I would try to stay away from anything mainstream/touristy if you want a truly genuine experience.

There are so many good places to go, you really couldn’t list them all. I have found the smaller towns/villages/bush much more interesting than say Anchorage. There are some great places just outside of Anchorage though. I been to quite a few places, and I have not yet said, “man, this is an awful place, ill never come back here again”—with the exception of downtown anchorage. My wife was out partying last night there and liked it… so maybe thats just my own personal opinion.

Talkeetna is a great out of the way place near denali with summer fishing trips for tourists. Lots of salmon and rainbow trout … coupled with small alaska town charm.

There are a lot of cute little towns in southeast alaska. If just outside of town is not outdoorsy enough for you, there is always the option of chartering a bush pilot to take you out to some neat places and pick you up later in the day.

Also, dont be afraid to explore the far north of alaska. There are a couple (very inexpensive!) packages in the $200-500 range which include round trip airfare from Anchorage to Barrow(the tippy top of alaska) on an almost all inclusive tour were you can see polar bears, eskimo dancing, and even dip your toes into the Arctic ocean… the package is called “A Day at the top of the world”.