🛫 South Terminal — Domestic + Alaska Airlines Hub

Carriers: Alaska Airlines (Concourse C), Delta, United, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Sun Country, plus the regional intra-Alaska operators — Ravn Alaska, Grant Aviation, Bering Air, PenAir — in the smaller Concourse B.

Layout: Concourses A, B, C in a single building. TSA security on Level 2; food court airside. The Alaska Lounge is in Concourse C near Gate C1.

🌐 North Terminal — International + CBP

Carriers: Condor (Frankfurt, A330neo, seasonal May-September), Korean Air (cargo + seasonal passenger via Seoul Incheon), Japan Airlines (charter, seasonal), Discover Airlines, plus military and seasonal charter flights.

CBP: US Customs and Border Protection inspection station, 2nd floor of the North Terminal. Standard US international arrival process for all foreign citizens.

US CBP at North Terminal 2nd Floor

Standard US international entry. Officers ask the standard CBP questions (purpose of visit, length of stay, ties to home country). Global Entry / APC (Automated Passport Control) kiosks are available for eligible travellers. Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app option also available.

ESTA for VWP — $21, valid 2 years

Required before boarding for ~40 visa-waiver countries (UK, EU, AU, NZ, JP, KR, etc.). Apply on esta.cbp.dhs.gov; expect approval within 72h though typically minutes. ESTA-approved travel is for stays up to 90 days for tourism or business; can be denied if you’ve travelled to certain countries (Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc.) after 2011 — apply for a B1/B2 visa instead in that case.

US Dollar & Tipping

USD is the only currency. Cards everywhere — tap dominant. Tipping is expected: 15-20% at sit-down restaurants (calculated on pre-tax bill), 10-15% on counter coffee/sandwich, $1-2 per drink at bars, $1-2 per bag for porters, $2-5 to the housekeeper per day at hotels. The non-tipped quoted price is roughly 80% of what you’ll actually pay.

⭐ People Mover Route 40 — The Default

• Direct from ANC South Terminal to downtown Anchorage via Spenard Road in ~30 minutes.
• Frequency: every 15 minutes weekdays 06:00-midnight; every 30 minutes weekends 08:00-20:00.
• Single fare $2.00 adult, $1.00 half/youth. Day pass $5.00 adult / $2.50 youth.
• Pay cash on the bus or use the People Mover mTicket app (credit/debit card).
• Bus stop is the dedicated transit shelter outside the South Terminal arrivals doors.

🚌 People Mover Route 65 — East Anchorage / Dimond Center

For travellers staying east of downtown or near the Dimond Center mall.

• ~40 minutes to Dimond Center via Tudor Road.
• Single fare $2.00 same as Route 40.
• Less frequent service (every 30 min weekday, every 60 min weekend).

🚆 Alaska Railroad — From Downtown, Not the Airport

The Alaska Railroad’s Anchorage depot is at the north end of downtown (411 W 1st Ave) — about 5 miles from ANC, 15-20 min by taxi. No direct airport rail link.

• Coastal Classic to Seward (May-September) — 4h 15m, $145-200 round-trip. The scenic Kenai Peninsula trip.
• Denali Star to Denali / Fairbanks — 7-12h, $250-400. The classic Alaska Railroad route.
• Glacier Discovery — weekend summer service to the Spencer Glacier whistle-stop.
• Trains are highly seasonal — the full schedule runs mid-May to mid-September; winter service is limited.

🚕 Uber / Lyft / Taxi

• Uber and Lyft are both active at ANC. Pickup at the designated rideshare area outside the South Terminal. $25-35 to downtown, 15-20 min off-peak.
• Yellow Cab Anchorage and Alaska Yellow Cab — the regulated taxi rank uses a metered fare; expect $30-40 to downtown including the standard tip.
• Tipping rideshare drivers: standard US convention is 15-20% via the app.
• Rent-a-car: Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, Enterprise, plus the local Go Alaska desks — expect $80-150/day for a mid-size SUV in summer (high season), $50-80 winter shoulder. Many visitors hire a car for the road network outside Anchorage where transit is essentially absent.

🛋️ Alaska Lounge — Concourse C near Gate C1

Hours: 05:00 – 01:30 daily (20.5 hours, longest of any Alaska Lounge in the network).

Access: Alaska Lounge Membership, Alaska MVP Gold/75K (with same-day Alaska boarding pass), oneworld Sapphire/Emerald (with same-day oneworld boarding pass), Priority Pass, walk-in (verify current Alaska Lounge published rate, typically around $60).

What’s inside: Alaska-themed lounge food (pancakes, breakfast burritos at AM; soup, chili, salad, meatballs at PM), Alaskan Brewing Co. beers, Yukon coffee, runway view of the Chugach Mountains in clear weather, family room with games, business stations, espresso machine, free Wi-Fi.

✈️ Reality for Non-Alaska / Non-PP Travellers

Delta SkyMiles Diamond, United Premier 1K, JetBlue Mosaic: no lounge access at ANC. The carriers don’t operate a lounge at the airport.

AmEx Platinum: the Centurion Lounge network does not include ANC. Priority Pass through AmEx Platinum gets you into the Alaska Lounge.

Five distinct Pacific salmon species run Alaska’s rivers: King (Chinook) the prized large-bodied fish, Sockeye (Red) the deep-red Copper River specialty, Coho (Silver), Pink (Humpy), and Chum (Dog/Keta). Copper River sockeye May-June is the Alaska food event of the year; restaurants advertise the day’s arrival. Glacier Brewhouse on 5th Avenue (since 1996) is the central reference for wild salmon — the alder-smoked prime rib is also famous — expect $35-55 per plate.

Alaska king crab is the iconic luxury plate — legs at $80-150 per pound at downtown restaurants. The Crab’s Claw and the Bridge Seafood at Ship Creek serve the classic plate. The annual harvest has shrunk substantially since 2021 due to population collapse; expect higher prices and shorter seasons going forward. Snow crab and Dungeness crab are the practical alternatives at $40-70.

The Anchorage street-food classic is a reindeer sausage from M.A.’s Gourmet Dogs cart in front of the courthouse on 4th Avenue downtown — running since the 1990s, serving the same $7-9 sausage with caramelised onions and hot mustard. Reindeer (farmed caribou, mixed with beef) is leaner than pork and stronger-flavoured. The cart runs in good weather year-round, even at -20°F when the line still forms.

Anchorage has a dense brewery scene: 49th State Brewing Co. (5 mins from downtown, the central beer hall), Midnight Sun Brewing (the older Anchorage favourite), King Street Brewing, Anchorage Brewing Co. (the experimental sour-ales house). Plus the Alaskan Brewing Co. from Juneau on every menu. The 49th State Brewing taproom does decent kitchen food — the bison bratwurst and the salmon dip are the locals’ orders.

🐟 Smoked Salmon & Salmon Jerky

$20-60 per pack. Alaska Sausage and Seafood Co. and Alaska Smokehouse are the recognised packers. Vacuum-sealed smoked salmon travels well in checked baggage. For US-to-domestic onward flights, no customs declaration needed; international onward, declare per arrival country’s rules.

🍫 Wild Berry Chocolate & Bear Claws

$8-20 per box. Alaska Wild Berry Products near the airport (1717 Lake Otis Pkwy, +5 min from ANC) does the iconic chocolate bear-claws and the wild-berry chocolates. Their main store has the world’s largest chocolate waterfall as a gimmick.

🦣 Mammoth Ivory & Native Art

$50-500+. Mammoth ivory (legal, from prehistoric remains) and Alaska Native carved bone, mukluks, qiviut wool products. Look for the “Silver Hand” certification mark guaranteeing authentic Alaska Native origin. Best at the Anchorage Museum gift shop and at Cabin Fever on 4th Avenue.

🍺 Alaskan Brewing & 49th State Bottle Caps

$15-30 per six-pack. The Alaskan Brewing Co. Amber, the Alaskan Smoked Porter (multi-time GABF gold winner), and the 49th State Solstice IPA. Most cannot be bought in the Lower 48; buy in checked baggage.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonial start happens on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage on the first Saturday in March each year. The 2026 race starts in early March (verify the official Iditarod.com date). The 1,000-mile route from Anchorage to Nome commemorates the 1925 serum run; modern timing favours top mushers finishing in around 8-9 days. The ceremonial start is family-friendly and free to watch from the sidewalks. The competitive restart happens the next day at Willow, 70 miles north.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs 11 miles along the Cook Inlet coast from downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park. Paved, mostly flat, the central recreation backbone of the city. Moose sightings are routine; bears occasionally; bald eagles common; in summer the trail is a runner-and-cyclist commute. Westchester Lagoon at the downtown end is the entry point; the Point Woronzof viewpoint (3 miles in) gives the runway view of ANC and the Sleeping Lady volcano (Mount Susitna) across the inlet. Free, open year-round.

The Anchorage Museum on 7th Avenue is the largest in the state — the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center within it houses thousands of indigenous Alaskan artefacts (Yup’ik masks, Inupiaq bowls, Tlingit carved cedar) returned from the Washington collection. Rotating contemporary-Alaska art galleries; planetarium; the interactive Discovery Center for kids. Adult ticket around $25 (verify anchoragemuseum.org); 2-3 hours minimum. The cafe inside (Muse) does Anchorage’s best museum lunch.

Anchorage’s 61°N latitude is at the southern edge of the Aurora oval. Sightings happen Oct-March on clear nights with KP-index 4+. The aurora is brighter and more frequent at Fairbanks (4 hours north by car, or the Alaska Railroad Aurora Winter Train). Around Anchorage, best vantages: Glen Alps in Chugach State Park (15 min east of downtown), Point Woronzof (5 min from ANC), and Skyline Drive in Eagle River. Use the University of Alaska Fairbanks aurora-forecast page (gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast) to plan.

EU/EEA visitors: EU Roam Like At Home does NOT extend to the USA. Your home plan will roam at out-of-bundle rates — expensive. Verify with your home carrier before departure.
All international visitors: US prepaid SIMs from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon are the cheapest option ($30-50 for 30 days unlimited). eSIM via Holafly, Airalo, Saily is the easier option for short trips. Watch for Alaska coverage gaps: AT&T and GCI have the best Alaska coverage; T-Mobile and Verizon are weaker outside Anchorage.
5G: default in Anchorage; outside city limits, 4G LTE drops to 3G or none.

With 4+ hours airside-to-airside, ANC is an easy layover. People Mover Route 40 to downtown (30 min, $2) or Uber/Lyft ($25-35, 15-20 min) — walk 4th Avenue, reindeer sausage at M.A.’s Gourmet Dogs cart, browse the Wild Berry chocolate shop, then a half-hour Coastal Trail stretch from Westchester Lagoon out to the Point Woronzof viewpoint and back. With 6+ hours: add the Anchorage Museum (2-3 hours). With 8+ hours and decent weather: Flattop Mountain trailhead in Chugach State Park (15 min east) for a 1.5-hour summit hike. Allow 30 min for return security; CBP doesn’t apply if you’re domestic-onward.