Fairbanks, AK

[jewel]

We'll be in Fairbanks for 3 full days at the beginning of a cruise tour (mid September). As of right now, I have practically nothing planned, and need help with the following:

We have the second 2 nights at the Princess hotel, but need something for the first night. Princess wants to charge us $200 to add the one night, and I'm hoping to find something cheaper. Recommendations on a decent hotel?

We're planning to rent a car. Is this a good idea? Any reason not to rent a car?

We'd love to see the Northern Lights (I know it's unpredictable). I've also looked at dog sledding places, reindeer farm, Salmon Bake, historical places in town, visiting the Arctic Circle, etc. We are adventurous, but not very athletic, so long hikes are probably out. What are must-sees in Fairbanks, or within driveable distance for a day?

We love good food, especially non-fancy, local food. My husband loves beer. Food/restaurant recommendations?

Any advice on Fairbanks is greatly appreciated!

[keweenawlove]

I was there for ski races a long time ago so my memory's a little fuzzy. We didn't get to tour much but our parents drove to some hot springs near-by and also went to a ski hill where they got a view of McKinley.

Everything nearby was pretty drive-able. It's not a huge town so you should have trouble getting around.

I hope you get to see the Northern Lights. We were there in March which is supposed to be peak time but all we saw were a few white streaks after staying up all night our last night there. We only looked in town though. I think you'd have better luck out of town away from the city lights.

My favorite restaurant was the Pump House - great local food but a little pricey depending on what you consider "fancy" ($15-30 a plate)

[gtkim]

We are also starting our cruisetour in Fairbanks arriving one day early. We are staying at the same hotel that Princess put us at, but we booked directly with the hotel and got the room for around $150 which was in line with most everything else we found.

We are renting a car. The first day we are doing the Riverboat Discovery (again booked on our own) and are planning to visit the Museum of the North at the Univ of Alaska. On day 2 we plan to drive to Chena Hot Springs, and visit the Alaskan Pipeline and I'm not sure what else.

I've heard lots of good things about the Pump House as well.

[FrozenSunshine]

Hotels that time of year can still be pretty spendy, I'd recommend Springhill Suites, Westmark and Pikes Waterfront Lodge.

You'll want a car. With the exception of the little downtown area everything is pretty spread out.

Silver Gulch Brewery does tastings of their local brews.

Chena Hot springs is nice. There's an ice hotel and museum there. You can visit north pole and the Santa Clause house if that's your type of thing. The pipeline can be seen from the road.

[jewel]

Thanks guys.....keep the advice coming, if anyone else has any.

I should have clarified on the food - we love all food, but we don't discriminate. I'm just as happy to order from a food truck as anywhere else, if it's good. I'm always on the hunt for awesome places that locals might know about, that are off the tourist path, if that makes any sense.

[FrozenSunshine]

Reindeer hotdog stands in town are a yummy treat.

Lavelle's bistro inside the Springhill suite is nice.

Fairbanks doesn't feature much as far as awesome food, unfortunately.