Planning on taking an Alaska cruise with Princess Cruises this summer and also renting a car from either Whittier or Anchorage?   We are currently offering a web special that includes a free motorcoach transfer to or from Whittier with the Park Connection, with a mail-in rebate, when you purchase your car rental through Alaska Tour & Travel.   A terrific savings due to the high cost of one-way rentals from Whittier, plus you get the free ship transfer and passes to the Anchorage Museum! (more…)

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Recently, I was fueling my car when I was asked by a visitor driving a car rental how to get to highway #1.  I clearly looked confused and responded with, “well, where are you going to?”  Having lived in Alaska for over 40 years, I have never learned all of the official highway number designations. Never less, after the visitor from Germany responded saying “Alyeska”, I was able to explain how to reach Alyeska, based on navigational directions and street names not highway number.  In this case, highway #1 in south-central Alaska is called the Seward Highway which starts in Anchorage and ends in Seward.  In other parts of the Alaska, Highway #1 may refered to as the the Alaska, Sterling, or Glenn Highway. 

And I’m not alone, when visiting Alaska you’ll quickly realize that asking for directions by highway number is a futile effort as most residents of Alaska don’t know what Highway number they live nearest.  To help you prepare for your trip to Alaska, I”ll provide a brief summary of Alaska’s primary highways, by popular name, that most visitors to Alaska may expect travel on if starting their trip in Anchorage. (more…)

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We often get inquiries from folks interested in seeing the Aurora Borealis, locally known in Alaska as the Northern Lights.   During the summer months, it is very unlikely that you would see the Northern Lights due to Alaska’s Midnight Sun.  Alaskans and visitors alike love our Midnight Sun as it provides up to 19 hours of daylight in June (or more depending on your location) and we are often seen enjoying outdoor activities late in the evening.  On rare occasions in fall from Talkeetna to Denali and further North to Fairbanks, we are fortunate enough to have clear skies and atmospheric conditions that result in Aurora sightings.  Lodges such as the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge provide  “Northern Lights” wake up call service upon request.  So, if you are traveling in the fall, be sure to check with the front desk of the lodges that you are staying at to see if they have such service. If they do, the Front Desk will call your room and wake you up, regardless of the time of night, if they observe the northern lights. (more…)

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Happy Holidays from Alaska Tour & Travel!

We currently have several web specials running through December that we want to make sure you know about before they expire. To take advantage of them you will want to confirm your travel and make a deposit on your reservation by December 31st.   For example, are you planning on taking an Alaska cruise and also planning on spending time traveling independently in Alaska before or after you cruise? If the answer is yes, you should consider booking your 2010 Alaska cruise using our new online cruise booking engine so you can receive a Park Connection Motorcoach Passport valued at $299 for free. The Park Connection Motorcoach is Alaska’s only scheduled motorcoach service that offers service between Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, and Denali daily.  The Park Connection also provides service into Whittier on days that cruise ships are in port.  In addition, the passport  provides a 50% discount on Alaska Railroad fares between Denali and Fairbanks. (more…)

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One of my favorite areas of Alaska is the Copper River Region. This area lies on the east side of the Chugach Mountain Range that surrounds Anchorage. This lesser visited area of Alaska is about a five hour drive from Anchorage. The Glenn Highway, an American Scenic Byway, passes through beautiful remote country with few populated areas. In preparation for the road trip, I make sure to put together a picnic for my traveling companions to enjoy on one of the various scenic turnouts overlooking the mountain glaciers along the highway. A great place to pick up delicious picnic supplies in Anchorage is the New Sagaya City Market in downtown Anchorage.

The Copper River Princess Lodge is a gracious and comfortable lodge conveniently located close to both Wrangell St Elias National Park and Valdez on the Prince William Sound. The Lodge is situated on a bluff overlooking the Copper River Valley that borders Wrangell-St Elias National Park. There are expansive views of the Copper River and the spectacular mountains of Wrangell St Elias from the lobby of the lodge. On my trips to the Copper River Valley I always make it a point to take time to sit out on the deck and enjoy a glass of wine while taking in the grand views of the mountains in the park. (more…)

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Congratulations to Jim Allen from Dover, Florida for submitting the winning photo in Alaska Tour & Travel’s 50 Anniversary Photo Contest!  Jim’s photo “The Fisherman” captured a Brown Bear successfully fishing midstream at Brooks Falls.  It is a fantastic photograph and the subject is one which draws many visitors’ to Alaska dream to experience. Jim and his wife traveled independently to Alaska  in June this year, it was their first trip to Alaska.  Photography is a hobby of Jim’s, and he has desired to come to Alaska and photograph bears for a long time.  They flew into Anchorage, then to Brooks Camp inside Katmai National Park and also visited Talkeetna and Denali among other places before taking a 7-day Princess cruise south to Vancouver.  Jim described his experience traveling to Alaska as simply “awesome.”  Jim will receive the Sydney Laurence print “Legacy of Alaska” signed by all the living governors of Alaska.  Thanks Jim for sending in “The Fisherman”, we’re glad you had a great trip to Alaska.

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Over the weekend, we received this fantastic email from a prior client, Nancy Lyon, who traveled to Alaska in 2008.  I thought I’d share with staff and visitors alike…

“I should have done this a year ago!!! Actually this past year has been so crazy-busy that only this past month the four of us who went to Alaska got together for a reunion and finally got to see all of our pictures.  It made me think about how remiss I was not to tell you that  Alaska Tour & Travel is the best! Everything about the trip was fantastic and the best part was knowing that we didn’t have to think twice about our reservations for hotels, excursions, buses, etc. (more…)

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We received 286 photos from visitors who came to Alaska this summer as well as a few from Alaska residents for Alaska’s 50th Anniversary of Statehood. All of the photos can now be seen on our website. We’ve enjoyed many emails from visitors who have sent us photos and told us about their Alaska experience – each photograph and narrative telling its own story about what a fantastic experience traveling in Alaska is. It made our day each time we received an email from a visitor who returned home and then sent us photographs with superlative messages describing their Alaska experience as “spectacular”, “breathtaking”, and “a trip of a lifetime.” We agree! (more…)

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