Alaska Planning 2026

Depending on where you want to go, it is very easy to get around Alaska by train or other modes of transportation. The Alaska Railroad is a good place to start looking at destinations and routes. https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning

Anchorage is the main hub for land-based travel in Alaska. Juneau and Sitka, which are common cruise destinations, are surounded by mountains, and there is no way in or out except over water. From Anchorage, you can ride the train to Denali, and once there, you have so many options for exploring the national park.

I think the Kenai peninsula offers a microcosm of all the things there are to love about Alaska. Seward is another common cruiseship destination, and is the jumping-off point for Kenai Fjords National Park. And Homer is a fascinating town. From there you can take a boat ride to the quiet, charming town of Seldovia.

I haven't been farther north than Denali, so I can't comment on Fairbanks, Nome, the Arctic, or Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. But I'm sure you'll get plenty of additional responses.

I like your plan of combining a one way cruise and land exploration. It isn’t difficult to plan the land portion independently, but do be aware that both Princess and Holland America offer what they call “cruise tours” which combine a cruise with tours on land. You may want to go to their websites and check those out. They have their own dedicated lodges and hotels at key locations.

I did the land exploration on my own and found having a rental car was helpful for that. Hotels are pricey, so don’t be shocked.

There was a recent discussion on the forum that suggested that the Seattle departures are all round-trip, and that the one-way cruises are into and out of Vancouver BC. This is consistent with my experience. I took a one-way cruise from Vancouver and a round-trip from Seattle. Both were on Holland America, as that was my parents' preferred line. It used to be that there were fewer children on Holland America Line cruises if that matters to you.

I just wanted to add a word of caution about timing for your cruise. Both Seattle and Vancouver are hosting World Cup games next year. I would avoid any cruise arriving or departing June 13-June 26 from those two cities. Hotel prices, usually ridiculous over the summer, have already reached beyond ridiculous. Aim for later in the summer.

I've spent a fair amount of time in Alaska, mostly working out of Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Valdez. I think the cruise up and then tour is a great idea, and it's a plan I've advocated to several friends. But timing is a big part of how to plan this. realize that in MAY, June, or July the sun is up almost continuously, and many people find that difficult to sleep with. It's also high season for tourists, and hotels will be 3-4 times the winter rates. But from OCT-MAR there's a good chance of snow, and that makes driving problematic. (I've seen snow there in Mid-April.)

If you go in spring you'll see things greening up, and the wildlife starting to come out. In the fall you get some color and the big migrations. In April - May there will be ice in the big rivers. Anchorage has the more moderate temperatures; year round. Fairbanks and the interior can get extreme, with temps over 100f come the summer months.

I'd look at spending 4-5 days in and around Anchorage, and possibly longer if you want to take a couple days and ride the ferry from there to Valdez (which I highly recommend). That would cost you one night in Valdez, and accommodations there are very limited. (Try to stay at the Best Western.) You should also consider visiting Denali as part of a drive to Fairbanks. Around Fairbanks, depending on the weather, I'll suggest spending some time at Cheena Hot Springs, or driving up to the Yukon on Hwy 11.

There's a huge amount of stuff to do, filling 10-11 days should be easy. Just remember, it's a big country, and not a lot of services, always let people know where you plan to go and when you expect to be there.

We had a one-way cruise, self-tour land trip planned for last summer but then my husband got sick so we canceled.

Holland America has a variety of one-way cruises that you can look at. If you've never cruised, you should join some cruise forums for tips on cabins, excursions, etc.

Since we've been to Alaska before, including Fairbanks and Denali, this time we planned to get a rental car and stay in Homer and Seward for ten days. There are bear viewing trips and fjord trips and other stuff you can do (I think someone mentioned Seldovia).

Alaska is a great adventure! You already have good feedback about traveling to/from. Some advice:
- bring bug spray and plan to use it. They have flies the size of helicopters.
- Anchorage has excellent food, in sometimes unlikely-looking places. Some of my best meals were in strip mall restaurants and cafes.
- the midnight sun thing is real. Bring clips to keep your curtains closed, and learn to use an eye mask.
- look for ways to immerse yourself in, and learn about, native culture while you are there. The locals love to share.

Fly to Anchorage. Rent an RV ( we use Great Alaskan Holidays ), go all the way to Fairbanks. Do the cruise southbound because flights from Anchorage are inconvenient.

Thank you to everyone who replied! Lots of great information that you shared and I appreciate it.

We did a great one-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward with NCL. After the cruise we had a land tour that took us to Denali for a few days. We also had booked the scenic Alaska railroad trip from Denali back to Anchorage. The rail trip was cancelled and it turned out to be a bus trip. The railroad didn't refund our expensive rail trip because it was "an act of god." The trip was cancelled because of a landslide.

The cruise was fantastic, we visited Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier. Some cruise lines didn't visit Glacier Bay. I think Princess also did Glacier Bay.
I HIGHLY recommend taking a cruise that visits Glacier Bay. It was wonderful, you spend almost an entire day seeing the wildlife and the huge glacier.

Denali was wonderful, and it included taking the bus through the park for about 90 miles up and return. The scenery and wildlife was special.

Back to the cruise., we stopped at three ports, Kecthican (sp?), Juneau and Skagway. Juneau we did a tour that included a glacier as well as whale watching. In Skagway, we took a bus up to Canada,then the train back to a rainforest, were we took a 10K hike that was great, if you can handle 10K.

We have been to Alaska twice. Both were one way from Vancouver to Seward. We like smaller ships and went on Viking this last summer. Note that some of the best experiences are extra cost excursions. Some of them are great, but can be expensive.

On one of our trips, we rented a car and drove to Denali for a couple of days. We took a day bus tour into the park because they can go deeper than individual cars are allowed.

With the info you provided this is one possible itinerary:

One way cruise ending in Seward. Pick up rental car.

Drive to Homer, lots of stops along the way.

A couple days later head to Denali. Might need to spend a night in Anchorage.

Along the way there are some great scenic overlooks if the weather cooperates.

There are probably many more choices, enjoy the planning.

About 7 years ago, we flew to Anchorage and rented a motor home for 3 weeks. It was very easy. We had a fantastic time, visiting Denali NP, Valdez, Fairbanks, Seward, and the Kenai Peninsula. Two years ago we took an inside passage cruise and it was okay but we really preferred the earlier trip. You could rent a small car and stay in hotels if you don't want to RV. There is a great atlas called the Milepost that helps with planning a road trip. If you cruise one way, you could pick up a car in Seward and travel from there.

We flew into Seattle and spent a couple nights before we took the train to Vancouver where our cruise started. At Seward we took the train into the Anchorage airport and rented a car. We spent 4 nights around Denali and Talkeetna before flying home from Anchorage.

I chose July in hopes of the best weather for the cruise, and it was perfect. I'd love to go back to Alaska and rent a car for a couple weeks.

Our favorite town was Talkeetna and our best experience was a flight-seeing tour which included landing on a glacier.

I know a few people who have done and raved about the White Pass and Yukon railway trip from Skagway to Carcross in the Yukon. It pretty much follows the original Klondike Trail. It’s an excursion offered on a number of cruises. Carcross has an interesting history. It’s where the prospectors who made it up the Chilkoot Pass overwintered in a camp town and built the boats that they hoped would carry them over Bennet Lake and up the river to the goldfields. Many of them made it no further, either turning back or not surviving the harsh winter living conditions.