Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Alaska (Regional Guide)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just came back from the vacation in Alaska last night. I came from China one year ago and had this vacation all by myself. Thanks for this book, my trip was fantastic! I used this book for trip planning, like booking hotels. And I had it on my way always. Information in this book is very updated and really helpful. On the last several blank pages, I got some stamps of national parks, as well as contact information of many friends made in this trip. I'll keep this book, which will make me recall all the great details of my trip. And I will recommend this book all my friends who are interested in traveling in Alaska.

I don't own this book but have browsed through a good deal of it in Google Books. (I'm from Alaska, and wanted to see how it treated my favorite hiking and camping spots.) On the whole, the book does a good job of picking highlights, and it is quite accurate. However, if you are going to be in Alaska for an extended trip, you probably also want to buy a Milepost to keep in the glove box. Lonely Planet is good, but not nearly as thorough--it left out a good number of my favorites. Whereas the Lonely Planet's strength is more in selecting things for you to do, the Milepost will tell you if the lake you're driving by is stocked with fish.

What can I say that has not already been said? This is THE best book for Alaska travel that I have used. Were I to be only able to take one book, this would be the one. It covers all the cities and towns, roads, and so forth. The book was very helpful in leading me to dig deeper and prepare for insects so that the trip was enjoyable in areas having mosquitoes and flies.
I was prepared for them. Bear and moose need special precaution and I felt ready. The advice on shuttle bus transportation into Denali worked out wonderfully at a much better price than other alternatives and was less crowded. Places to stay that we selected with the help of this book also worked out well. Money saving tips likewise. This book was daily companion and helped refine the plans for hikes, walks, restaurants, supermarkets, B&Bs, roads, and on and on. Don't leave home without it.

Don't buy this book if you are planning a winter trip to Alaska.

I am planning to visit Alaska in March for the iditarod race. To my surprise, the entire book assumes you are visiting the place in summer. Absolutely no reference to anything related to winter, such as skiing, dog sledding, etc...

On the "When to go", the writer just says "While alaska is trying hard to promote winter tourism, it just hasn't caught on".

This is even more enraging that in an interview, the writer, Jim DuFresnes, says that his trip in winter to Alaska with his son was the best alaskan trip he had done!

It is the very first time I read a lonely planet book that basically says: "hey, that's an awesome, rather simple thing to do. But you don't yet have hordes of tourists doing it, so we just won't cover it". What the hell?

This was a very good book. The best thing is the way Lonely Planet covers travel for those who want to do it on their own. I would not say it was the best source in my planning but it was in the top three.

It was bought as a gift and my Dad really liked the book. It was a great present for someone who is taking an Alaskan trip!

I always buy Lonely Planet guides because they are great but I purchased this in August 2008 and was shocked to find it's a 2006...the costs of everything in the book are meaningless because it's so outdated. There are new tours, new prices not even listed in here. I was disappointed that Lonely Planet would sell such an old book and hasn't come out with a new edition since 2006.

Tracy Arm is by far the most scenic trip there is. On my trip I saw unbelievable calving glaciers, bears, humpback whales, killer whales, beautiful waterfalls and much more. I definitely recommend going to Tracy Arm. In fact, there is a DVD on Tracy Arm called "Alaska, The Tracy Arm Experience". The DVD captures the beauty of this incredible place. The DVD is available on Amazon.

I highly recommend Tracy Arm. If you get a chance, experience it yourself.

Another really great book - typical of Lonely Planet quality. Shipped on time - I'm a happy camper.