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Alaska
🇺🇸 United States · Alaska

Alaska

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📌Country
United States (the state of Alaska, the 49th, since 3 January 1959). It sits at the far north-western tip of North America, separated from the rest of the country by Canada. It is by far the largest state: you could fit Texas inside it more than twice. And hardly anyone lives there: 738,737 inhabitants as of 30 June 2025 according to the Alaska Department of Labor, fewer than the city of Rosario, spread over an area larger than Argentina down to the 42nd parallel.
📌Documents
Alaska is the United States: you enter with the same requirements as for Miami or New York. Argentines, Peruvians and Panamanians need a US B-1/B-2 visa (DS-160 + consular interview, MRV fee of US$ 185 per person). There is no ESTA for these countries and no exception for being a remote state. All the details are in our US entry requirements section, at the bottom of this same page.
📌Best time to go
From late May to mid-September. It's a very short season and it shapes the whole trip: outside those four months the Denali Park buses, the visitor centres, most tours and a good share of small-town hotels all shut down. The Denali Star train, for example, runs from 13 May to 17 September 2026 and that's it (Alaska Railroad). If you're going for the northern lights, the logic flips: summer is no good because it never gets dark.
📌Getting there
Fly into Anchorage (Ted Stevens airport, ANC), the state's real gateway, with connections from Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles or Dallas. There are no direct flights from South America: expect two or three legs and between 18 and 26 hours of total travel time. The other gateway is Fairbanks (FAI), in the north, and the southeast (Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway) is reached by plane, cruise ship or the state ferry.
📌Suggested length
Ten days at the very least for the classic Anchorage - Seward - Denali - Fairbanks loop, and two weeks is ideal. Alaska punishes rushing: distances are huge, there's a single road in each direction and one rainy day can wipe out an entire excursion. Adding the southeast (Juneau, Glacier Bay) means another flight and three or four more days.
📌Getting around
A rental car, with almost no alternative: there's no public transport between cities apart from the train and the odd tourist shuttle. The Alaska Railroad train is beautiful and works for the Seward - Anchorage - Denali - Fairbanks route, but it leaves you stuck once you get off. The Alaska Marine Highway ferry covers the coast, not the interior. To reach the wildest parks there are bush planes.
📌Currency and prices
US dollar (USD). Alaska is expensive, pricier than the rest of the United States, and in summer prices shoot up because all the demand is squeezed into four months. Accommodation, food and car rental are the items that surprise people most. There's no state sales tax, but many municipalities charge their own and lodging taxes are high.
📌Language
English. More than twenty Alaska Native languages are also spoken, recognised as official languages of the state since 2014 (Inupiaq, Yupik, Tlingit, Aleut and others). You'll find very little in Spanish: it's best to have everything booked and written down.
💱 USD exchange rate
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🌤️ Weather in Alaska
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There's a moment, on the road between Anchorage and Seward, when the car is squeezed between a mountain wall and a grey arm of the sea with chunks of ice floating in it, and you realise Alaska isn't just another US destination: it's a different scale. The state has more coastline than all the others put together, more than three thousand glaciers in a single park alone, bears that cross the road as if they owned it and a 6,190-metre mountain that, with luck, shows itself one day in three. Nothing here is designed for people who come to snap the photo and head home.

What defines the trip isn't money or the itinerary: it's the calendar. Alaska runs at full steam four months a year. Between late May and mid-September the trains run, the Denali Park buses leave, the boats sail into the fjords and the visitor centres open; in October almost everything switches off and the state is left to the people who live there. Choosing the right week matters more than choosing the right hotel. And if what you're after is the northern lights, the rule flips: the Fairbanks sky only gets dark enough around 21 August and stops being so around 21 April.

This guide covers the whole state: how to put the route together, what each leg costs at official 2026 prices, what you need to get in (a US visa: Alaska is the United States) and why a rental car here isn't a convenience but a requirement. The four big chapters —Denali National Park, Anchorage, Juneau and the glaciers— each have their own page on the site and are linked below; here is what ties them together.

📖 History of Alaska

Alaska was inhabited for millennia by Iñupiat, Yupik, Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida and Unangax peoples before any European laid eyes on it. Contact came in 1741, with the Russian expedition of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov; after them came the sea otter hunters and, in 1799, the Russian-American Company, with its capital at Novo-Arkhangelsk, today Sitka. On 30 March 1867 Russia sold the territory to the United States for 7.2 million dollars, a purchase the press of the day dubbed 'Seward's Folly' after the Secretary of State who signed it. The mockery didn't last long: the Klondike gold rush (1897-1898) and the Nome rush (1899) filled the north with prospectors. Alaska became an organised territory in 1912, and during the Second World War it turned strategic: the Japanese occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska in 1942 and that same year the ALCAN highway opened, the first overland link with the rest of the continent. On 3 January 1959 it became the 49th state. On 27 March 1964 it was shaken by the Good Friday earthquake, magnitude 9.2, the strongest ever recorded in North America. The Prudhoe Bay oil (1968) and the trans-Alaska pipeline (1977) changed the economy, and in 1980 the ANILCA act doubled the country's protected land: that's where Kenai Fjords, Wrangell-St. Elias and the expansion of Denali and Glacier Bay came from.

🗺️ What to see

1
Six million acres of tundra, taiga and glaciers around the highest mountain in North America, with a single road travelled by park bus. It's the icon of interior Alaska and the only national park in the state that charges admission.
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Denali National Park and Preserve lies halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, on the Parks Highway: the entrance is 237 miles north of Anchorage and 120 miles south of Fairbanks, according to the Park Service itself. Inside there's a single road, the 92-mile Denali Park Road, and private cars can only drive the first 15, as far as Savage River. The fact to keep in mind when planning: because of the Pretty Rocks landslide, buses currently go as far as mile 43 and no further. The NPS has announced that, with the Pretty Rocks bridge finished, bus service along the whole road resumes in 2027, and that bus and campground reservations for that summer open on 1 December 2026. If you're going in 2027, book that very day: spots go fast. Admission costs US$ 15 per person aged 16 and over and is valid for 7 days; under-16s go free. Buses are booked separately, through the concessioner Doyon/Aramark. We have a full guide to the park, with the bus types, the trails and the sled dog kennels.
ℹ️ Where: Interior Alaska, on the Parks Highway (route 3) · Distance: 237 miles (about 380 km) north of Anchorage; 120 miles (195 km) south of Fairbanks · Admission: US$ 15 per person, 7 days; under-16s free (source: nps.gov, checked 22/09/2026) · Season: Buses from mid-May to mid-September · Duration: 2 to 3 days
2
The state's largest city and its real gateway: you land there, you rent the car there and every road leads out from there. It's home to almost 40% of Alaska's population and has a wild streak ten minutes from downtown.
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Anchorage isn't the capital —that's Juneau— but it is the hub of everything else: Ted Stevens international airport (ANC), the Alaska Railroad station, the car rental agencies, the hospitals and half the state's hotels. Almost any Alaska itinerary starts and ends here. It isn't a pretty city in the classic sense, and it's worth knowing that: the 1964 earthquake took out a good part of the old downtown. What it does have is a very unusual relationship with nature. There are moose wandering through the neighbourhoods, salmon swimming up Ship Creek right in the centre and an 18-kilometre coastal path, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, from which you can spot beluga whales. You can give it two days at the start of the trip or, better, one at the start and one at the end, for the museum and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Our city guide goes into detail.
ℹ️ Where: South-central Alaska, on Cook Inlet · Why go: International airport, car rental, train and base for every excursion · Admission: Free (city); museums charge their own admission · Duration: 1 to 2 days
3
The state capital, in the southeast, wedged between the Gastineau Channel and an icefield. It's the only US state capital you can't reach by road: you get in by plane, ferry or cruise ship.
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Juneau is 1,400 kilometres from Anchorage and in another world: southeast Alaska is the Inside Passage, a maze of channels, islands and fjords covered in temperate rainforest. The city, with around 32,000 inhabitants, has no road connecting it to the rest of the continent. You get there by flying (an hour and a half from Anchorage), on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry or on a cruise. The big draw is the Mendenhall glacier, which comes down to a lake just twenty minutes from downtown and can be seen on foot, something rare in Alaska. Around it there's humpback whale watching in the channel, the Mount Roberts tramway and the Tracy Arm fjord. On a two-week trip, Juneau and the southeast are a separate chapter that almost demands an internal flight. If you're short on time, choose: the interior (Denali, Fairbanks) or the southeast (Juneau, Glacier Bay). Doing both in a rush is the surest way to enjoy neither.
ℹ️ Where: Southeast Alaska (Inside Passage), on the Gastineau Channel · Getting there: Only by plane, ferry or cruise ship: there's no road · Admission: Free (city); the Mendenhall Glacier visitor centre charges separately · Duration: 2 to 3 days
4
Kenai Fjords National Park
Fjords, glaciers calving into the sea, humpback whales, orcas and puffins, four hours from Anchorage. It's the most accessible park in Alaska and charges no admission. You visit it by boat from Seward and, by land, at Exit Glacier.
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Kenai Fjords protects more than 600,000 acres on the edge of the Kenai Peninsula, dominated by the Harding Icefield, from which almost forty glaciers flow down. The Park Service is clear about how to see it: by land you can only reach the Exit Glacier area, and the rest is seen from the water. There's no admission fee, and no camping fee either. What you pay for is the boat: excursions leave from the port of Seward and last between 3 and 8 and a half hours depending on whether they go to Resurrection Bay or as far as Northwestern Fjord. The main authorised concessioner's season runs from 12 March to 27 September 2026. The road to Exit Glacier isn't cleared of snow in winter and is closed to cars, typically from some point in October until May. The visitor centres open from Memorial Day weekend (last Monday in May) to Labor Day (first Monday in September).
ℹ️ Where: Kenai Peninsula, based in Seward · Distance: About 200 km south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway (4 h by car, 4 h 35 by train) · Admission: Free: 'No entrance fees are charged at Kenai Fjords National Park' (nps.gov, checked 22/09/2026) · Best time to go: June, July and August; May and September with reduced services · Duration: 1 to 2 days
5
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, in the southeast: a bay that 250 years ago was buried under ice and today has tidewater glaciers calving into the water, humpback whales and bears. It charges no admission and you explore it by boat or kayak.
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It's the park most travellers see from the deck of a cruise ship, but you can also visit on your own: you fly to Gustavus, get to Bartlett Cove and from there the lodge's day boat sets out. The lodge is the only accommodation inside the park, run by an authorised Park Service concessioner. What makes the bay special is the pace of change. When Captain George Vancouver sailed past in 1794 this was a notch in a wall of ice; the retreat that followed opened up a fjord more than 100 kilometres long, and the forest growing at Bartlett Cove today is barely two centuries old. John Muir explored it in 1879 and ever since it has been a living laboratory of ecological succession. There's no admission or camping fee. You do need a free permit to camp or kayak outside the lodge area. Heads up: this bay is in southeast Alaska and has nothing to do with Glacier National Park in Montana, which is a different park in a different state.
ℹ️ Where: Southeast Alaska, near Gustavus; base at Bartlett Cove · Getting there: Flight to Gustavus from Juneau, state ferry or cruise ship · Admission: Free: 'An entrance pass is not required' and there's no camping fee either (nps.gov, checked 22/09/2026) · Best time to go: Late May to early September · Duration: 1 to 3 days
6
Seward and the Kenai Peninsula
The port all the fjord boats leave from and the end of one of the most spectacular roads in the United States. The Kenai Peninsula packs glaciers, salmon fishing, moose and coves into a few hours of driving.
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Seward is a port town at the head of Resurrection Bay, with around 2,700 people, and it works as the base for Kenai Fjords. It's where the Seward Highway ends, designated an All-American Road, which leaves Anchorage skirting Turnagain Arm: about four hours of driving that turn into six because you keep stopping. In town there's the Alaska SeaLife Center, the state's only aquarium and marine wildlife rehabilitation centre, and the dock where the excursions set sail. Seward is also the disembarkation port for several Alaska cruises and a terminus of the Alaska Railroad: the Coastal Classic train leaves Anchorage at 6:45 and arrives at 11:20. The rest of the peninsula is worth several more days: Homer and its spit at the end of the road, Cooper Landing and the Kenai River for sockeye salmon fishing, and the road to Whittier with its single-lane tunnel shared with the train.
ℹ️ Where: South of Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula · Distance: About 200 km on the Seward Highway; 4 h by car or 4 h 35 by train · Admission: Free (town); boats and aquarium charge their own fees · Best time to go: June to August; sockeye salmon run up the Kenai River in June and July · Duration: 2 to 4 days for the whole peninsula
7
Fairbanks and the northern lights
The state's second city, deep in the interior, right under the auroral oval. It's the best place in the United States to see the northern lights, but only in the dark half of the year: in summer it doesn't get dark enough.
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Fairbanks sits at 64.8 degrees north, almost under the auroral oval, and has an interior climate on its side, with skies that are statistically clearer than on the coast. It's home to the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which publishes the official aurora forecast. That same institute sets the dates plainly: 'our aurora viewing season is approximately 21 August to 21 April', and adds that between those dates, with clear skies and staying at least three nights, you're very likely —though never certain— to see it. Between 22 April and 20 August the Fairbanks sky doesn't get dark enough even for a spectacular display. Nobody can promise you an aurora; what you can do is go in the right month and give yourself three nights. In summer Fairbanks is a different place: on 21 June the sun rises at 1:58 and sets at 23:48 (United States Naval Observatory), almost 22 hours of daylight. It's also the northern end of the railway and the starting point for Chena Hot Springs and the Dalton Highway.
ℹ️ Where: Interior Alaska, 64.8° N; 120 miles north of the Denali entrance · Auroras: Season roughly 21 August to 21 April (Geophysical Institute, UAF). Not visible in summer · Admission: Free (city); aurora tours and hot springs charge their own fees · Daylight: 21/6: 1:58 to 23:48. 21/12: 10:58 to 14:40 (USNO) · Duration: 3 nights if you're going for the aurora
8
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
The largest national park in the United States: 13.2 million acres, the size of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined. The greatest concentration of glaciers in North America and two gravel roads as the only access.
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Wrangell-St. Elias is the Alaska people imagine and almost nobody visits. The Park Service describes it like this: it rises from the ocean to 18,008 feet (5,489 m) and contains more than 3,000 glaciers over three million acres. The Wrangell range, which lies entirely inside the park, reaches 16,390 feet. There's no admission: it's a fee free park. What costs you is getting there. There are just two access roads, both gravel —the McCarthy Road and the Nabesna Road—, maintained by the Alaska Department of Transportation on a grading and clearing schedule the park itself calls infrequent. Many car rental companies expressly forbid driving on them: check your contract before you set off. The usual destination is McCarthy and the mining town of Kennecott, with the red buildings of the copper mine that operated between 1911 and 1938. Park services can be up to 260 miles apart, so this isn't a day trip: go with time to spare, plenty of fuel and a plan B.
ℹ️ Where: Southeast of south-central Alaska; visitor centre at Copper Center · Size: 13.2 million acres, the largest national park in the country (nps.gov) · Admission: Free: 'Wrangell-St. Elias is a fee free park' (nps.gov, checked 22/09/2026) · Access: Only by two gravel roads (McCarthy Road and Nabesna Road); visitor centre open from mid-May to mid-September · Duration: 2 to 4 days
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What nobody tells you

💵 Prices

Tickets

TypePrice
Entrada al Parque Nacional Denali (el único de Alaska que cobra)US$ 15 per person aged 16 or over, valid for 7 days; under-16s free. The park does not accept cash: card only, or online payment in advance (source: nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/fees.htm, accessed 22/09/2026)
Kenai Fjords, Bahía de los Glaciares (Glacier Bay), Wrangell-St. Elias, Katmai y Gates of the ArcticFree. None of these Alaska national parks charges admission; Wrangell-St. Elias is listed word for word as a 'fee free park' (source: nps.gov, accessed 22/09/2026)
Pase anual del Parque DenaliUS$ 45, 12 months, covers up to four adults. Note: the NPS site marks it as 'Available to: US citizens and residents', so a foreign tourist cannot buy it (source: nps.gov, accessed 22/09/2026)
Pase America the Beautiful (todos los parques y tierras federales) — residenteUS$ 80 per year, for US citizens and residents only (source: nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm, accessed 22/09/2026)
Pase America the Beautiful — NO residente (el que nos toca a nosotros)US$ 250 per year. Since 2026 the NPS has offered a separate pass for non-residents: 'An America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass is available for $250'. It covers the whole vehicle, or the pass holder plus three adults where fees are charged per person. The other America the Beautiful passes are for citizens and residents only (source: nps.gov, page updated 5/1/2026, accessed 22/09/2026)
Recargo para no residentes de US$ 100 en once parquesDoes not apply in Alaska. Since 2026, non-residents over 16 pay an extra US$ 100 on top of standard admission, but only at Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier (Montana), Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. No Alaska park is on that list (source: nps.gov, accessed 22/09/2026)
Días de entrada gratuita 202616/2, 25/5, 14/6, 3 to 5/7, 25/8, 17/9, 27/10 and 11/11. Heads up: 'Beginning in 2026, free entrance on these days will be for US citizens and residents only'. Non-residents pay as usual (source: nps.gov, accessed 22/09/2026)
Centro de visitantes del glaciar Mendenhall (Juneau, Bosque Nacional Tongass)US$ 5 per person over 16, charged from 1 May to 30 September; it's run by the Forest Service, not the NPS (see our Juneau guide)
🔄 updated monthlyOfficial / reference values · double-check when buying

Activities and tours

Denali Park 'transit' bus (East Fork, mile 43, no guide)
DurationAbout 6 h return
Price
US$ 33,50 adult; under-15s free (2026 price, source: nps.gov). Does NOT include the US$ 15 park admission
Operator
Doyon/Aramark Joint Venture, NPS concessioner (bookings: reservedenali.com or 1-800-622-7275)
Denali Park narrated 'tour' bus — Tundra Wilderness Tour
Duration5 to 5,5 h
OperatorDoyon/Aramark. Season: 20 May to 17 September 2026
Price
US$ 144,75 adult, US$ 65 under-15s (2026). The US$ 15 admission is already included in the adult price (source: nps.gov)
Denali Park narrated 'tour' bus — Denali Natural History Tour
Duration4,5 to 5 h
OperatorDoyon/Aramark. Season: 13 May to 15 September 2026
Price
US$ 116,75 adult, US$ 51 under-15s (2026), admission included (source: nps.gov)
Boat trip to the Kenai Fjords from Seward
DurationFrom 3 h (Resurrection Bay) to 8,5 h (Northwestern Fjord)
Price
We couldn't confirm the 2026 fare on the operator's website. As a market benchmark, half-day trips cost around US$ 100-150 and full-day trips to Northwestern Fjord cost over US$ 200 per adult: worth checking when you book
Operator
Kenai Fjords Tours and other Seward boat operators. Stated 2026 season: 12 March to 27 September
Scenic flight over Denali ('flightseeing'), with or without a glacier landing
Duration1 to 2 h
Price
Fares not published by an official source; the usual market range is US$ 300 to US$ 500 per person, depending on length and whether you land on the glacier. Check with the operator
Operator
Companies in Talkeetna and at the park entrance (see our Denali guide)
Northern lights tour from Fairbanks
DurationNight outings of 4 to 6 h, typically between 22:00 and 3:00
Price
No official published fare; the market range is US$ 100 to US$ 200 per night. The season is official, the price isn't
Operator
Local operators in Fairbanks. The free aurora forecast is published by the UAF Geophysical Institute
Humpback whale watching (Juneau, Seward, Glacier Bay)
PriceSee our Juneau guide for prices in that city
Duration3 to 5 h
OperatorLocal boat operators. Best time: May to September
Watching brown bears catch salmon (Katmai, Lake Clark, Brooks Falls)
DurationA full day from Anchorage or Homer
Price
The park charges no admission, but you can only get there by floatplane, and a same-day return charter flight is expensive: there is no official published fare, so check with the operator
Operator
Authorised air operators. Salmon peak at Brooks Falls: July, and again in September
🔄 updated monthlyOfficial / reference values · double-check when buying

🚌 How to get there and distances

Getting around

Rental car (what you really need)
DurationThe whole trip
Price
No official rate: it depends on the date and the company. In high season prices soar and cars sell out months in advance; book as soon as you have your dates
Notes
Alaska has almost no public transport between cities. The train covers a single route and doesn't take you to trailheads, viewpoints or the towns of the Kenai Peninsula. Two warnings people often miss: almost no rental agreement lets you drive on gravel roads (McCarthy Road, Nabesna Road, Dalton Highway), and distances are huge, with petrol stations few and far between. Fill up when you can, not when you need to
Alaska Railroad train — Denali Star (Anchorage-Wasilla-Talkeetna-Denali-Fairbanks)
DurationAnchorage-Denali 7 h 20; Anchorage-Fairbanks 11 h 40
Price
Adventure Class: Anchorage-Talkeetna US$ 127, Anchorage-Denali US$ 205, Anchorage-Fairbanks US$ 294, Denali-Fairbanks US$ 102, all one way, per adult. GoldStar Class (panoramic dome, meals included): Anchorage-Denali US$ 393, Anchorage-Fairbanks US$ 553. Children aged 2 to 11 pay half (official 2026 fares, alaskarailroad.com, accessed 22/09/2026)
Notes
Runs from 13 May to 17 September 2026. It leaves Anchorage at 8:20 and arrives in Fairbanks at 20:00. It's the most beautiful way to cover that stretch, but if the train is your only transport, you'll be stuck without wheels when you arrive: many people take the train one way and drive the other
Alaska Railroad train — Coastal Classic (Anchorage-Girdwood-Seward)
Duration4 h 35 (departs 6:45, arrives 11:20; return 18:00-22:15)
Price
Adventure: Anchorage-Seward US$ 133 one way, US$ 226 return; children US$ 67 / US$ 113. GoldStar: US$ 277 one way, US$ 470 return (official 2026 fares, accessed 22/09/2026)
Notes
Daily service from 15 May to 13 September 2026. The route runs along Turnagain Arm and through areas with no road access: it's one of the most scenic journeys in the country
Alaska Railroad train — Aurora Winter (Anchorage-Fairbanks, off-season)
DurationA full day
Price
Adventure: Anchorage-Fairbanks US$ 265 one way, Anchorage-Talkeetna US$ 104, Fairbanks-Denali US$ 104 (official 2026/2027 fares, accessed 22/09/2026)
Notes
It's the only long-distance train in winter: northbound on Saturdays and southbound on Sundays, from 19 September 2026 to 9 May 2027, plus midweek departures in February and March 2027. It's perfect for getting to Fairbanks in aurora season
Alaska Marine Highway ferry (the state's marine 'highway system')
Price
Fares are calculated per leg, per passenger, per vehicle and per cabin, and they aren't published in a table: you look them up in the official sailings search (bookamhs.alaska.gov). We couldn't confirm 2026 figures
Duration
Bellingham-Ketchikan 38 h; Ketchikan-Wrangell 6 h; Petersburg-Juneau 8 h; Juneau-Haines 4,5 h; Haines-Skagway 1 h; Juneau-Sitka 9,5 h (official AMHS times)
Notes
It's public transport run by the State of Alaska, not a cruise: it covers 3.500 miles of coastline and more than 30 communities, from Bellingham (Washington) to Dutch Harbor. The 2026 summer season runs from 1 May to 30 September. Two official notices to keep in mind: under the proposed 2026/27 winter schedule it doesn't go to Prince Rupert (Canada), doesn't run 'cross gulf' crossings and doesn't reach Yakutat. You can bring your car, and cabins sell out months in advance
Domestic flights and small planes
DurationAnchorage-Juneau 1,5 h; Anchorage-Fairbanks 1 h
Price
No official reference fare; prices vary hugely. Check with the airline
Notes
The Southeast (Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan) has no road connection, so flying is practically a must if you want to include it. Many places in the interior — Katmai, Gates of the Arctic, bear lodges — can only be reached by small plane or floatplane, and those flights are often cancelled because of the weather: leave some buffer days
Urban public transport
DurationVaries
Price
Anchorage: People Mover bus, US$ 2. Juneau: Capital Transit, US$ 2 (see our guide to each city)
Notes
It only exists within Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, and services are infrequent. Between cities there's no bus network like the ones in Argentina or Peru: don't count on it
🔄 updated monthlyOfficial / reference values · double-check when buying

How to get there

Buenos Aires / Lima / Panama City → Anchorage (ANC)
Airlines / operators
No direct flight. You connect through a US hub: Seattle, Dallas, Chicago or Los Angeles, usually with American, Delta, United or Alaska Airlines
Avg. price
No official fare: it depends on the date, and July and August are the busiest months of the year. Book several months ahead and compare routings via Seattle
Duration
18 to 26 h in total with layovers; the Seattle-Anchorage leg takes about 3,5 h
Entry into the United States (immigration)
Airlines / operatorsCBP (Customs and Border Protection)
Avg. priceB-1/B-2 visa: MRV fee of US$ 185 per person, plus any reciprocity fee
Duration
The consular process can take months depending on appointment availability: start it before anything else
Anchorage → Seward (Kenai Peninsula)
Airlines / operatorsCar via the Seward Highway or Coastal Classic train
Avg. priceTrain US$ 133 one way in Adventure class (2026); by car, just fuel
Duration4 h by car, 4 h 35 by train
Anchorage → Denali National Park
Airlines / operatorsCar via the Parks Highway (Route 3) or Denali Star train
Duration4 to 5 h by car (237 miles), 7 h 20 by train
Avg. price
Train US$ 205 one way in Adventure class, US$ 393 in GoldStar (2026); by car, just fuel
Denali National Park → Fairbanks
Airlines / operatorsCar via the Parks Highway or Denali Star train
Avg. priceTrain US$ 102 one way in Adventure class (2026); by car, just fuel
Duration2 to 2,5 h by car (120 miles), 3 h 50 by train
Anchorage or Seattle → Juneau and the Southeast
Airlines / operators
Flight (Alaska Airlines has the most departures) or Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Bellingham
Avg. price
Flight: no official reference fare; ferry: depends on the leg, vehicle and cabin (check bookamhs.alaska.gov)
Duration
Flight: 1,5 h from Anchorage, 2,5 to 3 h from Seattle. Bellingham-Ketchikan ferry: 38 h
Arriving by cruise ship through the Inside Passage
Depends on the package
Airlines / operatorsMajor cruise lines, season from May to September
Duration
Day stops in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway, plus sailing through Glacier Bay; 'one way' cruises end in Seward or Whittier and the trip continues overland
🔄 updated monthlyOfficial / reference values · double-check when buying

🏨 Where to stay

No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.

Hostels, cabins and camping
Price$$$$$
Recommended options
National park campgrounds are the cheapest option and, in several cases, free: Kenai Fjords and Glacier Bay charge no camping fee. There are hostels in Anchorage, Seward, Talkeetna and Fairbanks. In small towns you'll find cabins and 'dry cabins' without running water. Prices vary a lot by date: we couldn't confirm ranges with an official source, so check them when you book.
Mid-range hotels and B&Bs in high season
Price$$$$$
Recommended options
This is the price range where Alaska hurts most. In summer, an ordinary hotel in Anchorage, Seward or the Denali entrance area costs a good deal more than its equivalent elsewhere in the US, because the whole year's demand is squeezed into four months and supply is fixed. Two tips that really help: book very far in advance (accommodation sells out before flights do), and consider staying in Healy rather than at the park entrance, as it's usually cheaper.
Lodges inside the parks and nature lodges
Price$$$$$
Recommended options
Glacier Bay Lodge, at Bartlett Cove, is the only lodging inside Glacier Bay National Park and is run by an authorised Park Service concessioner. There are seasonal lodges in the Denali area and in Talkeetna. They're expensive and fill up a year in advance.
Remote bear and fishing lodges (by small plane only)
Price$$$$$
Recommended options
The lodges in Katmai, Lake Clark and the Southwest, reached by floatplane, are the priciest end of the country: all-inclusive rates per person, per night, and multi-day packages. There's no official published rate; enquire directly with each lodge.

🍴 Where to eat

Salmón, fletán y cangrejo real: lo que hay que comer
Price$$$$$
Options / signature dish
Sockeye and king salmon, halibut and king crab legs are Alaska's signature foods, and you'll find them on the menu in any coastal town. Seward, Homer and Juneau are good places to eat them fresh. 'Halibut and chips' is the classic harbour dish.
Food trucks, 'reindeer dogs' y comida de camino
Price$$$$$
Options / signature dish
The reindeer sausage stand in downtown Anchorage is an institution and a good bet for a cheap lunch. In summer there are food trucks in almost every tourist town. For long drives, stock up the car at a supermarket in Anchorage or Fairbanks, because there's very little between towns.
Cervecerías artesanales
Price$$$$$
Options / signature dish
Alaska has a strong beer scene for its size, with breweries in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Haines and Talkeetna. Almost all of them serve food and are the easiest places to have dinner without a reservation.
Restaurantes de lodge y cenas con vista
Price$$$$$
Options / signature dish
The lodges in Denali, Talkeetna and Glacier Bay have their own dining rooms, sometimes the only option around. Prices are high and opening hours follow the season: from October to April, much of this is closed.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Do I need a US visa to go to Alaska?+
Yes. Alaska is a US state, not a separate country, so exactly the same requirements apply as for entering through Miami or New York. Argentina, Peru and Panama are not in the Visa Waiver Program, so ESTA doesn't apply: you need a B-1/B-2 non-immigrant visa, with the DS-160 form, an interview at the consulate and an MRV fee of US$ 185 per person. You go through immigration at the first US airport you land in — Seattle, Dallas, wherever — not in Anchorage, because by the time you reach Alaska you're already in the country. The CBP officer decides how many days you get, and it's recorded on your I-94. Full details by nationality are in the entry requirements section at the bottom of this page.
When should I go, and what happens if I go off-season?+
Alaska's real season runs from late May to mid-September, and it's very short. Some official facts that show this: the Denali Star train runs from 13 May to 17 September 2026; the Denali Park buses, from mid-May to mid-September; the Kenai Fjords visitor centres open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day; and the road to Exit Glacier isn't cleared of snow, so it's closed to cars, usually from October to May. Outside that window the state doesn't shut down — people live there, and there's skiing, dog sledding and the northern lights — but the trip you pictured, with boats, park buses and trails, isn't possible. May and September are the sweet spot: fewer people, fewer mosquitoes, slightly better prices and some services already scaled back.
How much does it cost to get into Alaska's national parks?+
Much less than you'd expect: the only national park in Alaska that charges admission is Denali, US$ 15 per person aged 16 or over, valid for 7 days, and under-16s go free. Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Wrangell-St. Elias, Katmai and Gates of the Arctic are free. What does cost money is getting around: Denali buses range from US$ 33,50 (transit, no guide) to US$ 144,75 (narrated Tundra Wilderness Tour, admission included), and at Kenai Fjords or Glacier Bay what you pay for is the boat. There's one new 2026 detail worth knowing: the NPS has introduced a US$ 250 America the Beautiful pass for non-residents (the residents' pass is still US$ 80) and a US$ 100 non-resident surcharge at eleven parks, but none of those eleven is in Alaska. All checked on nps.gov on 22/09/2026.
Can I see the northern lights?+
It depends entirely on the month, and there's no getting around it. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which publishes the official aurora forecast, says the viewing season in Fairbanks runs roughly from 21 August to 21 April, and that between 22 April and 20 August the sky doesn't get dark enough, even during a spectacular display. In other words: on the classic summer trip to Alaska you won't see the aurora, and anyone promising it to you in July is lying. If you go in the right season, the same institute recommends staying at least three nights and finding a hill away from the lights with a clear view of the horizon; with clear skies and three nights, you're very likely — never guaranteed — to see it. Fairbanks is the best place in the country to try, thanks to its latitude and skies that are statistically clearer than on the coast.
Do I need to rent a car, or can I get by with the train?+
Unless your trip is just Juneau or just a cruise, you need a car. Alaska has no intercity bus network, and the train, lovely as it is, covers a single line —Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks— and drops you at the station: it won't take you to the trailheads, the Turnagain Arm viewpoints, Homer or Hatcher Pass. Plenty of people do one stretch by train for the scenery and the rest by car. Three warnings: book the car months ahead because they sell out in summer, check the contract to see whether you're allowed on gravel roads (almost no company allows it, and the two roads into Wrangell-St. Elias and the Dalton Highway are gravel), and fill up often, because petrol stations are few and far between.
How many days do I need and how do I plan the route?+
Ten days is the sensible minimum and fourteen is comfortable. The classic loop, all overland, goes like this: arrive in Anchorage, head down to Seward and the Kenai Peninsula (3 days, with a boat trip to the fjords), come back and drive up to Denali on the Parks Highway (2 or 3 days), carry on to Fairbanks (2 days) and return. Adding the southeast —Juneau, Glacier Bay— means another flight and three or four more days, because no road links it to the rest of the state. If you have a week, pick one side: the interior or the southeast. And leave one or two spare days: here tours get cancelled because of the weather and small-plane flights are called off often.
Is it true it's really expensive?+
Yes, and accommodation is what surprises people most. The reason is structural: the whole year's tourist demand is squeezed into four months, the number of beds is fixed and nearly everything people consume arrives by ship or by plane. Eating out and car hire also cost more than in the rest of the United States. Park entrance fees, on the other hand, are very cheap or free. What cuts costs the most is booking well in advance, cooking some of your own meals and moving your dates to late May or September instead of July. We couldn't confirm average hotel and food prices with an official source, so we won't give you made-up figures: budget with real quotes for your dates.

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