Chance are, if you live in "the States" (what Alaskans call the lower-48,) you'll be flying to Alaska. Yes, many people drive the Alaska highway through Canada, but that wasn't in our plans. We live in Florida, so it would take several days just to get to Canada. And then several days back.
We fly from a small regional airport in northwest Florida, so our reservations included a flight to Atlanta, then one to a mid-west city (Minneapolis on the way up, and Detroit on the way home,) then on to Anchorage. Depending on where you live, you might be able to make two, or even one flight to Anchorage.
The saying is, "It takes all day to fly to Alaska, and all night to fly home." That's basically true. We left home around 9 AM, and got there around 6 PM. Of course, we crossed three time zones (we live in the Central time zone.)
Our tickets were about $750 each, round-trip, which I thought was pretty good. I wanted to set the schedule, so we bought directly from the airline. I spent a little more and bought a direct Anchorage-to-Atlanta return flight, but the airline changed the schedule and the reservation. You can expect that. Our reservation changed three times in the six months between ticket purchase and the trip. Once, the schedule allowed for only a 30-minute lay-over, so I had to call the airline on that. (They were very friendly and accommodating.)
Our flights were packed all the way. Buy your tickets (or at least start watching the fares) as soon as you know your vacation dates. Being willing to alter your dates by a day or two can save you money.
So, my tips are...
We fly from a small regional airport in northwest Florida, so our reservations included a flight to Atlanta, then one to a mid-west city (Minneapolis on the way up, and Detroit on the way home,) then on to Anchorage. Depending on where you live, you might be able to make two, or even one flight to Anchorage.
The saying is, "It takes all day to fly to Alaska, and all night to fly home." That's basically true. We left home around 9 AM, and got there around 6 PM. Of course, we crossed three time zones (we live in the Central time zone.)
Our tickets were about $750 each, round-trip, which I thought was pretty good. I wanted to set the schedule, so we bought directly from the airline. I spent a little more and bought a direct Anchorage-to-Atlanta return flight, but the airline changed the schedule and the reservation. You can expect that. Our reservation changed three times in the six months between ticket purchase and the trip. Once, the schedule allowed for only a 30-minute lay-over, so I had to call the airline on that. (They were very friendly and accommodating.)
Our flights were packed all the way. Buy your tickets (or at least start watching the fares) as soon as you know your vacation dates. Being willing to alter your dates by a day or two can save you money.
So, my tips are...
- Set your date as soon as possible, and start watching ticket prices,
- After buying your tickets, make sure to check the reservations frequently for schedule changes,
- Plan to take the entire day getting to Alaska.
- Bring a good book, or maybe even a portable DVD player. Also, most of our flights had Wi-Fi.
