Frequently Asked Questions

Handpicked Alaska designs personalized self-drive (self-guided) travel itineraries that cater to each traveler’s needs, budget, and travel expectations. We create beautiful trips emphasizing sustainability and working with local businesses. We are your local Alaska travel agents who are here to ensure your trip is seamless and exciting! To learn more about our specific services, continue to the question below.

Design your trip here.

The first step in working with Handpicked Alaska to design your personalized trip to Alaska is to fill out the Design Your Trip form. After you complete this form, we will follow up with you via email. At this stage, we will discuss your trip in detail and learn more about your interests while visiting Alaska, including activities, hotels, etc. We will answer any additional questions you have about visiting Alaska.

Next, we will work on drawing up the first draft of your itinerary. You can review this draft and let us know what changes you would like made. The initial itinerary will also include the estimated cost of the trip. We will update the itinerary or keep it as is based on your review. We will send you the updated version if we have made any changes.

Upon your approval, we will book the itinerary, including the hotel, rental car, and activities. We will then send you a contract listing all the services we have arranged for you. At this time, we also require a 20-50% deposit (dependent on chosen activities and accommodation) for the total cost of your trip. The remainder of your payment is due 45 days before arrival.

Once everything is arranged, we will begin working on the finalized version of your itinerary, including a beautifully designed itinerary available in PDF format for printing or use on mobile devices. In addition to the detailed day-to-day itinerary, you will receive our Alaska Travel Guide, which contains essential Alaska travel information and tips, and our Alaska Restaurant Guide.

We will also create a personalized Google Map marked with all the places you can visit on your trip.

During your travel, you will have access to our 24-hour line. If you have any problems or questions during your trip, you can contact us by phone, text message, or email.

No! All of our trips are custom designed to meet the individual needs of your group. After filling out the Design Your Trip questionnaire and discussing your trip in detail, we can put together an itinerary that is completely unique for you.

The majority of our itineraries start and end in Anchorage or Fairbanks. The paved Alaska road system allows you to easily access areas such as Denali, Valdez, the Glen Highway, and the Kenai Peninsula from these locations.

You can also explore remote areas such as McCarthy/Kennicott and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, which is situated at the end of a long dirt road. Since most rental car companies do not permit their vehicles on these roads, you would need to rent from a specific company or plan to fly into this area via a small plane.

Additionally, we can incorporate tours in your trip that visit remote areas such as Lake Clark National Park and Katmai National Park.

We do not currently organize tours in Southeast Alaska, including towns such as Juneau, Sitka, Haines, and Skagway.

If you have other specific places in Alaska in mind that you'd like to visit, feel free to let us know, and we'll make every effort to arrange it for you.

We currently do not arrange camping itineraries. We specialize in providing self-drive itineraries that include accommodations in hotels personally approved by us, ranging from comfort to luxury. We only collaborate with tour operators that meet our high safety and quality standards. In addition, we work with car rental companies that offer excellent service and provide clean and well-maintained cars. Unfortunately, we do not have enough visibility of the quality levels at campsites and budget operators to confidently guarantee the same level of service that we offer with the hotels we partner with.

We do not book Airbnb accommodations. Airbnb listings are not always regulated or inspected to ensure that they meet the safety and cleanliness standards found in the hotels we partner with in Alaska. Airbnb bookings can also be subject to last-minute cancellations or changes, which can lead to large travel disruptions. We prioritize providing our clients with reliable and consistent accommodations. Therefore, we only partner with established hotels, lodges, and cabins.

Unfortunately, we cannot make airline reservations for your trip to Alaska. However, we can advise you on the best routes, airlines, and other pertinent travel information.

Travel insurance is always a good idea. In today’s world, things can change so quickly. This could mean sickness, canceled flights, extreme weather, or other unpredictable situations.

Because we cannot make exceptions to our cancellation policy for any reason, including natural disasters and family or medical emergencies, we strongly advise all our customers to purchase travel insurance.

Additionally, please note that in most cases, travel insurance must be acquired within a specific timeframe before paying the deposit for your trip.

The cancellation policy that applies to your trip can be found in the Terms and Conditions section of the itinerary you receive from us. Please carefully review the detailed cancellation policies that apply to your trip.

You will receive your itinerary proposal without paying any upfront fees. Our service fees are included in the total price of the tour and are not charged separately. We add a small margin to the confidential NET rates we receive when booking each part of the trip, such as hotels, vehicles, and activities. This approach allows us to keep the overall tour price fair and transparent.

We only offer quotes for complete vacation packages, which do not include flights. The prices we receive from hotels, activities, and car rentals are confidential and include our service fee. We cannot provide a breakdown of these costs. However, we can offer upgrade options and prices for optional activities to help you customize your trip further.

We tailor every trip to suit your specific needs. When creating an itinerary for you, we strive to accommodate your budget, whether it's high or low. We carefully combine different hotels, activities, and car options to match your requirements. This approach can often result in a lower overall cost compared to organizing each aspect of the trip individually.

However, we acknowledge that last-minute deals or special online offers may sometimes make self-planning more cost-effective. If you are on a tight budget, our premium service may not be the best fit for you.

Alaska is a family-friendly travel destination! There are plenty of sights and activities that a family of all ages will enjoy. We frequently work with family groups, including grandparents and grandchildren, and are positive we can design something special the whole family will enjoy!

Absolutely! We want to make sure that you have a seamless and worry-free trip. While you are in Alaska, you will have access to our 24-hour line. If you have any problems or questions during your trip, you can contact us by phone, text message, or email.

We work closely with our travelers to learn about each individual’s needs. If you require something specific for the trip, we ask that you share this information with us in the early planning stages. Once we know your needs, we do everything possible to ensure that we can make your travel as seamless as possible.

Not at all. Alaska is for everyone! Whether you want to hike, bike, ski, drive, take in the scenery, or relax, we can design something specifically for you.

Alaska is a large state with unpredictable weather. You never know if it might snow in May or be 50 degrees in December! Because of this, we recommend you be prepared for everything. All of our clients will receive an Alaska Packing List. To read more specifics on what to pack for your trip to Alaska, read our Alaska packing blog post here.

Handpicked Alaska is a local, family-run travel business. It is our mission is to design memorable, once in a lifetime trips for travelers visiting Alaska.

In the times of instant bookings and quick reservations, we want to slow things down. We pride ourselves on working with small groups that allow us to design unique trips. We promote a sustainable, responsible, and respectful form of travel, which means you can access high-quality services such as authentic cuisine, attractions, activities, and guides.

As locally based travel agents, we can assist you with any issues you may encounter during your travels. With us, each client and traveler is unique, and we want to make sure that you have the trip of a lifetime.

We are so delighted you want to work with us! Head over to our Design Your Trip page to fill out a basic questionnaire with information about your travels. We’ll be in touch!

Please review our Liability Waiver. To book a trip with Handpicked Alaska, every member of your group must sign this document. For children under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign on their behalf.