Web sites for Alaska vacation planning

It might have more scenery than you can pack into a lifetime, plus endless opportunities for recreation in the great outdoors. Luckily, Alaska has plenty of Web sites to help you choose the places you want to visit first and start making arrangements.

The state's official tourism Web site — www.dced.state.ak.us/tourism/ — isn't as flashy as some, but clicking on "Learn About Alaska" will get you to sections on the outdoors, history and culture and "Sites," which leads you to attractions. Be sure to click on "Other Sources of Information" for links to the helpful Alaska Travel Industry Association and the Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association.

Click on the "LoonCam" at Alaska.com — www.alaska.com/akcom/v-css/ — for a glimpse of nesting wildlife, and then explore their photo galleries. Click on the map for regional travel information and articles, such as rafting and river kayaking in the Southcentral area, hot springs in the West or bear viewing in Denali National Park and Preserve.

Speaking of Denali, the National Park Service provides a single starting point for Web sites of its 15 parks in Alaska:

www.nps.gov/akso/ — but you might have to look carefully to find the link that says "Visit this link ... " That will take you to an interactive map where you can click on parks ranging from the huge Wrangel-St. Elias to little-visited Aniakchak.

If you're more interested in roughing it, the National Forest Service also has an Alaska Region Web site — www.fs.fed.us/r10/ — with information on the enormous Chugach and Tongass forests.

There's an easy way to take in at least a sample of the scenery. In Anchorage, climb on board the Alaska Railroad — www.akrr.com/passenger/index.html — and head for Seward, Fairbanks or the Spencer Glacier. And check out their "Adventure Packages."

For a bigger view of the scenery, and at a more leisurely pace, there's a way to take a cruise along the Alaska coast without boarding one of the big expensive cruise ships. The coastal ferries of the state's Alaska Marine Highway System — www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/ — sail along the Inside Passage north from Bellingham, along the Aleutians and around Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska.

For cruise ships, check with your local travel agent, or try some of the many online agencies with cruise information such as Alaska Cruises and Alaska Vacations — www.alaska-cruises-vacations.com/ — or Cruise Shopping — www.cruiseshopping.com/.

You might also try Epinions — www.epinions.com/trvl-Cruises-All-Alaska — for reviews written by travelers.

You'll need an urban center of operations for your travels. The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau — www.anchorage.net/ — has planning information, itineraries and tips on places to stay, eat and shop.

In the Interior, the Fairbanks CVB — www.explorefairbanks.com/ — offers more of the same, plus regional travel ideas including Denali. The Juneau CVB — www.traveljuneau.com/ — tells you about Southeast Alaska, which you can see from ferries or a cruise ship.

For links to more cities and towns, go back to the state's tourism Web site, click on "Other Sources of Information" and look for "Visitor Bureaus & Chambers of Commerce."

Get the basics on hunting and fishing from the state's Department of Fish and Game — www.state.ak.us/adfg/adfghome.htm — including license information. Look for "Fishing" and click on "Sport" for regional reports and directories of registered guides.

And under "Hunting," look for "General Information" and then "Hunt Alaska" for info on lodges, guides, transporting firearms and safety in bear country.

Outdoors Directory — www.outdoorsdirectory.com/ — has a directory of hunting and fishing guides, lodges and more. Or try Alaska Outdoors — www.alaskaoutdoors.com/ — for more help with finding lodges, guides and charter services.

If they don't fill your needs, try Alaska Fishing Guides — www.1fghp.com/ak — or Alaska Fishing Online — www.alaskafishing.com/.