Choice of Denali Tours

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

For a post-cruise add-on, I'm going to Denali. I've heard that the 12 hour trip gets, well, LONG on those park/school buses. Does anyone have any insight onto a Tundra Wilderness Tour vs a Natural History Tour? Has anyone just caught a shuttle bus into the park for a ways and hiked, then flagged down the next bus?

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

Also, if there are other options we should go with, instead, I'm all ears.

[mapleleaves]

Some people find the bus trips too long, others love it and take the trip multiple days in a row. Only you can make that decision.

Detailed information about the tours and shuttles is on the Denali web site and reservation page. The map indicates the destinations along the park road.

http://www.reservedenali.com/

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/visiting-denali.htm

 

I always suggest the Eielson shuttle at a minimum ... it gets you to prime bear viewing area, it's a nice destination, there are trails if you want to hike, great views of the mtn, water and flush toilets, and rangers. It costs $40, goes to Mile 66 and is 8 hrs.

The TWT is also 8 hrs, but costs $125, and goes to Mile 53 at Toklat rest stop. Sometimes it goes to Mile 62.

The NHT is $77, and only goes to Mile 17 of 100 miles of park road. You can drive your own car or take a free courtesy bus to mile 15 so the NHT seems like a waste of money.

[katrina915]

I have not been on NHT, but hearing from multiple sources it is waste of time. I did TWT once and it was pretty good but long. I am doing shuttle to Eilson next time to break it up and gets some hiking.

[Kirasha]

The Denali experts on this forum and the TripAdvisor forum pretty much all give the NHT a big thumbs down. The comparison to it is akin to visiting Disney World and only getting as far as the parking lot.

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

The Denali experts on this forum and the TripAdvisor forum pretty much all give the NHT a big thumbs down. The comparison to it is akin to visiting Disney World and only getting as far as the parking lot.

 

Ha! Well, at least my take on it from the map wasn't that far off. I'm currently leaning to a shuttle to Eielson right now.

[Cruisernewbie44]

We just returned from a cruisetour that was timed so that the only time available for a Denali tour was to take the NHT. While I would have loved to be able to go further into the park, we had a marvelous time and although we did not see any bears, we did see several moose cows and their babies. If we had had more time I would have pursued the other options but if you only have a short time the NHT is much better than only getting to the parking lot of Disney World.

[soccergang]

Just did this yesterday. It was a great day. We left at 8:10 and returned at 4:00. They give you a boxed lunch and stop for numerous bathroom breaks. We saw caribou, moose (and baby) dall sheep, grizzly bears, a fox, ptarmigan and others. We would recommend this tour!

[katrina915]

We just returned from a cruisetour that was timed so that the only time available for a Denali tour was to take the NHT. While I would have loved to be able to go further into the park, we had a marvelous time and although we did not see any bears, we did see several moose cows and their babies. If we had had more time I would have pursued the other options but if you only have a short time the NHT is much better than only getting to the parking lot of Disney World.

 

Glad things worked out for you. When I did TWT, we also saw moose at visitor center but a WHOLE lot more wildlife further in the park.

 

I think the cruise lines are doing a big disservice to only include NHT as option to see Denali IMHO. Buyer beware.