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Wondering where to go on your Alaskan road-trip? This article will give you the best tips & ideas to make the most out of your trip.

Best Things to do in Alaska: The Ultimate Itinerary

Chances are if you’re planning a week-long road trip around Alaska, you have an adventurous bone or two in your body. If I’m right, well, just keep on reading because we have the ultimate itinerary for the most unique Alaskan road trip vacation. Maybe you just started your research, or you’ve been spending every last minute of your work lunch breaks exhausting all possible google search phrases and still have no clue where to start (cough, that may have been me, cough). Either way, I’m sure there will be some real juicy advice in here that’s sure to sweeten your Alaskan experience.

When we were planning our trip, we weren’t totally sure how to maximize our time and our money. In case you haven’t heard, Alaska is expensive. While searching for car rental deals, which hardly exist if you’re traveling during peak season, we came across a company called Northern Nomads. This small campervan and vehicle rental company was the answer to our budget-travel prayers! The owners are a couple of locals who rent out well, campervans obviously, but also, wait for it, TACOS! Not the kind you smother in guac and salsa, the kind that have a rooftop tent mounted to the top of a Toyota TACOma truck. They both have one thing in common though. They have the power to CHANGE YOUR LIFE. The Northern Nomad’s Taco sure changed ours. Within minutes of discovering this tent on wheels, we made our reservation and were able to breathe and relax. We no longer had to book eight nights of accommodations and plan every single day of our trip. If you’re not much of a planner and like to go with the flow, this option is right up your alley.

DAY 1: ANCHORAGE TO GIRDWOOD

We arrived late at night and stayed at an Airbnb by the airport but if you arrive during the day, we recommend going straight to pick up your rental so you can hit the road! Once you’re all gassed up and stocked up on some road-trip essentials (think baby wipes and canned soup), make sure your camera is within reach and start making your way down AK-1, the incredibly scenic highway right along the Turnagain Arm waterway. Take advantage of the small pull-offs along the way to really take it all in and get your first big gulps of fresh Alaskan air.

The Mt. Alyeska Tram is the perfect first stop of your trip because it offers the possibility to hike as well as ride a cable car to an observation deck with stunning views of glaciers, peaks, and potentially some wildlife! You can opt for the round-trip cable car ride, which runs about $32 per ticket, or you can hike the 2.2 mile trail up Mt. Alyeska (2,300 foot elevation) to the observation deck and ride the tram back down for free. We went with the latter option, which we’re glad we did because the views on the hike were magical, the trail was well maintained, and the ride down was the perfect reward for our hard work.

After your first full day in Alaska, chances are you’ll be ready for a hot shower and a place to call home for the night. One of our best discoveries in Alaska was the Girdwood Laundry & Showers, a laundromat where you can enjoy 15 minute showers (that are clean!) for $8. Tip- take cash. The showers only take $1 coins which you can exchange your dolla bills for inside the laundromat. Ready to set up camp for the night? Make your way down Crow Creek Road and find a pull-off where you can pop the tent.

DAY 2: GIRDWOOD TO WHITTIER

Today is a light driving day, which leaves you some time to explore the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It’s on your way to Whittier and totally worth the stop to get out, walk around for a couple of hours and see a ton of Alaskan wildlife up close. After this, check the Whittier tunnel schedule to plan your trip through the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America. It’s one-way and is shared by cars and trains going both directions so you need to plan ahead in order to avoid sitting and waiting at the entrance for too long. If you have some time to spare, stop at the Portage Lake pull-off close to the tunnel and spoil your eyes with those glacier views.

Once you arrive in Whittier, spend some time walking around this tiny, charming fishing town. There are several shops, cafes and restaurants right along the harbor as well as the eye-catching Inn at Whittier, where you can enjoy a crisp Alaskan Amber Ale on the outdoor deck overlooking the marina. We spent some time weaving through the docks in the marina, checking out all the old fishing boats. Whatever you do, we recommend letting the slooooooow small town vibes take you over and just chill and take it all in.

Our camping spot for the night in Whittier was probably the most memorable of our whole trip. We set up in a small parking area at the end of Shotgun Cove Trail Rd, which boasts an unforgettable view of the bay, glaciers and the surrounding wilderness. There weren’t any “no camping” signs around but a patroller did drive by in the morning and ask us if we were camping. I assured him we were just hanging out for the morning and he left us alone. I’m not sure if they will start enforcing a no-camping rule here but if they do, there are plenty of other places you can pop the top for the night. Don’t leave Whittier without hiking the trail that starts at the end of Shotgun Cove Trail Rd. It’s a beautiful 3 mile roundtrip hike to a small waterfall and a beach. You can collect wild blueberries along the way and if you’re feeling crazy (like Ben), go for a swim in the frigid water at the beach.

DAY 3: WHITTIER TO SEWARD

The two-hour drive from Whittier to Seward through Chugach National Forest is definitely one for the books. Enjoy the drive and once you get to Seward, explore the town on foot, maybe stop into Seward Brewing Company for a beer, grab a $2 shower at the Resurrection North Campground, and a bite to eat at the Exit Glacier Salmon Bake. We highly advise you pop the tent in the dried-up riverbed a few miles up from the Salmon Bake on Exit Glacier Rd. This place competes with our spot in Whittier as our favorite Alaskan home away from home. You can drive right into the outwash plain and be surrounded by mountains on either side of you. It’s pretty epic. There were several other groups camping there for the night in vans, tents, and RVs but there’s more than enough space for privacy.

DAY 4: SEWARD

The main reason people visit Seward is to explore the infamous Kenai Fjords National Park. But you need to plan ahead because the only way to actually see it is by boat or plane. If an expensive helicopter or sea-plane tour doesn’t quite fit your travel budget, we suggest booking a boat tour with Kenai Fjords Tours. There are several options including half-day and full-day glacier tours, as well as a glacier dinner cruise, which is what we opted for. We got to see orcas, humpbacks, sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, otters, puffins, and to top it off, we got up close and personal with Aialik Glacier. This was one of our favorite activities from the whole trip, so we highly recommend getting out there and seeing some of the park, no matter how you do it. There are several companies offering tours, we just went with the one that was recommended to us at the Visitor Center, which is a great place to stop by for some extra info.

DAY 5: SEWARD TO HOMER

After another night camping in the riverbed and before hitting the road, you might consider a morning stroll to Exit Glacier. This is an easy 1 mile trail walk that takes you to a nice lookout where you can view one of the main attractions of the Kenai Fjords National Park. The glacier is beautiful but if you’re like us and went on one of the boat cruises the day before, you may be slightly underwhelmed. Nevertheless, we thought it was worth it to see another glacier and get a little exercise first thing in the morning.

The trip to Homer from Seward takes a little more than three hours, depending how often you stop. It’s another beautiful drive with opportunities to see wildlife. Ben spotted a moose in the woods on the side of the highway, which we obviously pulled off to admire! Once you arrive in Homer, head straight for the Spit, the four and half mile-long strip of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay. It’s a lively destination with lots of bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops, a beach on one side, a marina on the other, and of course, the notorious Salty Dog Saloon. We parked in a small parking lot on the beach side, which is where we camped for the night. There are a couple of campgrounds you can pay for, but since we were just parking and popping the rooftop tent, we could really camp anywhere for free.

One thing you must know about Homer is that it is the Halibut capitol of the world. People come from all over the country to catch some of this hearty and delicious fish, which is exactly what we planned to do. In order to pump us up for our fishing charter we booked for the following day, we grabbed some halibut fish n chips from Captain Pattie’s Seafood Restaurant and took it to the beach for a little picnic. Holy moly, it was some of the best fish n’ chips I have ever eaten. My mouth just started watering thinking about it. Make sure you also plan a stop to the Salty Dog so you can sign a dollar bill and stick it up on the wall and enjoy some live music and a beer on their cozy outdoor patio.

DAY 6: HOMER

If halibut fishing is something that even slightly interests you, we highly encourage you to book a fishing charter. I had no idea exactly what to expect on a sea fishing trip, nor was I expecting to love it as much as I did, but damn am I glad we got to experience this. We opted for the half-day morning charter with Rainbow Tours and had a great time. We boarded an old fishing boat with about 10 other people, rode out to sea for almost two hours until the captain found a halibut hot spot, dropped our lines, and spent the next hour or so fighting the battle to reel in our daily halibut limit. Ben and I each caught two, which we had them fillet, package and store for us until we left Homer the following day. As a person who has the tendency towards motion sickness, I recommend to anyone with this problem to take a couple of Dramamine before boarding the boat. It saved me from five hours of misery on the turbulent Gulf of Alaska waters. I’m not sure if there exists a better souvenir than 15 meals worth of wild-caught fish, so if you want to take something home to remind you of your time in Alaska, this is the way to go!

Depending on the time of year you’re there, you may want to consider fishing on your own right off the Homer Spit. Ben brought a couple of fishing poles with us, so we went salmon fishing in the lagoon about a mile from the marina. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck but there were quite a few people who did. In any case, it was a fun way to spend time doing something different than our usual hiking and climbing adventures.

DAY 7: HOMER TO ANCHORAGE

How you get back to Anchorage will depend on how much time you have before you fly out and whether you’re interested in checking out the city. We had a total of eight days on our trip and a red-eye flight out, so we split the four hour drive up and did half one day and half the next. We spent the night in Chugach National Forest after doing a little fishing on the Kenai River and then drove the rest of the way the day we flew out.

Anchorage is a small city so it doesn’t take much time to walk around and get a feel for it. The business district around Town Square Park has many boutiques, restaurants and souvenir shops that are nice to pop in and out of. We wanted to spend most of our time adventuring so once we returned to the city, we only had a few hours before we had to return our rental and get to the airport. So we spent them the best way we know how – hanging out at 49^th State Brewing drinking local beers and having dinner at Moose’s Tooth, two absolute must-dos while you’re in Anchorage! There is also a really cool rock-climbing gym right next to Moose’s Tooth, so if you’re into that and have some extra time, it’s definitely worth the stop.

This itinerary is sure to keep you busy with some of the best things Alaska has to offer. We thought it gave us the perfect amount of time in each place to do the things we wanted to do without rushing around and cramming too much in. Ultimately though, you can’t go wrong no matter where your Alaskan road trip takes you. It’s a magical place just waiting to be explored!