• Introduction
• Juneau and Glacier Bay National Park
• To Seward and Kenai Fjords via Anchorage
• The Wilds of Denali National Park and Mount McKinley
• Fairbanks: A City on the Arctic's Edge
• Smart Splurges in Alaska
• Getting To and Around Alaska

Smart Splurges in Alaska

SMART SPLURGES IN ALASKA

Denali from the Air
Denali often hides behind cloud cover, but flightseeing tours guarantee spectacular views. K2 Aviation offers daily summer departures from Talkeetna—add a landing on Ruth Glacier for an optimal wilderness outing (from $265; flyk2.com).

Kodiak Moments   
Mammoth Kodiak Island, 250 miles southwest of Anchorage, is home to verdant mountains, salmon-rich streams, glacier-moraine beaches, and 2,000 Kodiak bears (some of the largest bears in the world). Floatplane tours from the Kodiak airport get you to prime bear-viewing perches (from $450; andrewairways.com).

Arctic Ambition
Avid travelers can add a notch to their belt by crossing into the Arctic Circle. Tours are best organized from Fairbanks, like those of Northern Alaska Tour Company, which visit the Yukon River, the Arctic Ocean, Native villages, and more (from $319; northernalaska.com).

Ride the Rails
Alaska Railroad’s first-class, double-decker Gold Star cars boast open-air observation decks and priority seating under glass domes, for spectacular views on the Denali Star route between Anchorage and Fairbanks ($304/one way; akrr.com).

Mountaintop Gourmet
The Alyeska Resort tram (just off the Seward Highway) will take you up 2,300 feet to the top of Mount Alyeska, where the Seven Glaciers restaurant serves up king crab and smoked salmon bisque to accompany stunning views (entrées from $29; alyeskaresort.com).

Gone Fishin’
Anglers visiting Alaska have scores of options, but Winterlake Lodge (200 miles northwest of Anchorage) offers a great balance of deluxe lodgings, prime sportfishing (both on-site and through tours), and activities like panning for gold and cooking classes (from $1,235/night per person, all-inclusive; withinthewild.com).

See Alaska Travel Guide