Alaska: Land (on our own) then Cruise

I've been planning a land trip in Alaska prior to a cruise next summer. I thought I'd share here, both to help others who might be planning something similar, and in case anyone has any feedback about the choices we've made. A little bit of background about some of our decisions:

• We stay happier if we don't have to navigate and drive long distances, so we've rented cars in Anchorage and Denali, but otherwise will be taking the train to move around Alaska.
  
• My family does best if we don't overbook ourselves. We benefit from some down time to decompress.
  
• The basic itinerary is set at this point, as we have our hotel and train reservations in place.
  

Day 1: Travel from home to Fairbanks

• Arrive in Fairbanks
  

Day 2: Fairbanks

• Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center
  
• Lunch at The Crepery
  
• Riverboat Discovery Tour
  
• Dinner at Lavelle's Bistro
  

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  
• Pick up Rental Car
  
• Visit the Denali Visitor's Center
  
• Drive to Mile 15 and back
  
• Dinner at The Overlook
  

Day 4: Denali

• Flight into Denali with Kat Air
  
• Shuttle bus back to the park entrance
  
• Dinner at the Black Diamond Grill
  

Day 5: Travel from Denali to Anchorage

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  

Day 6: Anchorage

• Drive to Portage Lake
  
• Take the Portage Glacier Cruise
  
• Stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
  
• Dinner at Jack Sprat
  

Day 7: Anchorage

• Lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse
  
• Segway Tour of Anchorage
  
• Dinner at the Whale's Tail Wine Bar
  

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

• Alaska Railroad: Coastal Classic
  
• Alaska Sea Life Center
  
• Fox Island Dinner Cruise
  

Day 9: Seward

• Do Laundry
  
• Sea Kayaking
  
• Dinner at The Cookery
  

Day 10: Cruise starts

I've been planning a land trip in Alaska prior to a cruise next summer. I thought I'd share here, both to help others who might be planning something similar, and in case anyone has any feedback about the choices we've made. A little bit of background about some of our decisions:

 

• We stay happier if we don't have to navigate and drive long distances, so we've rented cars in Anchorage and Denali, but otherwise will be taking the train to move around Alaska.
  
• My family does best if we don't overbook ourselves. We benefit from some down time to decompress.
  
• The basic itinerary is set at this point, as we have our hotel and train reservations in place.
  

Day 1: Travel from home to Fairbanks

 

• Arrive in Fairbanks
  

Day 2: Fairbanks

 

• Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center
  
• Lunch at The Crepery
  
• Riverboat Discovery Tour
  
• Dinner at Lavelle's Bistro
  

 

Fairbanks has a wonderful museum on AK and also a wonderful car museum. You can drive up to ans see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. All you are planning to do is a 3 hour Riverboat Cruise which is sort of interesting but what else do you plan to do with the rest of your day.

 

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  
• Pick up Rental Car
  
• Visit the Denali Visitor's Center
  
• Drive to Mile 15 and back
  
• Dinner at The Overlook
  

 

You are planning to rent a car to make the 15 mile drive into the park which is the total distance that you can drive by yourself. You will not see much at all and will be wasting money and your time with the short trip.

 

Day 4: Denali

 

• Flight into Denali with Kat Air
   
  What is your plan B if the mountain is socked in? We stayed at Kantishana's Skyline lodge for 3 days figuring that we would do a flight-seeing flight from there and we never had a clear day so we never flew. We took the bus into the lodge and we took the bus out from the lodge.
   
  
• Shuttle bus back to the park entrance
  
• Dinner at the Black Diamond Grill
  

Day 5: Travel from Denali to Anchorage

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  

 

The only thing that you are going to do on day 5 is to take the train from Denali to Anchorage. There are lots of interesting things in Anchorage that you will be totally missing.

 

Day 6: Anchorage

 

• Drive to Portage Lake
  
• Take the Portage Glacier Cruise
  
• Stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
  
• Dinner at Jack Sprat
  

Day 7: Anchorage

 

• Lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse
  
• Segway Tour of Anchorage
  
• Dinner at the Whale's Tail Wine Bar
  

 

A Segway tour of Anchorage would not be my only planned activity in Anchorage. I wouldn't even waste my time on it. There are interesting sites in and around Anchorage. Have you considered any of them.

 

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

 

• Alaska Railroad: Coastal Classic
  
• Alaska Sea Life Center
  
• Fox Island Dinner Cruise
  

 

Drive to Seward. It is one of the great drives in the US. See the Sea Life Center in the afternoon. Instead of doing the Fox Island Dinner Cruise (yet another food related activity), do a full day Kenai Fjord cruise on day 9.

• Do Laundry
  
• Sea Kayaking
  
• Dinner at The Cookery
  

 

Do a full day Kenai Fjord cruise today

 

Day 10: Cruise starts

I have to admit that I am not overly impressed with your trip plans. You are moving around way too much and seeing very little. You are over planning. Nobody plans their meals one year in advance. It seems as if the only planning that you have done is "where are we going to eat?". You are missing some really great sights in favor of what I at least consider inferior ones. I am not sure why you even bothered to come on CC to ask about your plans as you say that they can not be changed but I have made some suggestions in your text.

It will be interesting to see what Budget Queen and Mapleleaves have to say about your plans as they are two of the resident experts on AK. If you don't even consider their suggestions, you are wasting our time.

DON

My main comment is if your family really needs down time, I wouldn't be so hung up on the already planned restaurants. Sometimes grabbing a quick snack and being able to see and do more is what I'd want to do. Or order in a pizza when you get back to the hotel. Remember on the cruise you have plenty of good food and time to eat it.

I second the comment in Fairbanks of seeing the pipeline. I think it's call Gold Drege 8 and you mine for gold there too. In Fairbanks the Salmon Bake is good. Now something like that I'd plan into the schedule.

I have to admit that I am not overly impressed with your trip plans. You are moving around way too much and seeing very little. You are over planning. Nobody plans their meals one year in advance. It seems as if the only planning that you have done is "where are we going to eat?". You are missing some really great sights in favor of what I at least consider inferior ones. I am not sure why you even bothered to come on CC to ask about your plans as you say that they can not be changed but I have made some suggestions in your text.

 

It will be interesting to see what Budget Queen and Mapleleaves have to say about your plans as they are two of the resident experts on AK. If you don't even consider their suggestions, you are wasting our time.

 

DON

Don,

Good morning! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to respond with your thoughts. An overplanner? Me? :D You've got me pegged! I love the planning almost as much as the actually travel. My friends and family seem to appreciate the results of the planning, though!

I actually had my original post ready to submit, without restaurants indicated. Then I thought...what if other readers would be interested in our restaurant choices in each location as they planned their trips? So I went back and put them in. We certainly don't have reservations at any of them yet, and they are subject to change if other aspects of our schedule should change. However, yes, it is true that we like food, and having nice dining experiences is part of what we enjoy when we travel. :)

My post had two purposes...to get feedback, such as what you kindly provided, and to share our plan in case others were working on a similar itinerary and could benefit. My post was obviously unclear about something: It is only the framework of our trip (flights, hotels, train tickets) that is not flexible at this point. The plans while we are in each location are a work in progress. I made changes to the plan just before I posted last night, and will likely make others today after having received feedback. It would never be my intention to waste your time, or that of others on CC. I value these boards. I don't post all that often, but I have been reading the Alaska board for months, as well as visiting TripAdvisor to read reviews of activities, hotels, and restaurants. (Yep, food again! :D)

I couldn't find a way to quote your full response (your feedback within the quote of my post) so I'll comment by using the day numbers from my post.

Day 2: Fairbanks

I agree that I'd like to plan more in Fairbanks. When we allowed one full day in Fairbanks, I hadn't realized how late our flight would be arriving. Coming from the East Coast, it will feel like 3:30 in the morning when we arrive at the airport, and even later by the time we get to the hotel. So I moved the Riverboat tour from the morning to the afternoon, and put the Cultural and Visitor's Center into the morning, since it doesn't require reservations and the timing is flexible. It is possible that we can work in the museum that you mention. Thanks for the suggestion; I'll check that out! :)

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

I think that this is another place where my post wasn't as clear as it should have been. We aren't renting a car solely to drive to Mile 15 and back. We will have the car for the duration of our stay in Denali. We are staying at a B&B in Healy, and will need a car to get anywhere. Our plan for the first afternoon was to explore the portion of the park that we can see by car, including seeing what the Visitor's Center has to offer. If there would be a better use of our time this afternoon, I am open to suggestions!

Day 4: Denali

If the weather is uncooperative and our flight gets cancelled, our Plan B is to take the roundtrip shuttle instead. Perhaps you can advise, having experienced this. I've been concerned about attempting to purchase shuttle tickets at the last minute. If the flight gets cancelled, and no shuttle tickets are available, we would be very disappointed! Should we purchase shuttle tickets (that we might not need) in advance as "insurance"? Our innkeepers and the flightseeing company don't seem to think this would be an issue, but it makes me nervous.

Day 5: Travel from Denali to Anchorage

Yes, this day is devoted to travel. Given our preference for train travel over driving, we will settle in and enjoy the views. Rather than thinking of it as a wasted day, we will consider the trip to be that day's adventure! By the time we arrive in Anchorage, it will be 8:00 at night, so our Anchorage adventures will need to wait for the following day.

Day 6/Day 7: Anchorage

I completely agree with you that a Segway tour of Anchorage should not be the only thing we do in the area. We are looking forward to spending Day 6 on the Portage Glacier cruise and visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Our Segway tour of Anchorage is planned for Day 7. Many people might not prioritize this activity, but there's a background story for my family. A year ago, we had planned to take a Segway tour of another city. As it turned out, my daughter didn't quite meet the weight requirement to take the tour, and it was a disappointment. Now that she's had some time to grow, we've been watching for an appropriate tour and this one seemed to fit the bill! :)

We definitely still have time for another activity on Day 7, as the Segway Tour is short. Perhaps a museum or other attraction? Any recommendations?

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

I appreciate the fact that many people would prefer to make this drive, rather than travel by train. Everyone should account for all of the factors that matter to them, and then make the decision that best suits them. My husband and I are much more relaxed when we don't have to drive and navigate Being able to sit back and enjoy the views, taking pictures, getting up to stretch our legs whenever we'd like...those are all things that are important to us.

Day 9: Seward

I really, really like the idea of a full day Kenai Fjord cruiseon this day. I will continue to investigate sea kayaking opportunities, because if I could schedule that for later in the day on Day 8, we could make the full day cruise work out.

Thank you, again, Don, for taking the time to read and respond to my post. Happy travels!

Gizvic

My main comment is if your family really needs down time, I wouldn't be so hung up on the already planned restaurants. Sometimes grabbing a quick snack and being able to see and do more is what I'd want to do. Or order in a pizza when you get back to the hotel. Remember on the cruise you have plenty of good food and time to eat it.

 

I second the comment in Fairbanks of seeing the pipeline. I think it's call Gold Drege 8 and you mine for gold there too. In Fairbanks the Salmon Bake is good. Now something like that I'd plan into the schedule.

dd,

Thank you for your thoughts. I'll take a look at the Gold Dredge 8 activity, and see if it makes sense to work it into our plan.

As I also mentioned in my response to Don's post, I actually had my original post ready to submit, without restaurants indicated. Then I thought...what if other readers would be interested in our restaurant choices in each location as they planned their trips? So I went back and put them in. We certainly don't have reservations at any of them yet, and they are subject to change if other aspects of our schedule should change.

That may very well result in pizza at the hotel on one or more occasions! :)

Gizvic

Definitely Plan B for anything involving flying and even for anything involving "motors". Never know when mechanical issues can crop up.

Something we've found with detailed planning is, as the military says, "no plan survives contact with the enemy" - or in this case reality as the enemy.

Also, depending on the month (for example June/July) at Fairbanks it will be light all night. Between that, time zones, air dehydration and travel stress expect the following day to be "difficult" at best.

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

We will have the car for the duration of our stay in Denali. We are staying at a B&B in Healy, and will need a car to get anywhere. Our plan for the first afternoon was to explore the portion of the park that we can see by car, including seeing what the Visitor's Center has to offer. If there would be a better use of our time this afternoon, I am open to suggestions!

I think renting the car to be able to stay in Healy is a good call. Do you already have the car reserved? I know there is just a couple of places that rent cars in the area.

 

Day 6/Day 7: Anchorage

 

We definitely still have time for another activity on Day 7, as the Segway Tour is short. Perhaps a museum or other attraction? Any recommendations?

There's the Alaska Native Heritage Center if you'd like to learn about the Native cultures of Alaska. You could walk the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Or drive up to Glenn Alps. Or head north the MatSu Valley & Hatchers Pass.

 

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

The train ride is still scenic. You will have driven the Turnagain Arm the day before, so you'll have had the chance to make the stops you want then.

 

A few comments above in red. Overall your plan is a variation of the norm, but I think it'll work just fine. Oh, other than the concern of the flight at Denali being cancelled and what the back up plan is. Either choice has its risks and rewards.

Definitely Plan B for anything involving flying and even for anything involving "motors". Never know when mechanical issues can crop up.

 

Something we've found with detailed planning is, as the military says, "no plan survives contact with the enemy" - or in this case reality as the enemy.

 

Also, depending on the month (for example June/July) at Fairbanks it will be light all night. Between that, time zones, air dehydration and travel stress expect the following day to be "difficult" at best.

Thanks for the additional insights about the first day after arrival.

Yes, we will definitely make sure we have a "Plan B." Though I am a big planner, we also are good about rolling with things when they don't go as expected. I believe that, when something goes wrong, we have a choice: dwell on it and let it ruin the day, or make the best of the situation and have fun. The latter is always more appealing to me! :)

Gizvic

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

We will have the car for the duration of our stay in Denali. We are staying at a B&B in Healy, and will need a car to get anywhere. Our plan for the first afternoon was to explore the portion of the park that we can see by car, including seeing what the Visitor's Center has to offer. If there would be a better use of our time this afternoon, I am open to suggestions!

I think renting the car to be able to stay in Healy is a good call. Do you already have the car reserved? I know there is just a couple of places that rent cars in the area.

Yes, we have the car reserved.

 

Day 6/Day 7: Anchorage

 

We definitely still have time for another activity on Day 7, as the Segway Tour is short. Perhaps a museum or other attraction? Any recommendations?

There's the Alaska Native Heritage Center if you'd like to learn about the Native cultures of Alaska. You could walk the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Or drive up to Glenn Alps. Or head north the MatSu Valley & Hatchers Pass.

Great ideas! I'll take a look at those. Thank you!

 

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

The train ride is still scenic. You will have driven the Turnagain Arm the day before, so you'll have had the chance to make the stops you want then.

Thanks! We are looking forward to the scenic train ride!

 

A few comments above in red. Overall your plan is a variation of the norm, but I think it'll work just fine. Oh, other than the concern of the flight at Denali being cancelled and what the back up plan is. Either choice has its risks and rewards.

Thanks so much for the comments! I've answered in blue up above. We will have to make a decision about whether to buy the shuttle tickets in advance, just in case. I have a feeling we will go that route, just to play it safe.

Gizvic

I've been planning a land trip in Alaska prior to a cruise next summer. I thought I'd share here, both to help others who might be planning something similar, and in case anyone has any feedback about the choices we've made. A little bit of background about some of our decisions:

 

• We stay happier if we don't have to navigate and drive long distances, so we've rented cars in Anchorage and Denali, but otherwise will be taking the train to move around Alaska.
  
• My family does best if we don't overbook ourselves. We benefit from some down time to decompress.
  
• The basic itinerary is set at this point, as we have our hotel and train reservations in place.
  

Day 1: Travel from home to Fairbanks

 

• Arrive in Fairbanks
  

Day 2: Fairbanks

 

• Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center
  
• Lunch at The Crepery
  
• Riverboat Discovery Tour
  
• Dinner at Lavelle's Bistro
  

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  
• Pick up Rental Car
  
• Visit the Denali Visitor's Center
  
• Drive to Mile 15 and back
  
• Dinner at The Overlook
  

Day 4: Denali

 

• Flight into Denali with Kat Air
  
• Shuttle bus back to the park entrance
  
• Dinner at the Black Diamond Grill
  

Day 5: Travel from Denali to Anchorage

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  

Day 6: Anchorage

 

• Drive to Portage Lake
  
• Take the Portage Glacier Cruise
  
• Stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
  
• Dinner at Jack Sprat
  

Day 7: Anchorage

 

• Lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse
  
• Segway Tour of Anchorage
  
• Dinner at the Whale's Tail Wine Bar
  

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

 

• Alaska Railroad: Coastal Classic
  
• Alaska Sea Life Center
  
• Fox Island Dinner Cruise
  

Day 9: Seward

 

• Do Laundry
  
• Sea Kayaking
  
• Dinner at The Cookery
  

Day 10: Cruise starts

This information will be much more valuable when you return. Please be sure to write a review when you return. You're on a fine line with listing vendors when you haven't been there yet. Some will interpret these lists to be "recommendations" unfortunately.

Moderators, I'm sorry if I unintentionally violated any policies. Feel free to delete the entire thread if you see fit.

Gizvic

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Might I also suggest to the OP that TripAdvisor is a terrible place to go for restaurant reviews if your are serious about good food. Instead look to sites like Chowhound, Serious Eats, Grubhub and Urbanspoon.

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There are no glaring errors with your itinerary or transit times.

Everyone has their own travel style so as long as you're happy with your plan and choices, that's all that matters!

If you drive to mile 15 at Denali, take advantage of the Savage River Trail which is right there at the turnaround point. You'll find info about the hike in the park newsletter.

In Seward, since you're looking at a kenai fjords cruise AND a kayak tour, you might to check out the full day kayak tours ...... their water taxi doubles as a cruise since it travels to the glacier along the same route. At least they did in the past ..i haven't looked at the details for 4 or 5 yrs.

The park holds out a number of shuttle tickets and they become available 2 days prior (verify this). That works for 1 or 2 tickets but personally i wouldn't feel comfortable in assuming that 4 or more tickets would be available on the day of. But that's my comfort level.

.

Might I also suggest to the OP that TripAdvisor is a terrible place to go for restaurant reviews if your are serious about good food. Instead look to sites like Chowhound, Serious Eats, Grubhub and Urbanspoon.

 

 

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I'm familiar with some of those, and will check out the others. I take TripAdvisor with a grain of salt. I find it helpful, but it definitely isn't as simple as "Gee, who's number one?" [emoji6]

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There are no glaring errors with your itinerary or transit times.

 

Everyone has their own travel style so as long as you're happy with your plan and choices, that's all that matters!

 

If you drive to mile 15 at Denali, take advantage of the Savage River Trail which is right there at the turnaround point. You'll find info about the hike in the park newsletter.

 

In Seward, since you're looking at a kenai fjords cruise AND a kayak tour, you might to check out the full day kayak tours ...... their water taxi doubles as a cruise since it travels to the glacier along the same route. At least they did in the past ..i haven't looked at the details for 4 or 5 yrs.

 

The park holds out a number of shuttle tickets and they become available 2 days prior (verify this). That works for 1 or 2 tickets but personally i wouldn't feel comfortable in assuming that 4 or more tickets would be available on the day of. But that's my comfort level.

 

.

Thank you so much! That's exactly the kind of information I've been looking for. I'll check out the ideas you mentioned! And I think I'll buy shuttle tickets and write off the extra cost as "insurance."

Gizvic

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Re: Segway tour...my family makes it a point to take a Segway tour of every city we visit if it is available. We believe it's the best way to see a city. They are a blast to ride and makes touring so much fun. You definitely see more than you could on foot in the same amount of time...and you can always go back to a site to spend more time on foot if so desired.

It was on my list to find at least one in Alaska and I thank you for pointing me to it! We will be taking it too!

Re: Segway tour...my family makes it a point to take a Segway tour of every city we visit if it is available. We believe it's the best way to see a city. They are a blast to ride and makes touring so much fun. You definitely see more than you could on foot in the same amount of time...and you can always go back to a site to spend more time on foot if so desired.

 

It was on my list to find at least one in Alaska and I thank you for pointing me to it! We will be taking it too!

I'm glad your experiences have been good. It'll be our first time with Segways, but we are looking forward to it! Enjoy Alaska!

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We really enjoyed our lunch at the Crepery in Fairbanks. The Visitor's center is also a great stop. It gives you a great intro to Alaska. If you are from the East you may find the Gold Dredge tour to be of interest - much of the steel there was brought from Bethlehem Steel. I hadn't known this and it was eerie to me that some of my relatives may have had a part in the making of the dredge I was viewing. If you are interested in hiking in Denali, near the entrance, I'd suggest the Horseshoe Lake Trail. It goes down a hill around the lake and back up. While there we were fortunate to see moose and beavers. Even without wildlife it is a nice short hike. The train ride is a scenic adventure. Try to spend some time on the viewing platforms. In Anchorage we enjoyed the Snow City Cafe for lunch. This can be a busy place. In Seward the full day cruise is worth the time. I understand wanting to sea kayak, perhaps you could work that activity in on one of your cruise ship stops. Your travel style is similar to ours. Leave most of the driving to others, so you can enjoy the trip, and do a few major things and really enjoy each rather than jump from thing to thing. Enjoy your planning and really enjoy your trip!

Thank you! I appreciate the advice! I was able to move kayaking to the first evening in Seward so that we could do the full day cruise in our full day in Seward.

Horseshoe Lake Trail sounds like a great introduction to Denali before we do our full day in the park.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

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. . .

 

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  
• Pick up Rental Car
  
• Visit the Denali Visitor's Center
  
• Drive to Mile 15 and back
  
• Dinner at The Overlook
  

You arrive at Denali around 12:30. Why not take an afternoon shuttle deep into the park? depending on when you go it may not get dark until well after midnight.

 

 

Day 4: Denali

 

• Flight into Denali with Kat Air
  
• Shuttle bus back to the park entrance
  
• Dinner at the Black Diamond Grill
  

Why go back to the park entrance if you were there the day before?

 

Day 5: Travel from Denali to Anchorage

 

• Alaska Railroad: Denali Star
  

Don't forget that you will have all morning in the Denali area. train leaves around 1:30 p.m.

 

Day 6: Anchorage

 

• Drive to Portage Lake
  
• Take the Portage Glacier Cruise
  
• Stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
  
• Dinner at Jack Sprat
  

This is at most a half a day of exploring. The drive to Portage Lake is only about 50 miles. The cruise is less than an hour. You should consider going on to Whittier and taking a long afternoon glacier cruise from there too.

 

Day 7: Anchorage

 

• Lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse
  
• Segway Tour of Anchorage
  
• Dinner at the Whale's Tail Wine Bar
  

I assume that this is your day of rest. You might consider driving to Manatuska glacier. It is not far, and walking on it is a lot more interesting in taking a segway around an urban downtown. If you are going to the Glacier Brewhouse, be aware that it is usually very busy for lunch, reservations are recommended, and it is very smokey due to the wood fires for the pizzas. I will say that there are much better places to eat in Anchorage than this one.

 

Day 8: Travel from Anchorage to Seward

 

• Alaska Railroad: Coastal Classic
  
• Alaska Sea Life Center
  
• Fox Island Dinner Cruise
  

Day 9: Seward

 

• Do Laundry
  
• Sea Kayaking
  
• Dinner at The Cookery
  

Are you considering this as a do nothing day? Perfect time to take that cruise that stops at Fox Island, though I will say the food there is mediocre. Unless you do the overnight trip to Fox Island, which is pricey but spectacular.

 

Day 10: Cruise starts

Some thoughts in red above. I am like you and prefer the train for travel, though you are going to get some that tell you it is a waste of time and too structured. I think that you are spending 9 days doing about 5 days worth of touring, and would recommend that you consider adding to your activities, or you are going to be bored.

Remember that you could have 20+ hours of daylight out of every 24,, and unless you are planning on going back to AK, you should make the most of your time. You can always rest on the first day of your cruise which is a sea day (even if you go to Hubbard Glacier it is still basically a sea day).

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas! I appreciate your feedback.

Days 3 and 4:

We will be going deep into the park on Day 4. Our flight takes us all the way in, including a fly-by of Denali, then drops us at the last shuttle stop inside the park. We will then take the shuttle all the way back through the park, which is why we will end up back at the entrance. So on Day 3, we figured we'd get our bearings, deal with our rental car, check into our b&b, and then check out the visitor center and the "accessible by car" portion of the park.

Day 5: The train leaves at 12:30, but yes, we can do something that morning if we want to.

Day 6: Thanks for the tip. I'll look into Whittier.

Day 7: We have received a few suggestions about what else to do in Anchorage and will undoubtedly be adding to this day. The Segway tour has some background to it. A couple of years ago we planned to take a Segway tour of Portland and had to cancel because it turned out that my daughter didn't yet weigh enough. Now that she does, we've been waiting to have the opportunity. But we definitely won't make that all we do that day. Thanks for the review of the Glacier Brewhouse. Maybe that's not the best choice for us.

Days 8 & 9

We revised the plan for these days since my original post, thanks to feedback we've received here. On Day 8, we will travel to Seward, visit the Alaska Sea Life Center, and go sea kayaking. On Day 9, we will take a full day Kenai Fjords cruise.

We are very much looking forward to this trip. My husband and I honeymooned on an Alaskan cruise, but we didn't get beyond the ports. The fact that we are heading back with our daughter for our 20th anniversary makes this particularly special. :-)

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