Alaska 25 May to 12 June 2025

In August-September 2008, Bee Choo, Mark (turning 6) and I visited Alaska together. On the 'Alaska 2008' page, you can read all about that trip. And you will find this image there: Bee Choo and me on the western bank of the Koyukuk Middlefork River 31 Aug 2008; the 'new' bridge across was put in during my first visit there, the summer of 1974. My friend Bill took this photo of us; Bill sadly passed away some years later, in 2016. 

This year (2025) I took Bee Choo to Alaska again; it was about time, 17 years fly by! Bee Choo had a current ESTA visa waiver permit for the US already, I had to apply for a new one, valid for the next two years. 

Bee Choo found this connection to Fairbanks via Taipei and Seattle, WA. The times worked well and the price was just short of S$2K each, less than I paid in 2023. 

The only little drawback with the ticket was our arrival time in Fairbanks 26 May: Around 2 am. But it went alright as it tuned out. Our original itinerary pretty much panned out as planned. The day-to-day details will be explained below.  

Because we arrived so late (or early??), I had booked a room at Sven's nearby the airport, where I stayed in 2023. This booking is for the first three nights; we ended up spending all our night in Fairbanks at Sven's: A total of six. 

For a road-trip you need wheels. It used to be difficult (and very expensive!) to find a rental company that allowed their vehicles up on the Dalton Highway. That is no longer so! Alaska 4x4 Rentals gave us a very good deal on a 'MID SUV' for 15 days. It is allowed on all maintained roads, including the Dalton and other public gravel roads. When we picked it up, it turned out to be a tomato-red Chevy Blazer 2.5L AWD SUV. It performed SUPERBLY!! 

We planned to make Valdez at the Gulf of Alaska our first stop. So we found this nice-looking lodge near Robe Lake and booked two nights. It is a 350 miles (560 km) scenic drive from Fairbanks. More about that below.  

While at Valdez, we want to check out the coast for sea birds and marine mammals and booked a 6 hr cruise with Stan Stephens to the Columbia Glacier and back. Because it was May (=early season) we even got a 30% discount on the price! More about the cruise below.

Apart from these booking, we made no more bookings or reservations prior to departure: We took the rest of the trip as it came after that ... personally I prefer it that way!? 

Always try to spend as little as you possibly can! Within reason, of course, considering you want a decent quality of life. Consume less and save more: It is better for you and for the planet as well! Before leaving, I had this simple budget prepared and it turned out to be not half wrong. We saved a bit on the tickets and most astonishingly on the car rental which was excellent value. The rest was pretty much on target: Some below, others a bit above budget.