In general, travelers can save money by thinking far ahead and taking advantage of seasonal and sudden specials.
Flying
Be on the lookout for end-of-season specials. Also, flying is cheapest for passengers who fly at off-hours, especially those leaving Anchorage after midnight.
For example, look at some round-trip, coach fares to Anchorage at different times of a midsummer day. Savings of $150 or more may be possible for a daytime flight; there may be several hundred dollars in savings between a flight leaving for Anchorage in the day and one leaving in the evening.
Watch for Internet specials or have your travel agent keep an eye open for low fares offered for a brief time.
A flight to Alaska racks up a lot of frequent flier miles. A round-trip from Dallas to Anchorage, for example, would earn about 7,000 miles. Book early to use frequent flier miles to get to and from Alaska, though, because airlines don't set aside many of those seats on popular flights north.
Rental car
In Alaska, having a car opens a lot of territory, not just between cities and parks but also around town, where public transportation may be poor.
A compact rental car rented in Fairbanks in July might cost $230 to $385 a week with unlimited mileage; a minivan would go for $110 a day. In Anchorage, the demand pushes the rates a little higher.
Ride the train
The Alaska Railroad runs passenger service between Anchorage and Seward and between Anchorage and Fairbanks with stops in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali National Park. Using this option won't provide much flexibility in the schedule, but it will help you avoid having to rent a car and you'll get to see parts of Alaska that drivers don't. Taxi or bus service is available at all the stops.
From Anchorage to Denali, the midsummer one-way fare is $125; Anchorage to Fairbanks costs $175; Fairbanks to Denali costs $50. Anchorage to Seward costs $59 one-way and $98 round-trip.
Fares are reduced by 20 percent on the northbound route at the start of the season and for two weeks after Labor Day.
Prices of children ages 2-11 are half the adult fare. Infants and 1-year-olds ride for free.
Ride a bus
City buses in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau are a bargain. In Anchorage, buses run as far up the highway as Peters Creek. In Fairbanks, they take passengers to the University of Alaska, among other places, and such outlying areas as North Pole.
Buses are increasingly a lifeline between Fairbanks, Denali National Park and Anchorage. For a one-way fare of about $70, passengers can go between Fairbanks and Anchorage. Anchorage to Denali costs about $50, and Fairbanks to Denali costs about $35.
Passengers can have themselves and their gear, sometimes including bicycles, dropped off at Denali or at trail heads along the Parks, Seward and Sterling highways. Taxis and park shuttles are available for stretches beyond the entrance.
Fairbanks to Wrangell-St. Elias costs $65-75 each way or about $125 round-trip.
Bus service can be had the length of the Parks, Seward and Sterling highways. Service is also be available to the ranger station outside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Shuttle buses (the green ones, not the tan wildlife- or nature-tour buses) are the major form of transportation inside Denali National Park. Various buses carry vacationers from hotels to restaurants to the visitors center and on to Wonder Lake.
The smallest Denali fare, $18, is for a ride 51 miles into the park and back. The fee for the all-day ride to Wonder Lake is $31.75, but you can take shorter and less expensive rides and still see grizzly bears and 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, if it wants to be seen.
Teens 14-17 ride for half price. Children 14 and younger ride for free.
Ride a bike
"Entry-level" mountain bikes with front suspension can be rented for less than $100 a week in Anchorage, or you can bring your own. Airlines have some packing restrictions and usually charge $50 to $100 for carrying your oversize box. Mountain bikes are available for rent outside Denali as well. The Denali Outdoor Center at the park entrance rents bikes out.
Walk
Many highly fit visitors hike along the highway to Denali National Park from Anchorage (237 miles) or Fairbanks (125 miles). Some hitchhike. Services are available along the way.
Most of Alaska's cities and towns are compact enough that you can walk anywhere in town in less than an hour.
Drive your own car
The trip up and back on the Alaska Highway takes several days, but it's a good ride. And then you can drive anywhere in Alaska for only the cost of fuel, which runs between $1.65 and $2.10 in most towns on the main roads.
Vehicles and passengers also ride the Alaska Marine Highway System ferries to Alaska. From Bellingham, Wash., a ferry carries vehicles as far as Haines, where drivers disembark and drive up to meet the Alaska Highway in Yukon Territory. Once a month, there's ferry service between Juneau and Seward.
Passengers can rent a sleeping cabin or sleep on the deck.
Pay for your trip?
Some people plan to drive their car or RV to Alaska, then sell it and fly home. That might work, but be warned that you'll probably have to make a really good deal. Alaskans have plenty of cars and RVs already. You can check the market in the classifieds posted in the Anchorage Daily News.
