 |
 |
 |
| The Alaska Railroad | The Alaska Marine Hwy | Scheduled/Bush Flights |
GoNorth can book a variety of travel throughout Alaska if you don't see what you need here please contact us for further information
The
Alaska Railroad
Contact us by telephone (toll free 1-866-236-7272) or e-mail to book your train tickets. Indicate the dates and routes that you would like to travel. We will issue you a confirmation and send you your tickets. There is no service charge for these bookings.
The beautiful photo of the M/V Kennicott above is courtesy of the Alaska Marine Highway. The Alaska Marine Highway is Alaska's public ferry system. Because of the steep terrain and long distances between communities along many of Alaska's coasts, there are few roads that connect towns to one another. The Alaska Marine Highway is the only way to bring a car to our capital city, Juneau, for example. Ferry schedules and pricing schemes are extensive and complex, and GoNorth can help you schedule and book your ferry tickets.
Contact us by telephone (toll free 1-866-236-7272) or e-mail to book your ferry tickets. Please indicate:
1) The dates and routes that you would like to travel. Please give
us a range if possible, most ferries do not operate daily.
2) The size of your vehicle
3) The type of cabin you wish (inside/outside, 2-berth/4-berth, private/shared
facilities). Cabins are not required to travel on the ferry system. Most
ships have a heated solarium on the back deck where you can "camp"
We review the itinerary, price if for you, then book it with your approval and send you your tickets. There is no service charge for these bookings.
Air travel in Alaska is complicated and expensive. Prices and quality vary widely. Take some of the worry out of your bush plane experience by arranging your air taxi through Para Tours. We can arrange your air transportation into and out of the Brooks Range, or any other remote region of the state.
Contact us early while you are planning your Alaska trip. Air logistics can often make the difference between an affordable and an unaffordable trip. Get as much good, local advice on air taxis as you can before you commit to your trip. Alternatively, we can take care of the air taxis for you, and you can focus on the more important details of your trip, like buying film.
Keep some of the following rules in mind when booking an airplane:
1) If you have chartered an airplane, you must pay by the hour. The cheapest planes cost well over $250/hour.
2) You must pay for the pilot to take you to your destination, and for the pilot to return again.
3) All airplanes
are not created equal. Some can fly with more gear, some with less.
Some may take off from small lakes, some require longer
to take off. Even though you may have a small group, your drop-off point
may not have a 
landing strip large enough to permit some small planes
to take off. Sometimes a small group will need to charter a larger airplane
to ensure that the pilot can take off again.
4) Airplanes are not permitted to carry hard-shell boats and passengers for long distances at the same time. If you require a hard-shell boat, you may need to arrange at least two trips. Consider renting or bringing a collapsible or folding boat if you need an air taxi. Para Tours can supply you with collapsible or folding boats.
5) When you are in bush Alaska, you are on bush time. Weather conditions
become more important, and clock time becomes less important. Bad weather,
airplane maintenance, forest fires, and other natural hazards can strand
you anywhere for days. Do not expect on-time service once you have stepped
off of the commercial jetliner. You should consider purchasing a travel
insurance policy, in case delays interfere with your other travel plans.
Visit our partner, Travelex Insurance Services, for further information
or to purchase a travel insurance policy
6) Travel in bush Alaska is an exercise in "hurry up and wait." If you are expecting a backcountry pick-up, be at your pick-up point on the night before your air taxi is due. If the weather is closing in, you may be picked up early to avoid stranding you for several days. If the weather is bad or has been bad, your air taxi may be hours, even days later than scheduled. Pack extra food before you fly into the backcountry, and wait at your sheduled pick-up point until your airplane arrives.
7) Small planes are restricted as to the amount of weight they can to carry. Bush airlines in Alaska meticulously weigh out everything that is packed into the plane, including the passengers. They always charge you for excess baggage, usually at a rate of $.60/pound. Find out in advance how much weight you will be allowed, and stay strictly within your limit.
Calculating your air transportation costs
If you are planning a trip, and you expect to use an air taxi, start calculating your air transport costs early. You will need to know how many people will be traveling with you, what kind of gear you have, and where you will meet your plane. Air transport is usually the largest expense for backcountry travelers, so be sure to get an estimate before you get too far along in your trip planning.
Start with your regular air tickets. Most groups traveling in the
Brooks Range will catch their air taxi from Bettles, so they need to
get to
Bettles first. As of summer of 2007, the round-trip charter flight from
Fairbanks to Bettles costs $270/person. One-way scheduled air tickets
to Eagle, another common starting point, are $130/person. These flights
have very strict baggage weight and size limits, extra baggage the price
is $0.5-1.1/lb. Be sure that you let your booking agency or airline
know how much baggage
you
will
have,
and
how much it will weigh. You will have to pay for extra weight at a rate
of approximately $.60/lb. If you know that you are going to be over your
weight limit, send some of your gear ahead of you on earlier 
flights
or mail it to your air taxi's office in advance of your arrival. Para
Tours can help you organize the details for these flights.
Now add the price of the air taxi to your chosen drop-off location. Air taxis are essentially charters, so rates quoted reflect the price for use of the entire airplane, and not a per-person rate. Air taxi costs depend entirely on your destination and the size of your group. Floatplanes in the Brooks Range cost between $530.00 and 730.00/hr. For each drop-off, you have to pay the pilot to fly you out, AND to return. You must do the same for each pick-up. The hourly rate depends on the size of the airplane, which depends in turn on the size of the group and type/size of your landing strip.
If you need an air taxi for 2 people, 1/2 hour away from Bettles, you pay about $530 (smaller plane, one hour total flying time). If you need an air taxi for 4 people to a location an hour away, (larger plane, two hours total flying time) you are likely to spend $1600. If you need a pickup again at the end of the trip, you will pay another $530 to $1600. Para Tours has an extensive list of prices for most of the airstrips and floatplane lakes in the Brooks Range. If you have an interest in a specific destination, please contact us for an exact price
.
GoNorth can book any Frontier Flying scheduled flights at no additional cost to you. For more information email or call. For Frontier Flying flight schedules use the following link-Frontier Flying