The Alaska ferry system is run by the state (that's a hint on how easy it is to use) and called the Alaska Marine Highway. Honestly, it's worth sorting through the state website or requesting the schedule by mail and learning to decipher it. When you are done you will know a new language and you will have planned the trip of a lifetime! Take the challenge!!

THE GOOD PART

You don't have to drive anywhere so you can be on the watch 24/7 instead of staring at asphalt and worrying about hitting a moose.

You can walk around. Meet interesting people from interesting places and have time to chat with them. You get to see a lot more places than most travelers and if you plan your trip well, you can get a lot out of just 2 weeks, and most of it via ferry.

In almost every town there are business that will take you around and give you the "tour of the town" and they are well worth taking.

If you want to see the parts of Alaska that you can get to via ferry that have *not been travelized by tourism* go to Kodiak and rent a car for a day and drive over to Larson Bay or stay in Cordova & rent a car and go to the Million Dollar Bridge - **SPECTACULAR**. Rent a car in Valdez and drive up to the top of Thompson Pass, passing the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls along the way **Awesome**.

WHERE THE FERRIES TRAVEL

The Inside Passage - between towns on the southeast panhandle of Alaska [Haines, Wrangell, Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan and more]. Each of these towns is interesting and scenic. When in Sitka, check out Totem Bight park. In Ketchikan check out the tram up the mountain. In Wrangell enjoy walking the town.

Prince William Sound - connecting Whittier, Valdez and Cordova, with the occasional trip to Kodiak and Homer (but NOT Seward - who did the town of Seward piss off??) This one is great if your ferry travels between Whitter & Valdez because it will stop by the Columbia Glacier (*very* awesome!). In all of these towns, there are interesting places to walk around and see, but most of them have outstanding vistas within driving range and they are *well worth* traveling to.

The Chain - a week long trip done once a month in summer all the way out to Dutch Harbor. I've wanted to do this one for years.

The Long Haul (I made that up) from Bellingham, Washington to Prince William Sound. It may have various ports of call from the panhandle to the Sound. I think that the AMS calls this a "cross-gulf" trip. So, you could ferry out of Washington state, connect with road transportation to see inland Alaska and fly home from either Anchorage or Fairbanks.

THE BAD PART

They can be a bit noisy. Sleeping accommodations on some ferries is on the floor (cheap!) if that ferry doesn't have rooms (the Bartlett). Little privacy, although if you find a nook that you like & settle down for a book read or nap, you will probably be left alone.

The schedule. Miss a sailing and you are stuck for a while, but hey! It just adds to the experience, right?