alaska in a week

I hate starting an article off with a negative, but in this case, there is no choice. There is NO WAY to really see Alaska in week. There are over 600,000 square miles of wilderness, most of which is extremely remote and barely explorable. However, if you plan ahead, choose your top priorities, and then get your expectations right, you can no doubt, see a great deal of Alaska in a week……ish .
STEP 1: Determine your vacation location.
Alaska is so big, you don’t really pick a town or city to visit, you pick an entire ecosystem or biome. Alaska spans three distinct biome regions: Alaska’s Southeast: The Temperate Rainforest, South central’s Boreal Forest, and Northern Alaska’s Arctic Tundra. Your vacation will take place in one of these. If you stretch your expeditions out to 12-14 days, you could see two of these regions, but you’d be burning the midnight oil and probably cramming in too much. My $.02 is to pick one region that fits you and your group best and dive in with all you got!
Southeast Alaska encompasses the Juneau area, Skagway, Ketchikan, etc. Your week-long vacation would include mostly ocean-based trips. Whale watching, ocean fishing for salmon, glaciers, and seabird tours keep your week busy. The Pacific coast is an incredible sight to behold with calving glaciers, adorable sea otters, and beyond.
The great north of Alaska includes the Denali National park area and beyond. This massive swath of land stretches all the way through the Brooks Mountain range and into the polar ice cap. The crown jewel of this tundra biome is no doubt, Mt Denali. North Americas largest summit attracts wildlife viewers and sight seers from around the globe. When the weather is right, the vistas are indescribable. Your week will be filled with sightseeing, bus tours of the park, wildlife viewing of caribou, moose, bear, and more. Fishing is limited to grayling and some pike.
Sandwiched between the south and the north, is the central region of Alaska. This tends to be the perfect blend of all biomes. Encompassing the Anchorage region and the Kenai Peninsula, it is the easiest to access, has the most infrastructure, and no doubt has the widest variety of things to do for visitors. If fishing is your thing, look no further, this is your region. There are countless species to target and will be the best place to fill coolers with fresh, wild salmon fillets. You get full access to the Pacific bounty, fishing for halibut, watching whales, orcas, and otters. There is sea kayaking, glacier tours, and more. This is also the best location for land lovers. Hiking, sightseeing, and wildlife viewing is incredible throughout the Kenai Peninsula and across the Cook Inlet. With so many things to do, and access to all of them, Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula reigns supreme for your next adventure vacation.
STEP 2: Prioritize your list of adventures
No matter which area you choose to visit, there will most likely be more things to do than you have time for. So, prioritizing your wish list of things to do becomes paramount to a successful trip. Get your group together and make this list together. Maybe you decide fishing and seeing wildlife are your top 2 priorities (most common). Others choose seeing glaciers, scenery, and wildlife. Try and get more specific to fine tune this list. Pick a couple of species of fish you want to search for, or species of wildlife you want to focus on seeing. Brown bears and whales do not inhabit the same spots, so prioritize as much as you can. Some folks like long road trips, while others might prioritize less driving. Some folks might love an adventure in a float plane while others can’t do small aircraft. Once this list is prioritized, you can start to look at booking things.
STEP 3: Decide your dates and how you want to build your trip.
Dates for your Alaskan vacation are very important based on your above list of prioritized activities. For instance, if you want to catch salmon, don’t come in May, they haven’t shown up yet. If you want to see glaciers smashing into the ocean, come during our warmest months. This might take a little bit of homework on your end to figure out. How you plan on building your trip is obviously up to you. Some options include booking a lodge for a week and doing the all-inclusive thing, or you could go full bore Rambo and do everything DIY for the week. A blend of the two is often a great fit for most groups as well. Choosing a company like Adventure Outfitters Alaska (AOA) to help build you the perfect vacation plan is another great option. Regardless of which you choose, there will be countless options on the web for you to research.
STEP 4: Book early, plan for weather delays and cancellations.
Once you have set dates and all the outfits and companies you want to use on your expedition are planned out, begin calling and putting money down. Securing boat rides, plane rides, tour seats, etc is top priority in the vacation planning process. Lodging is second since it revolves around the individual adventures along the way. Once your trips are set, your adventure begins to really take shape. Make sure to plan in the drive time between remote locations or when spanning across the peninsula. You don’t want to drive all night and then have a 5:00 am fishing trip the next day.
Planning for weather delays is almost impossible, but you can no doubt look at the expedition and see which trips have the highest probability for cancellation and be ready to adapt. Research other cool things to do that are not weather related, like DIY hikes, scenic drives, last minute guided options, etc.
 
Once you land in Anchorage, you almost immediately feel the hustle of city life and the lower 48 just melt away.  From there your journey begins, tailored to fit your bucket list of Alaskan experiences. Give us a call if you want to embark on one of our many weeklong adventures on the mighty Kenai Peninsula. Enjoy salmon fishing, wildlife viewing, adventuring, and without the hassle of endless hours on the internet. Don’t just book and hope you made the right choice. Give us a call and talk things through, you’ll know if we’re the right fit.
Best Fishes,
Adventure Outfitters Alaska
(907) 690-2040