Are you ready to turn your passion for travel into a rewarding career? Becoming a travel agent in Alaska can be a fulfilling and flexible way to earn a living. At Vincent Vacations, we're here to guide you every step of the way.
As a travel agent in Alaska, you'll work with clients to plan and book their dream trips. This includes booking flights and accommodations, organizing activities and excursions, and leveraging your local knowledge to create unforgettable experiences. Whether it's a tour of Anchorage, a visit to Denali, or an adventure in the epic Alaskan landscapes, you'll be the expert who makes it all happen.
While there are no formal certification or accreditation requirements to become a travel agent in Alaska, having an IATA number is essential. This unique identifier allows you to conduct business as a travel agency. Most travel advisors choose to work with a host agency, which provides access to the IATA number, as well as valuable resources and support.
At Vincent Vacations, we offer comprehensive training and mentorship to help you succeed as a travel agent in Alaska. Our program includes:
Ready to take the first step? Join Vincent Vacations today and start building your travel agency business in Alaska. For more information on how to become a travel agent, visit our guide.
At Vincent Vacations, we're committed to helping you succeed as a travel agent in Alaska. With our support and your passion for travel, the possibilities are endless.
As a travel agent in Alaska, you'll have the opportunity to specialize in unique experiences that showcase the state's natural beauty and adventure. From wildlife cruises to dog sledding excursions, you'll be able to offer your clients unforgettable experiences that they won't find anywhere else.
Don't miss out on this chance to turn your passion into a career. Join Vincent Vacations today and start your journey as a travel agent in Alaska.
Categories: Admiralty Island
Categories: Akutan
The Alaska Highway is the ultimate North American driving adventure. A remarkable feat of civil engineering and a reminder of the immense projects undertaken by the Allies in World War II, the Alaska Highway was built in 1942 with the express purpose...
Categories: Alaska Highway
Categories: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
The Aleutian Islands are the tops of submerged mountains belonging to a range stretching more than 1,100 miles into the Pacific Ocean from the Alaska mainland. Volcanic peaks, hidden valleys, and pebbled beaches invite explorers. Whales, sea lions, s...
Categories: Aleutian Islands
Located at the upper end of Cook Inlet in the Gulf of Alaska, Anchorage is Alaska's largest community. This popular tourist destination and crossroads for global air travel is only minutes away from the recreational areas bordering the Gulf of Alas...
Categories: Anchorage
Seward and its surroundings comprise a land of memorable beauty--saltwater bays, blue glaciers, majestic mountains and alpine valleys. Located on the Kenai Peninsula at the head of Resurrection Bay, the city is one of Alaska's oldest communities, and...
Categories: Anchorage (Seward)
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 600 mi/966 km northeast of Anchorage, is the largest in the U.S., covering more than 18 million acres/7.2 million hectares. It's often called America's Serengeti because of the variety of animals within its b...
Categories: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Categories: Arctic Village
What sets Alaska cruises apart from other cruises is what you can see from the ship's rail: the state's geological wonders. They're just as much a part of the Alaska cruise experience as stops in port. Some of the sights you may see as you sail past ...
Categories: At Sea: Alaska
Categories: Baird Glacier
Categories: Baranof Island
Barrow is a small Alaskan city located above the Arctic Circle, and is the northernmost city in the USA. Located roughly 1,300 miles south of the North Pole, visitors must fly or take a ship to reach Barrow. Much of the land is tundra and permafrost,...
Categories: Barrow
Categories: Barry Arm
Beaver, Alaska, located above the Arctic Circle, is about a 50-minute flight from Fairbanks. Travelers cross some 110 mi/177 km of wilderness of the White Mountains and Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge between the two towns. Beaver has about 80 v...
Categories: Beaver AK
Categories: Behm Canal
Categories: Behm Narrows
Categories: Betton Island
Categories: Big Lake
Categories: Blake Channel
Categories: Blashke Islands
The Bohemia Basin is located in Skagaway Hoonah Angoon County, Alaska.
Categories: Bohemia Basin
Categories: Cascade Creek
Categories: Castle Bay
Categories: Chankliut Island
Chatham Strait is a popular feeding ground for humpback whales.
Categories: Chatham Strait
Categories: Chena Hot Springs
Chichagof Island's coastline is one of the most remote and interesting islands in Alaska. The island is know for its world class streams and rivers, and salmon fishing, which attracts anglers and fishing enthusiasts from all aro...
Categories: Chichagof Island
This tiny remote fishing village sits on the Alaskan Peninsula where the weather has its own personality constantly shifting 4 times a day. The town's population is mostly made up of Alaskan Natives who preserve much of the green lush land of Chignik...
Categories: Chignik
Categories: Chilikat Valley
Categories: Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
Who knew that this Alaskan purchase made by the US in 1867 would discover its abundance not only in gold, but in natural scenic beauty and wildlife. Bald eagles, brown bears, silver salmon and killer whales are permanent residents that grace the rugg...
Categories: Chugach National Forest
Categories: Clarence Strait
Categories: Clarks Point
Originally named Slate Creek, the settlement of Coldfoot began around 1898 when thousands of green stampeders flooded to the area in search of gold. The name was changed when a group of prospectors got "cold feet" about wintering in the district and...
Categories: Coldfoot
Glide into College Fjord where you will be completely surrounded by 16 ice-blue glaciers. Each was named for one of the Ivy League colleges by members of the expedition that discovered them.
Categories: College Fjord
Categories: Columbia Glacier
Located on the Old Richardson Highway, Cooper Center is a gateway to the Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Occupied by the Ahtna Alaska natives for over 5,000 years, this town sits besides the Copper rivers and welcomes travelers to enjo...
Categories: Copper Center
Because of its great location, vast wilderness, spectacular scenery and wildlife, many visit Copper River Valley for the adventure of a lifetime. Summer recreational activities include rafting, hiking, flightseeing and fishing. Winter activities incl...
Categories: Copper River
Categories: Copper River Princess Lodge
Cordova, Alaska, is a quiet town tucked away in a corner of Prince William Sound about 50 mi/80 km southeast of Valdez and 176 mi/281 km by air southeast of Anchorage. It's also the doorstep to the 2-million-acre/810,000-hectare Copper River Delta, w...
Categories: Cordova
Categories: Corner Bay
Categories: Cross Sound
Categories: Crow Creek Mine
Categories: Crow Island
Categories: Davidof Island
Dawes Glacier lies 30 miles at the end of Endicott Arm nestled within the Coast Mountain Range. With numerous icebergs formed as the glacier calves pieces into Endicott’s waters, visitors will have the opportunity to see black and brown bears, ...
Categories: Dawes Glacier
Categories: Decision Passage
Categories: Deep Cove
Denali National Park and Preserve defines the Alaskan Experience. Towering above it all is Mt. McKinley, the highest point in North America. At 20,320 feet, its summit beckons more than 1,000 climbers each year who brave the elements for the chance t...
Categories: Denali National Park
Categories: Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge
Categories: Dillingham
Categories: Dundas Bay
Dutch Harbour is a port in the Aleutian Islands. Geologically, the archipelago is a continuation of the Aleutian Range, which is on the Alaskan mainland, and contains a number of volcanic peaks. Few trees, all of stunted growth, are found, but grass...
Categories: Dutch Harbor
Eagle River Alaska, is named for it's eagles nesting on nearby bluffs. There is a variety of activities for visitors to enjoy including hiking, fishing, and nature walks. Eagle is home to fun-filled summer fest...
Categories: Eagle
Categories: Eastern Passage
Categories: Eklutna Lake AK
Categories: El Capitan Cave
Endicott Arm, a 20-mile long fjord, has been compared to Yosemite with sheer granite cliffs, waterfalls and breathtaking mountain peaks. Less travelled than Tracy Arm, but just as spectacular.
Categories: Endicott Arm
Categories: Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier Scenic Cruising
Categories: Ernest Sound
Categories: Esther Bay
Esther Passage in spectacular Alaska is a narrow, but scenic passage. Visitors can spend time visiting three active glaciers that empty into a mile-wide bay at the head of Barry Arm that is rimmed with steep, rugged mountains. There is also a chance ...
Categories: Esther Passage
Fairbanks is the focal point for tiny villages scattered throughout the surrounding wilderness and a staging point for North Slope villages such as Barrow and the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Fairbanks is called "The Golden Heart of Alaska," a referenc...
Categories: Fairbanks
Categories: Fairway Rock
Categories: Fern Harbor
Categories: Finger Lake
Categories: Five Fingers Lighthouse
Categories: Ford's Terror Wilderness
Categories: Fort Richardson
Categories: Fox Island
The deep, cold waters of Frederick Sound abound in krill, the favored food of humpback whales - and visitors are likely to see whole pods of the gentle giants, their spume visible for miles against the forested backdrop of Admiralty Island. Learn all...
Categories: Frederick Sound
Categories: Galena
Deep in the heart of a great state known for remoteness and beauty there is an unblemished land epitomizing those words. North of the Arctic Circle in Brooks Range lies Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, a maze of glaciated valleys and j...
Categories: Gates of the Arctic
Categories: George Island
Located in Alaska's Chugash Mountains southeast of Anchorage, Girdwood is a popular year-round ski resort community. Visitors enjoy winter skiing and snowboarding on Mount Alyeska, and hiking, rafting and fishing in the summer.
Categories: Girdwood
Spread across an impressive 3.2 million acres in southeast Alaska, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve offers an inspirational glimpse of what Mother Nature does best. The head of Glacier Bay is Tarr Inlet, where scientists have found exposed rock...
Categories: Glacier Bay
Categories: Glacier Point
Categories: Glennallen
Categories: Gulf of Alaska
A tiny fishing town just a four-and-a-half hour ferry or short flight from Juneau, Gustavus is a quiet little place filled with art galleries, wildflowers, and sweeping views of snowcapped peaks and Icy Strait, on which it sits. It's also the gateway...
Categories: Gustavus
Categories: Gut Bay
Alaska's heritage comes alive in the handcrafted artistry of the Tlingit Indians and in the lively performances of the Chilkat Dancers, with their brightly painted tribal masks. Get a glimpse of the town’s gold-rush history in local museums. Visit th...
Categories: Haines
Categories: Hall Island
Categories: Harriman Fjord
Categories: Herring Bay
Categories: Hidden Harbor Kinak Bay
Categories: High Island
Categories: Hobart Bay
Categories: Hoggatt Bay
Categories: Holkham Bay
Seventy-five miles long and covering over 1,350 square miles in area, the Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. It is also one of the most impressive, a 300-foot wall of ice rising sheer and jagged from the ocean. You may...
Categories: Hubbard Glacier
Categories: Hulahula River
Known as the "Friendliest Ghost Town in Alaska", Hyder sits at the head of the Portland Canal and is the only town in southern Alaska that is accessible by a road. In this small town, in 2002, the population was just about 100 people, you can find s...
Categories: Hyder
Categories: Icy Bay
Visit the waters of the Icy Strait area in the summer and there’s a good chance of seeing endangered humpback whales and other mammals gorging themselves on their annual northern feast of plankton. Each year in late spring to early summer, an extrao...
Categories: Icy Strait
Categories: Idaho Inlet
Categories: Ideal Cove
Categories: Iditarod Trail
Categories: Inian Islands
The Inian pass is nearGglacier Bay in Alaska and makes an excellent day trip for those in the area or those just cruising through. The pass is visually stunning with glaciers and mountains on either side. There are also a number of coves along the pa...
Categories: Inian Pass
Imagine being confronted with a myriad of mysterious channels. Following each fjord to the interior, encounter massive mountain ranges, towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, virginal forests of two-hundred foot tall spruce, while whales, bears, seals...
Categories: Inside Passage
Categories: Ivy League Glaciers
Juneau is one of America's most beautiful state capitals, with the looming summits of Mt. Juneau and Mt. Roberts providing a gorgeous backdrop. Once part of Alaska's Gold Rush, the city boasts natural and manmade attractions. Downtown is filled with ...
Categories: Juneau
Categories: Kake
Categories: Katamai
Encompassing millions of acres in Alaska, Katmai Nation Park contains an amazing array of pristine wilderness, sparkling rivers and streams, rugged coastline, green valley and active glaciers and volcanoes. Currently, there are fourteen active volc...
Categories: Katmai National Park
Kavik lies several miles from the western border of the Arctic Refuge, and is an unparalleled site for Arctic experiences. Visitors may hike the beautiful mountains and explore the unspoiled beauty of the tundra. There are many animals in the region,...
Categories: Kavik
Categories: Kayak Island
Categories: Keku Islands
Categories: Kenai Peninsula
Categories: Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge
Categories: Kennicott
Ketchikan is known as "Alaska's First City" because it's the first major community travelers come to as they travel north. The city is built on steep hillsides and is billed as salmon capital of the world. A quaint village, the town is three miles l...
Categories: Ketchikan
Categories: Kinak Bay
Categories: King Island
Categories: King Salmon
Categories: Kiska Harbor
Categories: Klawock
Kayaking around Knight Island is a popular way for visitors to explore the natural beauty of the island and Prince William Sound. The island is a beautiful, sculpted wilderness where you will find otters and seals swimming of...
Categories: Knight Island
Kodiak, home to Alaska's largest fishing fleet, offers a taste of Alaska's Russian heritage. Visit Russian Orthodox Church, and the Baranof Museum (located in Alaska's oldest wooden structure, a historic fur storehouse). Over 200 species of birds hav...
Categories: Kodiak Island
Categories: Kotlik
Northeast of Nome and above the Arctic Circle, Kotzebue, Alaska, is fun to visit during the summer because, for one month (3 June-9 July), the sun never sets. It's also the largest Alaska Native community in the state. You can see it on a long day tr...
Categories: Kotzebue
Categories: Krestof Sound
Categories: Kuiu Island
Categories: Lake Clark National Park
Categories: Lake Minchumina
Categories: LeConte Bay
Categories: LeConte Glacier
Categories: Little Diomede Island
Categories: Little Pybus Bay
Categories: Livengood
Categories: Long Island
A 67-mile waterway with breathtaking vistas of forests, wildlife and snow-capped mountains.
Categories: Lynn Canal
Categories: Matanuska Glacier
Categories: May Creek
Metlakatla means "saltwater channel passage," and was founded by a group of Canadian Tsimshians who migrated from Prince Rupert, British Columbia in 1887 seeking religious freedom. Congress declared Annette Island a federal Indian reservation in 1891...
Categories: Metlakatla
Categories: Mist Cove
At 3,600 square miles, this least spoiled of all wilderness areas is the largest of all preserves. It is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of an Alaska vacation. Beginning near the British Columbia border, the Behm Canal winds around the East...
Categories: Misty Fjords
Categories: Mt. Mckinley Princess Wilderness Lodge
Categories: Nakolik River
Categories: Nakwasina Sound
Categories: Neva Strait
Categories: Nikolski
"There's No Place Like Nome!" Nome, Alaska is most known for being the finish line for the annual Iditarod Race, where dogs and mushers travel 1,049 miles from Anchorage. End of the Trail activities are usually held all month long in March. The lis...
Categories: Nome
So called due to its origin "Outside" the Inside Passage, these outer islands of the Alexander Archipelago form one of the most wild, beautiful and little-explored temperate rainforest coastal ecosystems on Earth.
Categories: Outside Passage
Palmer is a community of a new agricultural economy that became the country’s successful social experiment pulling struggling families out of the Great Depression transplanting livelihood in the valleys of the Alpine wilderness. Located in Anch...
Categories: Palmer
Categories: Paxson
Categories: Pelican
Categories: Peril Strait
Petersburg owes just about everything to the fishing industry. From its Tlingit origins as a fish camp, Petersburg has grown into one of the busiest Alaska seafood centers. It got its modern start when Peter Buschmann, a Norwegian immigrant, arrived...
Categories: Petersburg
Categories: Point Barrow
Categories: Point Hope
Categories: Point Retreat
Point Sophia, now known as Icy Point Strait, overflows with outdoor activities for all ages and interests. Visit the Native Tinglit community at Hoonah by bike or foot, take a tram tour through old growth coastal forests, explore Port Frederick by ka...
Categories: Point Sophia
Categories: Port Alice
Categories: Port Clarence
Categories: Port Houghton
Categories: Port Oceanic
Categories: Port Walter
St. Paul and St. George's Islands are the two major islands in the Pribilof archipelago and are considered Alaska's most unique and remote Aleut communities. More than 220 species of bird have been identified on the islands, including puffins, aukle...
Categories: Pribilof Islands
Categories: Prince of Wales Island
Enjoy the peaceful tranquility of Prince William Sound before visiting the sixteen gleaming glaciers in College Fjord, each named for an Ivy League college.
Categories: Prince William Sound
Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) Alaska is home to the largest oil field in North America. It is located in Alaska between the coast of the Beaufort Sea and the North Slope of the Brooks Range Mountains. It is about 1200 mi. south of the North Pole and 250 mi...
Categories: Prudhoe Bay
Categories: Red Bluff Bay
Categories: Robert Islands
Categories: Rudyerd Bay
Sail Island is a remote island located on the Northeastern region of the state of Alaska. The island is inhabited by an array of wild life consisting of sea lions, orcas and eagles.
Categories: Sail Island
Categories: San Juan AK
Though it's not as well known as Glacier Bay, some naturalists claim Sawyer Glacier is even more spectacular. Located in the Tracy Arm Fjord framed by 7,000-foot-high snowcapped mountains, Sawyer Glacier boasts an impressive list of wildlife: black a...
Categories: Sawyer Glacier
Categories: Scenery Cove
Categories: Seduction Point
Categories: Seldovia
The Semidi Islands are located on the southeastern region of Alaska. There are 9 islands making up the Semidi Islands with its largest being the Aghuyuk Island and Chowiet Island. These islands play a major importance to marine birds in the Gulf of A...
Categories: Semidi Islands
Categories: Sergius Narrows
Seward and its surroundings comprise a land of memorable beauty--saltwater bays, blue glaciers, majestic mountains and alpine valleys. Located on the Kenai Peninsula at the head of Resurrection Bay, the city is one of Alaska's oldest communities,...
Categories: Seward
Categories: Sheep Mountain
Categories: Shoup Bay State Marine Park
A chain of 20 islands in the Aleutian Island chain just south of Alaska.
Categories: Shumagin Islands
Resting between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Sitka is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Alaska and the biggest city in America - encircling 4,710 square miles on Baranof Island. No symbol shows Russian influence more than the ...
Categories: Sitka
This "Gateway to the Klondike" watched as fortune-seekers headed to Chilkoot and White Pass Trails during Alaska's Gold Rush. Today, feel like a prospector in Skagway, as you walk along its rustic boardwalks and frontier-style storefronts. This cozy...
Categories: Skagway
Categories: Snow Pass
Categories: Soldotna
Categories: Solomon
Categories: South Sawyer Glacier
Southeast Alaska also referred as the Alaska Panhandle is belonging to the United States of America. Here you will find an abundance of nature activities and discoveries. Many of which include encounters with wildlife, majestic fjords, bays and small...
Categories: Southeast Alaska's Islands Bays and Fjords
St. James Bay is located in the southeast region of Alaska, near the Gulf of Alaska. The Harbor is accessible by many vessels as you will find plenty of boat excursions being offered to visitors in the area. St. James Bay has an abundance of wildlife...
Categories: St. James Bay
St. Lawrence Island is located just west of the Alaskan mainland, in the Bering Sea closer to Russia. The weather in the Island is mostly cold, with June and July recording its warmest months at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This destination offers a ...
Categories: St. Lawrence Island
St Matthew Islands is located off the southern coast of Alaska, in the Bering Sea. The Island is the 43rd largest in the United States of America. Hall Island is only 3.1 miles wide and it is located in the northwestern point of St. Matthew Island. T...
Categories: St. Matthew Island/Hall Island
Categories: Stephens Passage
Categories: Stikine Icecap
Categories: Stikine Strait
Categories: Sumner Strait
Talkeetna offers the traveler a look at the real Alaska as well as the best
view of Mt McKinley. Reached year round by car, railroad and airplane, it is
a unique town that has been almost untouched by commercialism. Mountain climbers
from...
Categories: Talkeetna
Tangle Lakes is a chain of lakes that’s connected by 16 miles of streams in interior Alaska forming the Delta River. During the 1970’s over 150 archaeological sites were discovered revealing settlements of the New World. The lakes support...
Categories: Tangle Lakes
Categories: Taylor Bay
Categories: Tebenkof Bay
Categories: The Brothers Islands
Categories: The Haystacks
Categories: The Triplets
Categories: Thomas Bay
To discover how Tok got its name, stop by the Mainstreet Visitors Center. Tok was designated a Presidential Townsite in 1946, the same year the Alcan was open to civilians, and a roadhouse was opened in the community. Tanacross Indian village is wher...
Categories: Tok
Categories: Tongass National Forest
Categories: Totem Bay
Tracy Arm
Located about 45 miles south of Juneau, Tracy Arm, a classic fjord, stands out as a "must see" for any Alaska vacation. The icebergs are framed by sheer mountain peaks reaching to 7,000 feet. Waterfalls flow from ice covered mountains to t...
Categories: Tracy Arm & Sawyer Glacier Cruising
Categories: Tracy Arm Fjords & Seymour Glacier
Categories: Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness
Categories: Traitors Cove
Categories: Trapper Creek
Categories: Tutka Bay (Homer)
Categories: Tuxedni Bay
Categories: Unakwik Inlet
Categories: Unalaska
Categories: Uyak Bay
Valdez is known as the "Switzerland of Alaska," a tribute to the splendid snow-capped mountains that surround this prosperous port. Once the gateway to the gold country, Valdez is now the southern terminus of the famous Alaskan Pipeline that carries ...
Categories: Valdez
Categories: Walker Cove
Categories: Wasilla
Categories: West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness
Categories: West Point
Categories: White Pass
Whittier, a once-isolated town, is gateway to Prince William Sound. The city is a historical landmark, established by the U.S. Army during World War II. Less than 300 people reside in the town supporting the Alaska State Ferry, the Alaska Railroad, t...
Categories: Whittier
Categories: Wilderness Cruising
Categories: Wilderness Exploration
Categories: William Henry Bay
Categories: Windham Bay
Winterlake Lodge overlooks the two mile expanse of Winter Lake, several hours north of Anchorage along the famed Iditarod Trail. Fifteen acres of forest and mountains surround the lodge, perfect for skiing in the winter or hiking in the summers on Wo...
Categories: Winterlake Lodge
Categories: Worthington Glacier
Wrangell, a hidden jewel in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, is the third oldest community in Alaska and the only community to be ruled by 4 nations: the indigenous Tlingit nation, Russia, Great Britain and the United States. The island is r...
Categories: Wrangell
Categories: Wrangell Narrows
With its grand vistas and boundless landscapes, Wrangell-St. Elias exceeds even the most imaginative expectations for a park with the distinction of being the nation's largest. Stretching along the Canadian border in south central Alaska, this land ...
Categories: Wrangell-St. Elias
Yakutat is a small village located on beautiful Monti Bay, the only sheltered deep water port in the gulf of Alaska. Miles of untouched sandy beaches abound with driftwood and occasional glass balls for the beachcomber. Beyond these beaches lie a s...
Categories: Yakutat Bay
The Aleut people called it Alyeska, the great land. Alaska is one of the world's special places, full of exotic wildlife, magnificent mountains, glacier-carved valleys and steep, rocky coastlines.
Alaska is bigger than life, its sheer mass hard to comprehend. The distance from Barrow, on the northern coast, to Ketchikan, at the southern edge, is more than 1,350 mi/2,174 km—about the same as New York City to Miami. Alaska has six distinct climatic regions, the tallest mountains, the biggest glaciers, the most plentiful fishing and the wildest nature preserves on the North American continent.
Visitors go to Alaska for the fishing, hiking, hunting or camping—Denali National Park is a big attraction. Some go for the northern lights, or to whale-watch while cruising the Inside Passage. Some even go to Alaska for the Iditarod dogsled race.
Even as Alaska vacations become more accessible, distance creates costs. Per-day expenses in remote parts of the state are comparable with those in major urban centers. The abundance of spectacular scenery and wildlife, however, should more than compensate.
Geography
Alaska borders the northwest edge of Canada and is actually closer to Russia (just 39 mi/62 km by air across the Bering Strait) than it is to the rest of the U.S. The landscape is dramatic and, because it covers such a huge territory, quite varied. In the south is temperate rain forest (Tongass), and in the north is Arctic desert.
The state is traversed by 14 major mountain ranges, encompassing 17 of the highest peaks in the U.S., including North America's highest mountain, Mount Denali, as well as most of the country's active volcanoes. It has more coastline than all of the other states combined. The geography ranges from endless miles/kilometers of tundra to sheer mountain walls, from the densely forested temperate coasts of the Inside Passage to the permafrost of the treeless Arctic Circle.
History
The first settlers in Alaska arrived at least 20,000 years ago, when hunters from Asia followed large game over the Bering Strait land bridge into North America. By the time the first Europeans arrived in the mid-1700s, they found several diverse cultures living in Alaska: Whale- and seal-hunting Inupiat and Yupik peoples inhabited the treeless tundra along the Arctic Ocean, Chukchi and Bering sea coasts, and nomadic Athabascan caribou hunters roamed the forested interior along the Yukon River. Alaska's panhandle was home to members of the Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida groups, who lived in a lush coastal environment.
Even though Russian explorers had seen the Alaskan coast as early as 1741, Europeans didn't venture into the territory's immense interior until well into the 1800s. Even after the U.S. purchased the area in 1867 for cents an acre/hectare, the region remained largely unexplored.
As was often the case elsewhere in the opening of the American frontier, it took the discovery of gold in Juneau in 1880 to get folks headed for Alaska. During the famous Klondike Gold Rush of 1898-99, thousands of rowdy, ambitious and gutsy prospectors and speculators flooded into Dawson, Skagway, Valdez and other towns.
Alaska was made a U.S. territory in 1912, but statehood wasn't granted until 1959. Then the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 sparked a new rush to Alaska. The construction of the Alaska Pipeline from the Beaufort Sea to the Gulf of Alaska in the 1970s brought new wealth, new jobs and new environmental concerns.
Even now, the debate continues as to how much of Alaska's pristine wilderness should be developed. Most recently, the focus has been on oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, declining populations of marine mammals in the Bering Sea, and the impact from cruise-ship travel and other tourist activity, especially in southeastern Alaska.
Snapshot
Alaska's main attractions include spectacular scenery, wildlife viewing, camping, skiing, the northern lights, volcanoes, Inside Passage cruises, hiking, riverboat rides, fishing, canoeing, river and sea kayaking, friendly people, Alaska Native and Russian cultures, totem poles, glaciers and dogsled rides.
Most people will like Alaska, but the state has special appeal for nature lovers and the adventurous. Those on a strict budget may opt to tour the coasts via Alaska's Marine Highway ferries rather than by cruise ships. Motor homes, recreational vehicles and camper vans are available to rent for those who want to explore the state's interior highways or drive the Alaska Highway through Canada.
Potpourri
Alaska is from an Aleut word meaning "great country" or "what the sea breaks against."
The state of Alaska has 33,904 mi/54,585 km of coastline, more than the rest of the U.S. combined.
All Alaskans (who apply and qualify for it) receive an annual Permanent Fund Dividend check that averages around US$1,100 per person (including children). The dividend is funded by North Slope oil taxes and profits from investments.
In the unique history of Alaska, the male-to-female ratio across the state has often been quite imbalanced. As a result, a saying began among Alaskan women that in Alaska "the odds are good, but the goods are odd." This joke has failed to wither with time or the balancing of the odds.
Juneau is the only U.S. state capital that cannot be reached by highway. It is located 573 mi/916 km by air from Anchorage, the state's largest city and populated area. With as many roads as a New England state but a landmass triple the size of Texas (only 12 major highways are open year-round), Alaska is a place where flight is commonplace and pilots are many.
Geologically, Alaska is an amazingly active location. Small earthquakes are common in many parts of Alaska, and midsized ones frequently shake the thinly populated Aleutian Islands. The devastating 1964 Good Friday Earthquake registered 9.2 on the Richter scale, making it the most powerful temblor ever recorded in North America. In addition, 80% of the active volcanoes in the U.S. are in Alaska, and major eruptions in the Aleutian Islands occur almost every year.
Dog mushing is the official state sport of Alaska.
Former Secretary of State William H. Seward bought Alaska from Russia for US$7.2 million in 1867. At approximately US$0.02 per acre/half-hectare, it was a bargain that some called Seward's Folly.
Location
There's nothing quite like experiencing the Last Frontier from a cruise ship: Icebergs and rugged islands glide by, porpoises play in the ship's wake, and whales breach off the side. In Alaskan towns along the way, you can shake a gold pan in a rushing stream and watch native carvers at work on a new totem pole. You can raft down whitewater streams and fly to (and land on) glaciers.
The state is so big, its extremes of climate and geology so great, and its wildlife and history so fascinating that Alaska delights (and uses up film and camera capacity) like few other places on Earth. In fact, with so much to choose from there, it's easy to become overwhelmed. A cruise simplifies some of the decision-making.
Ship lines offer a wide variety of Alaska cruises, so there's an itinerary to satisfy almost everyone. You can ride on a megaship with more than 2,000 passengers and all the comforts of home, and then some, as you visit the state's main ports. Or you can cruise aboard an exploration ship (with 100 other people) that can slip into the narrowest of fjords and get close enough to watch a brown bear snatch a salmon out of the water.
The big cruise lines usually offer a choice of two routes, both of which take you through the Inside Passage, the protected waterway between the mainland and the coastal islands. The emphasis is different, however. The trips known as Inside Passage cruises usually begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, include stops at such southeast Alaska ports as Ketchikan and Juneau, turn around in Glacier Bay and return to Vancouver. Gulf of Alaska cruises (sometimes called Glacier Route cruises) usually run between Vancouver and Seward, with connections through Anchorage so you can add excursions into the interior of the state.
Both routes often include stops at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway—one of the most visited ports along the Inside Passage and the main jumping-off point for tours into the Yukon Gold Rush area. Small ships combine the best of both routes, offering stops in smaller ports, visits to hard-to-reach landmarks and more personal attention. Of course, their prices are usually higher, too.