Frommer's Alaska 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) [Paperback]

Charles P. Wohlforth (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Color Complete | Publication Date: January 12, 2010

• Completely updated every year, Frommer's Alaska features gorgeous color photos of the sights and experiences that await you.
• Our expert author lets you know your best bets for spotting wildlife, catching salmon or halibut, and getting up-close-and-personal with glaciers. Plus, detailed information on Alaska’s most scenic drives and where you can go to interact with Native people and culture.
• Our cruise experts break down the variety of Alaska cruises, from the debate between small versus large boats to who you can expect to be sailing with when you choose a particular cruise line. 
• Plus, the best scenic drives along Alaska's highways, a guide to exploring Denali and Kenai Fjords national parks, "when, where and how" for viewing bears, whales, and other wildlife and insider advice on getting the most out of your Alaska cruise experience

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Discover The Best of Alaska
Content from Frommer's Alaska 2010

As a child, when my family traveled outside Alaska for vacations, I often met other children who asked, “Wow, you live in Alaska? What’s it like?” I never did well with that question. To me, the place I was visiting was far simpler and easier to describe than the one I was from. The Lower 48 seemed a fairly homogeneous land of freeways and fast food, a well-mapped network of established places. Alaska, on the other hand, wasn’t even completely explored. Natural forces of vast scale and subtlety were still shaping the land in their own way, inscribing a different story on each of an infinite number of unexpected places. Each region, whether populated or not, was unique far beyond my ability to explain. Alaska was so large and new, so unconquered and exquisitely real, as to defy summation.

In contrast to many places you might choose to visit, it’s Alaska’s unformed newness that makes it so interesting and fun. Despite the best efforts of tour planners, the most memorable parts of a visit are unpredictable and often unexpected: a humpback whale leaping clear of the water, the face of a glacier releasing huge ice chunks, a bear feasting on salmon in a river, a huge salmon chomping onto your line. You can look at totem poles and see Alaska Native cultural demonstrations, and you can also get to know indigenous people who still live by traditional ways. And sometimes grand, quiet moments come, and those are the ones that endure most deeply.

As the writer of this guidebook, I aim to help you get to places where you may encounter what’s new, real, and unexpected. Opening yourself to those experiences is your job, but it’s an effort that’s likely to pay off. Although I have lived here all my life, I often envy the stories visitors tell me about the Alaskan places they have gone to and what happened there. No one owns Alaska, and most of us are newcomers here. In all this immensity, a visitor fresh off the boat is just as likely as a lifelong resident to see or do something amazing.

Alaska's Top Destinations by Category

The Best Views	The Best Alaska Cruises	The Best Glaciers
The Best Fishing	The Best Bear Viewing	The Best Marine Mammal Viewing
The Best Encounters with Native Culture	The Best Hotels	The Best Winter Destinations

From the Back Cover

• Hundreds of color photos

• Foldout map, plus detailed maps throughout

• Exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information

• Candid reviews of hotels and restaurants,plus sights, shopping, and nightlife

• Itineraries, walking tours, and trip-planning ideas

• Insider tips from local expert authors

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 5 edition (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470497734
• ISBN-13: 978-0470497739
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Alaska

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really excellent travel guide!, May 20, 2010

By 

E. Swope (Kaneohe, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Alaska 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

As the only state I have never visited, Alaska has been on my short list for a long time.
Generally what I look to a travel guide for is recommendations on hotels and restaurants. I have made my reservations online for many many years, looking for out of the way places and a more authentic experience. In that regard, this guide really hits the mark. Written by a Alaska native, seasoned writer of some repute and naturalist, the book is an enjoyable read and unusual, in my experience, in that it really gives you an insider's perspective. Writer Charles Wohlforth points to the most beautiful vistas and how to get there; and provides perspective on Alaska's history, it's residents (both human and wildlife,) how, when and where to approach them.
He and his team go farther than many guides in that they do not just recommend a tour or hotel, they review all of the options and explain which is best for whom. that is he covers luxury travel, economy travel, nature tours... so that you can put together an itinerary best suited to you.
The guide covers all of the things one would expect: an over view of each region and/ or city, average temperature and weather chart, a large coated pull out map as well as numerous smaller detail maps, guides to parks, tours, activities, hotels and various modes of transportation. Where he goes beyond most guides is with his knowledge of native wildlife, where to see it and how to safely approach (or conversely when to keep your distance). That said this guide would also be of interest to bird-watchers and wildlife enthusiasts in general.

The book is both comprehensive and relatively compact. Because of its dimensions, it is more portable than most books of this scope. That said I believe it is the only guide you would need (speaking as one who usually buys a comprehensive book for planning and a compact guide for actual travel).
The only downside I see to this book is that after reading it I do not know that I would be satisfied with a 7-14 day tour. Alaska is immense, rich with beautiful and unusual vistas, diverse cultural experiences and a wide variety of recreational activities as well. After reading this book I am no longer thinking about hopping a 7 day cruise from Seattle and think I'd like to spend some time on land, inland, and get to experience some of the Alaska that you do not get to see from a cruise boat (or tour bus).

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of great information, pictures, and maps. Well Organized., March 18, 2010

By 

Neil Gandhi "chilldizzle" (Dublin, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Frommer's Alaska 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

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Length:: 3:49 Mins

In this review, I go over different sections of the book and great additions Frommer made to Alaska's 2010 guide. As always, Frommer has come up with another hit!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide to Alaska!, August 25, 2010

By 

ƒůŽźŸ ωŬ&#... (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Frommer's Alaska 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

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Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
***** Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

This book covers visiting the state of Alaska quite thoroughly, with 45 pages devoted specifically to Denali National Park (which is of particular interest to me). The included foldout map is highly detailed and useful. It is great to see that both Frommer's and Fodor's have been increasingly adding more and more color photos to their travel guides. Previously, the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides and Apa Insight Guides had more color photos in their books, but I felt that they sometimes had too many photos at the expense of informative text. Frommer's and Fodor's use fewer color photos and more text on their pages. Thorough coverage of a state filled with beautifully wild and rugged scenery.