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Someone always onSize is what hits you first in Alaska, the huge corner of North America that lies up beyond Canada. Glaciers number around 100,000, the mountain ranges slide past the plane window for an hour at a stretch, and the coastline adds up to thousands of miles. Seeing a brown bear, a moose or a humpback is part of an average week rather than a rare treat. Alaska Native peoples have made their homes here for many thousands of years, and their languages, carving and weaving remain part of everyday life. On clear winter nights the aurora flickers over the interior, while summer days run so long that the sun hardly seems to set. Meals follow the catch: salmon, halibut and king crab, often fresh from the dock. Each year more people make the trip, which is why it is wise to book early for the busy summer months.
Anchorage is where most long-haul flights arrive, at its main international field, ANC, named for Ted Stevens, from which travellers continue to the rest of the state.
Cruise ships sail along the Inside Passage and across the Gulf of Alaska, with ports of call that include Juneau, Seward and Whittier, among others.
Drivers can take the Alaska Highway, which runs north out of Canada and into the state. Expect a very long haul, with peaks on the horizon nearly the whole way.
Trains of the Alaska Railroad connect Anchorage with Denali and Fairbanks, calling at a few small flag stops between the larger towns.
Only a small slice of Alaska is connected by road, so aircraft carry much of the load, from jets to float planes. Most visitors from outside the state come in through Anchorage, which then passes them on to the rest of the network. Little fields such as Bethel, Nome and Utqiagvik serve communities that no road reaches, so a brief hop by plane is often the only option. These are the airports you are most likely to see on a ticket: