and sneak away from the RVers and tour buses.

Rental & Purchase

For two or more people, car rental is an affordable way to travel, far less expensive than taking a bus or a train. At most rental agencies, you’ll need a valid driver’s license, a major credit card and you’ll also need to be at least 21 years old (sometimes 25). It is almost always cheaper to rent in town rather than at the airport because of extra taxes levied on airport rentals.

Read any rental contract carefully, especially details on driving on gravel or dirt roads. Many agencies, particularly those in the Fairbanks area, will not allow their compacts on dirt roads. If you violate the contract and have an accident, insurance will not cover repairs. Also be conscious of the per-mile rate of a rental. Add up the mileage you aim to cover and then choose between the 100 free miles per day or the more expensive unlimited mileage plan.

Vehicles from affordable car-rental places are always heavily booked during the summer. Try to reserve at least a month in advance.

Motorhomes

RVers flock to the land of the midnight sun in astounding numbers. This is the reason why more than a dozen companies, almost all of them based in Anchorage, will rent you a motorhome. Renting a recreational vehicle is so popular you have to reserve them four to five months in advance.

ABC Motorhomes

Clippership Motorhome Rentals

Great Alaskan Holidays

Road Conditions & Hazards

For road conditions, closures and other travel advisories for the Alaska highway system, even while you’re driving, contact the state’s Alaska511.

Local Transportation

In cities and most mid-size towns there will be taxi service. On occasion, the Alaska Marine Highway ferry port is located outside town. Sometimes a shuttle service is available, otherwise a combination of taxi and local bus must be used. There are also limited local bus services in some cities, with the most extensive systems in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Train

Alaska Railroad

It took eight years to build it, but today the Alaska Railroad stretches 470 miles from Seward to Fairbanks through spectacular scenery. You’ll save more money traveling by bus down the George Parks Hwy, but few travelers regret booking the Alaska Railroad and viewing the pristine wilderness from its comfortable cars.

The most popular run is the 336-mile trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks, stopping at Denali National Park. Northbound, at Mile 279, the train passes within 46 miles of Denali, a stunning sight from the viewing domes on a clear day. It then slows down to cross the 918ft bridge over Hurricane Gulch.

The ride between Anchorage and Seward may be one of the most spectacular train trips in the world. From Anchorage, the 114-mile trip begins by skirting the 60-mile-long Turnagain Arm on Cook Inlet and then swings south, climbs over mountain passes, spans deep river gorges and comes within half a mile of three glaciers.