The Alaska Highway, which links Alaska with Canada and the contiguous United States, is fully paved and offers services all year long. Fall is a great time to enjoy the brillant foliage along the highway and some enjoy driving the Alaska Highway during the winter, when there's less traffic and the scenery is painted with snow. If you prefer to leave the driving to others, several companies provide scheduled, charter and tour motorcoach service to Anchorage, summer through fall. By Sea Several cruise lines offer excursions up through September along the famous Inside Passage, docking in Anchorage and nearby Seward or Whittier for the transfer to Anchorage. The Alaska Marine Highway, the state's ferry system, runs year-round, calling on Whittier, Seward and Homer, which are connected to Anchorage by road and rail.
Seatbelts are mandatory for all passengers.
All children, four years old and under, must be strapped into a federally approved child safety seat. If you're shooting for big game, you'll need to buy additional tags, depending on the species. Get a complete copy of Alaska's hunting regulations by calling the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 267-2347. The only exception is the westernmost Aleutian Islands, which are on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, two hours behind Pacific Time. Due to Anchorage's northern latitude, fall and winter often come a little earlier than cities farther south.