Kenai Tours Help!

[Eleazar]

We will be in Kenai for 2 full days (a travel day south from Denali before, then the 2 days in Kenai then to Whittier to get on the Coral Princess). Any experiences or thoughts on the pros and cons of taking the Kenai Fjiords Northwestern Fjiord Tour via boat (9.5 hours) versus the the Kenai Fjiords National Park Grand Day tour (10 hours) http://www.sunnycove.com/daytours.html

 

Anyone have experiences with Sunny Coves Sea Kayaking Company?

 

We will do some sea kayaking elsewhere but it looks like kayaking in Aialik Bay is something we should try not to miss. We are traveling with 2 teenagers (16 and 13).

[Budget Queen]

For clairfication- Kenai is a city on the Cook Inlet, I'll assume you don't mean there??? Are you staying in Seward? It is approx a 8-9 hour drive from Denali Park. Aialik Bay is nice and sheltered, so would be easy kayaking. But bear in mind this tour doesn't get as far as the Northwestern fjords trip. If your interest is the kayaking, then this sounds like a great trip. TAKE precautions is prone to seasickness.

[Eleazar]

Hi Budget Queen!

 

Yes, I was referring to the Kenai Peninsula and not the town. We are doing a 10 day pre-crusie and I find myself running out of time for what we would like to do!

 

Originally, I had thought about stopping somewhere in Girdwood after we leave Denail because I was thinking we would go down the Lion's Head section of the Matanuska (over near Chikaloon). There is a trip at 2 PM and a very late one at 7 PM. If we took the 2 PM that would put us off the river around 7 PM.

 

We could stay in Girdwood and then drive down and go horseback riding for half a day near Cooper's Landing. Alaska Horsemen http://www.alaskahorsemen.com/index.html offers half day trips at 9 AM and 2 PM with a full day trip at 8:30. We would then stay the night in Seward.

 

Even though the Nova Rafting site lists the minimum age as 12, I am having some second thoughts about its suitability for my daughter based on the river's description in Fast and Cold: A Guide To Alaska White Water. What do you know about people's experiences on it?

 

The alternative is to not detour to Chickaloon and go straight to Seward. It sounds like the two trips out of Seward would not really be duplicative. How far around the Peninsula does the Northwest boat tour actually go?

 

If we did the two days/nights in Seward, we could ride with Alaskahorsemen or Bardy's http://www.sewardhorses.com/ on the third day, June 2. The Coral Princess departs at 9:30 and we have to return the car in Anchorage and get to Whittier on June 2. We have not finalized our Anchorage to Whittier transfers but are looking at a transfer using Aurora limousines because the last departure time on the Alaska Railroad appears to be 12:30 PM.

 

As always, any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Budget Queen]

Girdwood is nowhere near Chickaloon??? Probably 3 hours apart. I wouldn't bother going to Girdwood if I can't leave Chickaloon before 7pm? Any white water rafting in Alaska will be cold. :) Determine if DRY suits are available, necessary in my opinion. http://www.kenaifjords.com has their tour maps for a look at route differences.

[Eleazar]

Hi everyone:

 

Budget Queen, we continue to refine our plans. After Denali, I have booked us for 3 nights in Seward before we embark on the Coral Princess. This will involve a travel day from Denali to Seward. Detouring to Chickaloon to raft Lion's Head and get to Seward in the same day is probably just too much. Which brings me to my latest questions:

 

1. Do you and the other veteran have any suggestions for stops on the way south to Seward?

• I am thinking about horse back riding with Alaska Horsemen in Cooper's Landing but we would have to arrive by 2 for a half day ride or by 2:30 or 5:30 for a two hour ride.
  

2. We will have day 2 in Seward free at this point. What should we not miss--beyond the Alaska SeaLife Center (my daughter wants to see puffins) in Seward and the surrounding area?

• Since we will do the glacier kayaking trip on day 3 in Seward, I think a boat trip would be a bit repetitive for the kids. A half day riding may be an option.
  

3. Would there be any advantage to doing glacier dog sledding with Godwin/Coastal or Era in Seward versus TEMSCO in Skagway?

 

THANKS AGAIN!

[GlacierLady]

Hi everyone:

 

Budget Queen, we continue to refine our plans. After Denali, I have booked us for 3 nights in Seward before we embark on the Coral Princess. This will involve a travel day from Denali to Seward. Detouring to Chickaloon to raft Lion's Head and get to Seward in the same day is probably just too much. Which brings me to my latest questions:

 

1. Do you and the other veteran have any suggestions for stops on the way south to Seward?

• I am thinking about horse back riding with Alaska Horsemen in Cooper's Landing but we would have to arrive by 2 for a half day ride or by 2:30 or 5:30 for a two hour ride.
  

2. We will have day 2 in Seward free at this point. What should we not miss--beyond the Alaska SeaLife Center (my daughter wants to see puffins) in Seward and the surrounding area?

• Since we will do the glacier kayaking trip on day 3 in Seward, I think a boat trip would be a bit repetitive for the kids. A half day riding may be an option.
  

3. Would there be any advantage to doing glacier dog sledding with Godwin/Coastal or Era in Seward versus TEMSCO in Skagway?

 

THANKS AGAIN!

1. I recommend horsebacking riding in Anchorage at http://www.acriticschoice.com/trekkin.htm over the other 2 you mentioned. Steve has some great horses and very nice trails to ride on.You can call him that day and go at your convience,he's in the toursaver 2for1 book.The Alaska Zoo is 2 miles away and also a waterpark close by as other suggestions in Anchorage...On the way to Seward is Bear lake fish weir.It is free and interesting watching spawning fish,nonprofit Mile 6.5 go east about 1/2 mile off main hwy.Exit Glacier,$5 per vehicle..very nice paved trail..free ranger lead nature walks at 11am and 3pm 3.There are a couple different kayaking company's ...never heard any negative about any of them.I do know that Miller's Landing has a water taxi that can take you anywhere you want.Adventurous souls even do overnight kayaking. Era will not be here this year.Godwin does a great job.Buy the Milepost...http://www.sewardak.org/ .I want to learn how you get all the questions spaced like you did..:)

[Budget Queen]

Hi everyone:

 

Budget Queen, we continue to refine our plans. After Denali, I have booked us for 3 nights in Seward before we embark on the Coral Princess. This will involve a travel day from Denali to Seward. Detouring to Chickaloon to raft Lion's Head and get to Seward in the same day is probably just too much. Which brings me to my latest questions:

 

1. Do you and the other veteran have any suggestions for stops on the way south to Seward?

• I am thinking about horse back riding with Alaska Horsemen in Cooper's Landing but we would have to arrive by 2 for a half day ride or by 2:30 or 5:30 for a two hour ride.
  

2. We will have day 2 in Seward free at this point. What should we not miss--beyond the Alaska SeaLife Center (my daughter wants to see puffins) in Seward and the surrounding area?

• Since we will do the glacier kayaking trip on day 3 in Seward, I think a boat trip would be a bit repetitive for the kids. A half day riding may be an option.
  

3. Would there be any advantage to doing glacier dog sledding with Godwin/Coastal or Era in Seward versus TEMSCO in Skagway?

 

THANKS AGAIN!

 

 

Denali Park to Seward is about 9 hours of driving, with stops, so with your detour, it definately isn't doable in one day. Denali Park - Chickaloon will run you about 5. Consider an overnight in Palmer/Wasilla perhaps, then you are about 4 hours to Seward. Request the Seward visitor guide. I would definately do the glacier dog sledding in Seward, far less canceled than Skagway. AND for clairfication- your kayak trip will NOT duplicate any Kenai fjord boat tour, you don't get near the distance or varied wildlife viewing from the kayak tours.

[GlacierLady]

Kayaking is much BETTER than any boat tours.Your teenagers will LOVE it.Mine does!!!(and be worn out at the end of the day!!)You will get up close to wildlife,be able to land on beaches that boats can't get close to and explore hidden coves,plus you can get out and hike around.You can get right up next to calving glaciers and paddle ice fields.Whales will spout right next to you and you can actually hear them breathing. http://www.millerslandingak.com Right now they are having discounts for early bookings.Ask for Shari D. Aialik Bay has 3 calving glaciers,-Aialik,Peterson,and Holgate and the area is much prettier than Harris bay which has Northwestern glacier,which is just 1 glacier,where the Kenai Fjords boats go and takes an hour longer to get to....As an added note Sunny Cove charters Miller's landing water taxi for their trips.Why not book with Millers directly and get a discount? No comparision with the Sunny Cove day tour and the Aialik bay kayaking.

[kayaklover8]

If you're looking for some stuff to do on the way down, driving is basically a sightseeing tour in itself! Here is a list of the good places to stop on various drives: Magnificent Drives. If you can, I highly recommend bear viewing here in Alaska or flightseeing. Those are two things that you really can't get anywhere else except Alaska. Combining the two is often the best option. I've never heard of anyone who didn't absolutely love it.

[Eleazar]

Glacier Lady, thanks for the link to Steve's. By the way, I am almost certain that I know the man on the horse in the picture on his website! Will fall into the small world category if I can confirm it tomorrow.

• We all like to ride so we will not be adverse to riding in multiple locations. Out of curiosity, what do you like about Steve's operation versus the others?
  
• Formatting is easy, just play with the tool bar icons till you are happy with the way it looks.:) The key is getting used to turning the on and off with your cursor in the right spot.
  

Budget Queen, thanks for the advice on where to go dog sledding! I had been pretty focused on Skagway for dog sledding but I will definitely look at booking with Godwin. Because we are booked with TEMSCO and Northstar to do the glacier trek in Juneau, I had hoped that TEMSCO might offer at least some discount for multiple flights but they did not offer any. I guess always plenty of customers for them during the high season. Also, they only had times bracketed around noon for the day we are in Skagway. No cruise ship competition on June 30 in Seward.

 

Glacier Lady, Miller's full day trip is actually $45 per person more than Sunny Cove--even with the discount. However the Miller's Landing trip is also 12 hours versus 8 and claims 8 hours of kayaking/hiking versus 3 of kayaking with Sunny Cove. My daughter make me hesistate on the longer trip. Location wise, we will be kayaking around Holgate with Sunny Cove (the company) as opposed to kayaking in Sunny Cove (the bay).

 

Kayaklover8, thanks for the links, I expect once we have ceased to back track we will slow WAY DOWN again. Heck, even th backtracking part will have stops again I am sure.:D

[GlacierLady]

Tool bar icons? What are those?Turn on and off what? On riding...Bardy's one time I asked for a beginner's horse for a child and wasn't impressed with what they put her on.She had problems on a horse with an attitude,(not a beginners horse)..The ride it's self I consider lacking.Flat with water crossings over the same area and you end up standing in a swampy area by an old house sitting in the bay.Then you'll ride by a couple of partially buried cars from the 64 quake.Excellent chance of seeing eagles and birds but that's it for wildlife..Alaskahorsemen has a nice trail if you take the longer ride up the mountain.Saw bears once up on the mountain side (in the distance)and had a friend bucked off once.Overall he has some nice horses and I have enjoyed riding there.The shorter ride goes through some trees,then along a road to Kenai lake for a break.The scheduled times can be tough to book and don't forget to bring bug spray... My favorite is Horsetrekkin in Anchorage.I'll drive 5 hours to ride for 2hrs there anytime.Never been turned down and open yr around. Very nice horses that anyone can ride,sure footed,well cared for and used.Have never had any problems,even riding 30 feet away from a moose! I was sooo scared...lol .. wasn't the 1st moose sighting I've had there either.They say there is bears too but I don't wanna run into one. :) The trails are very well groomed with some hills,some flat areas and a couple of nice little bridge crossings that make great picture spots.You would never know your in a big city in fact the noise level is less there than in Cooper Landing with the hwy.You'll love the kayaking and horseback riding on whatever decision you make. Ohhhh and 1 more thing, you can't go riding unless you bring me with!!! :) ~~Enjoy Alaska~~

[smellywax]

I see you mentioned you were going on the coral princess out of seward....doesn't the coral princess sail out of whittier?...at least for us it does:confused:

[Eleazar]

Tool bar icons? What are those?Turn on and off what?

 

Glacier Lady: I am never sure when people are kidding about computer stuff, so here goes:) :

 

1. You want to set your view on the threads (at the bottom left of the page) to vb3--although I can never see that this makes any difference.
   
2. At the top of the page--if you are in the message boards looking at a thread--there is a blue bar, in the blue bar, there is a link to "USER CP", if you click it it takes you to the "user control panel". Click on "Edit Options". Thread Display Options regulates how you see what is posted--for example my psychedelic eye avatar.
   
3. On the same edit options page in the last (fifth) box with Miscellaneous Options--select the "enhanced interface" choice and you will be able to see the format as you draft it. WYSIWYG=what you see is what you get.
   
4. If the forum has either vb3 or HTML enabled when you go to reply to messages there should be bars with little boxes at the top of the main message box which allows you to insert fonts, bolding, italics, underlining, etc. If you use regular email via Outlook or Outlook Express, there is a setting that lets you DRAFT emails in HTML and should give you a similar tool bar. There is also a setting in Outlook or OE that you have to set to regulate how you SEE incoming emails.
   
5. Then go
   

• crazy :eek: and format to your heart's content!!!:) :D :) \
  

Best regards.

[Eleazar]

Glacier Lady:

 

Thanks for the impressions on the riding routes. I know from experience that they can make all the difference--we had some wonderful rides 2 years ago in Wyoming at Crossed Sabres ranch and we drive about 2 hours north of Atlanta on a regular basis for some 90 minute mountain trails.

 

We have to travel from Seward to Anchorage to Whittier :( on July 2 to return the rental car in Anchorage and then take transportation to Whittier to embark on the Coral Princess, so we may break that day with a little horseback riding. This way we could do a day or half day with Alaska Horsemen on the day we dogsled and a trail ride with Horsetrekkin before or after we turn in the rental car.

 

Its a shame the CP leaves out of Whittier and not Seward.

 

Thanks to you and Budget Queen for your respective advice, y'all can "cowgirl up" with us anytime.:)