Alaska Vacation Planner

Most visitors report a pleasant surprise after planning their vacation with the help of our free online Alaska Visitors Guide that has been purposely designed to help you save money when Visiting Alaska. But still there were some surprises awaiting that we have been told we had failed to adequately cover in our topics. Some of those were the weather, driving conditions, varying costs between areas and motel availability outside Anchorage.

Distances; Alaska stretches 2,400 miles east to west and another 1,420 miles north to south. Driving distances between towns can be much farther then you are use to so please pick up a good map or travel guide to assist in planning any driving tours you might plan from Anchorage.

We are including a mileage estimate on the day tours pages to assist you in the planning of any local Anchorage area day trips.

Daylight Hours; It is true that during the summer months, especially in June and July, the sun is shining for most of the day. In Anchorage, daylight hours in late June can be up to 19 hours and 22 minutes. The sun rises in Anchorage at 4:20 a.m. and sets at 11:42 p.m. during the summer solstice.

Winter can be just the opposite. In late December, daylight diminishes to around the 5 hours and 21 minute minimum experienced during the winter solstice.

Weather; Over a third of all vacation/pleasure visitors found the weather better than expected. During the summer, average daytime temperatures throughout the state range from the 60s to the 90s.

Road Conditions; for the most part are better than one would expect. Almost the entire length of the Alaska Highway is paved, and approximately half of the roads in Alaska's main highway system are paved. Early spring does present plenty of road maintenance as the potholes from repeated freeze/thaw takes its toll on the roads but by mid June this has typically been corrected. Popular roads like the Denali highway between the Richardson and Parks Highways are gravel and do present a challenge to drivers.

Affordability; Contrary to popular belief, prices throughout Alaska are generally on scale with other destinations in the states and to illustrate the this point we are including an updated table of the expected costs of an Alaska vacation, This chart now provides both the highs and lows in asking prices for a some of the most common necessities with most Alaska Vacations.