Anchorage Shopping

Shopping in Anchorage is never a problem, there are plenty of stores around. When we wander around, the first thing we saw are the souvenir shops. We're looking some souvenirs for home. It wasn't difficult to find one, at 4th street you'll see the souvenir stores

We jumped from one store to another, is difficult to choose which souvenir you want, because there are plenty of choice. In this store they have extensive stock.

Amazing, as a souvenir store they have everything from apparel to Salmon. This was the biggest souvenir shop we ever went in Alaska, with so many stuff inside. You can roamed easily because it has a big space, even there were enough people around

The sales woman was very friendly. We want a frame the one on display, but they don't have it in a box. So we asked if they still have one in a box, she went at the back store, it took awhile, but she found one. We have the last piece, you're very lucky she said

What to buy: We haven't bought a smoked salmon yet. And we said, we're going to find this in Anchorage. In this shop I didn't expect to find the salmon, when I saw they have here, I bought a box to take home. More local products available in this store

What to pay: Prices are start from $5 and up

I mostly do my shoppings each time we travel and this happened most of the time of our last day in the country. I have search some shopping malls in Anchorage before we leave. The biggest shopping mall I've found during my research is this one at 5th avenue.

I wasn't very sure if I found something I like here, we drove to the underground parking and took the elevator to the malls. Once you get out the elevator you walk to a tunnel glass which you have views outside really cool

I was surprised how big it was. We stroll around, is hard to choose you want, there were about 110 stores. Is a five levels mall it has a nice interior. Shopping in Anchorage is tax free

If you are shopalcoholic this is the place to be. I am not shopalcoholic, but I'd like to have some souvenir from a country where I travel. If you are hungry during shopping, there were good restaurants inside. A nice place to stroll even your not into shopping mode

What to buy: Everything you need you'll find here. American brands are a lot cheaper than in Europe, so for European visitors this would be a great place for it

I found a great deal of little things for gifts and trinkets here. It is on the street with all of the trinket shops. But this one was a little better than most we were in. .................... ................... ................. ................ ................... ...................... ...................

I found some lovely Alaska gifts in this shop - we didn't spend a lot of time in Anchorage, but we strolled around town on our last day to load up on gifts before our late evening flight. In this shop I found more travel friendly versions of the Alaskan syrups that you will see in all the gift shops - these came in plastic bottles with sturdy safety caps. A lot of the other syrups we saw were in metal cans, glass bottles with metal caps, or bottles that looked like honey bottles. None of those options looked like something I wanted to throw in my luggage (especially after my experience with United from PHL to ANC).

What to buy: So far I have only tasted the Birch Breakfast syrup - buy these for everyone that would appreciate it!
While I was here, I also picked up some lovely children's books with Alaska themes for my God-daughter.

What to pay: Birch Breakfast Syrup is $7.50 for 3.4oz "jug". The Pure Birch is a little more at $11 or the same size.

This downtown shop has a little bit of everything from stuffed animals and trinket toys to loose leaf tea. (Kind of all over the place...). They have the artisan soaps that you will likely see at all the shops in town - they seem to be the same price everywhere. They also sell some things that you can get elsewhere but may want on vacation, like Poopourri (that's not a typo - it's a product).
I picked up some Birch Almond Brittle, which would probably have made a lovely gift, but I ate it ;-)

What to pay: 4oz Birch Brittle was $8.95

Hard Rock Cafe food is the same everywhere and nothing really special - it's not BAD by any means, but when there's better choices around like in downtown Anchorage, I recommend dining elsewhere.
That said, I have always loved their T-shirts and hoodies, so I was eager to swing in and get some "Hard Rock Anchorage" gear. The shop is a decent size and not too hard to navigate among the people that are waiting for tables.

*AAA Members*: make sure you have your card on you - you'll get 10% off!

What to pay: Average t-shirts are $25-$30; long-sleeve and specialty are a little more.

This was a great gift shot full of Alaskan crafts and nicknacks to bring home to friends and family. They had a good selection of things that were made in Alaska (or at least America) including clothing for kids.
I was able to pick up an adorable tee for my rapidly growing God-daughter and some artisan soaps for friends and family.

What to pay: Toddler t-shirt was $14.95; soap bars were $6.95. I shopped around before stopping here - prices are par for the course.

This place does not look as good as it is from the outside. This place is 2 stories of deals on all the t-shirts and specialty gifts you want and the price is right. This place has what the others have and more, but at a better price.

There aren't many grocery stores in downtown Anchorage-and the small convenience stores are quite expensive. My sister told me about this service-We emailed them a shopping list just before we left home, (which was great because we were traveling with kids 7, 3, and 18mos. so I didn't have to waste so much valuable suitcase space packing a 10 day supply of diapers) We arrived late at night and then the next morning groceries were brought right to our hotel room, which was a real blessing because we had 3 hungry kids and one grumpy husband to feed. We had cereal, milk, bread, sandwich stuff and snacks for the kids-which saved us a TON of money. (Restaurants are really expensive, and eeating out with the family, even at Denny's is a lot of money and hassle) The delivery lady was super-sweet, she even brought the kids a "Welcome to Alaska" gift bag which was really cute. This service was a god-send! If you're traveling with kids, and don't want to drag them to the grocery store...or try to find a grocery store in Anchorage, this is the best thing ever! I wish we had a service like this at home, because I'd use it every week!

What to buy: They will buy and deliver grocery items from any local grocery store and come right to your door. They do not deliver alcohol or tobacco products. They even clipped coupons for the diapers we needed and saved us $3!

What to pay: We paid about $20 for the service, the delivery fees are based on how much you are ordering-but hey, $20 is cheaper than a cab ride to a grocery store!

You can see how they make the famous Ulu knife, which has been used for years by the Alaskan Natives in cutting fish, chopping vegetables and many other kitchen chores.

We had already purchased our Ulu knives at Walmart (the Anchorage WalMart has a fabulous gift/souvenir section at good prices), but we went anyway to see how they're made.

I must say that the view of the workers wasn't too poor, but the windows were small. You could see the men at work.

What to buy: The Ulu knife works well by itself, but a good suggestion is to get the shaped cutting board as it works even better.

What to pay: $5 - $40 depending on your choice of handle. the plain wooden handle is the least expensive.

Alaska's largest independent bookseller with the world's largest collection of books on Alaska and the north as well as general books, magazines, audio, and video. They even have an out of print section and used books.

What to buy: This trip I got some Alaskan childrens books as a gift for a two year old with the really thick pages and the flaps that reveal Alaskan sights and animals.

There are several gift stores in Anchorage, and understandably so because this is a tourist mecca. But I had fun buying at this store called the Once in a Blue Moose. I thought their prices were very reasonable and I think the nice Japanese lady who was helping us (Horiko ?) was very nice - she might also be the owner (?) and her staff was very nice as well.

But I promised Horiko that I would put her on my VT website and she was so pleased that she gave me two free decks of cards (because I also spent over $100) and then the manager also gave me and my sister free bags! What nice people...

I bought a honking salmon for the twins which I am sure would drive my wife crazy, and also a nice cube that created nice pictures of Alaskan wildlife for the twins. And I saw this amazing piece of jewelry for my wife, locally made in Alaska -- and I was given 50% off on it. So I bought that necklace and my wife loved it!

This store is located right in downtown Anchorage as you are walking around the Visitor Center, but I also saw another store with the same name at the 5th Avenue Mall.

My sister was ecstatic when I met her in Anchorage because she saw there was a Nordstrom which she loves shopping at.

OK.

Well, I persuaded her that that was what we were to do on our last day and this 5-level mall is right in the middle of downtown and can't be missed! there are connective over-the-road glass tunnels for convenience (must be a lot of help during snowing times).

Other than Nordstrom, they also have Banana Republic, Body Shop and Eddie Bauer...

But, im my opinion, you can see all these other shops around the USA. Instead, my sister actually found a store she liked which was not in the mall but outside -- it was a small boutique store and I think it was called "Bottome UP" (?) and all I remember is that the store person was watching the store for his wife who was the owner and we were talking about real estate in Arizona while my sister was shopping around his store...(it had a sign that said "Fashion below the Waist"...whatever that means, hehehe....My sister VTer "jumpingwithnorman" might have made a tip about it...

Mall is open M-F 10AM-9PM, Sat 10 AM -8PM and and Sun 11AM-6PM

Surplus stores are SO real. This one is no exception. From the outside it doesn't look like much but it's very well stocked. They also offer on-site embroidery so you can customize your apparel with your name or a logo or any design from their extensive catalog book. T hey even have a downstairs basement where they have MORE stuff!

What to buy: They carry a full line of work boots, gloves, knives, socks, etc in both Mens/Womens/Kids. They also carry Carharrt apparel! Very durable and better than the Dickie's label brand as their material is softer than Dickie's. Another great buy here are the postcards. Imprinted with views of Alaska, they're only 8 for $1... a real bargain as elsewhere they could be 35cents per postcard! If you're planning on doing hiking, this is the place to go to for special socks that will support and keep your feet happy as they trudge about Alaska. You can also get your Fishing License from this store plus they carry waders for all ages.

What to pay: $1-$300

Chock-ful of Alaska-themed souvenirs: magnets, postcards, shirts, hats, gloves, mugs, etc... Be selective with what you buy though as most of the things are NOT made in Alaska. There's a lot of variety in this store and the prices are very reasonable.
They also have books, candies, salmon gift packs, etc. There's a HUGE stuffed Polar Bear right outside the shop which is great for taking pictures with.. just for fun. The shop owner/manager was very nice and friendly too.. Even though there's a TON of things in this shop, it never felt unorganized. Everything was in its place and it just made browsing a real pleasure.

What to buy: I bought a tie-dyed blanket with ALASKA emblazoned it. Perfect for taking in the car with me as we went around Alaska... Since I had just come from gold country in California (Columbia, CA), it also made sense to get a little vial of "gold flakes" suspended in liquid for comparison's sake!

What to pay: $0.99 to $150