Our Itinerary
Tues 3/1: Flew in at 2AM and headed to our Airbnb to sleep before catching our 11AM shuttle to Chena Hot Springs
Wed 3/2: Got back from our Chena Hot Springs tour around 7AM, took a nap, had amazing sushi at Seoul Sushi, built an igloo, grabbed drinks at Lavelle's Taphouse
Thurs 3/3: Had bomb breakfast at The Crepery, browsed the gift shop downtown, took a nap, and then grabbed dinner at the famous Big Daddy's BBQ. It lived up to its expectations!
Fri 3/4: Dog mushing at Rod's, checked out the World Ice Art Championship sculptures, went back to Lavelle's for more drinks, had Bahn Thai for dinner and then went to North Pole to look for the lights
Sat 3/5: Checked out of Airbnb at 11AM and headed for airport, stayed in a Super 8 in Juneau for a short overnight layover and got home on Sunday
ADVICE FOR VISITING: Schedule your Lyft/Uber/Taxi rides if you have somewhere you need to be. You'll get rides but they aren't always quick. I think it was about $25 to get to and from the airport, and around $8-9 to go just a few miles further into town. Some drivers will take cash and give you their number which is nice and saved us some money. Some drivers allow four passengers even though the COVID rule is still three. They do have a bus system as well that's super cheap ($3 day pass) but we were too lazy to ever look into it enough. We walked a lot!
We stayed in a cute, cozy lil Airbnb with super comfy beds that was conveniently located to downtown. I'd stay there again if I went back! Here is the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/39398126?sourceimpressionid=p3164670711513iD27atyjKsHLkx
We had a lot of fun at Chena Hot Springs Resort, but we can have a lot of fun anywhere so that doesn't say a lot. We don't regret going, but it was definitely way below our expectations and we were glad we didn't stay there. Our 2:40AM shuttle never showed to take us back to the Airbnb so we didn't leave until 5AM and got back at 7AM. We did the Aurora Tour which was $230 per person. The Ice Museum was neat. They cram a ton of you in there but by the end of the hour most people had left. The Appletini was not good at all but it did make a good photo op. The Hot Springs are hot indeed but they do smell a bit from the sulfur. The Aurora Tour was a cool experience despite it being too cloudy to see the lights that night. Lots of other things I could elaborate on with this experience - let me know if you want more info!
I definitely recommend going dog mushing! We ended up booking last minute with Rod's Alaskan Guide Service Dog Sledding and we had no regrets. It was $80 per person for 3o minutes. They have other activities, too: https://rodsalaskanguideservice.com/dogsledding/
If you go in February or March you should definitely check out the World Ice Art Competition! It was $17 for an adult ticket.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Our cute little Airbnb featuring the igloo we dug out!
Downtown Fairbanks! It didn't take us long to find our way around this place.
Some cute moose we saw as we were walking into town :)
Amazing all you can eat sushi at Seoul Sushi in the bowling plaza!
The Crepery is a must. SO good and so many options to choose from. They also have mimosas, bloody Mary's, and spiked coffees!
The World Ice Art Championships at the local fairgrounds. They had a whole interactive area with slides and games. Very cool!
These sculptures were insane! Some were 10ft tall. The competition runs through February and they leave the sculptures up through March. I wish we could've seen some of the artists in action!
The hot springs were very hot indeed.
The Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs Resort
The SUSVs we rode in for our Aurora Tour at the Chena Resort. I believe the dude said the Swedish Military built them in the 90s. The ride was fun but definitely not smooth.
This is the yurt we hungout in during our 5 hour tour of the lights. We never saw them that night so most of us did a lot of snoozing. They had a bunch of plastic folding chairs set up in inside, a few snacks and thankfully a heater so it was quite cozy.
North Pole, Alaska, Alaska, United States
Dog mushing at Rod's Alaskan Dog Service. Very cool experience! This was also in North Pole.
The Northern Lights at about 11pm on 3/4 in North Pole - about 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks. S/O to Amanda's friend Ashley for taking us!
We booked this trip for a few reasons, the first being to cross the Northern Lights off the bucket list. How amazing that we got to see them! It was also Ashlyn's break from school and her 25th birthday. We started booking flights and lodging in January, so it really was kind of last minute. We decided to go for it because it seemed fairly affordable. It was super last minute for Brandon so his cost was a bit higher. I usually plan my trips around when flights are cheapest. I thought we got our money's worth for all the activities we did and great food we had. I'm happy to share a more detailed budget for anyone who is curious - just let me know!
