A Civilized
Visitor's Guide
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Fodor's Alaska 2005
by Christina Knight
Who must have this book: Anyone who is planning
a less adventurous visit and and doesn’t want to miss
anything.
Who should have this book: Anyone interested
in Alaskan Restaurant, museums and city life. Cruise passengers
and people on packaged trips.
ISBN: 1400014441
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First,
let me describe one of my early fishing trips to Alaska.
We slept about 12 hours over three nights and fished 36 hours during
the three days. We slept in the car two nights and a hastily put up
tent the other. We stopped fishing at 1 AM to go to town for food
and found that the only thing available to eat were frozen burritos
at the gas station.
This book is meant for an entirely different trip than I usual experience.
Fodor’s built its reputation and library on reviewing the more
cultured side of vacation destinations. They typically review quaint
bistros and unique small inns, not fishing spots or pull outs that
will fit two pickups and a couple of tents. In Fodor’s Alaska
2005, the editors bring their finer sensibilities to the Last Frontier
and do a great job as long as it is what you are looking for.
This is not a reference to plan a wilderness vacation or fishing trip.
They do dedicate a chapter to Wilderness Adventures and National Parks
but is light on information. Mostly the book steers you toward package
tours and venders that can get you a taste of adventure with the civility
of set schedules and gift shops at the end
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What the guide (and Fodor) does best is present a dense and thorough
collection of restaurants, museums, attractions, lodging and sights
not to miss. If you are more of a touristy type of visitor, you can’t
go wrong with this book. The book covers all the best attractions
the state offers and some of the best restaurants you can hope to
stumble across.
I was at a loss about how I could review a guide book like this. It’s
not a great read from cover to cover. It is definitely a reference
and covers far more than you will ever cover in one trip to Alaska.
So I decided to read the introductory information and the sections
I will be visiting in a few months. Within a few pages I was jotting
down places and restaurants I wanted to make sure I visited. After
I finished the sections I would be visiting, I started flipping through
the areas I have visited a lot and found even more things that are
now on my must see list. I’ve been visiting for over ten years
and thought I knew most of South Central Alaska well, but the editors
have mined out some great suggestions.
I don’t know that I would recommend it to a veteran traveler,
but check a copy out from the library and see if you too have been
missing something. If you are on your first trip to Alaska, I can
definitely recommend this book to you.
Overview
The travel tips section that starts the book is a must read for the
first time visitor. I picked up a couple of tips that will be using
in June this year. After this introduction the book has a chapter
on Cruises which lists all cruise lines boat by boat. Then there is
a light section about Wilderness and National Parks. The section is
shallow but informative. Definitely enough for someone on a tour,
not enough for a backcountry hiker.
After these sections come chapters based on specific locations. There
is a good chapter on Anchorage, a chapter on Vancouver and Victoria
for those cruising the inside passages, and then chapters on the Southeast,
South Central, the Interior and the Bush. The Southeast section is
especially valuable for cruise passengers – the ports of call
are covered very well.
Cities are covered well with a brief history, a map, lists of attractions,
lodging options, restaurants and some interesting side bars.
Author
Fodor’s is named after the founder Eugene Fodor
who created an empire of travel guides. They pride themselves on creating
guides that go beyond dry descriptions and give invaluable information
to the traveler. The guides are updated annually so they are very
up to date. Visit their site, www.fodors.com
for even more up-to-date information..
