Q: How long should I plan to stay in Alaska?

One of the most frequent questions I see is how long you should plan to stay in Alaska. While any length of trip is generally rewarding, I recommend taking a minimum of two weeks if you can.

Why you should plan to stay in Alaska for at least two weeks

First: Alaska is much bigger than it appears on most maps, and people are often surprised by how long it can take to travel from one community to the next. For example, it takes most people a good eight hours to drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage (or vice versa) and at least six hours to drive from Anchorage to Homer or Valdez.

Your trip will get even longer if you include rest stops, meals, side explorations (totally worth it) and photography breaks (also totally worth it). So basically, your entire day can easily be spent traveling from one community to the next.

There are a few communities that you can visit as day trips — for example, going from Homer to Kenai or from Anchorage to Seward for a fishing trip — but once you include travel time, that still works out to a very long trip.

Second: Although you could blaze from one community to another, hitting your tick list of experiences along the way, you’ll have a much richer and more authentic experience if you’re willing to slow down a little bit, smell the figurative roses, and actually interact with the locals.

If you’re bent on seeing as much of the state as you can in as little time as possible, consider duplicating some or all of the 10-day Alaska road trip I created for RootsRated.

But wait — what about COVID?

Yeah, so. COVID-19. Given that it’s running rampant all over the nation, you can expect some variety of travel restrictions to continue for the foreseeable future. I’m keeping you updated on those here: COVID-19 travel updates.

You have three types of COVID-related travel restrictions to choose from, but the bottom line is that unless you can provide proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arriving in Alaska, you’ll need to either minimize in-person interactions until you get negative test results or undergo a strict 14-day quarantine before you make with the travel.

(Note: Currently Anchorage has stricter COVID test/isolation requirements than the state. Click the above link for details.)

Yes, that means that if you planned a trip shorter than two weeks, you might spend the entirety of it in quarantine.

With all that in mind, I suggest getting tested — really, it’s the only feasible way of making a trip up here right now — and treating your visit like a staycation of sorts: Pick a community to use as base camp and, once you’ve cleared the current travel-related hoops, explore the surrounding area from there. And of course, stay in close contact with your lodgings or tour guides so they can update you on local policies. The only thing we know for sure right now is that the situation is certain to keep evolving.