How We Scheduled our Alaskan Vacation out of Anchorage
When you’re trying to figure out how to vacation in Alaska, be realistic on how much you can see. Here’s our 10-day itinerary.
When I first told my friends that my family and I were going to Alaska, they usually asked, “Are you taking a cruise?” If you’ve checked out my past few posts on our Alaskan adventure, you know that we followed a different vacation path. We took a Backroads’ family tour out of Anchorage that transported us throughout the Kenai Peninsula. Though we spent a day cruising through parts of Prince William Sound exploring glaciers and sea kayaked on Kachemak Bay, we spent the rest of our time on land, hiking and biking. It was all simply spectacular.
The Need to Narrow our Itinerary’s Scope
When we first thought about taking an Alaskan vacation, the big challenge was figuring out where to go and how to maximize our geographical coverage during our 10-day trip.
That was the wrong question to ask, and we quickly realized that, because Alaska is so huge. Any attempt to drive between the key sections would take up too many days and doom the trip to endless road time.
Even taking a train to Mount Denali was a complete day right there, and then that choice would set up extended travel days from point to point in that part of Alaska.
It’s ridiculous to even try to cover Alaska in one trip, unless you’re hopping on a plane every other day.
The only solution to our itinerary, of course, was to pick one ‘small’ area, and then stick to it. (And that’s what Backroads provided us.) Even doing that required two to four hours of driving on almost every day. (Fortunately, we were comfortably driven around in our Backroads’ van.)
Hello, Kenai Peninsula!
So, we explored the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, and believe me, it felt like just that small sliver of the state was a separate massive planet. We covered plenty of miles, even though it’s just a fraction of Alaska.
If you’re planning for your own Alaskan vacation, and you’re trying to figure out your own itinerary, here’s what we did:
Our Alaskan Vacation Itinerary
Day 1
Fly to Anchorage
Settle into your hotel. Unless you’re starting from the west coast of the United States, it’ll be a full travel day.
Day 2
Unscheduled
Go through your jet lag (as needed).
We visited the Anchorage Museum and took a trolly tour (very touristy but fun). The key to this day is to make it a buffer day. There would have been no way for us to easily turn it around and begin our Backroads’ tour that morning. Not as a family.
Plus, what if your fight gets delayed or canceled the day before? (It actually took three hours for our plane to get out of Newark, New Jersey due to weather restrictions and the need to find a new flight plan!)
Day 3
Travel to Girdwood
Stay at the Alyeska Resort
This was our first Backroads’ day, and it began big with a cycling adventure. We biked along the amazing Turnagain Arm.
We eventually ended up at the Alyeska Resort midafternoon. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to enjoy its immersive salt-water pool, but we did squeeze in a late-afternoon dip. (If you can spend an extra day here, I’d recommend it.)
Day 4
Travel to Whittier
Take Prince William Sound Glacier Cruise
Getting to Whittier required driving through the 2.5 mile portage tunnel through a mountain. That, by itself, was an experience. As for our glacier cruise, it was as dazzling as it sounds.
After our cruise, we jumped back in our van and headed to Seward.
Day 5
In Seward, Drive into Kenai Fjords National Park
Hike the 8-Mile Harding Icefield Trail next to Exit Glacier
We hiked up this trail right next to the glacier. (We were on solid earth the entire way.) The summit of the trail is 3,512 feet.
Yes, it was a wicked-challenging hike with a steep incline, which reminded me of my family’s New Hampshire mountain hikes that topped 4,000 feet.
For the record, I was the last one up and the last one down the Harding Icefield Trail. Yes, I was slow, but I did it!
Day 6
Drive to Homer
Bike the Spit
This was our second cycling day, and we biked into Homer (after our van took us most of the way from Seward) and through the Homer “Spit” that extends out into Kachemak Bay. Our hotel (Land’s End Resort) was perfectly located at the end of the Spit. You could also reverse engineer this idea and bike the spit after you settle into Homer.
After dinner, we enjoyed a brilliant sunset over Kachemak Bay. (In the summer, the sun doesn’t go down until around 10pm.)
Day 7
Stay in Homer
Go Sea Kayaking in Kachemak Bay
As soon as I woke up and got dressed to get my morning cup of Joe, I took a peek outside and saw the opportunity to capture a striking sunrise over the water. So, I stumbled out of our room with my DJI Osmo Pocket and GoPro to begin some timelapse recordings as dawn was breaking.
After breakfast, we took a water taxi to Yukon Island and suited up for our all-day kayaking exploration.
Again… stunning. Even our time on Yukon Island offered breathtaking views of Kachemak Bay.
Day 8
Explore Homer
Drive back to Anchorage
In the morning, we visited the inspirational Dean family farm and art studios. After lunch, our group headed back to Anchorage. This last leg of our Backroads’ tour took five hours, the longest driving stretch of our vacation.
And that was the end of our exceptional Backroads’ tour. But our Alaskan vacation wasn’t over quite yet!
Day 9
Stay in Anchorage
Take a Glacier Flightseeing Tour in a Cessna
We started our day with a little more bike riding, this time around Anchorage. (We rented from Downtown Bicycle.) Along the way on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, we ran into a few moose. (Well, they almost ran into us!)
In the afternoon, we took our Knik and Colony Glacier Flightseeing Tour (by Regal Air) from Lake Hood. This two-hour roundtrip flight through Chugach State Park in a tiny Cessna was the perfect way to wrap up what was already an unforgettable vacation.
And as if our flying over glaciers wasn’t thrilling enough, we also landed on a strip of dirt in the middle of it all to ‘stretch our legs’ before embarking on the second half of the flight. (Cessnas are amazing little planes.)
Day 10
Hang Out in Anchorage
Fly Home
Our flight back to Newark wasn’t until 8pm (a red eye and the only non-stop). So, we had much of the day to still spend in Anchorage. As it was raining, we focused on indoor activities. We visited Alaska Escape Rooms and then headed to the Alaska Aviation Museum before taking a free shuttle to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, only ten minutes away.
A Few Final Travel Tips
Bring your Raincoat
It rains a fair amount in this part of Alaska during August. So, you should expect some. The fact that we experienced perfect weather throughout our entire Backroads’ tour was unusual (and certainly enhanced our overall experience).
Make Dinner Reservations in Anchorage
Yes, Alaska has a total population of only 732,000 people, and Anchorage feels accordingly empty by comparison to other cities. But there are tons of tourists moving through to take their cruises. And the restaurants totally fill up by 6pm. So, plan ahead for your evening meals.
Focus your Photography Wide
Of course, everyone wants to spot some wildlife, and yes, we ran across our fair share: some moose, black bears, mountain goats, seals, sea otters and one giant sea lion. And I got off a few good tight shots. But the majority of photo opportunities on this kind of trip is to capture the vast and incredible landscape. That’s where you’ll find your visual magic moments.
Go!
Visiting Alaska was certainly a bucket-list trip. And to fully experience our 49th state, you really need to see it from both the water and land. And if you can swing it, get in some flightseeing time in too!
It all makes for a trip of a lifetime.
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