Basically, my partner and I are going to join the other teeth rattlers and do a Canada/ Alaska trip.
It will definitely include a cruise up the Alaskan coast (probably Holland America) and a week or four day tour of Alaska. It is possible we will also throw in a week tour of the Rockies on the train.
The season seems to run from May to September. It would be far more likely that we would do it next year rather than this year.
We have heaps of brochures- so many so that we are zoning when reading them.
However one thing- how cold will Alaska get if we opt for September? We come from a very warm climate and although the snow looks great on the mountains I don’t want it coming to visit me on the tour.
That’s it. I’m off to watch Alaska State Troopers.
September can either be very wet, or just gorgeous. It rains for a goodly part of August in much of Alaska, but quite often the fall (Sept and early Oct) is a beautiful time of year. For the inland passage, though, you never know what you’re going to run into. Southeast Alaska gets a lot of rain, no matter what time of year, but it shouldn’t be too cold. The likelihood of snow in September is pretty remote.
I was there in April, so on the other side of the shoulder season and the temperatures were actually fairly similar to Toronto while in Anchorage. Still some snow on the ground. From there I flew way north to the start of the pipeline and it was darn cold and snowy there. Absolutely beautiful though, despite my hatred of cold I would go again.
I went on vacation in southeast Alaska (Ketchikan to Skagway) during September a few years ago. It was fine. In the 50s. I wore a coat, but I didn’t have to bundle up.
I took the ferries instead of a cruise, which I’d highly recommend.
You should check out VIA Rail Canada. They run scheduled service from Vancouver to Edmonton via Jasper, and I’m told that the scenery is spectacular. Schedules are supposed to run at such times that you see the best scenery during daylight hours; however, I have never done this trip, so I cannot confirm.
Another choice is the Rocky Mountaineer, which is a private tourist concern. It also runs trains through the Rockies, from Vancouver to Calgary, so you would go via Banff. It is a tourist train, though, and IIRC, stops someplace (Kamloops?) for you to stay in a hotel overnight. I didn’t look at their website thoroughly, but it is worth a look.
Your last, and likely most expensive, choice is Royal Canadian Pacific. This is a true tourist trip, with side excursions, and so on. Looks like their “Rockies Experience Tour” comes through my town, by the way; so if you opt for this, I can fill you in on the local scenery and whatnot.
Of course, you could always rent a car. If you have a week, you could easily do a circle route: Vancouver-Calgary-Lethbridge-Crowsnest Pass-Vancouver, or Vancouver-Calgary-Edmonton-Jasper-Vancouver. Either of these is doable in about a week; and if you select the former, let me know–we’ll go for a beer when you come through.
Unless you have time and money to burn that seems like a waste to me. If you are in the Fairbanks area I’d think there would be fun day stuff to do. Then again, maybe the flight itself will be fun and they actually take you to someplace interesting rather than just some spot that happens to be on the other side of that magical boundary.
Hell, rent a car and drive up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle sign, then a bit farther to the Coldfoot Camp (probably 60 miles total) and have lunch. No need to fly anywhere.