TravelingbeebryantRN & Flicks_withNick

Hello, from Anchorage, Alaska! If I can give you one travel nurse tip, it’s to take an assignment in Alaska. There’s just so many good places, and cities to explore. Typically, tourists visit the southern scenic coast of Alaska, but there’s an awesome destination in Alaska, not on the coast. Put Fairbanks on your travel list. You will not be disappointed. On our first assignment in Alaska, we visited Fairbanks. Without further ado, here’s your ultimate guide to visiting Fairbanks.

Weather in Fairbanks, Alaska

Weather in Fairbanks can change drastically. You need to keep this in mind, for when you plan your activities. The week in February, Nick and I visited Fairbanks, it was around 25° to 30°. Two weeks prior, it was -30°… We luckily missed that!

Best Time to Visit Fairbanks

Based on the temperature, some people may think summertime is the best time to visit Fairbanks. To be honest, Fairbanks is a great destination year round. Most people will tell you that the best time to visit is between December and February. Visiting in this time frame is the best time to witness the Northern Lights! They also have so many great winter activities. Also, the North Pole is a suburb of Fairbanks. December is a great time frame to visit the Christmas Decor in this famous town.  It is important to note that the days are short in the winter, so it can limit the amount of exploring in a day.

How to get to Fairbanks and How to get Around

There’s a few ways to get to Fairbanks from Anchorage. The airport,;? Fairbanks International Airport, is 15 minutes from downtown fairbanks. This is usually the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way to get to Fairbanks. If you aren’t a fan of flying, don’t worry there’s other ways. You can drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks. This drive is approximately six hours. It’s typically an easy drive in the summertime, winter can be challenging depending on the road conditions from the snow. Lastly, you can also choose to take a train from Anchorage to Fairbanks. This Alaska Railroad train is a very scenic route, but also takes 11 hours. I would recommend flying to Fairbanks, as it gets rid of a lot of variables and is the quickest. The faster you get there, the more time you have to explore.

When you arrive in Fairbanks, public transportation is a great option, but I really would recommend a car. There’s a lot of great things to do in the city, and I would hate for you to be limited by public transportation. When we flew into Fairbanks, we rented a car at the airport for convenience.

Where to Stay in Fairbanks

There are a ton of different options for lodging in Fairbanks. Hotels are an obvious option, but don’t expect for them to be cheap. Expect to pay $500+ a night in the winter time, and $350+ a night in the summertime. We thought this was a little absurd and decided to go the airbnb/vrbo route. We stayed at two different airbnb’s the weekend we went to fairbanks.  We wanted to be close to downtown for a portion of it, and then we wanted to be closer to Chena Hot Springs for a night. I’ll go more into detail about Chena Hot Springs in a little bit! Check out the airbnb’s we stayed at in Fairbanks:

Airbnb Option One:

Airbnb Option Two:

There’s plenty of places to stay in the Fairbanks area. I would recommend both Airbnb’s that we listed!

What to Do in Fairbanks

I don’t even know where to begin with the activities in Fairbanks. The list is going to be a mile long, so I’ll try to just include the must do things!

Aurora Ice Museum

Home to the largest year-round ice environment. This museum was created in January 2005 by the world champion ice carvers, Steve and Heather Brice. The museum is maintained at 25° Fahrenheit, which makes it a great place to visit in the summertime. This beautiful ice museum includes a bar made of ice that serves apple martinis from ice glasses. The Aurora Ice Museum is located in the Chena Hot Springs resort, along with other great Alaskan experiences. 

Chena Hot Springs

Nestled in the breathtaking wilderness, the Chena Hot Springs provide a calming relaxing experience. The water was extremely warm, so be prepared. Make sure to bring a water bottle to keep hydrated and quarters for the lockers.  The Chena hot springs are a crucial part of visiting Fairbanks. 

Experience the Northern Lights

As I’m writing this, we are looking at pictures from Portland, Maine tonight  experiencing the northern lights. Maybe you don’t have to go all the way to Fairbanks! Just kidding, but insanely jealous and wishing I was in Maine right now.  This is totally a sensitive topic for Nick and I. The day of our northern lights tour, I looked up the forecast and it read, “low activity”. I told my husband about my research, and to which he replied, “if we cancel, we won’t get a refund… It’s worth a try”.  We took a northern lights tour in February in Fairbanks. We took the tour with Alaska Aurora Adventures LLC. We paid $150.00 a person, where they picked us up at our hotel and drove us to a cabin. At this cabin, they provided snacks, drinks, and comfortable couches. Thank god for the comfortable couches, because that’s where I had the most expensive nap of my life. Finally, three hours into the tour, someone asked the tour guide if we were going to see the northern lights, to which he responded, “no”.  They drove us home, and we couldn’t believe we wasted money on this. Of course, on our way to our airbnb, we saw the northern lights on the treeline.

If we would plan this weekend again, we would recommend not doing a tour. We would recommend staying up between 11am-3 am and exploring the town looking for the northern lights. People have reported that the best places to see the northern lights in Fairbanks are in downtown Fairbanks, Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, and actually at Chena Hot Springs.

Running Reindeer Farm

Running Reindeer farm is a must see in Fairbanks. As you drive up to the farm, the reindeer are running around freely on the property. As you park your car, you are greeted by the wonderful staff providing you all the reindeer facts. You will take a walk around the forest with the reindeer running around you. The staff were great at helping with taking great photos. It’s a must see experience!

Exploring downtown Fairbanks

Downtown Fairbanks is small, but has a lot of great gift shops and restaurants. If you are looking for a gift for someone or yourself,  this is a great place to stop.

Visit Santa at the North Pole

The North pole is a suburb of Fairbanks. It’s such a treat to visit the North Pole, and I feel like it’d be even better around Christmas time. Definitely check out the Santa Claus house. They have great ornaments and keepsake items. (Photo with Santa? He changed his name to Santa Claus?)

Museum of the North

The exhibits of the museum of the North were quite impressive to see. The exhibits are full of Alaskan history. The upstairs of the museum was full of work from Alaskan artists. 

Morris Thompson Cultural Center (Moose Antler Arch)

The visitor center is a great place to get all your information for activities for your weekend at fairbanks. The visitor center also has a free small museum on Alaska History. On the grounds, they have a moose antler arch. 

Dog Sledding

Dog sledding, also known as mushing, has been an Alaskan activity for centuries. When we started our assignment, we were told that it was something we should experience. We had a great dog sledding experience at Chena Hot Springs. From what we saw, they treated the dogs well.  The dogs seemed excited to mush. If you are in Alaska during the winter, the Iditarod is also a must see event!

Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

This auto museum is voted one of the best tourist attractions in Fairbanks. They have world class vintage automobiles.

Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park is a great little area to explore Fairbanks past. They offer a scenic boat tour.  We visited pioneer park in February. I will say that it wasn’t the best during the winter, and I think it’d be a lot better in the spring or summer.

Visit Denali National Park

I will have to do another blog about our visit to Denali National Park. We decided not to go out of Fairbanks, and do this another weekend. Denali National Park is two hours away from Fairbanks and makes it a great day trip!

Ice Sculptures

Did you know that Fairbanks is home to the World Ice Art Championships? If you are in town when this event is going, definitely check it out

Pipeline Alley

Pipeline Alley has a pipe that you can see up close and personal, allowing you to see how it functions. Pretty cool!

Where to eat in Fairbanks?

The Cookie Jar Restaurant

The Cookie Jar opened up in 1986 serving just sweet things. Now this famous  Fairbanks restaurant offers sweets, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are known for their cinnamon rolls and gingersnaps. Unfortunately, we’ll have to take their word as we were being good, and didn’t try any!

Address: 1006 Cadillac Ct, Fairbanks, Alaska

Yelp rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.9/5.0

TravelingbeebryantRN rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5.0

Flicks_withNick rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.3/5.0

The Crepery

Who doesn’t love a good crepe? Also, do you prefer your crepes savory or sweet? The Crepery does all things crepes, and it’s a must eat in Fairbanks. I highly recommend ordering online  and eating at the restaurant! A lot of the time, they have a long wait. Also, they have great lates with fun flavors!

Address: 523 2nd Ave,  Fairbanks, Alaska

Yelp rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7/5.0

TravelingbeebryantRN rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0/5.0

Flicks_withNick rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.2/5.0

Lavelles

Nick and I ate at Lavelle’s with his college friend and wife. This restaurant was a great find in Fairbanks. It’s located in downtown Fairbanks. It had a great wine and drink selection. The espresso martinis were wonderful! If anyone knows me,  they know I love a good espresso martini. Also, if you are at Lavelle’s try the Brie appetizer. It was delicious.

Address: 575 1st Ave,  Fairbanks, Alaska

Yelp rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.7/5.0

TravelingbeebryantRN rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0/5.0

Flicks_withNick rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.4/5.0

Pagoda Chinese Restaurant

I am honestly pretty picky when it comes to Thai and Chinese restaurants. When I read the reviews on the Pagoda, I had a hard time believing it was that good. It was honestly that good. Expect there to be a wait, it’s that good!

Address: 431 N Santa Claus Lane, North Pole, AK

Yelp rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.1/5.0

TravelingbeebryantRN rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0/5.0

Flicks_withNick rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.3/5.0

I hope I convinced you to take a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. You won’t be disappointed whether you are visiting in the summertime or the winter. I hope the weather agrees with you! Stay up to date with all things travel, nursing, and of course Flicks_withNick movie reviews. Give us a follow on instagram and subscribe to this blog.