15 Unspoken Rules About Alaska That All The Locals Know

From Redditor u/ak_doug:

Food is about 20% to 50% more expensive. You can expect to pay $15 to $20 each without drinks at most decent restaurants.

From Redditor u/jaderust:

I really like taking the train places. Especially when going down to Seward. Not only can you see a couple of glaciers you can't see from the road system but the Seward Highway stresses me out in the summer since it's pretty narrow and full of cruise buses and RVs. Everything in Seward is easily accessible via walking, the free summer bus, or by paid shuttle so if you do take the train to Seward you'll do fine.

The train north to Denali/Fairbanks is also gorgeous but Healy is pretty spread out and Fairbanks is too. You'd need a rental car waiting or someone to pick you up if you took the train there.

From Redditor u/earlishly:

I love the Seward Sealife Center, it is an animal hospital so the proceeds from your ticket go to a good cause. It isn't that spectacular as aquariums go, but if you like arctic sea life it is definitely cool. But the SSLC stands apart from other aquariums in that it isn't high traffic so the people working there have more time to talk to you and you can learn a lot about marine biology.

From Redditor u/backinak:

Go to the island in Anchorage, pick up a rental car and stay the night in town. Then head north to Denali National Park (240 miles from Anchorage) Stay one night in Talkeetna on your way. Get to Denali and stay at least 2 nights. I recommend doing a bus tour into the park at least to the Eielson visitor center which is a 66 mile bus ride into the park. It’s worth it though and you’ll probably see lots of wildlife and maybe see the Denali.  There are also opportunities to do rafting or hiking around or in the park. Be prepared to pay A LOT extra for food around the park! The prices are [wild]!

From Redditor u/Hayek_Hiker:

90% of Alaska can only be reached by float planes or bush planes. It is expensive, but that is why so few people do it.

Find someone to host you in an Alaska Native village for a week and you will be totally bored most of the time but also that will be the Alaska story you tell the rest of your life.

From Redditor u/Katelyn89:

In no particular order, these are the places in Alaska I would skip:

Juneau - It's cute but it's definitely a cruise ship port town. Despite being our capital, there is nothing to do there really in my opinion. I have only been there once and I wouldn't go back. Plus you have to fly there and it's just a whole thing.

In Anchorage, avoid Mountain View, Muldoon, Fairview, Gambell Street. These aren't good neighborhoods.

Fairbanks - Fairbanks is a really polarizing place. You either love it or hate it. I tend to hate it. It's good for seeing the Northern Lights during winter, but it's expensive, a lot of the water isn't potable, there isn't much to do there. I find it's not really worth the hassle. It is near Chena Hot Springs though which is a really popular destination that I haven't been to that a lot of locals love.

Alaska Zoo - It's just a zoo. Nothing super unique about it.