I am an airline pilot and was staying at the Hilton right across the street from Anchorage Downtown…read moreTours. I walked in and asked about a 3 to 4 hour day tour of Anchorage. The owner, Russ, was very accommodating and set me up for a tour starting only two hours later. Eventually the group grew to three people and Russ picked us up at the Hilton promptly at 11. This was exactly what I was looking for. I spent a very enjoyable four hours with Russ, who grew up in Alaska and who knows the state backwards and forwards. Russ has a great deal of civic pride as well! Russ gave us a comprehensive look at the after-effects of the big earthquake during the 60s, where entire homes were moved up to two or three city blocks! The ground shifted so much it made a once perfectly flat neighborhood into a neighborhood with lots of hills! Russ has a sharp eye for wildlife, and besides mountain goats and sheep, we actually got to see a moose! Ross absolutely loves his home state, and you will learn a lot driving around with him. And have a pretty good time doing it, as well!

So TODAY's Alaskan Adventure... Hiking the Matanuska Glacier…read more My First hike in Alaska & WHAT a Breathtaking 3 mile hike it was! Thank You to Anchorage Downtown TourGroup http://downtowntourgroup.com & Paul for getting me to the glacier safe and sound & for the yummy lunch! On today's tour I learned that 99 million gallons of water flow under Matanuska Glacier each day; Glacial water comes out of her at 28 degrees & can freeze at 29 degrees; she is moving 12-16 inches a day(normal is 10 inches)and that a loud Popcorn sound IS never a good sound! Kimberlee at Travel with Kimberlee on FB.

We booked the add on 2A tour after our 7 day Alaskan cruise with Royal Caribbean. We were not aware…read moreof the tour group until we were on the bus. I am not sure if this is a Royal Caribbean issue or Premier Alaska. I overall knew the stops based on booking, but excursions/stops were not listed. As we prepaid a lot of things for this trip, it would have been nice to know cost for additional excursions ahead of time. Our tour director Stephen was very friendly and helpful. I did not feel any pressure to purchase any additional excursions. My husband and I decided to just wander the areas on our own. Tour director was patient with the groups' questions. Our driver was Talos and he was very friendly as well. I feel we stuck to the schedule provided and left on time each time. One thing that I put on my survey with them is I wish we could book on ability/activity level. I would have liked more time to hike trails at each spot. We had members of our tour group that had difficulty managing the stairs on the bus. Great time with my tour.

I never write a bad review. Especially in the middle of a trip. Worst tour director Braian EVER!…read moreCompletely ruined our once in a lifetime trip to Alaska. @royalCaribbean please check your outside vendors. Simple requests made weeks in advance to keep our small group of 5 people together fell on deaf ears. When it was brought to their attention of a single female traveling with a group the tour director did everything to keep me separated. Requests to move rooms closer to my adult children and friends were met with canned responses. He made me feel so uncomfortable with his comments and advances. I was scared to leave my room unaccompanied for fear of running into him. Think twice if you are single and booking a tour. Even if you are with a group.

You know, when I worked on the Alaska Railroad as a server in the dining car I would make fun of…read morethe big tour companies like Holland of America, Princess, Royal Carribean, etc... Mostly because they shuttle people back and forth with little room for independent travel. I won a couple tickets and night stay in one of the lodges that included rail transportation. I actually had a decent time riding the rail, listening to the tour guide, and having alcoholic drinks on the way. The workers were very gracious and polite, which dealing with cranky old people all day you have to give them a bit of credit. I would recommend this mode of travel even though you don't have the options to move around to different cars, gift shop, and two eating cars like you would had you rode the AK RR. There is a dining car beneath the seating area, but we did not dine there, though there were some good smells wafting up to the seat car.

Anchorage Depot tells you to arrive at least an hour before your departure time and I now…read moreunderstand why. There were lines out of the building and down the sidewalk with porters trying to check luggage and people milling everywhere. The line wrapped around the lobby multiple times but it moved quicker than I thought it would. After checking in and having to check our carry on bags we just waited a few minutes until boarding. Even with how hectic it was, the staff was calm and helpful. They do have a coffee bar and gift shop.

Allow me to start with the fact that I didn't go into the building, we merely stopped off here to…read moreget on the train that was located at this depot. The building on the outside tho is a great looking building with some nice old school train depot architecture. It's been well kept.

For $35 a night, this place saved me from being homeless for the night when Motel 6 was changing…read moreover $300 and all of the car rental companies were sold out. I arrived at around 1am and had no plans. My fault I know. It's not pretty, but it will get the job done. Isn't that the whole point of a hostile to begin with? I didn't see any bed bugs, the mattresses are sealed in a bed cover, and I received fresh bedding. The threat of bed bugs almost made me not come here, but I was truly out of options, and I'm glad I stayed here.

Bedbugs. One of the…read morecheapest list prices for hostels in Anchorage. Hard to find any other hostels that even answer their phone after 6 but this place is staffed 24 hours. Also usually has beds open. Bad news: bedbugs. Quite a few of them. Luckily the room was so filthy that I thought there were a good probability of bedbugs and I didn't take anything out of my bags, leaving them zipped up. Still, I'm going to have to stop by a laundromat instead of mountain biking this morning and dry everything on HIGH to kill any bedbugs.

Extremely friendly people…read more I flew with them on a flightseeing trip down Turnagain Arm, through Portage Pass, and into the entrance of Prince William Sound. It was arranged on short notice - I called in the morning, and was flying that afternoon. Their pilot was a funny, knowledgeable guy, and he had more than 40 years of experience. They gave me a great price, and when I asked them to call a taxi to take me back to my hotel, they gave me a ride themselves instead. They were also very flexible in terms of the flight itself - though they offer standard options, they customized the trip based on what I wanted to see.