Alaska Travel

How to Pack Alaska Luggage and Avoid Excess Baggage Costs  Part 1

After you recover from the excitement of booking your vacation you start to think about what Alaska luggage to take with you! We’ve always flown to Alaska and learned about how to plan our luggage carefully, especially as airlines increase their demands about baggage weight.  Most of these tips are likely to be of help to cruise travelers as well.

Always travel light. Airlines, especially budget companies, have become very conscious of the weight of both carry on and stored luggage. Five years ago we could return home laden with a 13 piece saucepan set from Costco stored in our luggage. Today that’s out of the question unless we are willing to pay excess baggage fees.  We purchased light weight luggage cases recently to save that extra pound or two as we travel home with reminders of our time in Alaska.

Take clothes for mild weather, even in summer.  The hottest Alaskan summer we’ve experienced, only required our cut offs and sandals for a day or two. Jeans and long sleeved t-shirts were worn for the rest of our vacation. A couple of short sleeved t-shirts each were worth including but these were the only reference to summer. A sweater and a wind jacket should be on your Alaska luggage list in the event of a cool change in weather.

Invest in sturdy walking shoes, runners if you like, or leather walking shoes if you prefer these. Unless you are on a day cruise, you are likely to do quite a lot of walking so make sure you are well prepared for this with the right footwear. Spring in Alaska is comparatively cold as the snow thaws slowly, so we take boots when we visit at this time of the year. Wear these onto the plane to avoid additional luggage weight.

Pack a warm jacket, a scarf, gloves and a woolen cap and your sun glasses if you plan to visit any of the 10,000 glaciers in Alaska.  These magnificent rivers of ice are enormous and whether you view those on land or jutting into the ocean the air blowing around them is VERY cold. Photos of glaciers never show this.

Buy a hairdryer at a local supermarket in any of the larger Alaskan towns if you are visiting from outside North America as US electrical items run on 120 watts. If you’d prefer to arrive prepared, take your own (small) hairdryer and buy a suitable adaptor plug at home before you leave. You can use this in hotels or RV’s, on ferries and cruise ships around the state.

If you’d like more information about what to include in your Alaskan luggage so you can travel easily and have room to take reminders of Alaska home, read How to Pack Alaska Luggage and Avoid Excess Baggage Costs  Part 2 on my blog at www.blog.mightydigitaldownloads.com I’ve included our packing list there for your interest too!

 

 

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