Trip planning

Inside Passage lodging: Juneau, Ketchikan and more

Tourism-oriented Panhandle is prepared for guests

Alaska.com

B&Bs are everywhere on the accommodations map.

Juneau
Some hotels are located downtown, close to the Alaska state government offices -- the Capitol among them -- and many attractions and restaurants.

But there are also rooms near the airport, which is 8 miles north of downtown along Egan Drive/Glacier Highway, and the state ferry terminal at Auke Bay (14 miles north of downtown). Both of these sites are close to the University of Alaska Southeast campus, shopping (Nugget Mall) and Mendenhall Glacier. A hostel is downtown.

Here are other cities along the Inside Passage, arranged from south to north.

Ketchikan
Ketchikan, population 8,000, has the accommodations that go with being the southern Inside Passage's biggest city and a mainstay on the Alaska tourism circuit. Motels, inns, B&Bs and lodges are available downtown and nearby. Some offer charter fishing packages. Access to Ketchikan is by jet and ferry.

Craig
Craig, with 1,400 people the largest town on Prince of Wales Island, has inns, lodges and B&Bs to serve anglers, hunters and sightseers who come to the island via a ferry from Ketchikan. (The ferry goes to Hollis, on the island's southwest side. From Hollis, drivers have a 31-mile trip to Craig.)

Other towns on Prince of Wales Island's road system -- Coffman Cove, Hydaburg and Thorne Bay -- also have accommodations.

Wrangell
Once a base for prospecting expeditions in the Stikine Valley and later timber operations, Wrangell, population 2,300, maintains its sense of hospitality with a handful of restaurants, motels and B&Bs. There is a hostel in the Presbyterian Church. Wrangell is accessible by jet and ferry. The town's spring fling is the Garnet Festival, the last full week in April.

Petersburg
Petersburg, the home of the Little Norway festival on the third weekend in May and the launching point for whale-watching trips, has a couple of motels. Petersburg, population 3,200, has jet and ferry service, but the harbor doesn't accommodate large cruise ships.

Sitka
With almost 9,000 residents, Sitka is the largest Alaska city south of Juneau. It is the home of Sitka National Historical Park, Sheldon Jackson College and many government offices. Whale watching, an eagle center and Native culture are big attractions.

The city has a wide range of hotels and motels, inns and B&Bs, including one in a lighthouse. Sitka's big summer event is the Summer Music Festival, which covers three weeks in June.