Anchorage to Juneau: Flights, the Ferry Question and What to Know

Somewhere in the middle of planning an Alaska trip, a map comes out and the question follows: can we just drive from Anchorage to the capital? You cannot, because Juneau has no road connection to the rest of Alaska. The practical answer is to fly, with a ferry-and-flight puzzle as the slower alternative for people who like to build a route.

How do you get from Anchorage to Juneau?

You fly, because Juneau has no roads connecting it to the rest of Alaska or to the contiguous United States, which is also why everything the city uses arrives by plane or boat. Alaska Airlines offers year-round daily jet service to Juneau from Seattle and Anchorage, so the two cities are linked by a direct flight rather than by any highway you could plan around.

That fact shapes the whole trip. A map makes the two cities look like neighbors in the same state, but between them lie mountains, icefields and open water, and no route over land. The capital sits along the Gastineau Channel in Southeast Alaska, and the way in is by air or by water.

Leaving from Anchorage

Flights depart from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, at 5000 W. International Airport Rd. in Anchorage. Alaska Airlines has a hub here, one of several in its network alongside its primary hub at Seattle–Tacoma, so Anchorage is a natural starting point for the Juneau leg.

Before you head to the terminal, remember the ID question. Travelers may need a Real ID or another acceptable form of ID to fly, so sort that out before the airport rather than at the counter. If you collect miles, Alaska Airlines runs its frequent-flyer program under the name Atmos Rewards, and the airline belongs to the Oneworld alliance.

Arriving in Juneau

Juneau International Airport is just 10 minutes from downtown Juneau, so the capital’s streets, the State Capitol and the waterfront are close once you land. The Alaska State Capitol, built as the Federal and Territorial Building in 1931, is a good first look at the downtown you have just reached.

The airport also has the EVAR / Airport Dike Trail, which is open. It is a reminder that in Juneau the airport is part of the local landscape rather than a distant outpost, and you can step out of a plane into a town that already feels compact.

Which options are there?

There are two kinds of options: the daily Alaska Airlines jet service between the cities, and the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system, which serves Juneau as one of its regional hubs but runs through a different set of connections. Both reach the capital, and neither is a road trip.

Flying with Alaska Airlines

The jet is the direct answer. Alaska Airlines was founded in 1932 as McGee Airways, and its first service flew between Anchorage and Bristol Bay, so the Anchorage connection runs deep in the company’s history. Today it is headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, and serves over 100 destinations across North America and beyond.

If your trip also includes Seattle, the same airline links that city to Juneau. Seattle is the only direct departure city for Juneau in the Lower 48, which matters if you are tying a Southeast Alaska stay to a longer itinerary.

Delta and the Glacier Bay route

Delta Airlines provides seasonal service to Juneau, so it is an option only when its season is running. Alaska Airlines also operates a seasonal summer route connecting Juneau and Gustavus, the gateway for Glacier Bay. That route is a side connection from Juneau rather than a way to reach it from Anchorage, but it is useful if Glacier Bay is on your list after the capital.

The Alaska Marine Highway ferries

The Alaska Marine Highway ferries cover 3,500 miles of coastline and serve over 30 communities, from Bellingham, WA to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Chain. Riders reach communities through regional hubs in Ketchikan, Juneau, Whittier or Homer, using one or more vessels to get to their final stop.

In Southeast Alaska, a mainline route runs from Bellingham to Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Sitka. Another runs from Ketchikan through Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway. Smaller scheduled routes link Juneau with Angoon, Haines, Kake, Pelican, Tenakee and Skagway, while Gustavus connects to Hoonah.

What should you know before you travel from Anchorage to Juneau?

Know that Juneau is relatively remote and not completely accessible by car, so plan your transportation early rather than leaving it to the last moment. That is the main lesson of the route, and it applies to the flight, to any ferry segment, and to the days around them.

Planning around the ferry

Most communities in Southeast Alaska receive year-round ferry service, with mainline vessels serving larger communities and day boats supplying regularly scheduled service to smaller ones. The Alaska Marine Highway System provides year-round ferry transportation to more than 30 coastal communities, and Juneau is one of its hubs.

Ferry planning takes patience, because the system is built from linked vessels and stops. As an example of scale, the sample running time from Bellingham to Ketchikan alone is 38 hours. Prince Rupert is a specific case: the summer 2024 schedule did not have a vessel equipped to serve it, owing to international service regulations and crewing shortages.

What the city is like when you land

Between May and September, Juneau sees a daily influx of 16,000 people or more from visiting cruise ships, which gives the downtown streets a very different feel from the rest of the year. If you arrive in those months, expect the waterfront to be lively with visitors from the ships.

Beyond downtown, the Mendenhall Glacier is visible from the local road system. It has been gradually retreating, and its front face is declining in width and height. The Empty Chair Memorial in Capital School Park, dedicated in July 2014, remembers the removal of Juneau’s Japanese community during World War II and is a quiet stop in a city of mountain views.

The Governor’s Mansion has its own place in the capital’s story: it held its first open house for citizens on January 1, 1913. Together with the Capitol, it makes a short list of historic buildings for a first walk through town.

Good to know before you go

Because Juneau cannot be reached by road, everything about the trip comes down to the flight or the ferry, so settle that first and let the rest follow. Keep your ID ready for the airport in Anchorage, and remember that the Delta service and the Glacier Bay route are seasonal, while the Alaska Airlines flights between the two cities run daily all year. Once you land, the airport is 10 minutes from downtown.