Following Google’s Thursday announcement that it’s rebranding the Fitbit app as Google Health, it has also upgraded its Google Health Coach. Previously called the Personal Health Coach, Fitbit’s AI-powered coach was available only in public preview for early testing and feedback and had started offering more of its health features to free subscribers.
Google Health Coach will remain available to former US Android and iOS Fitbit Premium subscribers, and they’ll pay the original price of $10 per month or $80 per year. New and returning subscribers will be charged $10 per month or $100 per year.
Powered by Gemini AI, Google’s all-in-one AI wellness coach was designed to personalize your workouts and health goals. With all your data in one place, Coach analyzes and adapts your fitness plan based on your sleep and other health metrics to create custom workouts.
“The experience is designed around the fundamental belief that effective coaching is built on a foundation of true understanding and appreciation for your personal goals,” a Google spokesperson told CNET.
Google Health Coach will serve as a hub where you can ask questions and gain insights about your medical records, medications, lab results and health and fitness data. Access to this information allows the AI coach to provide a more personalized experience for the subscriber, but experts say that you should always think twice before uploading your medical records to an AI tool.
Google’s spokesperson said the coach is designed as a supportive tool with an understanding of its limitations. “A core feature of the coach’s design is to remind users to consult with a healthcare professional for any medical needs, including medical advice, diagnosis or treatment,” the spokesperson said.
According to Google, to establish its Health Coach, it gathered feedback from thousands of subscribers through various studies and organized a consumer health advisory panel of experts who provided feedback on the development of the AI feature. Additionally, the company says it used the safety, helpfulness, accuracy, relevance and personalization principle-based framework to make sure Google Health Coach is accurate, relevant and safe.
Google’s Coach will be available 24/7, and you can ask it questions at any time based on your own data. Questions you can ask include whether you should adjust your training schedule for upcoming travel or to work around an injury.
Google said Coach’s responses are rooted in personalized guidance using your health data and evidence-based recommendations. Google Health Coach remembers any prompts you’ve asked it and the adaptations it’s made to your training plan. As a result, it can track trends in your health data to help you better understand them and how they could affect your performance. This is especially relevant when it comes to sleep.
If sleep is a sore point for you, Google Health Coach creates an action plan with its advanced sleep-tracking learning model and your sleep data.
For those looking to improve their eating habits, you can log your nutrition with Google’s Coach by telling it about your meal or uploading photos. Because nutrition science varies from person to person and is always evolving, Google relies on a multi-layered approach and works with experts in the field.
“We actively recruit a pool of external registered dietitians, alongside our internal nutrition science clinical specialists, to evaluate the AI responses,” Google’s spokesperson said.
For Google Health members hesitant to share too much of their information, subscribers will have control over the features they can disable, such as the AI coach or health data they don’t want to share. Subscribers can also delete their Google Health account with a 30-day grace period if they change their mind.
Anchorage is Alaska’s gateway city, with more enplanements than the rest of the state combined. Chances are, if you’re cruising Prince William Sound or Kenai Fjords, taking a bush plane to see bears at Katmai, riding the rails to Denali, or heading deep into the interior, you’re coming through Anchorage.
Last summer, we spent a full week in Anchortown between adventuring in McCarthy and cruising from Juneau. Looking to save a little money and curious how far we could push the idea, we decided to explore Anchorage completely car-free.
What we found was a city that quietly excels at “Only-in-Alaska” experiences without ever needing a rental car.
Stay Central
Anchorage is America’s third-largest city by area; bigger than Rhode Island and nearly the size of Delaware, yet home to just 290,000 residents. Instead of endless sprawl, it’s a surprisingly walkable downtown wrapped in parks, greenbelts, and mountain views.
If you’re planning a car-free visit, downtown is non-negotiable and the Hotel Captain Cook is the place to anchor yourself.
It’s Anchorage’s only Preferred Hotel, with five distinct in-house restaurants, rooms that overlook Cook Inlet or the Chugach Mountains, complimentary airport shuttles, and a location just a 15-minute walk from the Alaska Railroad Depot. It makes arriving, exploring, and leaving town effortless.
Dine Local
Downtown Anchorage has many restaurants within walking distance, but these stood out during our stay:
49th State Brewing A beloved Alaskan brewpub serving northern favorites like yak burgers. It’s popular for a reason! Call ahead and add your name to the waitlist.
Wild Scoops Alaska’s ice-cream scene is serious business, and Wild Scoops leads the charge with small-batch flavors made from local ingredients. Their Fort 49 patio location is dangerously convenient.
Simon & Seafort’s Saloon & Grill You don’t come to Alaska and skip the seafood, and nowhere beats the Cook Inlet views at Simon’s.
Ride the Rails
The Alaska Railroad is more than transportation; it’s an adventure. Better yet, the Anchorage Depot is only a 10–15 minute walk from the Hotel Captain Cook, making it one of the easiest car-free connections in the entire state.
From there, you can ride north to Denali and Fairbanks or hug the coast down to Whittier and Seward. The scenery is breathtaking, especially from the GoldStar Service cars with their glass-dome ceilings.
Interpretive guides narrate the journey, pointing out towering peaks, sprawling glaciers, and the stories of fortunes made and lost along Alaska’s iron highway. Some services even include whistle stops that allow you to step off the train and explore remote wilderness that cars simply can’t reach.
Blue Water Kayak on Spencer Glacier
Spencer Glacier is accessible only by train, and Chugach Adventures has an exclusive partnership with the Alaska Railroad for morning drop-offs.
We boarded the Coastal Classic Train in Anchorage, met our guides in Girdwood, and then bounced down a gravel road in a bus that looked like it came straight out of Into the Wild. At the lake, they outfitted us with kayaks, paddles, and life vests before sending us across mirror-still water, weaving through glowing blue icebergs toward the glacier itself.
After lunch, we boarded the Glacier Discovery Train, passing through Grandview and tunnel country before a whistle stop at Grandview Glacier—another short hike, another jaw-dropping view. By evening, we were back in Anchorage. Zero car keys required.
Flightsee to Knik Glacier
Trains aren’t the only way out of town.
Rust’s Flying Service has been operating from Lake Hood, adjacent to Ted Stevens Airport, for more than 50 years. They offer narrated seaplane flightseeing tours and provide shuttle service from downtown hotels.
Our flight to Knik Glacier included aerial views of Anchorage, the Chugach Mountains, and a smooth landing on a glacial lake. We spotted Dall sheep from the air and drifted beside ancient ice that had never once felt the heat of a road.
Go on a Guided Adventure
Guided tours remove the guesswork and open doors you didn’t even know existed. Many operators pick up from the Egan Center downtown, making them perfect for car-free travelers.
Lifetime Adventures runs mesmerizing multi-sport trips to Eklutna Lake, where the water glows an unreal shade of glacial blue.
Go Hike Alaska offers specialty hikes throughout the Chugach Mountains. We joined them on their Backcountry Eats & Foraging Treats trip, learning to identify edible fungi and berries before cooking a backcountry feast of mushroom risotto and fresh salmon. Educational, edible, unforgettable.
Ride the Tony Knowles Trail
The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail stretches 11 paved miles from downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park, hugging the coastline with views of Denali on clear days and frequent moose sightings if luck is on your side.
We rented e-bikes from Pablo’s Bicycle Rentals near Elderberry Park and cruised past Westchester Lagoon, Earthquake Park, and up to Point Woronzof, where jets lift off right overhead. The gentle hills were effortless with pedal assist, though next time we might rent mountain bikes just to explore Kincaid’s forested trail maze.
Visit the Museums
Anchorage punches well above its weight when it comes to cultural institutions.
The Anchorage Museum blends art, science, and history to tell the story of life in the North. A short shuttle ride away, the Alaska Native Heritage Center offers immersive programs, traditional games, and powerful storytelling from Alaska Native communities.
The Heritage Center runs a free downtown shuttle every summer, making it easy to include without ever opening a car door.
Take the Trolley
Anchorage Trolley Tours is the perfect one-hour orientation to the city, covering highlights like:
Earthquake Park
Lake Hood Seaplane Base
The Alaska Railroad
Captain Cook Monument
Every ticket includes a coupon book with savings at 40+ nearby businesses, making it a smart first stop for maximizing a car-free stay.
Freedom From Car Keys
Anchorage surprised us, not because it was easy to visit without a car, but because it was better that way.
Moving through the city on foot, by bike, train, plane, and trolley slowed us down in all the right ways. We noticed more. Talked to more people. Let Alaska’s rhythms set the pace instead of a GPS.
And here’s our biggest takeaway: don’t treat Anchorage like a layover city.
Build in a few extra days at the beginning or end of your Alaska trip and use Anchorage as your adventure basecamp. From glacier kayaking and flightseeing to coastal bike rides and world-class museums, this city quietly delivers some of the most memorable experiences in the state, without ever opening a car door.
So leave the rental car line behind. Pack your walking shoes, trust the rails, and let the Last Frontier show you just how far you can go without ever turning a key.
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Attractions/Activities:
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Want to learn a city from the ground up? Take a small group walking tour with Walks – 5-star rated with a Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence
Want to book an epic adventure experience with top-notch companies like Intrepid Travel, G-Adventures, or Backroads? Check out Travelstride
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Hi! We are Jenn and Ed Coleman aka Coleman Concierge. In a nutshell, we are a Huntsville-based Gen X couple sharing our stories of amazing adventures through activity-driven transformational and experiential travel.
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