1 week in any Alaska town

[SempreMare]

If you had to stay 1 week in any 1 Alaska town that you have been on during a cruise, which town would it be and why? 

 

If you had to stay 1 week in any 2 Alaska towns (whether or not you've been there during a cruise), which 2 would it be and why? 

Edited April 26, 2019 by SempreMare

[oaktreerb]

Seward would be my first choice for a week.  Homer would be #2.  There are many activities you can enjoy in these areas.  

[VennDiagram]

For 1 place for a week, any of these:
Haines, but not many cruises go there.

Douglas Island, across the bridge from Juneau

Sitka

 

For 2 places in a week, some combo of the above.

[Eileen G]

Seward would be my choice also. I've often thought of spending the whole summer in Seward getting a part time job when the cruise ships are in and spending the rest of the time exploring. I love the ambiance of the town. It's surrounded by mountains with a beautiful harbor. I love the old buildings with the murals and all the neat shops. There is so much to do in the area.

[Pepper0074]

For me, Homer would be number 1 and Seward would be number 2.

 

[luvteaching]

Sitka #1 and Homer #2. Both are great places to explore!

 

[mapleleaves]

Healy for week long access to Denali

Valdez for kayaking and boat tours

[DogLover]

There's an awesome little town, Petersburg, AK ... great Viking vibe and very down to earth. I would return there for several days then head to Girdwood, another quaint place off the beaten path (although with Alyeska it's fairly well known.) Hidden Creek B & B is awesome! Don't miss the Bake Shop in Girdwood, either.

 

We've also spent some time in Sitka and really enjoyed our stay. The place we stayed (Fly In Fish Inn) is no longer in business but I'd expect there are other establishments worth staying in. Hands down best experience in Sitka is Ludvig's Bistro - exceptional food, great wine and absolutely wonderful people.

 

There's so much more to AK then the port stops. That said, we're doing another AK cruise in August to "the port stops" lol, but our most cherished memories are in other areas.

 

Interesting inquiry, thanks for making me think 😉

 

 

 

 

[masterdrago]

You guys are making me cry. I had mentioned a while back that we were considering spending a day driving the road to Homer because we had a day to kill. Mostly all I heard was that it was too far to do in a day. We booked a whale cruise out of Seward instead. Just kidding about the tears. I'm more than sure we will have a blast. I'll know a lot more after our 16 days in Alaska. So damned excited, I'm about to p-- myself🤩

[masterdrago]

Doglover, thanks for the bake shop pointer.

[Gardyloo]

I'd pick Nome (no, no cruises call there.)  It's full of fun characters including the daft miners who dive to the bottom of the Bering Sea to suck gold off the seabed, lots of old timers in the bars, incredible history, and the best thing is that there's a surprisingly extensive road system radiating from the town into the Seward Peninsula bush.  Stick a toe in the Bering; get a car and you can see old gold dredges, the "last train to nowhere," and wildlife galore - muskoxen, moose, caribou and reindeer, foxes, a bazillion birds (including a lot of species not seen commonly) and the odd bear or two or ten.  Even visit an Inupiat Eskimo village.   http://www.alaska.org/destination/nome/scenic-drives and http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewinglocations.sewardpeninsula

 

You can fly round trip from Anchorage on an Alaska Airlines jet for around $300 round trip, so cheaper than many flightseeing trips or cruise excursions, and hotels will cost about the same as in Anchorage or Fairbanks.  

 

 

 

 

[VennDiagram]

4 hours ago, Gardyloo said:

I'd pick Nome (no, no cruises call there.)  It's full of fun characters including the daft miners who dive to the bottom of the Bering Sea to suck gold off the seabed, lots of old timers in the bars, incredible history, and the best thing is that there's a surprisingly extensive road system radiating from the town into the Seward Peninsula bush.  Stick a toe in the Bering; get a car and you can see old gold dredges, the "last train to nowhere," and wildlife galore - muskoxen, moose, caribou and reindeer, foxes, a bazillion birds (including a lot of species not seen commonly) and the odd bear or two or ten.  Even visit an Inupiat Eskimo village.   http://www.alaska.org/destination/nome/scenic-drives and http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewinglocations.sewardpeninsula

 

You can fly round trip from Anchorage on an Alaska Airlines jet for around $300 round trip, so cheaper than many flightseeing trips or cruise excursions, and hotels will cost about the same as in Anchorage or Fairbanks.  

 

 

 

Nome sounds like someplace we need to visit ❤️ Thank you 🙂

[Anita Latte]

Given the way you worded this...and the fact that you are pointing more towards a town, rather than a backpacking, camping, being out in the wilderness kind of experience, where I would say that if I had a week to spend in Alaska, I'd being doing my darnedest to not BE in an Alaska TOWN...so since I have to pick a town...when I posed the question to DH, we both agreed that we'd pick Seward. We spent several days on the Kenai Peninsula and around Seward post our northbound cruise. For an add on city, I would just pick to spend time in one of the Kenai Peninsula towns or one of the ones at the end of the highway, possibly Homer. Really, the whole Kenai Peninsula is lovely.

 

I would also throw out there, after having spent a long day in Juneau...that I could through Juneau into that mix. Like I said, we like camping and I could totally see camping in the Mendenhall Campground. There are also several public use cabins in the area, including one named after John Muir (pretty all sure). Hiking trails GALORE and so many outdoorsy things to do. I would plan it for when King Salmon was running (toward the end when the catch and release requirement is lifted) and like a previous poster said, spend time on Douglas Island (which we did on our cruise).

[Coral]

I think Seward and Juneau would be my choices also.

[kennicott]

Want to get away from the typical tourist haunts? Try Cordova.

 

http://www.alaska.org/destination/cordova/things-to-do

https://www.alaskabearsdencabins.com/things-to-do-in-cordova-alaska.htm

 

[Glaciers]

Sitka.  We've had more varied wildlife sightings there on one excursions than any other one location in Alaska.  Also, the history of the area is diverse with multiple venues to explore. Since it’s not a regular port stop for most lines, it still has some small town charm.

[donaldsc]

I notice that nobody has added Kodiak to the list.  A really neat place to visit and you will not be hit by 5000 people off a mega ship.   Another thought is to spend a week in Denali staying at one of the lodges that are deep within the park.  We stayed at the Skyline Lodge (http://www.katair.com/skyline-lodge/) deep within the park for 4 days.  It was really neat. 

 

Basically any place except for Juneau and Ketchikan.  

 

 

DON

Edited April 29, 2019 by donaldsc

[TexasBorderAussie]

Juneau.  I would like to spend more time there than just the time allotted during a cruise and probably will go spend a few days at least one trip.   Kodiak might likely have been my pick but wasn't on cruise when I was there.  It was independent trip.

 

Nome.  I would spend a year in Nome if I could, maybe longer.  I most always spend at least a week every year there.