Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Alaska? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result.
Commonly abbreviated as AK by abbreviationfinder, the American state of Alaska is located in the extreme northwest of the American continent. Part of this largest state in the United States is located above the Arctic Circle. This creates cold winters that can last quite a long time. Most of Alaska has a tundra climate or a subarctic climate type. Only in the southernmost regions are somewhat temperate climates to be found, including the temperate maritime climate. If you want to travel to Alaska, you have to take winter conditions into account for a large part of the year or at least the chance of winter weather. Even in June, which is really a summer month in Alaska, you can still have to deal with snow showers and roads that are not yet (fully) passable due to the winter conditions.
Best months for Alaska
According to findjobdescriptions, the best time to travel to Alaska is from early July to early September. This is the hottest period of the year. Maximum temperatures in summer range from an average of 5 to 10 degrees Celsius in the far north of Alaska to 20 to 25 degrees in the warmest regions. Night temperatures in the northern town of Utqiagvik are around freezing in summer. In the southern half, the minimums are on average between 6 and 12 degrees above zero.
Spring in Alaska
The months of March and April are more like winter than spring in Alaska. It is only in May that the weather becomes less wintery and temperatures rise on average to more pleasant values, especially in the south. Snowfall is still possible in these months. Actually, you can only speak of a spring or spring in the course of May. June is the other spring month. The weather is still fickle during this period and much of the snow that fell in the previous period has not yet disappeared. This is especially noticeable in the northern areas. If you want to travel through Alaska, you should keep in mind that some areas are difficult to reach during this season.
Autumn in Alaska
In the course of August, the chance of rain increases. That continues into September. Temperatures drop during September; sometimes good. In the second half of September, the chance of winter precipitation increases. October is actually the last real day of autumn. Frost at night is common in much of Alaska; in the cooler areas it can regularly freeze during the day. If we had the choice, we wouldn’t travel to Alaska so quickly in September or October. The chance of good weather is actually too small, especially if you want to make a big round trip with a camper or rental car.
Winter in Alaska
During the winter it is cold to very cold in Alaska. Temperatures are below freezing in almost the entire country, both during the day and at night. Sometimes minimums are achieved that are far below the temperature of your freezer. The roads are not always passable, especially during or after a snow storm. If you want to take a cruise along the coast of Alaska, you can forget about that in the winter. Then they don’t sail. The ferries do run, because the Atlantic Ocean doesn’t freeze in winter.
What is ‘the best time to travel’?
The climate often plays an important role in deciding where and when to go on holiday. It makes no sense to book a beach holiday with temperatures of ten degrees and the chance that you can actually ski in hot summer weather is of course minimal. It should not be too hot for an active holiday or city trip.
Climate figures and climate statistics do not say everything. They only provide an indication of the weather over the past 20-30 years. That is why we think it is important to provide additional information about the best travel periods for countries, cities and regions. This serves as a handy helper to choose the right time for a vacation to a possible travel destination. On the other hand, it allows you to find a suitable holiday destination for a certain travel period.
As weather experts, we mainly take the weather and climate into account, but include other things such as travel seasons (high, low or mid-season), events and other elements in our travel advice in terms of best travel time.
Cities in Alaska
The following is a list of cities and towns in the state of Alaska. See countryaah for zip code of each city in Alaska.
- Akutan, AK
- Anchor Point, AK
- Anchorage, AK
- Badger, AK
- Barrow, AK
- Bethel, AK
- Cohoe, AK
- College, AK
- Craig, AK
- Diamond Ridge, AK
- Dillingham, AK
- Dutch Harbor, AK
- Eielson Air Force Base, AK
- Elmendorf Air Force Base, AK
- Estaires, AK
- Fairbanks, AK
- Farm Loop, AK
- Fish hook, AK
- Fritz Creek, AK
- Girdwood, AK
- Haines, AK
- Healy, AK
- Hooper Bay, AK
- Juneau, AK
- Kalifornsky, AK
- Kenai, AK
- Ketchikan, AK
- Articulated Fairview, AK
- Kodiak, AK
- Kodiak Station, AK
- Kotzebue, AK
- Lakes, AK
- Lazy Mountain, AK
- Meadow Lakes, AK
- Metlakatla, AK
- Nikiskic, AK
- Nome, AK
- North Pole, AK
- Nuiqsut, AK
- Prudhoe Bay, AK
- Ridgeway, AK
- Salcha, AK
- Sand Point, AK
- Seward, AK
- Sitka, AK
- Soldotna, AK
- Sutton-Alpine, AK
- Tanaina, AK
- Tokyo, AK
- Unalaska, AK
- Valdez, AK
- Wasilla, AK
- Willow, AK
- Wrangell, AK