Depending upon your daughter's personality and how good she is at traveling alone and style of living she is accustomed to or can handle - Seward has an ok campground that US and international travelers and seasonal workers often stay. It can be a groovy place to meet fellow travelers. There is an excellent library in town, Safeway grocery store, laundry mat, salmon fishing , Mt Marathon 5k race which gets the top marathon runners in the world usually, I have seem and heard humpback whales just off the shore in Seward, the shipyard across the bay is of interest to me, first rate , people sometimes hitchhike to Homer if that is their style, there are some beautiful cruises out of Seward - there is the Moby Dick Hostel and other accommodations in Seward
Homer has a long 4 mile sand bar or "spit" usually there a lot of travelers camping on the beach campsites. There are 3 or 4 fish processing plants on the end on the spit and also a fairly large harbor full of fishing boats and a mix of others. you can sit on the beach all night burning driftwood that has landed up on the beach if that interests you . There is also a campground on the small mountain behind the hospital but camping on the beach is far better in my opinion, the Salty Dog Saloon is of interest to some - among a bunch of other tourist related shops and charter outfits, and tour season restaurants . Some top rated flights to view bears fly out of Homer - Katmai Nat Park - beautiful - usually flying out of Beluga Lake in Homer by the McDonalds. also Seldovia and Halibut Cove are across Kachemak Bay - maybe worth a look.
the Islands and Ocean Visitors Center is first rate - they have super interesting guest speakers at times - researchers, photographers, adventurers (I met a guy there that does scuba diving in Antarctica collecting scientific data ) Homer has the Alaska State Ferry Terminal at the end of the spit - you can take the ferry to Kodiak if that is of interest. I think that Homer and Seward are about the same as far as safety goes - it really depends upon the person. I prefer Homer . She can also fly to Anchorage from Homer but don't wait until the last minute to book. Only small airplanes can land at the airport in Seward - no regular flights to Anchorage
Ninilchik is interesting to me but without wheels more difficult.
Kenai - Soldotna is spread out and mostly shoulder to shoulder fishermen and fisherwomen - WalMart , Safeway , 2 McDonalds , Meyers , the Kenai River, dipnetting , no tent camping that I am aware of - mostly RV s packed together - its ok but not suited to travel on foot and way to spread out
hermosajoe has some good ideas but hanging around Girdwood but (a ski resort area) in the summer might get old right away and Millers Landing is great if she is into kayaking but it is isolated from town . It might be better to camp or stay at a hostel in Seward itself
my preference - Homer
note - if camping at Homer the Washboard Laundromat has private showers and laundry facilities - also a great contact point to find out what is happening locally - large message board to use and gather info
if camping in Seward the Harbormasters has showers and facilities
if at Girdwood the laundromat has nice showers
