Denali dining options

Our land/sea trip gets us into Denali late in the day on a Friday, on Saturday we have a tour of the park and leave on bus Sunday for the ship. HAL offered a dining option for 2 people for $558 which seems a little high to me. So, my question is, what options are there for meals?

Supposedly there's a really good pizza place across from the hotel.

I just called, and our 7 day land tour would be $360 for breakfast, $1,200 for lunch/dinner. If you are going to eat at the hotel anyways, get soft drinks and desert every time, you may come out ahead.

I was advised on a previous thread, eat a hearty breakfast on your big days of travel. Otherwise coming prepared with oatmeal or breakfast bars, can save you a ton. We're planning to bring 5 breakfasts/snacks (2 lunches are included for the Yukon), eat a cheap 2nd meal when we can, and a normal dinner.

There are lots of options at the Chalets (two restaurants and a snack bar), at the Princess lodge next door, and across the highway at what they call “Glitter Gulch”. Karstens has a full buffet breakfast or a cheaper continental breakfast at the Chalets lower level. Daylight hours are long in the summer so you will have lots of daylight hours after you arrive.

There is a subway across the street.

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Has anyone done the Tundra Wilderness Tour with HAL? Do they feed you a lunch or just a little snack?

Tundra wilderness tour is the same no matter which cruise tour you are on. I would think you would be able to see what they give by looking on park reservation website of faq or doing mock booking.

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Tundra wilderness tour is the same no matter which cruise tour you are on. I would think you would be able to see what they give by looking on park reservation website of faq or doing mock booking.

 

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True, and looks like a full lunch. We're trying to figure out how many snacks/breakfast bars of our own to bring, cut down on the expense.

True, and looks like a full lunch. We're trying to figure out how many snacks/breakfast bars of our own to bring, cut down on the expense.

The snack will probably include a small piece of reindeer sausage, cheese & crackers or string cheese, apple, granola bar, water. That’s all we can remember from last year and it has changed through the years. It will get you through the afternoon. Some people pick up a sandwich lunch at the hotel to take with them. At the Chalets (HAL) the snack bar would like you to order the sandwich the day before your TWT and pick it up the next morning.

Has anyone done the Tundra Wilderness Tour with HAL? Do they feed you a lunch or just a little snack?

The free snack box is filled with crackers, nuts, protein bars, cheese, pretzels, raisins, and cookies that are quite filling, You won't need to bring any other snacks with you. The $20 box lunch was a flop. If mine was not included in my Meal Plan, I would not have needed it.

Has anyone done the Tundra Wilderness Tour with HAL? Do they feed you a lunch or just a little snack?

We just did the Tundra Wilderness Tour today. I posted a pic of the snack box we received on my blog here: http://www.debsdays.com/2018/05/a-day-in-denali-tundra-wilderness-tour.html

We just did the Tundra Wilderness Tour today. I posted a pic of the snack box we received on my blog here: http://www.debsdays.com/2018/05/a-day-in-denali-tundra-wilderness-tour.html

Oh excellent, that's plenty of food. Beautiful pictures by the way, I'm really glad we're doing this early season when the snow is still plentiful.

We just did the Tundra Wilderness Tour today. I posted a pic of the snack box we received on my blog here: http://www.debsdays.com/2018/05/a-day-in-denali-tundra-wilderness-tour.html

We're doing that tour in just over a month, thanks for the info and pics. Can't wait

We were just in Denali for the Memorial Day Weekend. We stayed at the Denali Bluffs Hotel which had a restaurant and coffee shop. In town there were a few places to eat. One was a pizza place called Prospectors Pizzeria and this place was awesome. I could have eaten here every night for dinner it was so good.

There was a Subway, a little coffee shop called The Black Bear, and a place called Moose-AKa's. We ate at Subway one day for lunch and stopped into the Black Bear for coffee and a muffin. We never ate at Moose-AKa's.

There was also a food truck in the parking lot that served fish and chips I think. There weren't many options in town but I know most of the hotels had restaurants and there were a few in Healy north of Denali and a few south of Denali maybe 20 miles away. I hope this helps!

Budget about 50% more for food than you do at home. In Denali , I always pack food in. My go to is a jar of peanut butter, and great bread. Make as you go. :)

I also like the Salmon Bake in Glitter Gulch.

A grocery store snack run, is a significant savings out of Anchorage or Fairbanks. Also a huge benefit with an Eielson stop on the shuttle bus for running water. .

For folks who can solve the transportation issue to get there, one of the best restaurants in Alaska is located several miles south of "Glitter Gulch." The name is 229 Parks, and is located at mile 229 of the Parks Highway.

Supposedly there's a really good pizza place across from the hotel.

This pizza place is amazing, both in atmosphere, service, and food. We had the "Lower 48 we aren't" with reindeer and elk sausage. I am still craving it.

For those doing the Yukon, the Red Mammoth is the best food for the money in Dawson City.