Itinerary still a work in progress!

Reading posts and researching websites has been my obsession but I think it is really coming together nicely. If anyone can help with suggestions or ideas, I would appreciate it. Portions in green are already booked. I am checking into coupon books before I book too many other activities.

Vancouver – 2nights airbnb - booked

Stanley Park – rent bikes http://www.spokesbicyclerentals.com/stanley-park/

May visit Granville Island or Capilano Suspension Bridge

Cruise – HAL July 8-15

Ketchikan July 10 7AM – 3PM

http://www.kayakketchikan.com/ketchikan-kayaking-tour 2.25 hours $93

or Orcas cove 3 hours $159

Need to check into fishing tour for DH

Juneau July 11 10AM - 10PM

TracyArm – booked through HAL

Skagway July 12 7AM – 9PM

Zip Line – choice of 3 different companies

South Klondike Highway - Rent car and drive to Emerald Lake? https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2231881&page=8

Seward July 15

Kenai Fjords National Park tour

https://www.alaskacollection.com/activities/kenai-fjords-tours/kenai-fjords-national-park-tour/

6 hours -$162 or 9 hours $199

If time - Exit Glacier – free https://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/ranger-programs.htm or

http://www.alaskacollection.com/anchorage-southcentral/destinations/seward/activities/exit-glacierhike/

Gold Dome train – Seward to Anchorage 6:00-10:15 $212

http://www.alaskatravel.com/alaska-railroad/seward-anchorage-dome.html

hotel in Anchorage

7/16 pickup rental car 7:30AM drive to MatanuskaGlacier ( 1 hr 40 min)

http://www.novalaska.com/tour-list/matanuska-glacier-float 10:30 am $89

https://www.homesteadcabinsak.com/

http://matanuskaglacieradventures.us/ guided $100

7/17 Scenic route through Talkeetna to Denali

House rented through VRBO – 3 nights

Depending on arrival time, drive Denali beginning car route

7/18 Denali Park green bus to Wonder Lake non narrated https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm $47

7/19 May want to visit Denali Park Day 2

Denali– free dog sled demo, bus at 9:15 https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/sled-dog-demonstrations.htm exploreDenali on our own/relax!!!

7/20 drive to Fairbanks

Riverboat Discovery http://riverboatdiscovery.com/ $65

It looks like everything is falling into place but always looking for suggestions from those who have done this before!

We did the Kenai Fjords Tour while in Seward. We enjoyed it tremendously. We did the six hour tour due to time constraints. In my opinion, the six hour tour is long enough. We didn't have need to stop at Fox Island for a meal so we didn't have to allow time for that.

You are underestimating time Anchorage/Matanusak, you need to allow at least 2 hours. In my opinion, the highlight here is a trek, not necessarily the float trips, with the Knik Glacier float being a less detoured option.

It is hardly worth going to Fairbanks, for what you have planned. It can offer a whole lot more with "time" being essential in my opinion.

I'm assuming you plan on driving from Fairbanks back to Anchorage and dropping the vehicle off there. If so, my suggestion would be like B.Q.'s, cut FAI out, instead drive from Matanuska Glacier on up to Paxson, then take the Denali Highway across to the Parks Highway and on up to your lodging by Denali Park.That way you won't be back-tracking south on the Glenn to near Palmer where you would be getting on the Parks Highway.

Also, that routing eliminates back-tracking all the way from Fairbanks back to Anchorage and provides much more in the way of scenic vistas.I drive the Glenn, to my summer place past Glennallen, sometimes dozens of times a season, so I agree with B.Q. there too, in that you are really going to have to have the pedal to the metal to make Matanuska Glacier in a little over an hour and a half, meaning you won't have any time to stop and take pictures along the way, and there are a lot of great points to do that at.

One potential problem though, if you take my suggestion here, is that the Denali Highway is mostly gravel, they maintain it pretty well so that isn't much of a problem. What is though, is that many car rental outfits won't allow their vehicles on gravel. So make certain you get one that does. Also, make sure the car has a regular spare tire and not one those phony doughnut tires. In addition make sure the vehicle is equipped the tools necessary to change a tire and that you or someone knows how to do that .

We did the Kenai Fjords Tour while in Seward. We enjoyed it tremendously. We did the six hour tour due to time constraints. In my opinion, the six hour tour is long enough. We didn't have need to stop at Fox Island for a meal so we didn't have to allow time for that.

Exactly the thoughts that I am looking for - thank you!

For Anchorage to Matanuska - somehow I missed including what I have in my notes - we plan to pick up the car, do some grocery shopping and then take our time driving there, We can either do the float when we arrive or do it the next morning before heading to Denali. We do plan to do the guided trek in the afternoon or early evening.

Fairbanks is where we will be flying out of. If we have a late flight, we thought it would be nice to end the trip with the Riverboat before heading home. If our flight is earlier or if we decide on something additional to do in the Denali area, we can skip the Riverboat.

Warning - book a refundable hotel room for Vancouver. It's still impossible to book a legal AirBnB here, as the City Council vote to allow them at all literally happened this week. Combined with the now-very-common Condo Bylaws to forbid all short-term rentals (it has been illegal to rent any home for less than a month at a time for decades already, but city enforcement personnel are so few that making it a Condo offence is a more efficient way to fine the offenders quickly), it's likely that your booking will disappear before you come to visit us in July. Hopefully your host is one of the few legit ones - renting their own actual home while they're on vacation etc. - who will get a license, ensure they're up to fire code etc. and continue to operate, but in case they aren't you should have a backup in place...

Boring stuff to explain what the situation is follows - no need to read unless you're interested in that kind of stuff! April 2018 is targeted for the required license to be available, but the conditions require it to be the primary residence (i.e. if your host lists more than one apartment then all but one will be removed come April, and even just one apartment with availability listed for more than a few weeks here and there through the year means it's likely going to remain illegal). Without a license number displayed in the ad AirBnB will not allow postings - they already agreed to police it as a condition of their business model being considered for legalization, which means enforcement will jump from the current 'non-existent until neighbours complain' to '100% at initial point of advertisement by the hosting company.'

Edit - on the bike front, be aware that Spokes (and almost all of the other rental companies right outside the park) are basically the priciest options you can find. By renting farther away from the park, not only can you save money but also time - if you go collect a rental nearer your accommodation you can use our extensive network of bike lanes to get to the park as well as around it! While we own our own bikes so I can't personally recommend a better quality place, in terms of pricing Ezeeriders is by far the cheapest spot anywhere near Stanley park (their Robson branch is only a couple of blocks further than Spokes from the entrance) but if you check Google Maps for your accommodation location and search for bike rentals nearby they should all have websites with pricing to compare.

Further, we now have a bike share system which has some locations in the park - depending how you plan to use your bikes it could end up saving you a vast % of your outlay to use that instead. A one-day pass on bike share is about the same as one hour rental from the other companies - but you have to use the bike in short chunks of time, 30min or less, or else you get billed extra. If you plan to spend hours in the park interior a traditional rental will be a better deal - but if you are going to stick to the Seawall, stop at totems/beaches and walk around a bit then continue looping around the outside, bike share might be the perfect solution...

martincath - thank you very much for the wealth of information. I truly appreciate the information and will check on my airbnb right away. I just booked it a few days ago and it is nonrefundable so this does have me very worried.

I will also look into alternate bike rentals or the bike share.

Thank you again!

martincath - thank you very much for the wealth of information. I truly appreciate the information and will check on my airbnb right away. I just booked it a few days ago and it is nonrefundable so this does have me very worried.

 

I will also look into alternate bike rentals or the bike share.

 

Thank you again!

Contact AirBnB directly unless your Host is willing to offer you a refund in the event that they cannot get a license - the company is fully aware that literally every rental on the books remains illegal unless for 30 days or more, their spokespeople have made many comments about every stage of the consultation process.

I wrote to the host and will see what she says. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention!