5 Day Alaska Itinerary: Perfect Road Trip for the First Time Visitor

This year marked Kevin’s landmark 40th birthday. So I knew we had to do something special to celebrate (or at the very least, cushion the blow).

This year’s birthday had to be big — you know, like that big number 40! And it had to be something that would be hard to forget. You know, since he’s turning 40…and he’s getting more forgetful. Okay, I’ll stop with the ‘turning 40’ jokes!

It doesn’t get much bigger than Alaska. But where to start? The state is bigger than Texas, California, and Montana combined!

Lucky for Kevin, I’ve been to Alaska over a dozen times. And was able to quickly devise a five day road trip adventure. Cruises are a very popular option in Alaska. But if you’re like us, you’ll love the freedom of traveling by car. We enjoyed veering off the path, and handling our own schedule. Plus, in true Kevin and Phil style, we packed in way more than any Alaska cruise could come close to doing!

Check out our 5 day Alaska itinerary below with many travel tips, which starts off in Anchorage and includes stops in Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula. And oh yeah, if there was any doubt, it includes plenty of animal encounters.

DAY 1 OF 5 DAY ALASKA ITINERARY: ARRIVAL IN ANCHORAGE

• 3 PM, Arrival in Anchorage. It’s a pretty small airport – so you’ll be able to grab your rental car in less than 20 minutes of landing.  First stop: Palmer, located 1 hour away from Anchorage.
• 4:30 PM, Arrival at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer, located on the outskirts of Anchorage. Take a guided tour and come face-to-face with a reindeer. It’s fun and a little frightening all at once. These guys LOVE to eat!

• Tours of the reindeer farm take about 1 hour and cost just $11 for adults and $9 for children, seniors, Military or Alaska residents. We agreed – the best deal on the trip! You’ll get to enter the pen to pet and feed reindeer as well as visit Dolly the Bison, Rocky the Moose and the small herd of Elk. Food for the animals is included on the tour.

• 6 PM, Drive to the Iditarod Official Headquarters, 20 minutes away near Wasilla (yes, THAT Wasilla home to the Palin family). It doesn’t get much more Alaskan than the famed 1,100-mile Iditarod dogsled race, which begins in Anchorage and travels to far-off Nome.

• The Iditarod Headquarters offers dogsled rides in the summer until 5 PM. We got here pretty late, but still enjoyed looking around the tiny museum and chatting with the enthusiastic staff. Kevin especially loved that they thought we were in our 20’s! We’ll take it.
• Admission to the museum is free — as were the compliments! One staffer said we dressed like we were from GQ Magazine. Okay, now they’re pushing it…

• 7 PM, drive back to downtown Anchorage (about 1 hour) to get in some Alaskan souvenir shopping. You’ll know you’re in Alaska when you enter a store and are surrounded by life-sized stuffed bears! Personally, we loved Grizzly Gifts in downtown Anchorage.

• Evening: Grab dinner and drinks at Orso, one of my favorite restaurants in Anchorage. They went all out for Kevin’s birthday and even wrote out a personal note in a birthday card. So VIP!

• After dinner, check into The Lakefront Anchorage. The rooms are spacious and clean. But my favorite part are common areas filled with stuffed Alaskan wildlife. It’s sort of like a scene out of Night at the Museum.

DAY 2: DENALI, DRIVING ANCHORAGE TO SEWARD

• 10 AM -1 PM, Airplane tour of Denali National Park with Rust’s Flying Service
  • We were short on time, and couldn’t make the long drive up to Denali. But you’re just 45 minutes away from the famed national park by airplane from Anchorage.
  • The 3-hour tour goes above Denali National Park. We flew above Denali’s lower peaks and viewed the entire length of the rugged Ruth Glacier.

• Along the tour, you’ll also enter the Great Gorge, the world’s deepest, and emerge into the Ruth Amphitheater. Along the way back you might even spot a moose or bear!

• 2 PM, Depart Anchorage to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (1-hour drive). There is more fun to have.
  • The drive south on the Seward Highway is spectacular. The Alaska railroad parallels the road. Keep an eye out for bald eagles and Dall sheep along the highway.
  • But that’s not all we loved on the drive. Yes, I found a bakery. Make a stop along the way at the Alpine Bakery and get a cinnamon bun. Kevin had them heat it up, which was a wise decision.

• 3:30-5 PM, Take a VIP “Walk on the Wild Side Tour” at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
  • You’ll get to see the inner-workings of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and get up close and personal with a porcupine and have the chance to feed one additional animal (they have a moose!). I was sold by this lone fact alone!

• 6 PM, drive to Seward (1.5 hour drive). We loved our time in Seward — and had our best meal in Alaska at The Cookery. Everything is local and fresh.  You can’t go wrong with the fresh seafood, and we are still talking about the halibut.

• It’s a long day! We stayed in downtown Seward at the Sauerdough Lodge. It’s a nice option if you like to be within walking distance of shops and restaurants.

DAY 3: EXPLORING SEWARD, THEN JOURNEYING TO HOMER

• 8:30 AM, we woke up early to enjoy the delicious breakfast and homey atmosphere at the Sea Bean Café, located at the same location as the hotel. We also recommend Resurrect Art Coffee House just up the road.

• 10 AM – 12 PM, Spend the rest of your morning exploring the informative Alaska Sealife Center.
  • The center is dedicated to understanding the marine ecosystem of Alaska through research, rehabilitation, conservation and education.
  • The facility was built with funds from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil spill.
  • We also realized that we knew very little about the spill — especially after checking out the exhibit (learning the spill happened near the Alaskan city of Valdez. It makes complete sense, but I had no idea. Mind blown!).

• 12-12:30, walk along the coastal trail just outside the Alaskan Wildlife Center. This is the historic start to the Iditarod dog-sled race. These days, it leaves from Anchorage but you’ll find some historic plaques. But the views of the bay make it worth the easy walk.

• 1-4:30 PM, Join a kayaking tour with Liquid Adventures. The company also offers stand up paddle-boarding, but something told me that it probably wasn’t a good idea. One of us would likely end up in icy water — and let’s just say, it wouldn’t be fun for anyone!

• The kayak tour in front of Bear Glacier was a major highlight. We even saw a piece of ice break off the top of an iceberg and float away. It felt like a documentary!

• 5 PM, Drive to Homer (3-4+ hours with stops for photos). Grab dinner along the way in Soldotna, Alaska, at St. Elias Brewery, for some tasty pizza and micro-brew beer.

• 11 PM, Check into your room at the Otter Beach Lodge. You’ll sleep well tonight!

DAY 4: SEARCH FOR BEARS IN HOMER, THEN DRIVE TO ANCHORAGE

• 7 AM – 1 PM, Join Smokey Bay Air on what we consider an Alaska trip must-do bucket list item and see bears in their natural surrounding at Katmai National Park.

• Talk about an adventure — Smokey Bay Air offers small group tours right into the heart of brown bear country. When picking an Alaska tour company, you must make sure it has a strong safety record and offers quality service. We highly recommend them.

• Smokey Bay Air was my top choice and they went above and beyond expectations. You arrive by plane – the only way in, and besides seeing all the bears, you’ll pass by spectacular nature including massive volcanoes.

• 1-3 PM, After the tour, you’ll have time to check out Homer. You’ll find plenty of art galleries and street performers along “the spit” (where all the boats are docked). As one of the locals told us about Homer’s artist connection, “When you have such long winters, everyone becomes an artist of some kind!”

• Before heading out, we grabbed a bite at the Little Mermaid, where the servings are big. I suggested to Kevin that we just order the garlic bread since I wanted a “light” meal. Let’s just say, I’m glad we split it!

• 3 PM, Drive back to Anchorage (it’s about a 4 hour drive). And while we had the hearty snack at the Little Mermaid, we were hungry by the time we got into Anchorage. We recommend getting some Alaskan King Crab legs at the Glacier Brewhouse in downtown Anchorage. These just might be the freshest you’ll ever taste.

• 10 PM, Another late night. Noticing a trend? Check into your comfy digs at A Wildflower Inn in downtown Anchorage.

DAY 5: ANCHORAGE, RETURN HOME

• It’s sadly the last day. But we’ve packed in a lot! We recommend getting an early start to maximize your time.
• 10 AM-12 PM, Explore the Alaskan Native Heritage Center, which shares the heritage of Alaska’s 11 major cultural groups.

• The center has live dance performances and a museum that goes into great depth on the history of Alaska’s different native groups.
• But our top recommendation? Go outside to the lake with native structures surrounding it. This section reminded us of Epcot’s World Showcase. But instead of countries, you’ll find different native clans. Inside each of the homes you’ll find staff who will share stories and explain all the objects on display.

• 12 pm – on, Spend the rest of your afternoon exploring downtown Anchorage.
• We shopped and picked up one last souvenir — a stone carving of a bear to remind us of our tour in Homer. Then enjoyed our time hanging out in a coffee shop. Talk about an epic 5 day adventure! I think we’ll both need a nap once we get back home!

Enjoy your time in Alaska! And while five days isn’t a huge amount of time, you’ll still get to cover a lot of ground on this itinerary. If you want to see the northern lights in Alaska, travel between mid-September and late April. And hopefully we’ll get to explore the Last Frontier again soon!