As our summer season approaches we’re finalizing details that will ensure your journey to Raspberry Island seamlessly transitions from your home to a remote island in the Kodiak Island Archipelago, Alaska. By now, those of you visiting us this summer should have made your travel reservations into Kodiak City, where our packages start. This year we will have a new van to help with the short, and very minor, part of the trip, where you travel from the Kodiak Airport to the waiting boats and/or planes that will take you home here to the lodge. We will connect with you just before your trip to verify the travel plans for that day, and give you the right contact number(s) for the people who will be picking you up (my cell number, or one of our boat captains, our expeditor, or the air taxi service, etc.)
We have always included transportation from the Kodiak Airport to the boats or planes you’ll be taking out to the lodge here on Raspberry. However, now with our new van and expeditor there in Kodiak, if you arrive earlier than the pre-designated flight, we can:
- Transport you into ‘downtown’ Kodiak City and hold your luggage while you explore Kodiak on foot, then meet you later in the day to transport you to the boats/plane for the ride home. This would be ideal if you’d like to arrive into Kodiak on an AM flight with a PM check in here at the lodge. Within downtown you can easily visit two museums (one of which is the oldest building in Alaska) featuring Alutiiq/Koniag history and culture, Russian artifacts, and early American history. Also within walking distance is the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Center featuring the entire skeleton of a Grey Whale, St. Herman’s Boat Harbor (home to many of Kodiak’s Commercial Fishing boats), as well as restaurants, sporting goods and gift shops, and the Kodiak Island Brewing Company.
- If you have enough time, we can set up a customized Kodiak Road System tour, where you’ll be guided through town and along the road system to see a lot more of what the more remote places around town are like, like the Fish Tech Center with it’s salt water aquarium, Fort Abercrombie rich in WWII history, a road side view of the Kodiak US Coast Guard Base and any ships in port, the Kodiak Sea Plane Base in Trident Basin, or even a long ride out to Chiniak, Passagshak, or Anton Larsen Bay, each about an hour away from town. These longer trips offer the opportunity to spot Sitka Black-Tailed Deer, Domestic Buffalo, and even the possibility of seeing a whale or bear!
Use of our van is limited to guests of Kodiak Raspberry Island Remote Lodge only, and some of the above trips are available for an additional fee. There are other fine Taxi Cab companies, Rental Cars, Public Transport, and Road System Tour Companies already available for hire in Kodiak, as well. Please let us know if you’re interested in either of the bulleted options above and we’ll set it up!