Alaska Travel
Alaska Guide Services is not intended to be an Alaska travel website, but we want to point hunters and fishermen in the right direction. There are many good Alaska tourism and travel websites on the Internet, however.
Half of all visitors to Alaska get there by air, and the other half arrive by cruise ship. A very small percentage drive or arrive by ferry. One thing you need to realize when traveling to Alaska is that driving takes a back seat to flying as a form of transportation in this state, which has fewer roads than Rhode Island even though it's twice the size of Texas. Although the Canada-Alaska border is 1,538 statute miles long, there are only two passes by car across the border, and one is closed in winter.
Still, visitors typically arrive to Alaska via airplane to Anchorage, which is served by the following carriers:
Air Canada
http://www.aircanada.com/Alaska Airlines
http://www.alaskaair.com/American Trans-Air
http://www.ata.comContinental
http://www.continental.comDelta
http://www.delta.comFrontier
http://www.frontierairlines.com/Northwest
http://www.nwa.com/Sun Country
http://www.suncountry.com/United
http://www.united.com/U.S. Airways
http://www.usairways.com/Once in Anchorage, they may use a smaller charter to reach further destinations, from Bethel to St. Mary's:
Grant
http://www.flygrant.com/
Traveling With Hunting/Fishing Equipment
Remember when flying to Alaska for a hunting trip that many items are prohibited from air travel. Firearms, ammunition, parts of firearms, bows and arrows, and hunting/fishing knives and tools must be stowed in checked baggage; they are not allowed in carry-ons. You must declare all firearms at check-in. Make sure your firearms are unloaded and stowed in a hard-bodied, locked container. Ammunition must be stowed in containers designed specifically for ammunition. Black powder and percussion caps are prohibited. Fishing tackle should be stowed in checked baggage, but rods, poles, and reels may be carried on as long as they conform to size standards. Each airline has its own regulations concerning these special items, so it's best to check with your carrier.
Traveling Within Alaska
Getting around Southeast Alaska is best done by marine highway (with ferry service throughout the Inner Passage, see here: http://www.alaskaferry.com/). All-terrain vehicles, snowmachines and float planes have allowed better access into the Bush. Some of the best fishing and hunting grounds are accessible only by plane, and many charters and Alaska lodges offer fly-in trips for both fishing and hunting.
Getting Your Meat/Fur/Hide Home
There are specific restrictions governing the transportation of meat from big game animals, as well as the trophy parts (heads, antlers, horns). In the case of some animals, a representative from ADF&G or Fish & Wildlife must seal the meat at an approved location (such as within the bounds of the Game Management Unit in which the animal was killed). There are no special regulations for traveling with meat beyond this, not even on the airlines, as long as you follow existing rules.
For fur and hides, you need one permit for travel within Alaska and another to take it outside Alaska. It gets a bit tricky if you are traveling through Canada back to the Lower 48. You can either get a CITES permit just like everyone else who is taking it outside the U.S. or a personal effects exemption certificate, since your final destination is within the U.S. and you are simply passing through Canada.
Alaskan Cities >>>