Planning the Perfect Getaway: My Amazing Alaskan Vacation

In July 2010, I took my parents to Alaska for my "Thanks for putting up with all my $#%@" trip. I've got great parents and they've done a lot for me over the years, so I was excited to do this for them.

My parents don't like to travel much. They live on a peaceful lake in Texas with family and friends nearby and they're quite content. But personally I think it is almost a crime not to see as much of this planet as possible. So, in addition to thanking them for all they did for me, I was hoping to also share a little of myself with them on this and show them how wonderful travel can be.

And maybe, just maybe...I'd inspire them to do more traveling themselves.

I'm a travel junkie. I love going new places and exposing myself to other countries, cultures, philosophies and experiences. I also love doing all the research and planning required to make great trips. My wife jokes that I should be a travel agent. But I'm not a fan of wasting money (guess I'm at Savings.com for a reason…), so I pride myself on planning amazing trips on a budget.

I wanted to design this particular trip for my parents. If it was for me alone, there would have been more camping, hiking, rafting, kayaking, etc….But this trip needed to be more relaxed and easy-going to take into account my parents' needs.

I did my research through travel books like Lonely Planet (my favorite), Frommers and also through travel sites like Trip Advisor. I always look for  good deals on hotels, excursions, restaurants, etc., but for me, "good deals" doesn't mean cheap--it just means good value for the money. What does everyone say they loved doing? Quite often, these aren't the most expensive things. I look for the best values to get the most for my money.

For example, I knew I wanted to visit Glacier Bay National Park and also Wrangell, AK. Flying from Glacier Bay National Park to Wrangell on Alaska Airlines would have been around $200 per person. But flying by private plane via Sunrise Aviation was only $275 per person. So for a little bit more money, we got to fly in a small private plane and tell the pilot to go wherever we wanted him to go ("Buzz that mountain ridge…Fly over that glacier up there…Go through that cloud…").

Totally worth it!

I'm not a fan of wasting money on 5-star hotels since you'll be asleep the whole time anyway. I'm also not into ritzy dinners every night. You can't eat rich food every meal without feeling miserable, so you might as well space them out. There were probably three amazing dinners the entire trip, but the rest were good quality, simple meals that were reasonably priced.

Don't get me wrong: I love nice hotels and nice meals, but I didn't need that for this trip as I was more interested in spending the money on great excursions.

Our Agenda (9 days):

• Fly my parents first class from Dallas, TX to Anchorage, AK  on American Airlines
• Fly myself coach from Los Angeles to Anchorage
• Wake up early the next morning and take the train to Seward (arguably one of the most scenic train rides in the world)
• In Seward:
• • Visit Aialik Glacier (my parents went via boat, me by kayak)
  • Hike up to Exit Glacier
  • Visit the Alaska SeaLife Center and hang out in the quaint town of Seward
• Train back to Anchorage. Visit the Alaskan Native Heritage Center
• Fly to Glacier Bay National Park for a few days (Whale watching, hiking in rainforest and more Glacier tours)
• Fly by private plane (for up close view of glaciers) to Wrangell. While there:
  • River boat tour
  • visit Anan Creek Bear Observatory
• Fly by private plane to Juneau and bounce around there for a day before flying home early the next morning

If you're thinking this doesn't sound like a cheap trip, it wasn't. I said I don't like to waste money, but I don't mind spending money on things that are worth it. Still, if I would have gone through some travel service, package deal or cruise, I'm guessing this trip would have been $6,000-8,000 per person for everything. But being thrifty, doing some research and arranging it myself the total cost was only about $2,000 per person.

I had been saving up my airline miles and hotel points, so flights to/from Anchorage and two nights of hotels in Anchorage were free, so that helped quite a bit. But we also saved money by dealing directly with hotels, adventure planners, charter services, etc.

For a more details on exactly what $2,000 got us in terms of magical moments and memories, check in for part two of my amazing Alaskan vacation on Sunday.