Curious to see who and what is behind MyAlaskaTrip.com? You’re in the right spot!
MyAlaskaTrip.com is a hub of travel planning and articles featuring tour operators, lodging, guide services and itinerary content for helping visitors (and locals who like to explore) get out and see more of Alaska. Working with travel and tourism partners, we connect people at the inspiration and planning stage with the experiences they’re ready to enjoy. We aim to help people respectfully visit Alaska, appreciating the incredible Alaska Native cultures, the beauty of the wilderness, and the joy Alaskan people share with visitors.
About Rob Taylor, creator of MyAlaskaTrip.com
I moved to Alaska in 2000, fresh out of high school and knew my life would never be the same. From working at Denali to living in Cooper Landing, my Alaska life shaped how I interact with the world and the roles I want to have in tourism. I loved every minute of being a driver guide and horseman, sharing the nature and tales of Alaska with visitors. Today, I’m happy to work with partners and operators from around the state writing about the experiences they offer, sharing their stories, and helping other discover the great people working hard to bring Alaska to its visitors.
Why did I begin MyAlaskaTrip.com?
Anybody can start a website, but it takes a travel-minded, detailed, person to build a helpful resource for planning a trip to Alaska. And I’ll be honest, it helps if that person actually lives or has lived in Alaska. And that’s me and my friends who share here on MyAlaskaTrip.com!
Hi there, I’m Rob Taylor and I have a long, storied history with Alaska and specifically Alaska tourism. I moved to AK straight out of high school and fell in love with the state. Working at Denali National Park and eventually moving down to Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska took hold of me fast and firm. I’ve worked in lodges, been a driver guide, and been a horseman showing guests the best of Alaska. I’ve also been a published writer since my first piece in print magazines in 1997, so storytelling has always been a passion of mine.
Fast forward to today when I’m now a full-time travel writer and wildlife photographer. I love my job and I love sharing my interests with others. MyAlaskaTrip.com is all about getting others to come to Alaska for a visit and to see just how special of a place it is in a respectful, low-impact way.
It’s easy to jump on a cruise ship and buy a t-shirt in every port, but that doesn’t have a lasting positive impact on the communities the ship visits, and there’s much more to Alaska than the port areas. Visiting Alaska is all about visiting the towns and wilderness with open eyes and open hearts. It’s about learning from Alaska Natives and native Alaskans (yes, those are two different groups). It’s observing and encountering some of the coolest wildlife in the world out in its natural habitat. Alaska is incredible.
So, put all this together and it’s why MyAlaskaTrip.com is a great resource for planning YOUR Alaska trip.
If you have any questions about planning your adventure or need some advice, please let us know. I love helping people plan trips and have some great buddies all around Alaska that can help with additional information and recommendations.
My Favorite Places in Alaska
Traveling all over the Alaska for work and for fun, I definitely have my favorite places. If you asked my kids what my favorite place is, they’d tell you it’s the Kenai Peninsula, and they’d be write. Every day I try to convince them that we can move back to the Kenai and live happily ever after… but they’re not buying it. Really though, I do have a few favorite places in Alaska that I always recommend to both potential visitors and returning travelers.
First up, yes, it’s the Kenai. From the moment you leave Turnagain Arm and head up into the mountains it feels like another world. I miss driving back and forth between Cooper Landing and Seward or Homer and seeing moose and bear every day. I miss fishing whenever I want, riding horses, and hiking at 11:00 at night. And yes, I have been on Kenai Fjords Tours into the National Park more times than I can count and I will continue to get on those boats and proclaim my love for puffins and glaciers until the Dall sheep come home.
My second favorite part of Alaska is Denali. I remember when I first moved to AK, on my very first day I drove into Savage River and that’s when I knew I would never get that piece of my heart back, and then the first time I saw caribou in Polychrome Pass, I was done for. Rafting on the Nenana River, seeing moose in the red shrubs of the tundra during the rut, watching the foxes jaunting around the hillsides, it all captured me and has never let me go.
Next favorite place in Alaska: Haines. Or Juneau. Both. I love to visit Haines and I think the scenery of the Chilkat River and Chilkoot Lake, along with the beautiful Lynn Canal is absolutely perfect. And I love the bears in Haines. I love to visit Juneau too, and if I were to move somewhere in Southeast Alaska Juneau would be it. The city is pretty, it’s fun, there are great restaurants, there’s no shortage of things to do, and the vibe in Juneau is the perfect blend of tourist-town and functional-city. I could live there.
What do I think about Alaska Cruises?
Cruise travel in Alaska is something that cannot be escaped. Since the early 1900s passengers came to Alaska on steamship voyages to see the sights, and it’s only grown. Cruise tourism touches everything from the busy boardwalks of Ketchikan to cruise-tour guests heading up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle. Without cruises the economy of Alaska would crumble and take decades to be viable again… in my opinion. Having said that, cruise tourism does more to Alaska than just bring in the dollars.
The impacts of ship days on port towns range from wear and tear on small towns and bottlenecks to pollution. Peace and quiet as well as unobstructed views: gone. Strolling and enjoying the vibes of the port cities just isn’t the same when you’re doing it with 10K of your closest friends. But Alaska is big and the ports are working to disperse people, to keep some semblance of control over the cruise lines, and I think every year is a learning experience.
Do I enjoy Alaska cruises? Hmm, cruises take many forms and I am not one to laze about and then just stay in the cruise-controlled port shops, so yes, I know how I can and do like to enjoy an Alaska cruise. I definitely prefer the small-ship cruising experiences though, like UnCruise Adventures and The Boat Company. I like the small groups and seeing the wilderness and islands over the jewelry shops and crab feasts. I love the educational aspect of expedition cruising. It has to be said though, about all types of cruises in Alaska, they do put money back into the communities they visit, and I appreciate that. Whether it be donations to the Alaska Raptor Center for expansion or funding legal battles to protect the Tongass National Forest (The Boat Company is a non-profit cruise line doing this), the different cruise companies find ways to have a positive impact.
What do I see in the future for Alaska Tourism?
While I can’t see the future, I do have a vision for what I’d like to see in travel to Alaska. I would like for Alaska to become a more accessible destination for all kinds of visitors, both in terms of physical accessibility and financial accessibility. Since I first move to Alaska in 2000, I’ve seen huge changes all around the state to make things doable for visitors of all abilities, but there’s always room to improve. I think the accessible trails around Anchorage and some of the State and National Parks are great and expanding, but keeping that momentum and spreading that sort of project to natural and public spaces needs a push.
In terms of Alaska being more financially accessible, I have no brilliant plans to enact, but I can confidently say that many people I have talked with about visiting Alaska have shared that the cost of visiting is absolutely prohibitive for a family of moderate means. That’s 100% true. Alaska is freaking expensive both to live in and to visit. It’s not just a bucket list destination for people because the landscapes and wildlife are epic, but because it is a huge cost to get there, to sleep someplace medium-nice, and to be able to eat. Visiting in summer will cost a family of four between $600 and $700 per day considering lodging, rental car, and three meals, plus the actual flights or cruise fare to get there, and that doesn’t even include paying for tours and activities. Alaska is simply not accessible financially to most American families, and that makes me sad.
So, do I have a solution? Not really, but I would love to see action from the State to bring down operating costs for lodging and COGs so that savings can be passed onto visitors. A not-fancy hotel room for $350/nt and a plain hamburger w/o fries for $21? You’ve got to be kidding me. If the state worked to lower imported goods costs and provide business support to locally owned establishments, that would be amazing.
I’d love to see big out-of-state money vacate Alaska tourism in favor of keeping the funds within the communities and supporting better wages and reinvesting locally. I’d like to see small and large hotels be able to bring down room rates so regular people and families could consider Alaska for a vacation instead of Branson or something. All of this is bigger than me, and greed is greed, so I don’t expect anyone to make AK a more financially accessible destination, but a guy can dream.
MyAlaskaTrip.com and Rob Taylor’s Affiliations
We are proud members of several professional organizations that support story telling, professional travel occupations, and community awareness:
- OWAA – Outdoor Writers Association of America
- IGLTA – International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association
- ATIA – Alaska Travel Industry Association
Each of these groups serve a purpose in supporting our work on MyAlaskaTrip.com. OWAA is an incredible group of professional writers (print and digital), photographers, and content specialists telling the stories of outdoor spaces and human interaction with the world in which we live. IGLTA is a network of businesses, international companies, and journalists working to make travel more inclusive through both awareness and activism. ATIA connects tourism operators, media and travel advisors to bring the world to Alaska.
