Planning a Trip

Alaska's Bush is better defined by what it's like than by where it is. The most common and convenient conception says the Bush is everything beyond the road system. On a map, almost everything north and west of Fairbanks meets that definition, but many Bush villages lie elsewhere in the Interior, in Southcentral, and in Southeast Alaska. In fact, there are some Bush villages you can drive to. No simple definition works. You know a Bush community by how it feels. It's a place where the wilderness is closer than civilization, where people still live off the land and age-old traditions survive, and where you have to make a particular effort to get in or out.

Getting Around

With a few exceptions for strongly motivated travelers, who might take the ferry to Kodiak and Unalaska or drive to Prudhoe Bay, getting to each town will require flying. Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com) offers the only jet service to Bush hubs. Other, smaller operators serve these towns with prop aircraft. Throughout, I've listed the plane fare to various communities from Anchorage, based on flying coach and getting a significant discount for advance purchase and some restrictions. Full fares cost more. With the way fuel costs and airfares are fluctuating, I hesitate to mention firm prices for plane tickets at all. Use these only for a general scale of costs. To get a current fare, use a travel agent or the Internet.

Kodiak is the most accessible of the communities, but it still requires either a 10-hour ferry ride from Homer or a $350 round-trip plane ticket from Anchorage. This charming, historic town is similar to towns in Southeast Alaska or Prince William Sound, but it is also a hub for Native villages on the island and remote wilderness. Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands is an interesting place to go way off the beaten path while staying in complete comfort. From Anchorage a visit requires a 3-hour flight on a turbo prop aircraft, and fares of less than $950 are rarely seen. Barrow, the Pribilof Islands, Kotzebue, and Kaktovik are the most purely Native of the communities. Nome has the advantages of Arctic surroundings easily accessible on gravel roads, but is more of a gold-rush town than a Native village. Prudhoe Bay, at the end of the Dalton Highway, is an industrial complex without a real town associated with it. Fares from Anchorage range from $450 to $850 for these communities. Buying an Alaska Airlines package tour saves money to Nome or Barrow and gives you something to do when you arrive.