Confused - May, June or July in Alaska

[lucia1024]

I need some help in deciding when to go to AL. I am planning a trip there, but from what I have read the weather is a crap shoot. The price for a cruise in May is less expensive than June or July. It seems that it doesn't make sense to book a trip in June or July when the weather can just be the same as May.

 

Can anyone share their experiences with weather is each of these months? I want to make the most of this trip because it will probably be the only trip I will be able to make there.

 

I live in FL and love the warm weather, but I know I will have to brave the cold to visit AL. I just don't know if it really matters what month to go.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Falele]

Hi there,

I used to live and work in Juneau Alaska. The best weather is in July.:) :)

[Ray-Barbara]

We went in late May/early June and had no rain and nice temperatures. In fact, the tempearature in Ketichan was 80 degrees and we got a sunburn. We wore jackets at the glaciers, but used layered clothing to get us by. I understand they get a lot of rain in July and August. It is a gamble any month you go, but as you said, it is much cheaper to travel in May.

Ray and Barbara

[Budget Queen]

Alaska weather is a crap shoot. :) What are you looking at??? It is best for interior Alaska late May and actually after June 1 if Denali park is a priority. Anytime in Alaska is unique and has excellent potential. Go with being well prepared in your attire then it won't matter about the weather.

[GlacierLady]

If the prices are cheaper in May, I'd would vote for that. Some of the pluses are all the plants are budding, babies being born (I've seen 3 moose calves this past week), alot more snow covered mountains and there shouldn't be as many tourists.

 

We've had great weather this past week, high 70's and sunny. Summer is finally here, just 2 weeks ago it was snowing. I have seen 90's in June and July. It can rain anytime yr around.

[Coral]

Hi there,

I used to live and work in Juneau Alaska. The best weather is in July.:) :)

 

Just to show you how Alaska weather can be unpredictable - all of my May/June cruises have had better weather compared to my July cruises.

 

I really like the weather the end of May/first of June.

[SEPyle]

We loved our visit last year in late May and because of the attractive rates decided to go again in late May this year. Now that our 5/20 Summit was cancelled we're going late July/early August. You can guess I've been spending a good amount of energy convincing myself this is a good thing since it's a given that I would rather be in the interior of Alaska right now, enjoying the fruits of all my planning for our land tour!

 

I've come up though with some pretty good reasons besides the weather. Here they are: 1: We'll be able to see Alaska in full bloom with wildflowers to paint the landscape. 2: The salmon will be running and with that hopefully we'll see more bears too. I'm especially looking forward to the Salmon/bears in the Ketchikan area. 3: And oh yes, we'll be able to say we have experienced intimately the state bird, the mosquito!

 

I do have a question: Since we'll be in Denali on the Shuttle busses on July 31st, will the tundra have the incredible colors I've seen in some pictures? Even if not, I'm excited to see it in a different season since we saw it with a lot more snow in late May last year.

 

The original question was asking what time to plan a trip to Alaska depending on weather. Maybe this will give others more things to consider rather than just temperatures, because in my opinion there are pros and cons to different times to visit.

[NancyIL]

I've come up though with some pretty good reasons besides the weather. Here they are: 1: We'll be able to see Alaska in full bloom with wildflowers to paint the landscape. 2: The salmon will be running and with that hopefully we'll see more bears too. I'm especially looking forward to the Salmon/bears in the Ketchikan area. 3: And oh yes, we'll be able to say we have experienced intimately the state bird, the mosquito!

 

 

My understanding is that the mosquitos are worse early in the season than later. At least that's what my Frommer's Alaska book says!

[Budget Queen]

. 2: The salmon will be running and with that hopefully we'll see more bears too. I'm especially looking forward to the Salmon/bears in the Ketchikan area. 3: And oh yes, we'll be able to say we have experienced intimately the state bird, the mosquito!

 

I do have a question: Since we'll be in Denali on the Shuttle busses on July 31st, will the tundra have the incredible colors I've seen in some pictures? Even if not, I'm excited to see it in a different season since we saw it with a lot more snow in late May last year.

 

.

 

 

I would suggest you look at a fly in to Anan, the absolute best tour you can consider in my opinion for bears out of Ketchikan.

 

And NO you are at least 3 weeks too early for any color in Denali Park.

[lucia1024]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. I may look into going in late May or early June. Alot of you had good experiences at this time of year and the price is much better.

 

I would rather spend the extra money on excursions. I want to try to take in as much as possible.

 

You CC are the best!

[SEPyle]

I would suggest you look at a fly in to Anan, the absolute best tour you can consider in my opinion for bears out of Ketchikan.

 

And NO you are at least 3 weeks too early for any color in Denali Park.

 

Budget Queen, Thanks for the suggestion for Anan...I've heard that's a great option and I'll check into that possibility. I wondered about the fall colors in Denali, however won't the fireweed be growing and some color with wildflowers? In May of course it was too early for any wildflowers.

 

Thanks again for your feedback!

[Vols Cruiser]

I had the same question looking at AL for next year. I ended up booking the Saphire NB for June 2nd (today actually). The rates go up the following week. It seemed to be a good middle ground. The Diamond goes SB that same day.

[SunFunCruiser]

I booked the June 6th southbound after reading many posts about weather & prices.

[jeff Schaber]

We chose August 6th as our cruise date as July and August are supposed to be the best months for whales. I actually called a few of the whale watching companies to find out when the best time would be and this date fell in line with our schedule and a greater opportunity to see whales.

 

I plan a lot of snow ski trips for large groups (300+) on a regular basis and weather is always a factor when it comes to the enjoyabilty of the trip. The problem is, you can't peredict what the weather does so always go where you want, when you want.

 

We don't worry about the weather too much since you don't have any control over it. But, if you really want to gamble and play the odds, I would suggest checking out this link http://www.alaska.com/about/weather/story/4481284p-4775750c.html

[hopelea]

We just got back from AK, (not AL, that is Alabama, where I live:) ).

The weather was great! We layered and had to carry our jackets most of the time. We had little rain. Most of the rain was after we left our ports. Which was fine with us. No mosquitos or any other bugs. It was a great time to go. I don't know how long the snow stays on the mountains, but we had beautiful snow covered mountains to look at as well. We were unable to make it to the Glacier in the ship, but that was okay, we saw a lot of ice bergs~~

[jeff Schaber]

One other thing you REALLY need to keep in mind is your itinerary! Not all of Alaska's weather is the same. Ketchikan (sp) has probably the highest rainfall amount of any of Alaska's cities. Skagway averages only about an inch in July. Each port you choose will more than likely have different weather. So, think about what you want to do on your cruise, where you want to go then try and decide when.

 

Lets say that you absolutely must do a helicopter flight. These tend to get cancelled due to weather. Choose the port that has the most sunny days per year to do that (Skagway). We knew going to Ketchikan would probably be rain so we chose not to schedule a float plane tour and decided why not enjoy the natural rain forest and do the canopy tour.

 

If you choose your itinerary and have an idea of what you want to do then sometimes you can plan on the worst weather working in your favor. Sometimes you get lucky and have beautiful weather throughout!

[Budget Queen]

We chose August 6th as our cruise date as July and August are supposed to be the best months for whales. I actually called a few of the whale watching companies to find out when the best time would be and this date fell in line with our schedule and a greater opportunity to see whales.

 

]

 

 

 

The entire Alaska sailing season is excellent for humpbacks, with tours having close to 100% sightings. Tours are necessary for those close up extended viewing. Orcas- go on a whale watch out of Victoria BC or Friday Harbor Wa. a total "chance" for sightings in Alaska.