{"id":44882,"date":"2013-11-11T21:00:43","date_gmt":"2013-11-12T01:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/?p=44882"},"modified":"2016-04-21T17:26:48","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T21:26:48","slug":"the-best-of-anchorage-the-top-5-things-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/2013\/11\/11\/the-best-of-anchorage-the-top-5-things-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best of Anchorage: The Top 5 Things to Do"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So, you\u2019re thinking about a cruise to Alaska, and you want to visit\u00a0<a title=\"Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/wikitravel.org\/en\/Anchorage\" target=\"_blank\">Anchorage<\/a>\u00a0while you&#8217;re there. First, be sure you choose the right cruise or cruisetour, as not all will take you to Anchorage. \u00a0A southbound cruise from Vancouver will get you to Anchorage&#8217;s port towns of Seward or Whittier (or you can reverse the cruise, heading southbound from Seward or Whittier to Vancouver). You&#8217;ll be able to add on a land tour that takes you through Anchorage. Or just spend a couple days before or after your cruise exploring the city on your own.<\/p>\n<p>When you&#8217;re ready to explore Anchorage, where do you start? We&#8217;ve already given you &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/2013\/11\/07\/the-best-of-anchorage-top-5-places-to-eat\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Best of Anchorage: The Top 5 Places to Eat,&#8221;<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/2013\/11\/06\/the-best-of-anchorage-top-5-places-to-shop\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;The Top 5 Places to Shop&#8221;<\/a> in previous blogs. So now, let&#8217;s find out what there is to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the top five things you can do in Anchorage to enhance your Alaska vacation<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/downtown_bicycle_rental_anchorage.jpg\"><picture data-avif-picture=\"1\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/downtown_bicycle_rental_anchorage.avif 1x\"><img data-avif-wrap=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-44890\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/downtown_bicycle_rental_anchorage.jpg\" alt=\"downtown_bicycle_rental_anchorage\" width=\"298\" height=\"197\" \/><\/picture><\/a><strong>Bike along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.<\/strong> Ride your bike along an 11-mile path from downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park. \u00a0You can rent bicycles at <a title=\"Downtown Bicycle Rental, Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alaska-bike-rentals.com\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Downtown Bicycle Rental<\/a>\u00a0. On the Coastal Trail you&#8217;ll ride along the ocean, go through tunnels, over a marsh, and through the woods to explore wildlife.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/indian_valley_mine.jpg\"><picture data-avif-picture=\"1\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/indian_valley_mine-400x300.avif 1x\"><img data-avif-wrap=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-44885\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/indian_valley_mine-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"indian_valley_mine\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/picture><\/a><strong>Gold! Try your hand at panning for gold<\/strong> just a few miles outside of Anchorage. Learn how prospectors tried to strike it rich\u00a0in Anchorage at the <a title=\"Indian Valley Mine, Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.indianvalleymine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Indian Valley Mine<\/a>, which\u00a0is a National Historic site. They\u2019ll teach you how to pan for gold. If you want to give it a try, you can purchase a bucket of paydirt and find some gold (guaranteed!).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/iditarod-sled-dogs-anchorage-wasilla.jpg\"><picture data-avif-picture=\"1\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/iditarod-sled-dogs-anchorage-wasilla-400x268.avif 1x, https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/iditarod-sled-dogs-anchorage-wasilla-400x268@2x.avif 2x\"><img data-avif-wrap=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-44887\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/iditarod-sled-dogs-anchorage-wasilla-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"iditarod sled dogs anchorage-wasilla\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/picture><\/a><strong>Mush! Meet an Iditarod sled dog.<\/strong>\u00a0 It&#8217;s a beautiful scenic 27-mile drive from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Anchorage-Alaska\/106199619411091?ref=stream\">Anchorage<\/a>\u00a0to the sled dog training center. <a title=\"Iditarod race, Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/iditarod.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Iditarod Race<\/a> \u00a0takes place every March where over 65 mushers and dog teams pay a $3,000 entry fee to race 1,000 miles across Alaska. At the training center, you can talk with an experienced Iditarod musher. Though there\u2019s no snow in the summer, training must go on and you can play with the sled dogs and puppies or go for a sled ride along the road.<\/li>\n<li>If \u00a0you want to get to know more about the city of Anchorage, a <a title=\"Alaska Ambassador walking culinary or history tour\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alaskaambassador.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">walking tour<\/a>\u00a0will provide you with a more people-to-people experience. Start your morning off with the <strong>\u201cHistory and Art Walk Tour\u201d<\/strong> and then, in the afternoon, take the <strong>\u201cA Taste of Anchorage Culinary Tour.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0On the history tour you\u2019ll learn all about the founding of Anchorage beginning with the sale of the land from the Russians to the commissioning of the first Iditarod race.\u00a0On the culinary tour, you\u2019ll get to sample food and drinks and meet with the artisans in their restaurants.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/lifetime_adventures_kayak_anchorage.jpg\"><picture data-avif-picture=\"1\"><source type=\"image\/avif\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/lifetime_adventures_kayak_anchorage.avif 1x\"><img data-avif-wrap=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-44889\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/lifetime_adventures_kayak_anchorage.jpg\" alt=\"lifetime_adventures_kayak_anchorage\" width=\"288\" height=\"223\" \/><\/picture><\/a><strong><a title=\"Kayak on Eklutna Lake, Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lifetimeadventures.net\/eklutnaTrips.php\" target=\"_blank\">Kayaking on Eklutna Lake<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was\u00a0recommended by travel pro <a title=\"Peter Greenberg, The Travel Detective, Kayak on Eklutna Lake\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8VsJCnRBtKE&amp;list=PLBkrOdmi5cQLFRMFSeJ4Z3evTUSrx21hw\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Greenberg of The Travel Detective <\/a>. He considered this to be one of Anchorage\u2019s hidden gems. You can rent a kayak through <a title=\"Lifetime Adventures Anchorage\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lifetimeadventures.net\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lifetime Adventures in Alaska <\/a>by the hour, so you can make a day of exploring the lake or spend just an hour leisurely paddling through the majestic surroundings and just soak it all in.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Book your 2014 Alaskan cruise now<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Now is the time to book your 2014 cruise to Alaska. Call a CruiseExperts.com agent today to get more information on Alaskan cruises and cruisetours that visit Anchorage. Call 1-888-804-CRUIse(2784) or visit our website at \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.CruiseExperts.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Join our Inner Circle and \u201cLike\u201d us on Facebook<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Join our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/innercircle.php\" target=\"_blank\">Inner Circle<\/a>, or \u201clike\u201d us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CruiseExperts\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 you will receive the latest information and the hottest deals offered by all the major cruise lines. We can also help you with all your travel needs, whether you&#8217;re looking to head to Alaska, Europe (perhaps a popular river cruise), or the Caribbean &#8211; give us a call!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Picture Credits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Downtown Bicycle Rentals for the picture of the Coastal Trail<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Indian Valley Mine Company for the picture of the gold panning<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a title=\"Iditarod Trail Committee\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IditarodTrailCommittee\" target=\"_blank\">J<\/a>ansen Cardy\u00a0for the picture of the sled dog mushing summer ride<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Lifetime Adventures in Alaska for the picture of the kayakers<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So, you\u2019re thinking about a cruise to Alaska, and you want to visit\u00a0Anchorage\u00a0while you&#8217;re there. First, be sure you choose the right cruise or cruisetour, as not all will take you to Anchorage. \u00a0A southbound cruise from Vancouver will get you to Anchorage&#8217;s port towns of Seward or Whittier (or you can reverse the cruise, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/2013\/11\/11\/the-best-of-anchorage-the-top-5-things-to-do\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  The Best of Anchorage: The Top 5 Things to Do<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":45859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,19,10,30,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alaska","category-destinations","category-did-you-know","category-informative","category-our-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruiseexperts.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}