Ultimate Alaska Road Trip Planning Checklist

Like many outdoor and nature enthusiasts, a trip to Alaska has been a dream of ours for a long time. We’re finally embarking on a 3-month road trip to the Last Frontier this summer.

When you start to plan a trip to Alaska, it can be a daunting task. What areas should you visit? How much time do you need? How much will all this cost? What’s the best way to get around the remote terrain? The questions pile up. Believe me, I have the notes, spreadsheets, reminders, and to do lists to prove it. Since we’ve already done this research, we want to make it easier for others to plan their Alaska dream trip. Over the next few weeks and months we’re sharing the information, tools, tips, and advice that we’ve learned on the journey to Alaska.

In the last post we outlined our general itinerary and timeline. Today we’re publishing the first travel planning tool—an extensive Alaska Trip Planning Checklist. We wrote this guide with road trip travel in mind, but it’s relevant for any type of travel to Alaska—cruise, train, plane, ferry, auto, teleporting (okay maybe not that last one).

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Alaska Road Trip Travel Planning Checklist

Confession time: when I started planning our trip to Alaska, I was overwhelmed. There are 8 official national parks and 322 million acres of public lands to explore with vast expanses of wilderness in between. I soon discovered that roads won’t get us to all the places we want to go. Instead a combination of ferries and bush planes are needed—hello traveling Alaska style!

Prices, schedules, and availability information can’t necessarily be found online. In fact, I came across numerous websites that hadn’t been updated in years—some for companies that aren’t even operating anymore. The best way to ensure you’re getting accurate information is to contact the specific lodging and transportation companies directly. Imagine that…conversing with a real person in this day and age😉

Planning a trip to Alaska requires a significant amount of research and planning time. The checklist below is a step-by-step guide to plan a trip to Alaska while staying sane (well mostly anyway) and organized.

Alaska Trip Planning

1. Choose your primary destinations
   Alaska is huge. Talk about stating the obvious right? I know we’ve all heard that Alaska is large, but once you start looking up drive times from place to place, the enormity of this land really sets in. Unless you already have your dream destinations in mind, deciding exactly where in Alaska to visit, will require some research time. The Travel Alaska site provides a free guide that’s great for familiarizing yourself with the different regions.
2. Determine your approximate timeline
   If you’re driving around Alaska, you’ll want to give yourself as much time as you possibly can here. We’d recommend a minimum of 10 days plus drive time to and from the state. This likely means 3+ weeks total. We realize that we’re ridiculously fortunate to be able to spend the summer in Alaska and that this isn’t the norm, so another option to see the state by road is to fly and rent a vehicle there.
3. Map out your route and look at any needed alternate options for transportation
   If you’re driving, you might think that your transportation needs are covered, right? Well, this isn’t your average road trip! Here’s where we start getting familiar with Alaskan style transportation. One of the first things you’ll notice when mapping out your route is that numerous places in Alaska can’t be reached by a road. Many are only accessible by ferry (the Alaskan Marine Highway) or bush plane. I’m sure you’ve seen these planes before—usually in a movie, crashing into a snowy mountain. Let’s hope that life doesn’t imitate art in this case.
4. Research costs
   This may involve skipping ahead to items 8 and 9 on the list.
5. Determine your budget
   Alaska isn’t known for being a budget-friendly place. The remote and rugged terrain, while beautiful, makes it challenging to transport goods which means higher prices. Also, flying and ferrying aren’t the cheapest ways to travel so, if you have your heart set on specific destinations know that you may have to pay a pretty penny (or more like many many pretty pennies) to reach them. We of course have some ideas for saving money in Alaska and traveling on a budget so we’ll be sharing those along the way.
6. Finalize your route, transportation, timeline, and budget
7. Research reservation time-frames for your destinations
   If visiting in the summer, many places book up quickly and well into the future. Some places are currently taking reservations through 2021.
8. Make inquiries for camping/lodging reservations
   You may need to email or call places to get cost and vacancy information for many lodges and campgrounds. I’ve found it rare that this information is available online. Even if a place is booking a few years out, it never hurts to ask if they have any availability. Being flexible with your travel dates of course helps. One of the places that’s booking 2+ years out still had availability for this summer when I contacted them last month.
9. Make inquiries for alternate transportation reservations
   Ferry prices and schedules can be found easily on the Alaska State Ferry website. Flights are another matter. If you’re going to remote areas, you’ll most likely need to fly by bush plane. First you need to identify what companies operate in that area. This is another cost you probably won’t be able to find online, so you’ll need to contact them directly. We found the costs for the same flights can vary greatly between companies. Some provide high-end specialty type excursions and others are more air taxi type services. Check a few different companies before locking in any bookings. Also, ask for recommendations from wherever you’re lodging. So far, I’ve found everyone to be extremely helpful, kind, and enthusiastic.

Alaska Trip Booking

10. Make camping/lodging/accommodation reservations
    For some of our trip, we’re going to look for free camping (which is our usual type of accommodation on the road). In more remote areas, we’ll be flying in and opted to stay at developed campgrounds that require reservations. Your destinations and the type of lodging you prefer will dictate whether you need to make reservations. If you’re staying in all hotels or need established campgrounds with hookups, it’s best to reserve ahead of time. The vast majority of visitors to Alaska are there from June to August and places book up fast so reserve as early as you can for the best prices.
11. Make flight and/or ferry reservations
12. Research day trips, tours, etc.
    Don’t go too crazy here. This is where you can cross the line of having a fun relaxing trip with room for surprises or over planning to the point where you’re running from one commitment to the next. I know that everyone has a different travel style, but my advice is to choose 1-3 things to do in each primary destination and leave the rest of the time open for surprise adventures.
13. Make reservations for any daytrips, tours, events, etc. that need to be booked in advance
    For example, I’ve already booked a day tour in one of the national parks, that we’ll be visiting in peak season.
14. Determine whether you need travel insurance and purchase it if needed

Alaska Pre-Trip Preparation

15. Make a plan for getting your vehicle ready for a long road trip
    We’ll be sharing more information about how to go about this soon.
16. Make sure your passport and if needed visa information is in order
17. Make an Alaska travel packing list
    Again, look for a post from us on this in the coming weeks.
18. Research border crossing rules, restrictions, and regulations
    Assess what you’re bringing so you know what is allowed and what needs to be declared.
19. Let your banks and credit card companies know your travel dates
20. Make a plan for paying bills while you’re away
21. Put a hold on your mail
22. Grocery shop
    Since this is a road trip guide, you’ll want to start your adventure with food. Just say no to gas station nachos and hotdogs (learn from our mistakes, friends) and load up on nutritious, easy to prepare eats ahead of time.
23. Organize your reservation confirmations, travel guides, maps, etc.
24. If you have worrying parents, share your itinerary with them (hey mom😉) or close friends
25. Pack
26. Hit the road!

Are you already planning a trip to Alaska this summer? We’d love to meet up with you along the way! You can find all the details in our announcement post.

Lots more planning tools and Alaska trip preparation tips will be shared in the coming weeks. Make sure you’re signed up for our email list so you know when new Alaska resources are published. You’ll find the “Never Miss a Post” sign-up box below (if on a mobile device) or on the right (if on a computer).

Happy Travel Planning!

Related Posts:

• Complete Alaska Packing List for Spring and Summer
• Get Your Vehicle Road Trip Ready
• How to Build a Camper Van on a Budget: Our $1,200 Budget Van Build

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