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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Alaska Tour & Travel is ready to help you plan next summer’s travel to Alaska. We’ve updated alaskatravel.com with all of Alaska’s best tours, hotel availability, and transportation options, including many Alaska Travel Deals. Among our new Alaska deals is the Park Connection Pass. The Park Connection Pass allows visitors to travel anywhere the Park Connection goes for 7 consecutive days. The Park Connection is a scheduled motorcoach service which travels daily between Seward, Girdwood, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali State Park, Denali National Park and Fairbanks. Also included in the Pass is 50% off travel on the Alaska Railroad between Denali and Fairbanks. (more…)

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Recently one Saturday afternoon we decided to visit one of our favorite hot spots the Alaska Live Steamers and the Transportation Museum of Alaska.  Both are located in Wasilla, about a 40 minute short drive from Anchorage.  Their location on the Parks highway at mile marker 47 makes it a convenient stop enroute to Talkeetna or Denali. 

If you’re a railroad fan then the Alaska Live Steamers is a must stop while visiting Wasilla.  The sound of train whistles and diesels engines will bring back memories for you and kids love them too.  Alaska Love Steamers is supported by a local group of railroad enthusiasts who build miniature scale replicas to scales.  When you first arrive you check in at the Alaska Central Railroad depot.  The ride is a modest $4.00 per person (2009 price).  Once you get your tokens you then board the train parked out front.  They can accommodate people with disabilities if called in advance.  (more…)

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The scenic Seward Highway in South-central Alaska has many stops and photo opportunities and one I would recommend for travelers doing a self-drive tour is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through public education. Animals at the AWCC have been orphaned or injured and are not eligible by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game standards to be let back into the wild. AWCC is located at mile 79 on the Seward Highway or at the southern edge of the Turnagain Arm and the entrance to Portage Valley. The Center is open everyday, year-round and is a guaranteed way to see up close Alaskan wildlife in a natural setting. (more…)

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The Alaska Railroad has several different daily routes that passenger trains are operated on throughout the summer season.  One of the least well known is the Glacier Discovery train which travels a circular route between Anchorage, Whittier, and the Spencer – Grandview area within Chugach National Forest.  The Glacier Discovery originates and ends in Anchorage, but passengers can also board the train in Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Spencer, or Grandview.  A return trip from Portage to Anchorage by motorcoach is available for those passengers who have traveled up to Spencer/Grandview for the day.  This is a nice feature as it returns you back to the Anchorage Depot about 2 ½ hours earlier then you would have if you traveled by rail. (more…)

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The Park Connection Motorcoach provides scheduled service through South-central Alaska on many of  Alaska’s most scenic highways  The Parks Highway north of Anchorage travels the fertile Matanuska-Susitna valley, up through Denali State Park which offers some of the best views of Mt. McKinley, and into the Alaska Range to Denali National Park. South of Anchorage, the Seward Highway runs alongside the Turnagain Arm, and over two scenic mountain passes down to the picturesque seaside town of Seward. This route well deserves its designation as Alaska’s only National Scenic Byway.

The Park Connection Motorcoach gives independent travelers to Alaska the opportunity to customize their own itineraries to Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, and even Whittier.  Many travelers combine the use of the Alaska Railroad and the Park Connection Motorcoach to create unique itineraries that suit their own travel interests. (more…)

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There isn’t a more independent way of experiencing Alaska at your own pace then to create a custom travel itinerary which includes a rental car as your means of transportation for your Alaska vacation. All of Alaska Tour & Travel’s packages can be customized to provide visitors the option of traveling via rental car instead of the Park Connection Motorcoach or the Alaska Railroad.  We sometimes call these packages  Self-drives, and have found they are a popular means of touring Alaska.  Our Self-drive’s include all the hotels, tours, car rental and any other necessities that you’ll find in our other packages.

One of the advantages of Self-Drive packages is that you can visit some off-the beaten-path Alaskan communities which are not otherwise included in travel packages.  Communities such as Homer, Cooper Landing, Valdez, as well as some great parks such as Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Kachemak Bay State Park, and even Chugach State Park will be readily accessible to explore at your own pace with a Self-drive package.  (more…)

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