Traveler Information for Anchorage, Alaska
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Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska. It is home to 290,000 residents, who make up more than 40 percent of the state's entire population. It is the state's economic, business, and medical center. It serves as a supply and equipment hub for most Alaska residents. Anchorage is also Alaska's central transportation artery. The state's largest international airport is located in the city, and it is also a major hub for the Alaska Railroad. Anchorage is located in South-Central Alaska in a spectacular location: it is surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges on all sides, and on a clear day, one can even spot the mighty peak of Mt. McKinley about 208 km north of the city. It is a city of contrasts: it has an urban landscape like any large American city with a downtown featuring skyscrapers, but on the other hand, you can see reindeer wandering in parking lots or peacefully eating trees in residential yards. The city has plenty of restaurants, museums, cultural events, and shops as befits a large American city, but within a radius of 100 km from the city, there are 60 glaciers! A drive of less than half an hour from Anchorage will bring you to mountains, lakes, bays, and rivers.
Recommended Hotels in Anchorage
Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa
A 4-star hotel in the city center. The hotel features a restaurant, spa, gym, and free internet.
A 4-star hotel with 4 restaurants, two pools - one indoor, a gym, and a spa.
Residence Inn by Marriott Anchorage Midtown
A 3-star studio apartment hotel with a kitchenette suitable for families. Includes an indoor pool, gym, free internet, and parking. Breakfast provided.
Staybridge Suites Anchorage, an IHG Hotel
A 3-star suite hotel with a kitchen, suitable for families. Free internet and parking.
History of the City and General Information
Anchorage began its journey in 1914 as a tent camp in the "Ship Creek" area, housing workers who built the Alaska Railroad. The establishment of military bases in the area during World War II significantly accelerated the city's growth rate. During the Cold War, the city continued to grow thanks to the construction of missile warning stations, but it received its main economic boom in the late sixties when oil was discovered in the state and the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline began. Anchorage became the administrative center of the construction and its related industries. On March 27, 1964, the most severe earthquake in US history occurred in Anchorage, with a magnitude of 9.2 on the Richter scale, known as the Good Friday Earthquake. Large parts of the city were completely destroyed. Access roads to the city were ruined, and the airport control tower collapsed. Huge tsunami waves washed over nearby coastal towns, and over 100 people were killed.
Extensive information about the city can be obtained at the Anchorage Convention and Visitor Bureau, located at 524 W. 4th Ave. downtown, or at the famous main Log Cabin and Visitor Information Center, also located downtown at the corner of 4th Avenue and F Street.
In Anchorage, there is another information center, the "Alaska Public Lands Information Center".
Address: 605 W. 4th, at the corner of F Street, where you can get information about all the national parks, Alaska state parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges. Information can be obtained and various tours booked, including kayaking, bear watching, fishing trips, and of course walking tours, as well as booking public residential cabins. At the center, you can learn about Alaska's flora and fauna and watch movies about different parts of the state. The center also offers guided walking tours of the city center.
♦ Book tours in Anchorage from Viator:
Weather
The weather in Anchorage is relatively comfortable compared to the rest of the state, thanks to the mountain ranges surrounding the city on all sides, which protect it and prevent cloud passage. The proximity to the Pacific Ocean also moderates the weather. In winter, temperatures usually do not drop below 15 degrees Celsius below zero, and in summer, temperatures do not exceed 19 degrees Celsius. The hottest month is July and the coldest is January. The lowest temperature measured in the city was minus 38 degrees Celsius, and the highest was 29 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation in Anchorage is about 400 mm of rain and 1,760 mm of snow. The driest month is April with five days of rain and 11 mm of precipitation, and the wettest is August with 14 days of rain, about 65 mm.
Transportation
Cruise Port:
Anchorage has a port located north of downtown, a short drive from the city center. This port is not used as a departure port for Alaska cruises, but only as a port visited by occasional ships (in 2010, only the Holland America ship Amsterdam docked there during a two-week circular cruise). The reason for this is that to reach the port from the main body of Alaska where the ships sail, one must circumnavigate the Kenai Peninsula, which consumes a full day of sailing. it is faster to reach ports in the south of the peninsula and transfer passengers to Anchorage by public transport. The departure (or arrival) ports for linear Alaska cruises are the ports of Whittier and Seward, both located on the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage. Whittier port is mainly used by Princess Cruises. It is located 94 km southeast of Anchorage on the western shore of Prince William Sound. Seward port is used by Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, and Regent. It is located about 200 km south of Anchorage in Resurrection Bay.
Both ports are linked to Anchorage by bus and train services.
The travel time from Whittier to Anchorage is about an hour and a half to two hours by bus and 2:45 hours by train. Both the train and cars and buses pass on their way to Whittier through the longest tunnel in North America, 4 km long, which is a combined (intermittent) tunnel for vehicles and trains: Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.
The travel time from Seward to Anchorage is about 3 hours by bus and 4 hours by train. The train ride is indeed longer, but it is a wonderful and highly recommended scenic journey. If you are not pressed for time, it is worth choosing the train to or from the ports to Anchorage. It is not recommended to rent a car in these ports and return it in Anchorage (or vice versa) for a short period of a day or two because the drop-off fees between these destinations are very high, and only a few companies allow this.
♦ For those interested in booking private transportation from Whittier Port to Anchorage, you can book here through Viator:
Private Transportation Between Anchorage and the Port of Whittier
The company Alaska Travel specializes, among other things, in passenger transportation from these ports to Anchorage and vice versa, both by train and by bus. Information on all options is on the site.
Anchorage International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (code ANC), is located about 15 minutes drive (10 km) southwest of downtown. The Alaska Railroad has a station both at the airport and downtown.
There are also shuttle services by Alaska Shuttle between the airport and the city center. The company also has shuttles to other destinations in the city as well as to destinations outside Anchorage, including Whittier and Seward ports.