Alaska vs Iceland?

[Anonymous]

I’m trying to decide between Alaska or Iceland for a summer trip, just me, 1 tween, 1 teen. We’d be traveling mid/late June or early July. If you’ve done either (or both), can you share what you loved and what was challenging?

With Alaska, I’m naturally drawn to the glaciers and wildlife, and I can’t decide between an Inside Passage cruise or doing it as a land trip. I feel like it's naturally more teen friendly but not sure?

Iceland feels so different and interesting, either committing to a ring road route or basing in Reykjavík and doing day trips. But the lodging seems just so expensive, and the weather/wind seems all over the place and harder to navigate solo?

Just trying to get a sense of what feels more doable and memorable in reality.

[Anonymous]

We loved Iceland but it will be colder than Alaska. The best you can hope for in Iceland is sunny and 60s…but in the two weeks we were there, there were more days in the high 40s than high 60s (and most days in the 50s).

Iceland is small, so easier to get to all the highlights via car. We loved how every town has a geothermal water park, and those are relatively cheap (much much cheaper than the Blue Lagoon). You do have to shower completely naked before they let you access the pools…single sex, but you can’t keep your suit on.

[Anonymous]

We had a FABULOUS land trip to Alaska with a bunch of tweens and teens. So much hiking, kayaking, natural beauty etc. My kids would all clear their calendars in a heartbeat if they were invited back! My 11 year old DD told my mom that it was better than Disney!

[Anonymous]

I've done two land trips to Alaska with teens and a brief trip to Iceland with DH. We liked Iceland enough to go back this summer with our teens. But we LOVED Alaska. I think there's more variety there and endless things to do. I still want to go back for a dedicated bear viewing trip.
Surprising to us - the food in Iceland was much better. Things like the hot springs are different and interesting. And you have the fun of going to a different country.
But Alaska is so beautiful in the summer. Denali, Kenai Fjords, even just the drive from Anchorage to Seward. Wildflowers bloom everywhere. There is abundant wildlife (There's basically no wildlife in Iceland. Just lots of sheep). I definitely plan to return.
Weather-wise, Alaska is also very unpredictable with rain. You basically pack the same things for both places.

You can't lose either way. Both will have a lot of driving. Both are very manageable. Both will be great with teens.

[Anonymous]

We did Iceland two years ago and will do an Alaska cruise this summer, so I can’t compare them yet. But one thing I can think of right off the bat is how easy Iceland is to get to from the East Coast—short, direct flight. For the Alaskan cruise, we have a layover, time in port before and after which means booking hotels, etc. So there’s just more logistics with this trip than there was for Iceland IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did Iceland two years ago and will do an Alaska cruise this summer, so I can’t compare them yet. But one thing I can think of right off the bat is how easy Iceland is to get to from the East Coast—short, direct flight. For the Alaskan cruise, we have a layover, time in port before and after which means booking hotels, etc. So there’s just more logistics with this trip than there was for Iceland IMO.

+1 exactly. Iceland is really easy and there’s so much to do. I wouldn’t do the ring road- we actually had a driver and did the entire south coast in a week and there was plenty to do.

[Anonymous]

We're trying to make the same decision, and I think we're going to go with Iceland, mainly because of how easy it is to get there from DC. They both sound amazing.

[Anonymous]

How many days do you have?

[Anonymous]

We enjoyed both and I recommend both.

For Alaska we did a 12 day land based trip. Denali, Anchorage and Seward. We took 7 hour day cruise out of Seward to see glaciers.

Iceland we’ve only been able to do quick 4 night visit. We did the south east coast and golden circle. I don’t know if I’d do day trips out of Reykjavik. I’d look to move around on accommodations.

For both, I’d book and plan early. We’d go back to either but Iceland is higher on list as we want more time there.

[Anonymous]

If you do Alaska, definitely recommend a land-based trip instead of a cruise. I've done both, and liked renting a car and driving around a lot better. We had a couple nights in Anchorage, 3-4 nights in Seward, and 3 nights outside Denali. We booked a day-long wildlife and glacier viewing cruise out of Seward, so we got a nice on the water experience without being on a cruise ship for the whole trip. We also did a 1-2 hour guided kayaking trip on a sheltered bay near Seward that was really cool. Denali NP was really cool too, and the state park bordering Anchorage was amazing too with tons of wildflowers. We haven't been to Iceland, but are going this summer.

[Anonymous]

We've done both, and enjoyed both. Agree with all the posters about Alaska saying to go by both land and sea (you're already going all that way). We had 2 weeks in Alaska and only one in Iceland and definitely want to go back to both. You really can't go wrong with either

[Anonymous]

Aww man, that's a tough one.

My Alaska trip was one of my favorite trips I've ever done, but you're thinking about a cruise. I went with my sister and we did a road trip and it was absolutely amazing. You do NOT have to do a cruise to see Alaska. Plus, we probably spent less money on our road trip than we would've on a cruise and we went for 2 weeks. We encountered many people on cruises in some areas, like Homer, Denali (for their land portion) and when I was looking into this, they were spending so much more on the same experiences we did when we booked them ourselves and did it at our own pace.

Iceland is also amazing! I went with my husband for 2 weeks in 2023 and I loved it. We did a road trip there too. For cost, it's probably about the same. Iceland will eat up your budget on your rental car, while AK will eat up the budget on excursions (which of course are optional but just add to the fun!)

I felt that we got to do much more of a variety in Alaska than Iceland. So in AK, we did:
Bear viewing w/ bush plane ride to Katmai
Boat cruise in Kenai
Glacier Landing (well, we didn't actually do this because it was cancelled due to weather but we planned it)
Full day Denali by bus (can't drive past mile 15, must take a bus).
A few short hikes
Fishing for halibut
Glacier hike
Bush plane / overnight in Wrangell St Elais NP, with a mine tour

Iceland it was more sightseeing, hot springs, and hiking. There's stuff like whale watching, glacier hikes, snorkeling but we didn't want to do that stuff as we've done it elsewhere.

You honestly can't go wrong.

[Anonymous]

For the PP who went to Wrangell St Elias, how was that? I read a book that took place there and have always wanted to go. I also did a two week land trip around Alaska but we didn’t make it there.

[Anonymous]

I just saw there’s a full solar eclipse in Iceland in August. Could add an element of awesomeness to that trip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've done two land trips to Alaska with teens and a brief trip to Iceland with DH. We liked Iceland enough to go back this summer with our teens. But we LOVED Alaska. I think there's more variety there and endless things to do. I still want to go back for a dedicated bear viewing trip.
Surprising to us - the food in Iceland was much better. Things like the hot springs are different and interesting. And you have the fun of going to a different country.
But Alaska is so beautiful in the summer. Denali, Kenai Fjords, even just the drive from Anchorage to Seward. Wildflowers bloom everywhere. There is abundant wildlife (There's basically no wildlife in Iceland. Just lots of sheep). I definitely plan to return.
Weather-wise, Alaska is also very unpredictable with rain. You basically pack the same things for both places.

You can't lose either way. Both will have a lot of driving. Both are very manageable. Both will be great with teens.

This sounds amazing PP. how long was your trip and what was your itinerary?