Need Land Tour Itinerary/Excursions Comments

Originally planned to take a cruise tour, but after spending hours reading these boards, we decided we could plan our own land portion and have a much better time. Right now, “we” is my husband and I, our 3 kids (15, 13, 11), my sister-in-law, and her friend. We are very active and prefer adventure type excursions to shopping or riding a tour bus.

We’ve booked the cruise – Island Princess SB on June 5th (mini-suite, balcony and interior room on the Baja deck) and are looking to finalize the land portion.

Money is a consideration (isn’t it always?), but we really want to have a great time and do the right things. We’ll get the Toursaver book , but not necessarily use it to decide what we do.

May 27 – Arrive in Anchorage (late)

May 28 – RR to Seward. Mitch Seavey’s Iditarod Dog Sled tour

May 29 – Kenai Fjord Boat Tour – all day. We’re thinking Backcountry Safari’s small boat tour from 8-5? Better than the larger boats?

May 30 – Alaska SeaLife Center, Exit Glacier, RR to Anchorage

May 31 – White Water kayaking with Alaska Kayak Academy. Anyone done this? Alaska Native Heritage Center

June 1 – Rental Car to Denali. Stop in Talkeetna for flightseeing (Denali Grand Tour with glacier landing with K2). Is this a better tour than the Toursaver Talkeetna Aero because of the glacier landing? Worth the extra $$?

June 2 – park shuttle into Denali

June 3 – TBD. Options are Discovery Hike, Dog Sled demo, general hiking (group will probably split). Drive back to Anchorage

June 4 – Drive to Whittier. Kayak Blackstone Bay day trip (Alaska Sea Kayakers or PWS Kayakers??)

June 5 PWS Explorer Cruise, Board Island Princess

June 6&7 – Cruise College Fjord and Glacier Bay

June 8 – Skagway. White Pass RR or Rental car to Emerald Lake w/Murray’s guide

June 9 – Juneau. Whale Watching with Capt. Larry. Alternate flightseeing – in case don’t go in Talkeetna because of weather -- Coastal Helicopter Icefield Excursion or North Star Trekking – or hike at Mendenhall Glacier.

June 10 – Ketchikan – TBD depending on what we’ve done. Options are Southeast Kayak Orca Cove tour, Michelle with Island Wings and snorkeling with Alaska Deep Six (husband and son).

June 11 – at sea

June 12 – Vancouver to Orlando.

For hotels, we’re looking at (This is where we are trying to save money since we are not planning to spend a lot of time in our rooms!)

Anchorage – Clarion Suites or Ramada Inn downtown (toursavers)

Denali – Earthsong Lodge or Denali River Cabins

Seward -- Windsong Lodge or Holiday Inn Express (toursaver)

Whittier – Inn at Whittier (toursaver)

I really want your comments/suggestions! Thanks.

Leslie

My opinion, no I don't think the smaller boats are better in Kenai fjords. I personally feel that getting distance is superior and the small boats just don't go as far or fast usually. Kenai fjords tours is a well run operation and usually offer a toursaver coupon. I have gone with them many times.

No K2 is not better than Talkeetna Aero and in the past Talkeetna Air Taxi has had a toursaver coupon with a glacier landing. But again my opinion, what is superior is the upgrade with Talkeetna Aero for a summit flight and doing a glacier helicopter landing out of Juneau instead which will be far more ice.

The Discovery Hikes are quite varied, so you would need to see what is offered when you are there. Some can involve the necessity of being in excellent shape. The Park rangers offer daily hikes at Savage River and have some short evening programs that may be of interest? The Sled dog demos are about an hour, again worthwhile.

Sounds like a good itinerary. There isn't a huge difference between most of the hotels.

Met you on the roll call board. Looks like you have spent considerable time planning and researching. We will be doing many of the excursions you are thinking about as well.

Thanks for the comments. How often are the Helicopter tours from Juneau postponed because of weather?

Any comments on the kayaking? Thanks.

I like kayaking out of Ketchikan which I have done a few times. I did the Channel Islands out of Juneau. Any trip is good in my opinion. Pick what fits your timeframe best and perhaps toursaver coupon usage?

The helicopters are canceled and there is no way to predict. My August trip had the helicopters canceled for the 3 prior days out of Juneau with all the flights going out the day we were there. You are asking a question that can't be answered. :)

Local's advice here....you can do Seavey's Ididiride, Exit Glacier and the Sealife Center easily in 1 day. Average 2 hours each, take a taxi and you can have cheap personalized service at all your destinations,getting dropped off and picked up when you want. :) Stay away from Seavey's real alaska tour..the real alaska rip-off! The train likes to promote it for a commision.:(

As far as a resting place here, Windsong and Holiday Express are 2 of the spendiest,probably even with the toursaver book. Windsong is out of town so theres the waiting on the shuttle or taking taxis.Holiday Express has a great location in the small boat harbor and is the only hotel with a pool.Have you checked on any others? Many places to stay here,some fitting your whole group with like cabins, houses,ect.My favorite place is http://alaskasaltwaterlodge.com/ It's right on the water and a starting piont for kayaking. Downside is that it is out of town,but you can't stay any closer to the ocean without actually being on it. Marina motel has a good location near the train depot with cheaper rates..under $100 a night.

I'm glad your planning on visiting Seward.I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about this area.We also have helicopter/dog sledding,kayaking,and some great fishing. Have fun planning!

Glacierlady,

Thanks for your response. We have already decided not to do the all day Seavey tour. The 1.5 hour tour is tops on my daughter’s list, so we’ll do that.

We planned our activities around the RR schedule. Also plan to do some hiking (Caines Head Coastal Trail?). We’ve heard that the scenery on the train from Anchorage is gorgeous, and we thought it would be a fun trip, especially for the kids. We’re now rethinking the RR – maybe get our car a few days early and drive. It would be cheaper and easier to get around town. What do you think?

Saltwater Lodge was on our original list – must have been accidentally omitted when I posted. We weren’t sure it had rooms for 4, though. We’ll check it out…

It appears that you are flying into Anchorage, going the 3-4 hours south to Seward, then all the way back up (through Anchorage) to Denali. I would change my itinerary and go to Denali/Talkeetna first and then head down to Seward. From Seward you are only about 1 1/2 hours from Whittier.

We stayed at the Denali Lakeside which is about 10 minutes north of the entrance. It had very nice large rooms with kitchenettes and decks overlooking a small lake. They have some large rooms that might be able to hold all of you. Definitely take the park shuttle - spectacular!

We took a summit flight with Talkeetna Aero out of Talkeetna and it was great. I was glad that we did the helicopter glacier landing out of Junea for as Budget Queen said, there is a lot more ice there. We used the 2/1 coupon in Talkeetna and paid the extra for the summit flight. Quite a bargain.

Kenai Fjords Tours was my very favorite of all the excursions. We took the 6 hour at 3:00 p.m. I wouldn't want to be on any smaller boat, though, as the water can get rough. We don't typically have motion sickness but took something anyway and were really glad we did. Got a little dizzy but it passed and we were OK. It's amazing how they can maneuver those boats.

We did both the White Pass RR and rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake. If I had it to do over again, I would probably skip the train and just take the drive. It was a really easy & relaxing drive and had spectacular scenery. There are things to do like horseback riding, etc. The train was neat, but you can see it from the drive and that would have been good enough for me.

In Junea we enjoyed both Captain Larry and the glacier helicopter.

Misty Fjords we took the flightseeing. What I really would have liked to do there was kayak, but thought it had the possibility of being cold and wet. As it turns out, it was 80 and sunny so would have been perfect. The flightseeing was great, though.

Wish I was going again.

We can't switch Denali/Seward because of the dates we'll be there -- Denali doesn't open until June 1.

We've incorporated many of the comments...

We're planning to do both the Talkeetna Aero and the Juneau Helicopter tour.

We've decided against the small boat in Kenai Fjords-- hoping for a good Toursaver coupon! (I understand the Kenai Fjord boat tour coupons change every year?)

Consensus seems to be Emerald Lake over the White Pass RR (found an old thread discussing this), so we'll probably do that. Maybe do both...

Thanks for all the help!

We've decided against the small boat in Kenai Fjords-- hoping for a good Toursaver coupon! (I understand the Kenai Fjord boat tour coupons change every year?)

 

!

Yes, last 3 years have all been different.

You might also like to consider the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari tour in Skagway. We just returned and forfited the Whitepass Railway for this excursion and we were so glad we did. Basically they take you by boat past Haines where you meet with a bus and it takes you to a sort of camp in the woods. There you get kitted out in wet gear and you take a short (10min?) walk through the forest to a lake. They put everyone into kayaks (read boats) and take you right up to Davidson Glacier. You paddle in the shallower waters but they have motors on the boats for the real hard work and by doing that you have more time up close to the glacier. It is the most AWESOME experience I have ever had - even in the rain! - paddling amongst the glaciers and being able to reach out and pick bits of ice out of the water and with only 3 boats (about 30 people) and nothing else - pure wilderness. I can't recommend it enough and am so glad we got to experience it. Only one tour company does this tour (Chilkat) and they only offer it through the cruise ships.

One other point - we did Captain Larry in Juneau which was very good and afterwards did a helicopter landing with Coastal. Coastal are excellent (many of the ships helicopter flights were canceled that day but Coastal flew no problem). One thing - if you can do the longer landing and a little walkabout I would do that. The time just flies.

Glacierlady,

 

 

Thanks for your response. We have already decided not to do the all day Seavey tour. The 1.5 hour tour is tops on my daughter’s list, so we’ll do that.

 

We planned our activities around the RR schedule. Also plan to do some hiking (Caines Head Coastal Trail?). We’ve heard that the scenery on the train from Anchorage is gorgeous, and we thought it would be a fun trip, especially for the kids. We’re now rethinking the RR – maybe get our car a few days early and drive. It would be cheaper and easier to get around town. What do you think?

 

 

Saltwater Lodge was on our original list – must have been accidentally omitted when I posted. We weren’t sure it had rooms for 4, though. We’ll check it out…

I suggest taking the train.The kids will love the experince and you'll be able to relax and enjoy the scenery.Seward is very easy to get around without your own vehicle.

Saltwater Lodge has rooms for 4+ guests and Caines Head Trail is within walking distance.They have a fantastic location right on the ocean. Only downside staying there would be if you don't have your own vehicle you would need a taxi @$10 to/from town with your luggage but that's still alot cheaper than car rentals and with gas prices????:( There are places walking distance of the train depot if you want to stay in town. Would be happy to offer other suggestions if you want.

I'll second the recommendation for the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari tour in Skagway. We went on our first Alaskan cruise in 2003 and are planning another for 2006. I loved our entire trip (roundtrip out of Seattle on Norweigian Sun), but will never forget the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari tour. We saw whales on the boat ride, the busses to the camp are old and rickety but it's a short ride and the condition only enhanced the experience, the walk is absolutely beautiful, and kayaking up the stream among the growlers to the face of the Davidson glacier (and the amazing temperature change as we got closer to it) made it the trip of a lifetime.

We can't switch Denali/Seward because of the dates we'll be there -- Denali doesn't open until June 1.

Denali opens earlier than June 1; it's just the longer shuttle ride to Fish Creek that doesn't begin until June 1. Before then, the shuttles still operate, but it's a shorter trip.

Denali opens earlier than June 1; it's just the longer shuttle ride to Fish Creek that doesn't begin until June 1. Before then, the shuttles still operate, but it's a shorter trip.

But it is better to get as far as possible into Denali Park if available, Toklat is mile 53, Fish Creek mile 63 and prime bear opportunities in that 10 miles.

The plan looks pretty good. I also agree with the larger boat in Seward and have been with Kenai Fjords Tours twice. We never had a full boat and saw lots of wildlife both times. It can definitely get rough there, take precautions. Maybe their 6hr tour will be in the toursaver this year. They had northwest tour last year and fox island tour the year before. Remember that for the toursaver coupons, to use more than one for your group, you would need additional book or books. You could sell used books when you get back and get back about half the cost.

I also agree with the denali plan. Going after June 1st gives you choice to go to Fish Creek. We have done on May 31st and on JUne 1st as well as late Aug.

As to Talkeetna Aero, they said we could use toursaver coupon and upgrade to glacier landing or to summit tour, which is the one we chose. It was great flt and very clear day. But we had to cancel on way up to denali due to weather. Hopefully, your sched will give you option of resched for day you return from denali if rained out on way up.