Customer Reviews

Fodor's Alaska 2010 (Full-color Travel Guide)

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Fodor's 2010 guide to "Alaska" weighs in at over 500 pages, and why not? Alaska continues to be the dream destination of a lifetime for many travelers for its natural wonders, recreational opportunities, and sheer scale of size. "Fodor's Alaska 2010" is a good place to start planning a visit.

"Fodor's Alaska 2010" is conveniently divided into sections to help the traveler make some tough choices about where to go and what to do. The guide opens with some basic Alaska information, briefly addresses sports and wilderness adventures and cruise ship visits, then tackles the state by geographic area. It starts with the Alaska Panhandle, the Southeast portion most often seen by cruise ship visitors. Anchorage, Alaska's only real urban area and the principal point of arrival for air travelers, merits its own section. South Central Alaska takes in the famous fishing mecca of the Kenai Peninsula; but also includes Prince William Sound, home to a variety of sealife; and the Mat-Su Valley, site of the annual State Fair and other attractions.

The Interior includes the incredible Denali National Park, the accessible Denali State Park, the Fairbanks area, and the Yukon River country. The section entitled The Bush includes Southwest Alaska's Katmai Peninsula, Kodiak, and the variety of settlements off the road network in western and northern Alaska. A concluding section addresses travel essentials.

"Fodor's Alaska 2010" is lavishly illustrated with color photographs and a variety of maps, including a pull-out map of the entire state, with focus on the road network in South Central Alaska. Each geographic section provides advice on what to see, where to stay, and interesting places to eat.

This guide also provides some worthwhile cautions for the visitor. First, the weather can be highly variable at any time of the year; visitors are advised to bring layers to put on and take off. Second, wildlife is pretty much everywhere, and visitors need to bear in mind (no pun intended) they might not be the top of the food chain everywhere they go. Third, the human infrastructure in Alaska is very limited compared to the lower 48 states. It pays to plan ahead. Fourth, there are huge areas of the Alaskan out-of-doors accessible to the adventurous hiker, trekker, and boating enthusiast which are addressed in only limited fashion by this guide.

"Fodor's Alaska 2010" is very highly recommended to the visitor planning a trip to Alaska. This guide is where to start...

This book was invaluable in helping us plan our Alaska trip. We found it to be very informative and accurate.

Just what I requested. I had the 2008 version from the local library and wanted the 2010. Thanks.