Plan your Alaskan Adventure of a Lifetime

Plan your Alaskan Adventure of a Lifetime!

There are few destinations that require planning in advance like Alaska.  You need to dream BIG.  Alaska is a very large state with terrain that varies from Glaciers and majestic mountains to pristine lakes and rivers that feature great trout and salmon fishing.  The interior of Alaska can be quite warm in the summer with temperatures in Fairbanks in the 80’s and temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s on your cruise of the inside passage, especially when you view the glaciers.  Everyone has their own ideas of what they prefer in a vacation and there is something for everyone in Alaska. 

Look at your calendar about one year in advance for the dates that work well for you and your family.  The best times to visit Alaska are between May and September.   What you may not know is that there are limited lodges in Alaska.  Most of their interior is designated Federal and State Park Lands.  It is the land portion in Alaska that sells out first along with some of the sightseeing such as the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali.  This tour takes you on a 7-8 hour parks service guided tour of the interior of Denali National Park and hopefully a glimpse of Mt. Mc Kinley and the wildlife that reside in this wilderness.

Plan on exploring for at least 12-14 days.  Jot down a check list of questions to ask your Travel Counselor.  Things like:  Travel itineraries, what type of stateroom would be best for your cruise, which air city would you be traveling from, what to do on your cruise and land portion and if you taking your grand children or other family members – what are the cruise lines children’s programs like. Ask your travel counselor about which shore excursions and land excursions would best meet your expectations and imagine yourself gazing at glaciers and trekking into the interior of Alaska.  If you are more adventurous, there are wild adventures in Alaska like zip lining, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing expeditions, private whale watching tours and river rafting that we can help you with. 

If you are looking for the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, you might want to travel in late August and September.  The longest Days are featured in June and July. The days are long.  Alaska is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun. You will have to remember to use your room darkening shades so that you can sleep.  If you rise at 1 in the morning – it is still twilight.  I set my alarm to go off at that time and walked outside to an eerie feeling of “when is the sun going to go down and where is the moon anyway”?

You might see more baby animals early in the season, however, one never knows what is around the bend and keeping your eyes peeled on the majestic scenery is the best way to spot those elusive animals that roam the Tundra of Alaska and swim in the deep waters off the fjords of Alaska.  A good set of binoculars is a must for this vacation and bringing along binoculars for the both of you is a good idea as sharing them is hard to do when you want to scan the mountains and oceans.  I am always astonished at how wolves and grizzly bears seem to appear out of nowhere in the wilds of Alaska. Remember that casually looking around for wildlife in not enough.  Concentrate intensely.  Look hard out at the same piece of land for a time.  Then look again.  There’s a wolf, Moose or grizzly out there somewhere.  Sooner or later you will see.

Each year we feature an Alaskan Travel Planning event and this year we will be hosting this event at the Howard Miller Library in Zeeland on July 30^th at 6:30pm.  Call Dolphin Vacations for reservations at 772-9660 and get started Planning your “Once in a Lifetime Trip to Alaska”.

Ardene Lamer

Travel Counselor