Plan Your Alaska Vacation (2024)

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Photo Credit: ATIA, Michael DeYoung

Plan Your Trip to Alaska

Once you’ve decided visit Alaska, planning your trip is where the fun begins. From cruise and land packages that include all meals, transportation, and accommodations, to off-the-grid backpacking adventures, Alaska offers an experience for every type of traveler.

If you’re looking for some help planning your adventure, consider that explore top destinations as well as off-the-beaten-track locales. Whether you’re interested in a multi-day train trip, a private cruise, a small group backcountry hiking trip, a winter northern lights viewing package, or anything in between, are a great place to start. Or, connect with a travel agent for customized planning.

It's not just about what you do on your vacation, but where you stay. The wide variety of unique accommodations in Alaska only add to the experience. Imagine waking up in a yurt overlooking a mountain-ringed bay, with sea otters playing in the water below, or opening your windows in the morning from a cozy lodge to look out at a stunning vista with no people or roads in sight. From campgrounds and cabins to hotels and wilderness resorts, you are certain to find the perfect place to kick off your hiking boots and relax for the evening.

Explore our Planning Tools for answers to your questions about Alaska weather and what to pack, travel tips, and resources like and visitor centers. Don’t forget to order our free print or digital Alaska Vacation Planner for page after page of Alaska travel inspiration.

Navigate Alaska

Alaska is a land of superlatives and adventure. Explore five distinct regions and varied travel routes and modes of transportation as you plan your Alaska getaway.

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Roads
Parks
Cruise
Ferry
Air Services
Railroad
Alaska Native Lands

Explore by Region

Arctic

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Arctic

Alaska’s far north features the country’s only Arctic ecosystem; northern lights dance above the snowy tundra in winter, while birds and caribou graze during long summer days.

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Inside Passage

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Inside Passage

The Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska is home to breathtaking temperate rainforests, protected waterways, and glaciers reaching into deep coastal fjords.

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See Also
The essential guide to visiting Alaska The Ultimate Alaska Travel Guide How to Drive to Alaska: Everything you need to Know - Ordinary Adventures Alaska Guide: Planning Your Trip
Interior

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Interior

The Interior Region is a quintessentially Alaska landscape, bounded by high mountain ranges (it’s home to Denali) and crisscrossed by glorious river vistas.

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Southcentral

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Southcentral

Southcentral Alaska is home to vividly diverse wilderness landscapes – from beaches to mountaintops to fjords – as well as half the state’s population.

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Southwest

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Southwest

Southwest Alaska’s islands, river deltas, and mountains teem with fish and wildlife.

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Explore All Communities Learn More about Parks Learn More about Cruising Learn More about Ferries Learn More about Air Services Learn More about Train Trips Explore Alaska Native Culture

Welcome to the Great Land! We are able to share Alaska's wonders with you because of the stewardship of the Alaska Native Peoples, who have lived here since time immemorial. We are grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional lands of our Alaska Native neighbors. It's important to us to pay our respects while offering to build mutual understanding across cultures. Find out more.

Welcome to the Great Land! We are able to share Alaska's wonders with you because of the stewardship of the Alaska Native Peoples, who have lived here since time immemorial.

We are grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional lands of our Alaska Native neighbors. It's important to us to pay our respects while offering to build mutual understanding across cultures.

We acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples whose land we inhabit and we hope you visit so that you can learn about not just the history of Alaska's Native people but their living cultures. Alaska is home to 229 federally recognized tribes and we acknowledge each of them, from the Iñupiat & St. Lawrence Island Yup'ik in the Arctic, the Dena (Athabascan) in Southcentral and Interior Alaska; the Yup'ik & Cup'ik, Unangax̂ and Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) in Southcentral and Southwest Alaska and the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian in Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage. We are committed to a meaningful relationship with each of these groups that supports tourism for the benefit of all.

Please take the time to learn more about experiencing Alaska's Native cultures and share in our acknowledgment of their histories before you visit Alaska.

How Big is Alaska?

At 663,300 square miles, Alaska is 1/5 the size of the Lower 48 states. Alaska is the largest state in the United States and larger than the next three largest states combined!

How to Travel in Alaska