BQ & Yukon: Kenai Fiords & PWS What month best for wildlife/fireweed?

[irisheileen]

We just finished our NB Vancouver-Fairbanks trip. I've gotten the bug and now we HAVE to go back! My DH probably can't get off work 2 weeks together again, so we'll have just one week and do the land tour. Darn!

We'd like to do:

 

Kenai Fiords-should we do several tours throughout or limit it to just one long one? Which one? When is our best opportunity to see whales? Can you see Bears while on these excursions?

 

Bears-When are the Bears out of Hibernation and plentiful? Is there a dedicated Bear watch on the Kenai Penisula? Which one?

 

PWS- Which tour groups do you recommend? What can we expect to see in PWS?

 

How many days should we plan on? We'll have a full week (minus air travel to/from Anchorage from the East Coast).

 

Can we scoot anyplace else and fit in the above? We've done Denali. What don't we want to miss? We'll rent a car or take the train which my DH loves! I can't wait to see Turnagain Arm of which we only saw a bit on the Denali Express. Quaint villages would be of interest, but we're not fishers!

 

I fell in love with Fireweed! When is it in full bloom, we saw the end of it at the beginning of August?

 

This time, I'll use the Toursaver. What hotels should we avoid/reserve? We'll see what the 2007 edition has.

 

Thanks!

PS: Would you like to stowaway with us and lead us by hand? LOL!

Eileen

[Budget Queen]

I like August, into the first week of Sept. Chance for change of colors, especially in Denali Park are spectacular. :) Kenai fjords boat trips are varied wildlife, my whale sightings have only been about 50% of the trips I have been on, so don't count on this being a whale watch. I've only seen bears once. This is a route trip- rather than an actual dedicated particular wildlife tour. Are you looking to skip Denali park this time?? If so, maybe consider doing Seward, Homer, then across the Glenn, Copper Center and Valdez?? Doable in a week. As for Whittier- I've gone with Major Marine and Phillips, glaciers and more glaicers, excellent tours no matter how you go. :) Bear tours are fly outs from Homer, many excellent reviews.

 

I never use toursaver for lodging. I always have better deals with B&B's, if you do go the toursaver route for lodging, don't get caught up in the usage at the expense of location. I see sometimes, people spending 2 nights in locations that is 1 too many, especially on a short timeframe, consider your activity priority first.