Alaska - one week - how?

Matthew

Matthew

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
19,195
Location
kojc, kixd, k34
Display Name
Display name:
Matthew
Staring to plan an Alaska vacation for 2, probably summer or early fall.

The dart fell on "cruise" but that isn't defite, plus we'd like to fit in a visit to Denali.

Can it be done? Ideas on how (other than the relentless application of $)?
 
Matthew said:
Staring to plan an Alaska vacation for 2, probably summer or early fall.

The dart fell on "cruise" but that isn't defite, plus we'd like to fit in a visit to Denali.

Can it be done? Ideas on how (other than the relentless application of $)?
Click to expand...

Cruise to Whittier, catch the train there that takes you to Anchorage then Denali and back to Anchorage. Or rent a plane or car in Anchorage and work your way inland to Denali and Fairbanks.
 
I wouldn't cruise. You'll spend too much time on the boat.

Fly into anchorage.

Denali Park isn't like Yellowstone, aka Disney World. You gotta plan ahead. And it's remote and rugged. I'd also go to McCarthy/Kennicott for a day or two. Be sure to stop in Talkeetna on your way to Denali. Go to Seward and take the long Keni Fijords cruise. If you're up for a strenuous day hike, head to Exit Glacier just outside Seward then keep going up to Harding Ice Field. That outta make a week out of it.
 
Did a cruise ,with a land cruise through Denali. Took about two weeks though.
 
Nothing wrong with a cruise and most cruise operators have a Denali option whether by train or coach. Fall isn't the best time. Weather gets wetter, days get shorter. But summer is high season and I'd expect most of the good weeks are already sold out or will be very expensive. Go Internet shopping. Princess and Holland America are the big guys. There are plenty of other players.

A week isn't enough time for anything buy the most abbreviated cruises. Denali needs three days on top of that. One to get there, one to be there, and one to get back to Fairbanks or Anchorage to fly out. Denali lodging will be controlled by the big operators like Princess. Price and availability will favor a cruise package.

The Inside Passage is beautiful and that's where cruises operate. That's along the panhandle. Anchorage is a good piece of water from there and Denali's a minimum half a day drive north of that. It's a big place and it takes time to get from venue to venue. Even with 2 or 3 weeks you'll barely scratch the surface. The biggest impact potential would be a cruise. Everybody loves those, even locals. The Inside Passage, Glacier Bay, whales, Juneau/Petersburg/Wrangell/Ketchikan, all are spectacular. Maybe get to Haines for a Chilkoot Trail (Yukon gold rush) excursion. Way too much to do in so little time, but that's the best prospect for a week-long trip. If you terminate in Anchorage the best way to see Denali will be in a small airplane and all Lake Hood operators can accommodate a flight see, weather depending.
 
Last edited:
Alaska is one of the few places I recommend hitting a cruise for. Really Alaska requires more than one week, more than one trip. A cruise ship is one way to see a lot of beautiful stuff, get a balcony room. If you are more active there are the small excursion cruise ships that slide up into the coves and anchorages where the big cruise ships can't get to, this is where there is some spectacular hidden beauty that requires your own boat to enjoy otherwise. Seaplane camping in most of these places is not advised unless you camp in the plane at anchor, the grizzly population is pretty thick. I spent the season in Prince William and the transit down the SE and BC to Seattle in a 110' yacht a couple years ago. The closest you can get to that without spending a half a million dollars is to take a cruise ship. One thing I found interesting having our home dock be next to the cruise ship in Whittier, I found that I could walk up to the ship and buy a balcony cabin passage to Vancouver for $250 with vacancies typical.
 
As one that has lived there and went back three times, don't limit yourself to 1 week. Take 2 and either do a surf and turf with one of the cruise lines or rent an RV (camper) for two weeks.
 
You can get all the ocean views you need on a day cruise out of Seward through Keni Fijords. Fly to anchorage rent a car and get the hell out of anchorage ASAP. Spend 1 day on the Keni peninsula. Spend 2 getting to McCarthy/Kennicott spend the rest of your time going to Denali (with a stop in Talkeetna) then back to anchorage. Don't let any grass grow under your feet in anchorage.... I used to live there it's the worst thing in Alaska.
 
I know, two weeks is better. We might have to do that 2nd, or 3rd, week another time. I know Denali is a world of its own and needs to be scheduled accordingly. A cruise and some time spent inland might be about all we'll be able to do with the time we have. It'll take us nearly a full day just to get ftom KC to wherever the cruise would start. That's time that could be spent flying into AK - something else to think about. If it works out, this could be one trip of several, so we won't feel like if we don't see something this trip we never will.
 
Gotta love E-experts. Anchorage is a great place. In a few minutes time I can be climbing Flattop, riding my bike on Turnagain Arm to sit just a few yards from Beluga Whales as they surface, ski, drop by Lake Hood and fly out of the coolest GA airport in the world....

A visitor could come to Anchorage for a week and not scratch the surface for cool things to do. As a hub for a highway vacation it's perfectly located. Seward, Homer, Valdez, Talkeetna, Fairbanks.... all fun destinations. I've been living here all my life and I've still got a bucket list that can't be conquered. When you plan a trip you want to see as much as you can and that'll get in the way of the best thing you can do. Decompress and enjoy being here. Enjoy the time with your wife. Chasing all over the place can ruin the journey. You need to slow down and let this place soak in a little. That agenda favors a cruise. Or it may be as simple as a Light picnic and an evening hike up Bird Ridge to watch the sun over Turnagain Arm. Believe me, you'd never forget that, either. We never get tired of it. :wink2:

Actually my family's favorite after work activity is to jump in the plane with a bucket of KFC and go fishing for the evening. Especially early in the summer when the days are long. Living in Anchorage has it's advantages. :yes:
 
Last edited:
Matthew said:
I know, two weeks is better. We might have to do that 2nd, or 3rd, week another time. I know Denali is a world of its own and needs to be scheduled accordingly. A cruise and some time spent inland might be about all we'll be able to do with the time we have. It'll take us nearly a full day just to get ftom KC to wherever the cruise would start. That's time that could be spent flying into AK - something else to think about. If it works out, this could be one trip of several, so we won't feel like if we don't see something this trip we never will.
Click to expand...

If you are short on time, the only way to reliably see Denali is by air.
 
Stewartb said:
Gotta love E-experts. Anchorage is a great place. In a few minutes time I can be climbing Flattop, riding my bike on Turnagain Arm to sit just a few yards from Beluga Whales as they surface, ski, drop by Lake Hood and fly out of the coolest GA airport in the world....

A visitor could come to Anchorage for a week and not scratch the surface for cool things to do. As a hub for a highway vacation it's perfectly located. Seward, Homer, Valdez, Talkeetna, Fairbanks.... all fun destinations. I've been living here all my life and I've still got a bucket list that can't be conquered. When you plan a trip you want to see as much as you can and that'll get in the way of the best thing you can do. Decompress and enjoy being here. Enjoy the time with your wife. Chasing all over the place can ruin the journey. You need to slow down and let this place soak in a little. That agenda favors a cruise. Or it may be as simple as a Light picnic and an evening hike up Bird Ridge to watch the sun over Turnagain Arm. Believe me, you'd never forget that, either. We never get tired of it. :wink2:

Actually my family's favorite after work activity is to jump in the plane with a bucket of KFC and go fishing for the evening. Especially early in the summer when the days are long. Living in Anchorage has it's advantages. :yes:
Click to expand...

I did 4th of July with a bunch of hippies in Cordova and we did a bush walk from 11pm-2am of all the squats and tree houses in the area. The coolest part is we didn't need lights.
 
We used to do a midnight sun golf event on Solstice. We'd tee off at 10:00 PM. Visitors like experiencing the long days. Any visitor who wants to see it needs to visit around Solstice.

If the Aurora is your priority think about a first week of March and tie it into seeing the Iditarod. We always have weekend bonfire parties for the Iditarod start/re-start and if the skies are clear we usually see northern lights. Spring in Alaska can be a friggin hoot if you like winter sports. Iron Dog, Iditarod, Arctic Man... fun stuff.
 
The tough part is we really can't be away from home for more than 7-10 days at a time (caregiver issues). So we can either try to pack too much into that time, or spend that time doing one thing at a leisurely pace, or try some compromise.

So far, in the last hour or two, I've emailed two places. One does Inside Passage cruises on smaller ships. The other does a trip to Denali and some flightseeing from Talkeetna, ending up with a short boat tour from Seward before finishing up in Anchorage. From their itinerary, it looks like either one would fit our style. Of course, ideally, we'd have our own car and set our own schedule, but we can live with a group tour this time.
 
Pick one nice place, spend the week there. AK is way to far and big to travel to then travel around in a week.
 
Matthew said:
The tough part is we really can't be away from home for more than 7-10 days at a time (caregiver issues). So we can either try to pack too much into that time, or spend that time doing one thing at a leisurely pace, or try some compromise.

So far, in the last hour or two, I've emailed two places. One does Inside Passage cruises on smaller ships. The other does a trip to Denali and some flightseeing from Talkeetna, ending up with a short boat tour from Seward before finishing up in Anchorage. From their itinerary, it looks like either one would fit our style. Of course, ideally, we'd have our own car and set our own schedule, but we can live with a group tour this time.
Click to expand...

Yep, if you are looking at a 'first of' trip, the slam it all in trips aren't a bad idea. No, you don't get to fully explore anything, but you do get a taste of a lot of things, some you didn't realize were available, that you can explore further on subsequent trips.
 
If you get a car... driving south from Anchorage takes you to Seward or through Soldotna to Homer. The roads end there. Both have merit but no matter how long I live here I never get tired of heading to Homer. Out of Anchorage the first hour is along Turnagain Arm. Fantastic scenery. The second hour is through the mountains and over Turnagain and Summit passes. Take a right and follow Kenai Lake and the Kenai River. Nice! Cross the Kenai in Soldotna and after a half hour you're following the high bluffs above lower Cook Inlet and looking at Redoubt and Illiamna volcanoes on the other side. Incredible. If all that isn't enough, at the end of the drive you'll come around a sweeping left turn and start downhill into Homer. That moment unveils what I believe is the prettiest vista you'll ever see. Katchemak Bay, the Homer Spit, Tutka Bay and Halibut Cove on the other side.... Breathtaking on a clear day. You will not want to move. And 10 more minutes down the hill is Homer. A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem. If you can't have fun there, you need to reevaluate what life's about. Enjoy the adventure. Little things.
 
Homer sounds like my kind of place.

I'm watching the Green Bay-Dallas game, with my tablet and an atlas resting on top of a cat sleeping on my lap, and my drink is on the table next to my elbow. Life is good.
 
Anybody here with connections in/around Denali?

We are leaning towards a trip into and out of Anchorage with bus and train transport into Denali and a couple other places. I got an Anchorage based travel agency to put together a pretty nice self-guided tour.
 
Stewartb said:
Gotta love E-experts. Anchorage is a great place. In a few minutes time I can be climbing Flattop, riding my bike on Turnagain Arm to sit just a few yards from Beluga Whales as they surface, ski, drop by Lake Hood and fly out of the coolest GA airport in the world....

A visitor could come to Anchorage for a week and not scratch the surface for cool things to do. As a hub for a highway vacation it's perfectly located. Seward, Homer, Valdez, Talkeetna, Fairbanks.... all fun destinations. I've been living here all my life and I've still got a bucket list that can't be conquered. When you plan a trip you want to see as much as you can and that'll get in the way of the best thing you can do. Decompress and enjoy being here. Enjoy the time with your wife. Chasing all over the place can ruin the journey. You need to slow down and let this place soak in a little. That agenda favors a cruise. Or it may be as simple as a Light picnic and an evening hike up Bird Ridge to watch the sun over Turnagain Arm. Believe me, you'd never forget that, either. We never get tired of it. :wink2:

Actually my family's favorite after work activity is to jump in the plane with a bucket of KFC and go fishing for the evening. Especially early in the summer when the days are long. Living in Anchorage has it's advantages. :yes:
Click to expand...

None of which is in anchorage. Stay in anchorage and take in the sights of ghe local gangs, go to chilcoot Charlie's and the ABC club to witness all the drunks coming in from the slope. Then stick around and watch the local tax dollars at work picking up passed out natives in the middle of the road. Be sure to stop by the local Carrs and get hounded by the homeless.

Yes, Anchorage is a good place to fly into, the city sucks. I lived there for a while.
 
Last edited:
You can't see Alaska in a life time, 1 week is a teaser.
 
Tom-D said:
You can't see Alaska in a life time, 1 week is a teaser.
Click to expand...

Henning said:
Yep, your first few trips can get you a decent recon though.
Click to expand...

Yeah - no way to see the whole place, probably ever. But you do have to start somewhere, and a teaser peak is better than nothing.

My nephew lived there for a while, and goes back whenever he gets a chance. But he's found his niche up there so he goes to the same place each time.
 
I'd go a long way for a day or two of this!
 

Attachments

  • DSC01453.JPG
    DSC01453.JPG
    3.5 MB · Views: 26
I miss the feeling of glacial silt around my waders and the occasional bump of a salmon
 
Me, too. Spring's coming!

Here's another picture for you. At the cabin. Too foggy to fly home. Wife says "take me fishing for a little while".
 

Attachments

  • Kim's Rainbow.jpg
    Kim's Rainbow.jpg
    123.8 KB · Views: 21
Never have. Spent a few days doing on the Kenai. Mostly to watch the show. I prefer fly rods and an absence of people. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top