Am I planning too much?

[SJpaul]

We are two family's of four planning trip to Alaska- We are sailing on Radiance SB July 9th- We are thinking of doing the following- Is it too much? I just feel like we should do it all, who knows when we will make it out again ( especially all together!)

 

 

 

July 4th- Fly Phl to Anc (arrive at 6pm)- then drive to Talkeetna ( Sustina River Lodge for the night)

July 5th - Talkeetna in the am Mahays 3 hour riverboat tour ( Coupn book)- then drive to Denali

July 5th Lakeview Inn (two Nights 6th and 7th)

July 6th- 7 am Denali shuttle to Eiselon Visitor Center

July 7- Liesurely drive to Anchorage- ( Hotel TBD)

July 8th Train to seward - then 11:30 Kenai Fjords Tour

July 9th- Exit Glaciar and ALaksan Sealife Center- Board Radiance

July 10th- Cruise day ( SLeep all day)

July 11 Juneua- Whale Watching ( Alaska Galore Tours)

July 12 Skagway- renta car- drive to Emerald Lake

July 13 Icy Straight point _ Not sure yet (can't Whale watch here, 8 people)

July 14th Ketchikan- Zipline and Kayakaking ( Both Coupon book)

July 15- Day at Sea ( gain sleep)

July 16- Vancouver0 train to seattle

July 17 FLy to PHL

 

Any thoughts??

[vbmom87]

We are two family's of four planning trip to Alaska- We are sailing on Radiance SB July 9th- We are thinking of doing the following- Is it too much? I just feel like we should do it all, who knows when we will make it out again ( especially all together!)

 

 

 

July 4th- Fly Phl to Anc (arrive at 6pm)- then drive to Talkeetna ( Sustina River Lodge for the night)

July 5th - Talkeetna in the am Mahays 3 hour riverboat tour ( Coupn book)- then drive to Denali

July 5th Lakeview Inn (two Nights 6th and 7th)

July 6th- 7 am Denali shuttle to Eiselon Visitor Center

July 7- Liesurely drive to Anchorage- ( Hotel TBD)

July 8th Train to seward - then 11:30 Kenai Fjords Tour

July 9th- Exit Glaciar and ALaksan Sealife Center- Board Radiance

July 10th- Cruise day ( SLeep all day)

July 11 Juneua- Whale Watching ( Alaska Galore Tours)

July 12 Skagway- renta car- drive to Emerald Lake

July 13 Icy Straight point _ Not sure yet (can't Whale watch here, 8 people)

July 14th Ketchikan- Zipline and Kayakaking ( Both Coupon book)

July 15- Day at Sea ( gain sleep)

July 16- Vancouver0 train to seattle

July 17 FLy to PHL

 

Any thoughts??

 

Here is my two cents:

 

The first day, I would not head to Talkeetna. Instead, after arriving in Anchorage, I would get a quick bite to eat, settle into my hotel and get to bed ASAP. Your body will be thinking it is four hours later. Going to bed early, will help you adjust to the new time zone easier. Also, if you have any flight delays, you could be getting into Talkeetna very late.

 

I would get a good night's sleep and then head to Denali in the morning. If you are not interested in flightseeing, I would probably suggest skipping Talkeetna. It is a cute town. If you really want to see it, I would see it on the way back to Anchorage.

 

If you run into no construction, or accidents or slow vehicles, it is about 4 1/2 hours driving time to Denali. Add more time for stops. You might be able to go rafting in Denali. This company comes highly recommended. I have not read great things about the rafting out of Talkeetna, but am not speaking from experience, just from reading these boards now for several years. The following company in Denali consistently gets great reviews for rafting trips:

 

http://www.denalioutdoorcenter.com/

 

Have you thought about whale watching out of ISP rather than Juneau?

[ellbon]

We are two family's of four planning trip to Alaska- We are sailing on Radiance SB July 9th- We are thinking of doing the following- Is it too much? I just feel like we should do it all, who knows when we will make it out again ( especially all together!)

 

 

 

July 4th- Fly Phl to Anc (arrive at 6pm)- then drive to Talkeetna ( Sustina River Lodge for the night) i agree sleep first. i am being driven to seward and will sleep o nthe road and the next day. also july 4th is big i nseward. fly i nthe 3d and go there and then go to Denali.

July 5th - Talkeetna in the am Mahays 3 hour riverboat tour ( Coupn book)- then drive to Denali why?/ not worth it as you have a boat in seward and can rft in denali. loved it.

July 5th Lakeview Inn (two Nights 6th and 7th)

July 6th- 7 am Denali shuttle to Eiselon Visitor Center

July 7- Liesurely drive to Anchorage- ( Hotel TBD)

July 8th Train to seward - then 11:30 Kenai Fjords Tour

July 9th- Exit Glaciar and ALaksan Sealife Center- Board Radiance

July 10th- Cruise day ( SLeep all day) the glacier is today.. celebrity it would be about 2 pm.

July 11 Juneua- Whale Watching ( Alaska Galore Tours) more to do than whales. menden=hall glacier flightseeing or hiking or dogsledding .save for ISP.

July 12 Skagway- renta car- drive to Emerald Lake nice day

July 13 Icy Straight point _ Not sure yet (can't Whale watch here, 8 people) why as you can in Juneau

July 14th Ketchikan- Zipline and Kayakaking ( Both Coupon book) flightseeing???

July 15- Day at Sea ( gain sleep)

July 16- Vancouver train to seattle no Vancouver- loved it spending time there in July after my cruise. thati s a mistake

July 17 FLy to PHL

 

Any thoughts??

 

you might not see the mt Mckinelly- i nev er did. you might not see animals in the park- have to go way in. but Talkneeka a cute down to shop with nice resturants. i rather spend more time in Seward and i am spending 3 nights- one for jret lag before i run around.

you need time in Vancouver too.

[stevecmo]

I don't see anything "wrong" with your itinerary and don't think you're doing too much. Most people only get to Alaska once so you need to make the most of it.

 

I agree with the previous poster that getting in to Anchorage at 6:00 from Philly is too late to head to Talkeetna. By the time you get your luggage and rental car it will probably be ~7:30. An hour for a stop to eat something = 8:30. That puts you into Talkeetna........well, way too late. As another posted Talkeetna is a neat little town with cute shops and great places to eat. And it's your best bet for flightseeing. But if you're not doing flightseeing, I would skip it.

 

I would also suggest doing the whale watching in ISP rather than Juneau. The Mendenhall glacier is a great alternative in Juneau.

 

Hope this helps.

[the2006Junket]

SJ,

 

You mention that you are two families...are there kids involved? And if so, how old?

 

We traveled with 5 families (friends, not relatives :eek:) last August and had a blast....but age of the family members makes a difference to me in terms of your itinerary and activities.

 

We flew from Boston (connection in SLC) last August, arrived in ANC at 2 pm and drove all the way to Denali. Arrived in time to eat a late(ish) dinner at our hotel (McKinley Creekside Inn) around 8 pm. Were we a little tired (being on EST)? Yeah, but not so bad, since all we did was sit on planes and in a minivan all day. We went right to sleep that night around 10 and woke the next day ready to explore. BUTTTTT, arriving at 6 pm is a different story. You may want to follow VB's suggestion and just crash in ANC that night and get up early and do the full drive to Denali the next morning.

 

ISP -- why not whale watch? Split your group into 4 and 4 and let the Captain add another couple. Strangers, yes? But who cares, you're just together for a couple of hours and looking at the whales anyway. IMHO, ISP is the place to see whales --- 1) there isn't much else to do there 2) the whale watching is fantastic. Juneau offers alot! We helicoptered to the glacier and did ice trekking and climbing -- experience of a lifetime!

 

Otherwise, I don't think you're being too ambitious...Let us know the ages of your gang for further advice.

 

Happy planning, Lynne

[SJpaul]

thanks for the comments all

 

Kids are 12,14,15,and 18 ( all pretty adventurous).

 

We thought that the drive to talkeetna might be a bit much, but wanted time to explore Talkeetna and the other family wants to do the Jetboat ( not rafters), We are staying in Sustistina River Lodge, they are having fireworks at 11 pm ( it it July 4th) Just we would sleep on the plane and would be OK to drive a few hours- I think we be ok with that

 

Great idea onbooking two boats in ISP, I tried to book two whale watches as suggested ( Fishes and G wind) but there is already no room left !! ( anyone know a third tour operator in ISP- G wind has space for 4 people)

 

I have been reading these boards for months tyring to plan- thanks to all who post her.

 

Aany recommendations on Kayaking in one Ketchikan?

[bottom-dragger]

please stop referring to anything in alaska as 'cute'.

 

as far as time shifting, immediately adapt to the local time. going to bed on your old time just pushes your time clock adjustment later. each year i make multiple 4 and 8 hour time shifts, you'll continue to be slug bait as long as you treat yourself to being on one time but the sun and schedule tell your mind it is another.

 

west to east is the easiest, you're diving ahead.

 

east to west is meh. you're stuck at a singular time as you race along with the sun.

[alpal1993]

I can't sleep when it is light(except if I am sick.) 5 night land tour DH and I maybe got 8 hours of good sleep.We just kept going like little energizer bunnies.Flight seeing and Glacier landing out of Talkeetna was the highlight of our trip!Magnificant.Did River rafting in Denali very relaxing.Hot Air Ballooning in Fairbanks at Midnight were some of our individual excursions.

If you do stay over night in Anchorage you might like The Glacier Brew House for dinner.Planning on going back there is trip as well as Native Heritage Center.

[donaldsc]

When do you plan to have any down time when you can just sit for an hour or so in one spot to take in the scenery? What if it is cloudy at Denali and you want to spend more time there to see the mountain?

 

I am a great fan of leisurely traveling and I think that you are doing way too much. If you do not see it all, so be it.

 

DON

[vbmom87]

thanks for the comments all

 

Kids are 12,14,15,and 18 ( all pretty adventurous).

 

We thought that the drive to talkeetna might be a bit much, but wanted time to explore Talkeetna and the other family wants to do the Jetboat ( not rafters), We are staying in Sustistina River Lodge, they are having fireworks at 11 pm ( it it July 4th) Just we would sleep on the plane and would be OK to drive a few hours- I think we be ok with that

 

Great idea onbooking two boats in ISP, I tried to book two whale watches as suggested ( Fishes and G wind) but there is already no room left !! ( anyone know a third tour operator in ISP- G wind has space for 4 people)

 

I have been reading these boards for months tyring to plan- thanks to all who post her.

 

Aany recommendations on Kayaking in one Ketchikan?

 

Most likely you can get on a ship sponsored whale watch in ISP where you could all be together. If nothing else works, perhaps that would be a good option for your group.

 

Although I haven't been kayaking, I did research it. (just couldn't get DH to want to go) This place came well recommended:

 

http://www.kayakketchikan.com/

[the2006Junket]

SJP,

 

Ahhh, you have adventureous teens! That helps. A couple of thoughts for you;

 

ISP: here's another Captain: dreamfishalaska.yahoo.com

We actually booked all three of these boats for our group and they were all great guys and were willing to work together on our timing etc. One other family in our group took the Whale Watching through the Radiance and it was fine, but it was interesting that they did not go to the humpback feeding grounds at all...they chased a group of Orcas (which we had seen from the ship that morning). I was glad we saw the humpbacks up close and personal.

 

Denali: that day you take the shuttle to Eielson is a loooong day on a bus for active teens. If you can make the time, decide on a stop to take a good long hike. There are several from Eielson. The scenery is lovely and hopefully you will see lots of wildlife, but I think planning some sort of off-bus adventure would keep your teens more into the whole day. Also, bring LOTS of food for the hungry kids. They are not kidding when they say there is nowhere within the park to buy food...they IS no food available, so pack a backpack with plenty of water and snacks for the long day. Our teens liked eating at the funky Salmon Bake! We also did a Denali ATV tour, which our teens LOVED!

 

Juneau: If you can afford it, our teens raved about the Northstar Trekking trip we took up onto the glacier with ice trekking and climbing. Really, if we could only do one excursion on the whole cruise, that is the one they would choose. The olders teens and adults did the X-Trek. Truly something that you cannot do at home and was a once in a lifetime experience. http://www.northstartrekking.com/content/

 

Skagway: Again, for our group, as lovely as the drive to Emerald Lake is, I'm sure -- we wanted a more physically active, outdoorsy day. So, we split up and older teens went Rock Climbing and Rappelling with a ship excursion and adults and younger kids took a hike (free!) up and around Lower Dewey Lake which was great and then walked around the town. Lots of excellent hiking here: http://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/shorterdayhikes.htm

 

Ketchikan: We split up again into some adults and teens who went ziplining with: http://www.alaskacanopy.com/ and others who did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour and everyone was happy with their choice. This is also a great town to walk and shop around for those last Alaskan souveniers!

 

We kayaked in Seward, which is something you could consider instead of in Ketchikan. We kayaked with http://www.kayakak.com the day we boarded the Radiance (and stayed at their Bear Paw Lodge the night before). After kayaking in the morning, we went over to the ship at about noon, checked in, boarded, ate lunch and then left the ship and went to Exit Glacier and hiked it. We were back on board in time for cocktail hour :D. It was a great day.

 

I hope our input is a little helpful as you plan for an exciting adventure for your family. We sure had a fantastic trip!

 

Happy planning!

 

Lynne

[Budget Queen]

thanks for the comments all

 

Kids are 12,14,15,and 18 ( all pretty adventurous).

 

We thought that the drive to talkeetna might be a bit much, but wanted time to explore Talkeetna and the other family wants to do the Jetboat ( not rafters), We are staying in Sustistina River Lodge, they are having fireworks at 11 pm ( it it July 4th) Just we would sleep on the plane and would be OK to drive a few hours- I think we be ok with that

 

Great idea onbooking two boats in ISP, I tried to book two whale watches as suggested ( Fishes and G wind) but there is already no room left !! ( anyone know a third tour operator in ISP- G wind has space for 4 people)

 

I have been reading these boards for months tyring to plan- thanks to all who post her.

 

Aany recommendations on Kayaking in one Ketchikan?

 

 

 

Overall, you need to have some extra time overall on your itinerary. You are underestimating your "big" trip and no time to take in all the extra sights possible on your drive. In my opinion, your above plans are so so at best. It will take you all of 15 minutes to "explore" Talkeetna. The raft and jet boat tours are way down the scale of what is available in Alaska. Flightseeing is definately the highlight of Talkeetna. You may want to look further into these boat rides?

 

I would also suggest you switch your Seward activities. You could make better use of your embarkment day and do your Kenai Fjord boat tour that day. I never recommend rushing on a ship in Alaska. then your other activities could all fit into your train arrival day. You then have another extra day to play with, perhaps, adding to Anchorage, or Talkeetna, rather than what you currently have planned.

 

Final bit of advice. Get your itinerary in place before you get into reservations. The best trip will come from many fine tuning adjustments. At this point, you may have that opportunity. I still suggest you research your touring choices more. You have a good amout of time to really plan an excellent tour.

 

As for Ketchikan, I have used Southeast Kayaks a few times and highly recommend them. Kayaking is also available out of Seward, if you keep the extra day.

[ellbon]

I do not agree about Talkneena. loved it. ! took me over and hour -maybe 2 to go in/out of every store including the market. talked to lots of locals. took tons of pictures and then sat at a bar /restaurant eating friend fish and chip and drinking. it was my bday and i had a fun and relaxing day before the train.

 

i do think Seward is the place to sleep and sightsee.. more to do there.

[vbmom87]

 

I would also suggest you switch your Seward activities. You could make better use of your embarkment day and do your Kenai Fjord boat tour that day. I never recommend rushing on a ship in Alaska. then your other activities could all fit into your train arrival day. You then have another extra day to play with, perhaps, adding to Anchorage, or Talkeetna, rather than what you currently have planned.

 

Although I understand what you are saying here, hasn't it usually been recommended to plan the Kenai Fjords tour on your first day in Seward. That way if it gets cancelled due to bad weather, you have an opportunity the second day to take the tour?

[SJpaul]

Not sure that I agree with swithing the Kenai Fjords tour to boarding day . I thought exit glacier and the seawrd life center were better choices for Friday. ( we are staying overnight on July 8th Thursday night at the Holiday Inn in Seward) All I read on this board said to stay over in Seward the night before your cruise, i think that is a great choice.

 

I have done some more research, and I have decided to bag the Mahays riverboat tour, hopefully in favor of a canyon gorge oar trip l?? I thought we would have breakfast at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna and drive to Denali around noon. I do not want to trade the eiselon bus tour for anything. That still leaves Wed to do any leftover sight seeing in Denali and sightseeing trip back to anchorage to catch the early morning train on Thursday for Seward.

 

I was thinking that kayaking in Seward might be better, but not sure if I can fit that in?? Has anyone kayaked in ISP??

 

 

Keep the advice coming- some i will take, others i might not- but I am open to all advice from those of you who have been there!!

[SJpaul]

OK, so no more advice?

 

Has anyone done the canyon raft trip ( white water)? I was thinking of adding this instead of the Mahays. I could do it 6pm our first or second night at Denali ( Lakeview Inn) or the last morning at 8 am before we drive back to anchorage ?

 

As far as whale watching-not sure the other 1/2 of my party is going whale watching, so I could do the Whale watch in Juneau ( toursaver coupon - 4 people for 311) and spend the savings on mendhall kayak trip or ISP kayak or G wind for 660- Is ISP whale watching that much better?? We ae in Junuea for 12 hours- sol lots of time-

 

thoughts?

[bearbait]

You've planned a great tour. Keep it just like it is. Forget about this time changing thing.

When you get to Alaska it will be whatever time the clock in the airport says it is. It'll be light out longer and you might as well take advantage of it. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

[vbmom87]

What is your time frame in JUneau and how much are you into scenery? Adventure Bound in Juneau offers a fabulous tour to Tracy Arm Fjord. We found the fjord to be an almost surreal experience. You do need a lot of time in JUneau to do this. They offer a daily tour at 8:00 a.m. and return about 6:00 p.m. During peak vacation season they also offer a 9:00 a.m. tour that returns around 7:00 p.m. You need to be at their dock 30 minutes prior to the trip. For anyone into great scenery, this is one amazing journey. You could then do your whale watching in ISP.

 

Here is a link to my Tracy Arm photos:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/mdomaz/JuneauTracyArmCruise#

[Budget Queen]

I will still say, switching the Seward itinerary has benefits. You currently are packed completely in this day- going right from a 5 hour++ (with early morning) right to a 6 hour boat tour. You have WAY more time to consider this the next day, and getting on the 8am boat tour, will usually have way more personal space on the boats. 11:30am trips are the most packed. Alternatively, picking up the 2pm trip, if available is another consideration- bonus, is all the information on sightings from previous trips.

 

The Denali Park white water trips are excellent, several different runs, so read descriptions.

 

Allow 3.5 hours to drive Talkeetna/Denali Park, plus time for an extended stop, if McKinley is viewable. :)

 

Whale watching out of Juneau and Hoonah is with 100% sightings of humpbacks, so both excellent choices. Book where it fits your time best. Out of Juneau- with the port time, I too agree, that the Tracy Arm tours are just a top choice to also consider.

[SJpaul]

Thanks for all the advice- keep it coming!