Alaska Transportation - Getting around in Alaska

Alaska Transportation Options

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Alaska is accessible at any time of year by many modes of transportation including air, sea, highway and various combinations. The best method of transportation for getting to Alaska will depend a lot on how much time you have. Because of the time required to drive to Alaska from the lower forty eight, driving will cost more than flying. But cost is not the only consideration and the drive to Alaska is spectacular.

Alaska Transportation: Air Travel

If you are limited by time, then you will want to fly to Alaska to maximize your time spent enjoying the north and keep transportation time down. There are nonstop flights on many major carriers that fly into Anchorage, Juneau and Ketchikan. Anchorage is by far the primary point of entry for air travelers. From Anchorage you can make connecting flights to many Alaskan communities including the more remote villages. The following is a partial list of flying times between Anchorage and some of the larger communities.

Smaller villages not serviced by airlines may still be accessible by chartered air service. From any of the smaller communities and villages you can arrange Alaska air taxi services into remote bush locations.

Alaska Transportation - Sea Travel

Some people like to make getting to Alaska part of their vacation. An Alaska cruise up the inside passage is the perfect solution allowing you to see a part of the state has limited accessibility by roads.

Cruise ships depart from Anchorage, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Seward, Homer, Nome, and Seattle, as well as Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. One-way and round-trip cruises are available. Many cruise lines offer combination packages that combine the cruise with land tours. There is a great range of cruise vessels available from the mega ships on down to smaller ships carrying 30 or fewer passengers. Smaller cruise vessels and charter boat operations offer port-to-port or day excursions to scenic locales.

Alaska Transportation - Ferry System

A great way to get to Alaska is on the Alaska Marine Highway - the ferry system. This is a less expensive way to tour Alaska's Inside Passage. The Inside Passage is a protected waterway on the northern Pacific coast of North America, replete with spectacular rain forests, mountains, and glaciers. AMHS's service through the Inside Passage is served from road connections at Bellingham, Washington and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Access is also available at Haines and Skagway, Alaska, in the north.

Alaska Transportation - Highway Travel

If time allows there is no better way to travel to Alaska than by car. Forget any stories you may have heard about the Alaska Highway. What was once a rough and rugged wilderness road is now a completely paved modern highway with plenty of services along the way.

This all-weather, two-lane road is a 1,400-mile scenic corridor through Canada’s British Columbia region and Yukon Territory, to Alaska’s Delta Junction, where travelers may take the Richardson Highway for the last leg to Fairbanks, or travel south to Valdez. Between towns and rustic roadside lodges, an array of option is offered to modern travelers: service stations, repairs, full hookups, dump stations, propane, lodging, campgrounds, groceries, hot showers, laundry facilities, restaurants, ice cream, and souvenirs. Traveler services average 50 miles apart.

Get a copy of the Milepost for mile by mile coverage of the route. Allow plenty of time for the drive and include time for side trips such as the Cassiar Highway or a trip to Hyder. Once in Alaska you will want to keep a copy of the Gazetteer handy.

A great way to do the Alaska highway in style or to get around the state once you arrive, is via an Alaska RV rental.

The highway is open all year but the best time for travel is from early June to mid September.