what should I pack? Alaska w/4yr. old and 1 yr. old

[elvo73]

Do I need to bring heavy coats for them? covers for the strollers just in case is raining? Our cruise leaves 5/31 from Vancouver going to Alaska.

any ideas? Thanks!

[nothriver]

What type of excursions are you planning?

 

We are going in mid June and we will be outside quite a bit, three boat trips plus hiking at Mendenhall. My daughter is 4 and for daytime, I'm dressing her in the same manner I dress myself and my teenage son. We are taking good quality waterproof rain coats (we have a Columbia, North Face, and two from REI), hooded fleece jackets to layer underneath the rain jackets. I don't think winter coats are a bad idea necessarily if that is what you have, but if you have lighter jackets that you can layer, you are covered for a wider range of weather - rain jacket alone for hot/wet, fleece alone for just a bit chilly, both fleece and rain jacket with a couple layers underneath for real cold. Ebay is a great place to shop.

 

For clothes, we are taking polypropylene shirts like underarmor and some fleece shirts too. Breathable fabrics are good if you have them, fleece or synthetic fabrics, if we get drenched they will dry quickly, unlike jeans and t-shirts which stay wet for a long time. I found some nice synthetic pants for traveling at my locally luggage/travel shop, but haven't found any synthetic pants for my 4 yr old, so I bought her some waterproof rain pants to wear over here jeans. We are also taking waterproof shoes but I wouldn't bother with that if you aren't planning to be outside all the time like we are. We'll also need them for upcoming trips, I wouldn't have bought them just for a few days in Alaska. I sound like a nut don't I? I used to backpack quite a bit when I was younger and I know what it is like to be cold and wet - I just want to avoid that possiblity!

 

ETA: for your one yr old, try to find a fleece bunting, if you can find one that fits. I think I've seen them up to toddler sizes. Many of them have flaps that cover both the hands and feet. If you are walking around with your little one in the stroller, you can cover both hands and shoes, then uncover as needed. Again, try ebay, those should be selling for very reasonable prices at this time of year. We've had some really cute buntings from Patagonia, but REI makes nice ones as well.

 

I'm not taking a stroller this trip. I hope I don't regret it. We walk a lot, my daughter can walk up to 3 miles on flat paved trails, so I think she'll be fine. If you have a stroller with a good rain cover, definately bring it or look for a cover that fits well. We have a Maclaren Volo that came with a raincover that fits like a glove and that cover is so good, it is almost worth buying the whole stroller just for the cover. We've been caught in terrible rain storms both traveling and here at home - last summer it never stopped raining and that Mac Volo was a real help.

 

You'll probably want fleece hat and gloves for everyone too, if you are viewing glaciers, I've heard it is cold on glacier day! I figure they don't take up much room in the suitcase and even if we only need them for a few hours, we'll be glad we have them.

 

I'm probably overprepared, but like I said, we'll be outside almost every day of our trip. I paid a lot of money for some of these excursions and I want all of us to be able to enjoy ourselves no matter what the weather, instead of huddled inside the small interior cabins of the boats we'll be touring on.

[elvo73]

We're not doing a lot of excursions because the baby, we're renting a car in Juneau and another one in Skagway. I have tickets to do the duck tour in Ketchikan. We're planning in walking all over the towns and drive around the areas. Maybe one of us go fishing at one point, but we don't know at this point.

I looked at target.com, and I got 2 jackets 3 in one for each of my DDS Thank you for your ideas!

[Boo's Mom]

Do I need to bring heavy coats for them? covers for the strollers just in case is raining? Our cruise leaves 5/31 from Vancouver going to Alaska.

any ideas? Thanks!

 

We have cruised with our children 3 times in Alaska.

The heaviest thing we brought with us was a lined raincoat.

This can be layered with a sweatshirt, if needed.

 

We also brought along hats and gloves,

and we did use them at different times.

[lamolesky]

I have a general packing list for kids, it isn't for Alaska but it might help you with the other stuff, have fun!