My husband and I were blessed to live in Anchorage, AK for a year before we moved back home to PA to start a family. We had a few rounds of visitors during our time there, and I ended up spending some time creating itineraries for each group.

Here is one itinerary I have ready to share with you when my parents, my brother, and my sister’s family came to visit. I’m writing this about 6 years after the trip. So I’m sure I’m not recalling all of the details and much of the information may be outdated. Plus I wasn’t blogging at the time, so I don’t have a ton of pictures. But I hope this itinerary can start as a starting point for plans you might be cooking up for a trip to Alaska.

My sister was really nervous about how her kids (ages 3, 5, 7) would handle this trip but they did great. I tried to balance planned activities with downtime while following the kid’s pace. And I had unstructured activities planned in the background, letting my family decide if they wanted to relax or go do something. It went really smoothly and it was one of our most memorable family vacations.

Here’s a video my brother actually made for this trip.

Summary

  • Trip Length – 9 days including flights
  • When – June 2017
  • The Group – 7 adults and three kids ages 3, 5, and 7
  • Destinations – Anchorage, Talkeetna, Homer, and Seward
  • The Rundown – My family flew in and out of Anchorage. My husband and I already had our truck there to drive my parents and brother around. My sister’s family rented their own car. We used Airbnb for lodging.

Why Alaska?

If you have never been to Alaska, it’s definitely worth thinking about going. I wish I were better with words to describe the Last Frontier, but it’s a place like no other. My husband and I spent a year in Alaska, giving it our best exploring effort and I still feel like we only scratched the surface of this amazing state. Our adventures in Alaska took us to some of the most remote places I have ever been to in my life. I saw scenery I could have never imagined. We loved spotting wildlife, meeting really interesting people, and eating as much local seafood as possible.

Exploring Alaska

There are many ways to explore Alaska. Alaskan cruises are definitely popular, some of which offer a combination of land and sea tours. RV rentals are another popular option to consider. I recall seeing several ABC Motorhome Rentals and rentals from Great Alaskan Holidays on the road. Fully guided tours for your entire vacation are also available. For a more rustic experience, you can also consider staying in Alaska’s Public Use Cabins, but from what I recall these book up fast.

This itinerary is shaped around flying in and out of Anchorage with a car rental and Airbnbs for lodging.

Tips for Planning Travel to Alaska

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Here are some tips to consider that come to mind:

  • Time Zone – Anchorage is in the Alaska Standard Time Zone, and for my family on the east coast that is 4 hours behind. So there is some time adjustment and with the little kids, I tried to follow their lead and give them rest when they needed it.
  • Cost – I’m not sure if it’s still the case, but last time I was there prices for things like food, gas, and lodging in Alaska seemed generally more expensive than prices in the Lower 48 states. Cooking in a good bit and packing on-the-go meals and snacks (e.g. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bagels, fruit, etc.) helped us save some money. Check out some of my favorite recipes for on-the-go food (e.g. peanut butter energy balls, pepperoni rolls, and DIY trail mix).
  • Book lodging ASAP – At the time I planned this trip, I would say booking lodging was my biggest challenge. It was my first priority to book the lodging, then later I booked other things like car rentals, excursions, etc. The earlier you can book lodging the better.
  • Time of year – Consider the time of year you are visiting Alaska because the amount of daylight can be drastically different. In the land of the midnight sun, it’s practically daylight 24/7 in the summer and only out for a few hours in the winter, depending on which part of the large state you visit. There’s an inside joke we learned that there are three seasons in Alaska…winter, summer, and the breakup. The breakup is in the springtime when the snow melts and fall seemed to last a brief 1-3 weeks. Summer is the most popular time for travel and rightfully so. But if you ever have the opportunity to visit in the winter, I wouldn’t rule it out. It is incredibly beautiful in the winter and far less crowded. The winter doesn’t stop Alaskans from getting out. One of our favorite winter activities was cross-country skiing in Anchorage because the trails were lit at night. Just be mindful that many things close up seasonally in the winter like roads and businesses.
Winter in Alaska near Byron Glacier
  • Northern Lights -If you are chasing the Northern Lights, chances are you won’t see them in the summer in because it’s too bright out. But if you visit other times of the year, there are apps where you can track activity such as Aurora Forecast and Northern Lights Aurora Forecast. Although you might not see them in the summer, it doesn’t mean it has to be the middle of winter to see them. I was able to see them in September and April when I wasn’t expecting to see them.
  • Northern Lights Coupon Book – If you want to try to snag some deals during your visit, you might explore and purchase a Northern Lights Coupon Book for some deals that might work for your plans.
  • Other Guides – You might also consider purchasing some guidebooks to help you plan your trip. If you plan on driving many miles, you can’t go wrong with the popular Milepost. Internet service can be limited or nonexistent on the roads, so it’s always a good idea to have a map with you or download maps on your phone ahead of time. Alaska.org is also a terrific resource with several guides that can download or request to be sent to your home. You can also call National Parks you might encounter such as Denali National Park & Preserve and Kenai Fjords National Park ahead of time and they can send you some information to help plan your trip. And if you plan to visit some National Parks, be sure to check out another post I have National Park Passport Overview and What To Do If You Miss Your Stamp.
  • Dress – This post is about a summer trip. And if you plan to visit in the summer, I would pretty much plan for warm and cold temps plus rain. Unless you have some specific fancy plans, you can leave your dressy clothes at home. Most people in Alaska are dressed pretty casually and are dressed for the outdoors. Here’s some gear I own, love, and would likely pack:
  • You can check out another post with some of my favorite gear for more ideas.

Alright, if you are ready, let’s dig into the specifics of my family’s itinerary.

Day 1

Summary: Arrival, check in to Airbnb, groceries, a walk in Anchorage

My family flew to Anchorage from Pittsburgh and arrived sometime in the afternoon. I didn’t know if the group would be tired or want to do something so I sort of just followed their lead. They checked into their Airbnb in Anchorage and we grabbed some groceries. It turns out that year our Pittsburgh Penguins were in the Stanley Cup Championship. So that evening we ate dinner in the Airbnb and watched one of the championship games. Then, everyone wanted to stretch their legs, so we went for a walk in nearby Earthquake Park and along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Then, the crew went to bed. But if they had some energy, here are some things we might have done in Anchorage:

Day 2

Summary: Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine, Matanuska Glacier

On the morning of day two, we had to wait around in Anchorage for a bit because my brother was flying in from LA.

Our family is Catholic and mom tries to catch daily mass when she can. So in the morning, we enjoyed a nice walk from the Airbnb to mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Funny story, when my husband and I drove to Alaska, we never spotted a moose on the very long drive. But, our first moose encounter was in the parking lot of this church. There are urban moose throughout Anchorage so you don’t have to be way out in the wilderness to see one.

After my brother arrived, we set off for Hatcher Pass State Recreation Area. I believe we had to pay maybe $5 for a day pass to park there. A little over an hour’s drive from Anchorage, Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine is a beautiful area for a scenic drive with lots of recreation opportunities.

I don’t think we hiked a particular trail that day. We sort of just walked around and checked out the mine and maybe a visitor center. But during other visits, we have hiked the Gold Cord Lake Trail which is a nice option if you don’t have a ton of time but want to get a scenic trail in.

After Hatcher Pass, we set off for Matanuska Glacier. I’ll admit, this was not in my original plan and I threw this at my family at the last minute. I’m not sure of the circumstances now, but at the time you could walk on Matanuska Glacier on your own or you could book a tour. It was out of my comfort zone to take my family on this glacier without booking a guided tour, but I wasn’t sure if my family wanted to spend the $100 or so per person (cheaper for the kids) for the guided tour. After some discussion, they all decided to do the tour because no one had ever encountered a glacier and they felt they might not get the chance to again.

The tour provided us with a guide and gear including crampons and helmets. Then, we followed the guide out onto the glacier for about an hour or two.

It turned out to be a great decision. It was one of the highlights of the trip for my family members and a memory we all still talk about to this day. It’s one thing to see a glacier off in the distance. But it’s another thing to be able to touch it, walk on it, and experience it close up. If you are planning a trip to Alaska, I definitely recommend trying to get close to a glacier. But keep in mind, glaciers can be dangerous.

After our glacier walk, we pulled into a parking area off of the main road for a picnic dinner with a view of Matanuska Glacier. We packed our road trip grill and we grilled up some halibut we previously caught fishing in Alaska paired with some grilled veggies. It was the perfect way to cap off the fun-filled day.

If we had more time on this day trip, we might have visited other places including:

Day 3

Summary: Talkeetna, church, dinner

Denali, Denali, Denali… we need to talk about Denali. If you talk to anyone about planning a trip to Alaska, chances are Denali will enter the conversation, and rightfully so. It is a national park, it offers lots of wildlife viewing opportunities, and it houses North America’s tallest peak at 20,310′.

However, there is something to be mindful of…the 30% club, meaning with the constantly changing weather around Denali, there is only about a 30% chance of actually being able to see the mountain.

Getting to the road into Denali is at least 4 hours from Anchorage. And you can only drive so far in your car. At some point, you can only move forward on a narrated or non-narrated bus tour, by foot, or by bike. I met a lot of people who did the bus tours and they loved it. But with the 4-hour drive and then an additional bus tour, or maybe even staying up in the area a night or two to catch the mountain, it sort of felt like too much of a potential time-hog for my family’s trip, especially with little kids. That’s just my opinion. A lot of people love spending time up near Denali.

We opted instead to take a day trip to Talkeetna which is only about 2 hours from Anchorage. And if the weather is clear, you can see Denali from Talkeetna. The plan was to attempt a flightseeing tour.

A view of a snow-covered Denali in the background from Talkeetna on a clear fall day.

For the sake of the kids and the amount of driving on this trip, I thought they would enjoy a breakup from the car. So I sent a few of my family members on The Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Talkeetna while a few of us drove the vehicles up to meet them in Talkeetna.

The Alaska Railroad is pretty iconic and is a fun way to travel all around Alaska. The kids loved the train.

Our plan was to save on the time it would take to get to Denali and do a flightseeing tour out of Talkeetna to Denali instead. But to no surprise, the weather was not in our favor that day. We didn’t see the mountain and couldn’t do the flightseeing tour. For reference, we hosted three rounds of guests that summer and not one group was able to see Denali or do a flightseeing tour because of the weather.

A view of Denali from the flightseeing tour out of Talkeetna

We would have booked the southside explorer with a glacial landing tour which my husband and I were fortunate enough to be able to do another time of the year. It was expensive but it was quite an adventure and one of our favorite memories of our year in Alaska.

Landing on Denali

I believe discounts were available in the Northern Lights Coupon book for flightseeing tours. If I’m recalling correctly, I’d suggest taking a National Park Pass with you if you have one for entrance into the park. You can always call the flightseeing tour to see if the national park pass is required.

When we couldn’t fly, we walked around the cute town of Talkeetna, strolled the shops, and grabbed some lunch. Then, we drove back to Anchorage. Denali Brewing Company is located in Talkeetna and is a good stop for craft beer lovers out there. Also, a lot of people enjoy river rafting tours in the area.

My family was disappointed they didn’t see the mountain, but with what I had planned for the rest of their trip, they sort of forgot they didn’t see Denali by the end of the trip. I’m sure they would have enjoyed trying to get closer but I’m glad we didn’t lose too much time. I wanted us to spend our time on the Kenai Peninsula.

After our trip to Talkeetna, we went to evening mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe and we decided to go out to dinner. I wanted to choose a family-friendly restaurant (not anything too fancy) with local craft beer and local Alaska cuisine so I made reservations for us at 49th State Brewery in the Anchorage location. Some other choices along these same lines that I might suggest include Glacier Brewhouse, and Moose’s Tooth or Bear Tooth.

Day 4

Summary: Alaska Wildlife Center, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, drive to Homer

We checked out of our Airbnb in Anchorage and set off for Homer which was a little over a 4-hour drive. It’s a beautiful drive on Highway 1 around the Turnagain Arm. We made a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and the kids really enjoyed it.

Then, as we got closer to Homer we made another stop at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (Islands and Ocean).

Other stops we might have made along this drive include:

We arrived in Homer and checked into our Airbnb. This is one of my favorite Airbnbs I have ever stayed in. I love the cozy feel of the cabin and the views of Kachemak Bay are unreal.

We spent the evening cooking in, relaxing in the cabin, and watching the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup Championship!

Hoist the Cup!

Day 5

Summary: Water taxi over Kachemak Bay, Grewingk Glacier hike, the Homer Spit

First, we dropped my brother off at the airport in Homer where he left to fly back to LA. Then, we went to the Homer Spit to catch a water taxi to Kachemak Bay State Park. I believe I booked the water taxi ahead of time with Mako’s Water Taxi.

We hiked about 3.0 miles (refer to this map for more information). We started at the Glacier Spit and hiked to Grewingk Glacier Lake to view the glacier. Then, we took the Saddle trail out to Halibut Cove where the taxi picked us up. This was definitely a remote experience being dropped off in the wilderness. But, we loved it and spotted a ton of bald eagles.

After our hike, we spent some time walking around the Homer Spit. I can’t remember but I imagine we grabbed a bite down there and strolled the shops. The kids enjoyed looking for otters while some of the adults visited The Salty Dawg Saloon, a must-stop.

There are two other incredibly memorable experiences based out of the Homer Area that we completed at other times throughout our year in Alaska, but we didn’t do during this particular trip for my family. One is fishing. There are lots of charters to choose from, but we had great experiences halibut fishing with Ninilchik Charters and Reel Salty Charters (loved Captain Katie).

I believe we were able to use a Northern Lights Coupon at certain times for a discount. We also went salmon fishing, but we seemed to enjoy halibut fishing more. The charters slice up and package the fish and a lot of people who are flying check their fish as checked luggage in a styrofoam cooler to enjoy at home. The fish is so fresh and delicious and our stash did not last long.

The second activity out of Homer is a flightseeing tour with brown bear viewing. From Homer, you can fly over to Katmai National Park or Lake Clark National Park with some outfitters, such as Bald Mountain Air and Kenai Backcountry Adventures. We have a goal to get to all the National Parks in the US and during our year in Alaska, we were able to hit both parks for unforgettable brown bear viewing.

Brooks Falls Katmai NP
Lake Clark NP

Here are some other places I might suggest for Homer:

Day 6

Summary: Drive to Seward, Exit Glacier, walk around Seward

We left Homer and drove to Seward, first directly visiting Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. We did not hike the strenuous Harding Icefield Trail with my family. It’s about 4 miles one way upward. But I just want to mention that trail because that hike is one of my personal favorite hikes of all time.

The view from the top of the Harding Icefield Trail.

With my family, we hiked to view the hanging Exit Glacier from the bottom. The park tracks how the glacier has melted over the years.

After our visit to Exit Glacier, we went to Seward to check into our Airbnb. I don’t think there was enough space in the Airbnb for me and my husband so I want to say we tent camped somewhere along Resurrection Bay.

After check-in, we walked to the Alaska Sealife Center and the kids really enjoyed the visit there.

Seward is an adorable town set up against a magnificent backdrop of Resurrection Bay. When you get downtown it’s really nice to be able to walk around to a variety of attractions like local eateries (such as Seward Alehouse and The Sea Bean Cafe), the waterfront of Resurrection Bay, and for my family, mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

One evening during our stay, many people in town spent a lot of time staring out into the bay watching a humpback whale feed, definitely memorable!

Day 7

Summary: Kayak tour, dog sled tour, Mt Marathon hike

On our second day in Seward, our group split up for excursions. My husband and my parents booked a kayak tour with Miller’s Landing. I want to say we did a half-day tour on the east side of Resurrection Bay where we enjoyed a calm paddle while viewing alpine glaciers and exploring some coves.

My sister and her husband took the kids on an Alaska Dog Sledding Tour with Seavy’s. They went mushing with the sled dogs on a wheeled sled and they were able to meet and pet sled dogs.

After these excursions, I didn’t have any plans for my family for the rest of the day. Back in town, my sister started pondering a hike to Mt. Marathon. This hike is famous because there is a race on this trail every 4th of July. The mountain and trailhead can be viewed and accessed right in town.

Pondering a hike of Mt. Marathon

My parents and brother-in-law offered to watch the kids while my husband, my sister, and I decided to go give Mt. Marathon a try. This hike is steep and strenuous and is not for the faint of heart. My sister’s tennis shoes weren’t giving her the tread she needed. We didn’t make it to the top, but we went up pretty high and got some great views.

I think we just relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Here are some other suggested activities for Seward:

  • Hike – There are some amazing hiking trails in the Seward area. At other times, we enjoyed backpacking the Lost Lake Trail and hiking the Caines Head Trail.
  • Boat Tours- There are lots of options to take a boat tour to view wildlife, tour Kenai Fjords National Park with glacier viewing, and go fishing. On another trip, we enjoyed a shorter wildlife viewing tour in the bay during a Fox Island Dinner Cruise.
  • Ride The Alaska Railroad to Seward
  • Zip Line Tour
  • I remember having really good crab legs at Resurrection Roadhouse. I know people like Exit Glacier Salmon Bake, but I never made it there.

Day 8

Summary: Drive to Girdwood, stop in Whittier, glacier viewing boat tour in Prince William Sound

We started to head back to Anchorage, with a planned overnight stop in Girdwood. On the drive to Girdwood from Seward, we went to Whittier for a boat cruise.

If you drive into Whittier, be mindful that there is a tunnel with an operating schedule, tolls, vehicle restriction sizes, and more.

I’m not exactly sure which cruise we did, but if I had to guess it was probably the Glacier Quest Cruise with Phillips Cruises. We cruised around Prince William Sound for about 4 hours looking at glaciers and wildlife. The kids enjoyed a talk from a Chugach National Forest Park Ranger who also provided activities. We were able to move about freely among the different levels of the boat and refreshments were available.

After our time in Whittier, we headed to Girdwood to check into our Airbnb and chilled for the night (I’m not linking the Airbnb here because it wasn’t our best Airbnb experience unfortunately).

Day 9

Summary: Alyeska hike/tram, drive to Anchorage, fly home

The next day in Girdwood, we split up in the morning. My mom and I took my nieces and nephew to an adorable playground in Girdwood.

The other adults hiked up to the North Face Trail of Mount Alyeska near Alyeska Resort.

My mom and I took the kids up to the top via the Alyeska Aerial Tram to meet the others.

There’s a very nice restaurant up there, possibly a gift shop if I’m recalling correctly, and you can walk around and take in the views. Then we all rode the tram back down.

We headed back to Anchorage after the tram, but here are some other ideas for Girdwood:

When we arrived back in Anchorage, my family hung out at my apartment to do some laundry and have one last meal together before their evening flight home. On the way to the airport, we did one final lap through Kincaid Park to look for moose and we did spot one!

So that’s a wrap on my family’s Alaska itinerary. If you have anything to add please leave a comment or if you found this helpful let me know. If you head to Alaska be sure to tag me on Instagram (@adventureswkelly). I’d love to see and hear about your adventures in Alaska.

If you enjoyed this post, check out some of my other travel itineraries: