For most visitors’ first trip to Alaska, Anchorage is the easiest place to fly in and out of, which is exactly what we did on our first Alaskan vacation. From Anchorage, you can easily visit other points of interest in Southcentral Alaska including Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula (which includes Kenai Fjords National Park and fun towns like Seward and Homer).
Today, we’re sharing our 5-day itinerary for our first trip to Alaska, which hits the highlights of Anchorage, Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park (and includes travel days!). If you have a longer or shorter time to spend in Alaska, check our notes in the itinerary below to learn how to easily adjust this first-time Alaska itinerary for 4, 6 or 7 days to accommodate your personal schedule.
If your trip is shorter than 4 days, consider staying in Anchorage for the whole time and doing a day trip on the Alaska Railroad for a beautiful and convenient way to explore outside the city.
What to Know Before Visiting Alaska
When to Visit Southcentral Alaska
Typically, we’re shoulder-season travel people, but activities and transportation in Alaska can be very seasonal. I suggest researching exactly what you want to do in Alaska and then looking at good times for that. Many tourist trains, boat cruises, etc., in Southcentral Alaska don’t run after the first week of September or so, and if you want to get some hiking in, know that snow might be on the trails through July. (Not a dealbreaker! Just something to prepare for.) We visited in late August, which had beautiful weather (almost too hot for me! haha). I think early September would have also been very nice, but it would have had to be early to make sure our shuttles, trains, boats, etc., were still operating.
How Expensive is Alaska to Visit?
I knew Alaska was expensive, but I didn’t realize how expensive! Lodging and food costs quickly added up. Normally we are last-minute hotel bookers, but I would recommend booking your accommodations months in advance, especially for summer travel. We had slim pickings by the time we looked, and even a meh hotel was at least $250-$300/night in Anchorage and Seward. Also, if a private bathroom if important to you, make sure to look for that specific feature. Some of the better-looking hotels we considered in Seward had shared bathrooms, and that’s not something we’re used to filtering out in the U.S.
Psst: We purchase travel insurance from World Nomads for nearly all our trips. Even if you don’t usually buy travel insurance, it’s at least worth considering for expensive trips like Alaska.
Where to Stay in Southcentral Alaska
For our first night in Anchorage, we stayed at this Airbnb that was just a short walk from downtown and right on the bus route for the public bus from the airport. For our second night in Anchorage (before flying out), we stayed at this Midtown hotel, which was a lot nicer than we expected but also further from downtown. (There are also a ton of lodging options in downtown Anchorage itself; we just looked too late!)
In Seward, we stayed at the Breeze Inn Motel in the marina area. There are also lots of hotels in the downtown Seward area, which has more restaurants, is more charming and features cool murals. It’s definitely walkable between the two areas, so pick the best lodging you find! We also liked staying in the marina area because it was only a few minutes’ walk to both the railroad depot and the boat harbor to catch our wildlife cruise. There are also campgrounds aplenty in Seward, but you’ll need to book ahead.
Budget tip: If you’re using a platform like Booking.com that offers free cancellation, pay attention to your cancellation deadline and check back on your reservation regularly. I was able to cancel and rebook one of our hotels in Alaska for almost $400 less than the original price. I’m not sure if demand changed or what, but I wasn’t going to ask questions!
5-Day Alaska Itinerary for First-Timers
During our first trip to Alaska, we visited Anchorage and Seward in five days, including travel days. (We also visited Kodiak Island, but that likely won’t be on many first-time itineraries, so watch for separate posts about that!) If you have a full week to spend, check out our ideas for how to spend your extra two days at the bottom of this post.
Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage
We arrived in Anchorage by air in the afternoon, so we had time to explore downtown for a few hours and get dinner before leaving for Seward early the next morning.
Things to Do in Anchorage
These activities are organized roughly by the easiest/fastest things to do in downtown Anchorage, then into activities that take a bit longer (and are located outside the downtown area).
• Explore the Historic Anchorage Area Exhibit (free, located in a covered walkway along 4th Avenue between E and D Streets, approximate location here)
• Get an ice cream cone at Wild Scoops (multiple locations)
• Eat a reindeer hot dog (sold from street carts along 4th Avenue in downtown)
• Visit a local brewery
• If visiting on a weekend in the summer, check out the Anchorage Market
• Walk or bike along the coastal trail (if you take the Alaska Railroad to Seward, the railroad also follows this coastline)
• Buy a book set in Alaska to read on your trip (Title Wave Books has a fantastic Alaska section, and The Writer’s Block in the Spenard neighborhood also has a great cafe for breakfast or lunch)
• Visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center
• Hike in Chugach State Park, which is less than 30 minutes from downtown Anchorage (Flattop Mountain supposedly has great views!)
Day 2: Take the Alaska Railroad to Seward
Seward is located on the Kenai Peninsula and is the gateway town to Kenai Fjords National Park. You can drive to Seward (which might be your best bet if you also want to visit other towns on the peninsula like Homer), but we opted to take the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic Train and it was SO COOL. Definitely a highlight of our trip, and we highly recommend taking the train. The Coastal Classic from Anchorage gets into Seward around 11:30 a.m., so you still have a decent amount of time on this day to explore the town.
Things to Do in Seward
• Eat seafood! There are lots of great restaurants from which to choose
• Walk on the old Iditarod Trail and Seward Waterfront Shore Path along the harbor
• Visit the Alaska SeaLife Center
• Admire the murals around town (Seward is the “Mural Capital of Alaska“!)
• Enjoy a coffee and peruse local art at Resurrect Art Coffee House
• Watch an educational video (or two) on the ground floor of the Seward Community Library & Museum ($5, see times and dates)
• See the Lowell Creek Waterfall (no, this waterfall won’t be the most impressive waterfall you’ve ever seen, but it’s pretty neat to have a casual waterfall on the edge of town!)
• Visit Kenai Fjords National Park (see days 3 & 4 for details)
If you only have 4 days: We arrived in Seward on one day and took a long boat cruise the next day, but if you want to spend less time in Seward, it is possible to book an afternoon wildlife cruise for the same day you arrive on the train. We recommend the longer tour (see why in our Day 3 description), but this is an option if you have limited time!
Day 3: Boat Tour in Kenai Fjords National Park
There are several tour companies that offer glacier and wildlife cruises of varying lengths in Kenai Fjords National Park. We chose a 7.5-hour boat tour with Major Marine, which is on the longer side but not the longest tour they offer. We thought a full-day tour was worth it because we got to see two glaciers calving, which was AWESOME, but it is quite a long day. With the 8.5-hour tour, you get to see three glaciers, but we were pretty tired and cold at the end of our tour, so I think the 7.5-hour cruise is the perfect length. (Alternatively, you can kayak around the glaciers, which also looked amazing!)
If you are prone to seasickness, we highly recommend buying some Dramamine and ginger chews at the hardware store in Seward before your cruise. The boat staff was really great about passing out ginger chews and stuff on the boat, but by that time …. it might be too late. (Yes, we know from experience lol.)
How to dress for your Kenai Fjords boat cruise: Your boat ride will likely be cold but can also be very sunny (especially near the glaciers when you get a lot of reflection). For those reasons, we recommend you dress warmly in layers, including layers that can help protect you from wind if you want to spend a lot of time on the deck of the boat. (And you probably will!) Don’t forget to also wear a hat and sunglasses, and apply sunscreen!
If you only have 4 days: As mentioned in yesterday’s itinerary, you could do a half-day afternoon tour the day you arrive in Seward and bank a day for something else in Alaska. (Note the 4-hour tour is a wildlife cruise and does not include any glaciers.)
Day 4: Hike Harding Icefield (Kenai Fjords NP)
If you like hiking, definitely check the NPS site or call up a ranger to check the conditions of the Harding Icefield Trail. This was one of our favorite things we did in Alaska, and it’s one of the coolest hikes I’ve ever done in Alaska or out!
Adjusted itinerary option: Hiking to the Harding Icefield is a pretty long activity (6-8 hours), so if you don’t hike to the Harding Icefield, you could head back to Anchorage on the evening train on Day 3 and spend more time in the city before flying home, or even spend a day somewhere else.
Personally, we did the Harding Icefield Hike during the day and took the Alaska Railroad back to Anchorage that same evening. We have a detailed guide to hiking the Harding Icefield Trail, but here was our basic timeline to help guide your planning:
• Took 8 a.m. shuttle from Seward. (If you have your own transportation, we recommend starting even earlier.)
• Started hike at 8:30 a.m.
• Hiked the full trail to Harding Icefield and back, including breaks for photos and snacks. (There’s also a good turnaround spot at the Top of the Cliffs if you don’t have the time/inclination to hike the whole trail.)
• Arrived back at Exit Glacier Nature Center by 3 p.m.
• Took 4:30 p.m. shuttle back to Seward. (In hindsight, we could have taken an earlier return shuttle, but we didn’t know beforehand how quickly we would hike and wanted to be conservative. There is no cell service at the park if you miss your shuttle or need to reschedule.)
• Arrived back in Seward by 5 p.m.
• Had time to grab our luggage from the hotel, return our rental bear spray and hiking poles, and pick up dinner before catching our 6 p.m. Alaska Railroad to Anchorage.
See our complete guide to hiking the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park.
If you only have 4 days (or if you’re not interested in hiking, or if conditions on the trail are not good during your visit): You can take the evening train back to Anchorage after your wildlife cruise on Day 3. You can still visit Kenai Fjords NP to see the toe of Exit Glacier on the afternoon of Day 2 after you arrive in Seward. Checking out Exit Glacier and the Nature Center at the park can easily be done in under two hours at the park, but not much else of the park is accessible without a boat, plane or long hike.
Day 5: Depart from Anchorage
Depending on what time your flight departs from Anchorage, you might have time to do a few more activities from our “Things to Do in Anchorage” list on Day 1! And now, travel safe home.
If you have 7 days in Alaska …
If you have a full week in Alaska, you can easily add two days to the above itinerary by visiting and overnighting in one of the following places (or adding a day in one of these and then spending an extra day in Anchorage doing the activities listed in Day 1 above):
Denali National Park
We did not visit Denali on our trip because much of the park was closed, but it’s reachable on the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage in about 7.5 hours. Check the NPS site for current conditions and planning tips before your visit. If you have even more time, the Denali Star Train goes all the way to Fairbanks.
We’ve also heard awesome things about visiting Talkeetna, which is located about halfway between Anchorage and Denali and is a stop on some Alaska Railroad trains (or an easy add-on if you have your own car).
Homer
We heard from a lot of travelers we met in Seward that Homer is their favorite town to visit in Alaska. Homer is a quirky town on the other side of the Kenai Peninsula, and it sounds best to visit if you have a car.
Although we loved Seward and Kenai Fjords NP, we know every traveler is different, so if you’re not super into national parks, check out this post from Alaska.org to see if Seward or Homer is better for you. Maybe you want to replace Seward with Homer altogether! If you do that, there are multiple ways to get to Homer from Anchorage. Traveling directly from Seward to Homer requires a car.
More Small Towns on the Kenai Peninsula
Whittier and Girdwood are both reachable by the Alaska Railroad for day trips. Hope is a small, more relaxed (i.e. not as many “things to do” but that might be just what you’re looking for!) Gold Rush community. Soldotna is known as a great fishing destination, or you can choose one of the many lesser-known towns on the Kenai Peninsula for more of an “off-the-beaten-path” experience.
Is Alaska on your travel bucket list? Tell us in the comments below. If you’ve been, let us know what must-do experiences in Alaska we need to add to our next trip!
Feature image: Seward Boat Harbor (August 2023)
