Q: I’m taking an Alaskan cruise—either an Inside Passage or a glacier cruise—and I get motion sickness very easily. I have heard the cruise is not rocky and I don't have to worry, but I am very leery of taking the train and most certainly the Denali Park bus. Any comments or suggestions? —Deb

A: Deb, you’re smart to plan ahead—doing so can seriously help you avoid those queasy moments (or even full days).

We checked with a friend at the Alaska Railroad—who, as luck would have it, has your same problem. She says she’s usually been just fine on the Alaska Railroad, so long as she stayed in the Adventure Class or the lower-level GoldStar class cars. The GoldStar even has an open-air platform—and many people find that fresh air can help keep motion sickness at bay.

As for the Denali buses: The Park Road is pretty bumpy, so it might spell trouble for anyone who has motion-sickness issues (and most of these tours are long, too). If you tolerate short flights OK, consider seeing Denali by air—such as the handful of Denali Flightseeing Tours or Kantishna Air Taxi. Helicopter tours might be good for you in general—plenty of people who say they get motion sickness don’t seem to have problems on helicopters.

If you want to stay on the ground in Denali, I’d highly recommend the Park Service’s hop-on, hop-off shuttle bus, where you can limit how far you get into the park. Best of all, you can always get off and walk around if your stomach starts to protest.

You should also check out our page on Motion Sickness on Alaska.org, which has even more tips that apply to exploring Alaska—for instance, choosing your itinerary or cabin on a cruise, if you haven’t done so already.