UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Here are some useful links you might want to be aware of if you are new to town!
Having large items shipped to Bethel is usually a seasonal endeavor revolving around the Lynden Barge schedule. Items can also be flown to Bethel using the air cargo charters.
Large items and goods can be shipped to Bethel on the barge system, see what they offer here: LyndenBargeInfo
Items can also be sent via air cargo, below are some of the major carriers:
Everts Air Cargo: EvertsBethel 907-543-3737
Northern Air Cargo: NACinfo 907-543-4155
Alaska Air Cargo: AACinfo 800-225-2752
Unless you are traveling by river, ice highway, or snow machine, flying is the main form of transportation in the region. Apart from the Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage which happens twice a day, there are many other companies which operate in the region.
Here are some the major charter airlines and their numbers:
Alaska Airlines: Here is Alaska Air's Bethel Info Page! AlaskaAirBethelInfo
Grant Aviation: 888-359-4726 or go online at GrantAviationBooking
Yute Commuter Service: 907-543-2684 or go online at YUTEBethelBooking
Fox Air: 907-545-5771 or go online at FoxAirBethel
- Next to New York City, Bethel has the highest number of taxis per capita of any US town. These cabs can be very handy and can get you around town very quickly, especially in wintertime. Here is what you need to know:
There are two main cab services, Kusko and Alaska. Their numbers are:
Kusko: (907)-543-2169
Alaska: (907)-543-5199
Notes: When calling, make sure you only say where you are going and where to be picked up as the control cab is very busy! Depending on where you are and what time of day it is, wait times range from less than a minute to about 10 minutes.
Cabs are not private, so you may have to travel to and from multiple locations before going to your destination.
Cab fares are: $5 anywhere in town, $8 to the airport, and $12 to Kasayuli
- The city bus schedule can be found on their website, here's the link!
If you are new in town this is the page for you! Here you can find useful maps, explanations, and resources to help you climatize to the wonderful town of Bethel. We hope this guide can somewhat help you find your footing and answer some questions you might have! Please come visit us in person and learn more about Alaska and Bethel!
Knowing your major roads, subdivisions, and places are very important in Bethel (especially if you want to get a cab)!
BET's Initials
Bethel is known for having a great deal of acronyms and initialisms, and many of these can be confusing to first time visitors. Here are a few of the most commonly used ones you might hear folks mentioning around town:
This is the definitive history of the Bethel township since the days of the Moravian missionaries up until the centennial in 1985. Full of trivia and incredible photographs, this book tells the story of the town, its people, and how the community has grown and changed over the years. A must read for Bethel Beginners.
The Milepost is the best-selling travel guide to Alaska and a "quintessential reference" for northern travelers. The Milepost includes mile-by-mile descriptions of more than 15,000 miles of road in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta. Its 700-plus pages detail accommodations, camping, fishing, gas stops, restaurants, attractions and services found along the highways and byways of Alaska and western Canada. The guide's Travel Planning section answers frequently-asked questions about travel in the North, including what you need to know about crossing the international border, traveling with pets, the Alaska ferry system, driving conditions, railroads, tours and wildlife.
Melting sea ice and rumbling volcanoes. Sled dogs racing through unnamed valleys. These were the images that came to mind when Molly Rettig moved to Fairbanks, Alaska to work as a reporter at the local newspaper. An avid environmentalist, she couldn't wait to explore the vast, untamed spaces that had largely been paved over on the east coast. But when her 72-year-old neighbor, Clutch, invites her on a tour of his gold mine--an 800-foot tunnel blasted into the side of his house-she begins to question many of her ideas about Alaska, and about herself. In Finding True North, Rettig takes us on a gripping journey through Alaska's past that brings alive the state's magnificent country and its quirky, larger-than-life characters. She meets a trapper who harvests all she needs from the land, a bush pilot who taught himself how to fly, and an archaeologist who helped build an oil pipeline through pristine wilderness. While she learns how airplanes, mines, and oil fields have paved the way for newcomers like herself, she also stumbles upon a bigger question: what has this quest for Alaska's natural resources actually cost, and how much more is at stake? This is a book about all the ways wild places teach us about ourselves. Rettig writes both playfully and honestly about how one place can be many things to many people--and how all of it can be true.
Luke knows his I´nupiaq name is full of sounds white people can't say. He knows he'll have to leave it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School things are different. Instead of family, there are students--Eskimo, Indian, White--who line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there's some kind of war going on. And instead of comforting words like tutu and maktak, there's English. Speaking I´nupiaq--or any native language--is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey. Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. But he's not the only one. There's smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader--if he doesn't self destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. Each has their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School--and in the wider world--will never be the same.
