Alaska Off the Beaten Path, 3rd: A Guide to Unique Places

Rating:
Summary: An interesting supplimental guide
Review: The Off the Beaten Path Alaska guide is almost the counter guide for the main off the shelf tour guides like Foders. Yes, a lot of it is akin to advertising, but it opens up some of the possible opportunities and can give you a starting off place to learn more. The book was useful for looking at in small pieces - the narrative is rather plodding and seemingly unorganized - at least it's hard to find things quickly in it. But at the same time, if you are looking at Alaska as that once in a lifetime visit, then it presents the opportunities that are out there, especially those not covered in as much detail in the mainstream guides. Sure, many of the things listed are way out of most of our budgets, but I found myself contemplating trying to find some alternatives to side trips that I hadn't thought about. And it shows that it's written by someone on knows and lives the area - the description of travel opportunities often fall more in travelogue than guide book realm. Personally, as someone who is looking at visiting Alaska and hoping to go above the Arctic Circle, I got some ideas and had my options partially laid out. I now know what I might want to explore as options. I would never make this my only guide book - but it is good for what it tries to do. I do wish the maps were better and the text and maps corresponded more readily. Peruse it before you go - it's for planning ahead, not referring to on the trip.

Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive look at travel in Alaska
Review: There are tours and travel opportunities to fit every traveler and every pocketbook in this book. Where most travel books on Alaska provide sketchy descriptions and outdated contact information we found the information in Alaska Off the Beaten Path to be solid.
We enjoyed Melissa's first person accounts and descriptions too. I followed her directions and found giant sea lions right where she said they'd be, in the harbor in Kodiak.
We carried it with us everywhere and haver recommended it to friends who plan to visit Alaska in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Off the Beaten Path? Try how to spend the most money in AK
Review: this book is full of overpriced advertisements and we found this book completely irritating in a 6 week trip to Alaska. If you want to spend $3500 on a kayak trip this may be the book for you.