Affordable Alaska Adventures? You betcha!

When I visited Alaska, it seemed like my friend and I were the only travelers under the age of 50. It made me wonder if younger travelers have the perception that Alaska is an expensive place to visit. It can be if you choose to go on cruises or pricey tours like helicopter rides to glaciers ($500 for an hour tour!) but there are ways to ensure you don’t break the bank while still having an incredible adventure!

Go early in the season.

We went to Alaska late May to early June. It made a lot of difference in terms of hotel and car rental rates. We rented a car for $45 a day during that time period. In mid-June, the prices more than doubled to $110 for the same type of car! In addition, don’t rely on Internet rates. Call and speak to the local office representative. We checked rates online and they were twice or three times the amount they quoted us in person. The only caveat to going early in the season is that some hiking spots may still be snowed over and inaccessible.

Use credit card points.

Credit cards partner with various travel or hotel sites. Use your points to get $50 or $100 off your stay! Sometimes they even kick in $10 or $20 extra depending on the partner site.

Don’t go on tours if you can help it.

There are certain things you have to splurge on if you don’t have access to certain vehicles, like a boat tour to see marine animals and glaciers. But there are glaciers that are accessible by car, surprisingly! Matanuska Glacier, for example, is about a 2 to 2.5 hour drive north from Anchorage.

There’s a small sign on the Glenn Highway to turn off into this narrow road that brings you to the bottom of the mountain. Blink and you will miss it! At the bottom of the mountain, there’s a small gift shop that offers access to the glacier. Pay $20 per person for access or $50 for a led hike with equipment to climb on top of the glacier. We didn’t have time for the group hike so we ventured out there by ourselves. If you go on a bus tour, they charge you $100-$200 for the same thing! It’s an easy 15 to 20 minute hike to the glacier and when you get to there, it’s an unbelievable feeling. You’re standing on a glacier! It’s so worth the trip just to get to do that.

Don’t wait until retirement to book your trip to Alaska! It’s vast, intensely gorgeous and brimming with adventurous spirit. You can see a whole host of awesome animals like whales, bald eagles, moose, otters, sea lions, horned puffins, and bears (hopefully from a safe distance). You can hike magnificent glaciers, ride on cool trains, eat really fresh seafood, and camp in beautiful national parks. There’s no other word to describe it — Alaska is simply awesome!