Tour in Denali

[Cruisin'Mama 10]

Hi there,

 

I've read the recommendations and think I would like to upgrade when I book my cruise. How do you do it? When you get there or while you're booking your cruise?

 

Thanks in advance!

[pankajs]

Longer tours are always better ones..

[Glaciers]

Hi there' date='

 

I've read the recommendations and think I would like to upgrade when I book my cruise. How do you do it? When you get there or while you're booking your cruise?

 

Thanks in advance![/quote']

 

If you are going to book through the cruise line you will need to do that once you book the cruise. Another alternative, and what many think is a better idea, is to book your Denali trip into the park independently through Aramark.

http://www.reservedenali.com/play/tours/tundra-wilderness.aspx

 

The cruise lines do not have busses that operate in the park, they are all operated by Doyon/Aramark. You would need to find your own transportation to the park entrance such as a rental car which will add substantially to the experience by being able to drive and stop along the way from Anchorage or Fairbanks as well as exploring outside the park.

 

If you look at the posters who take the bus into Denali year after year, most will always choose the shuttle bus over the Tundra Wilderness s Tour at a fraction of the cost for the same route.

[ROCruiser]

We were on the Princess Cruisetour this past August. We kept the NHT but added the park shuttle to Toklat on our own. I think if you have time, do both. The NHT gives a lot of information and perspectives about the park and on the shuttle you go deeper into the park. We didn't switch to the Tundra Wilderness tour because it would cost too much and the park shuttle was only $24pp. Wish we had time for Eleison, but it would have been too late for us. If you are keeping the NHT but booking the shuttle bus on your own make sure you get a $10 refund for park admission. Just show your Princess itinerary and they will refund what they charged online. There are free Princess shuttles to the park until 7:00pm. When we came back from the shuttle bus trip it was after 9:00pm. We used the courtesy phone on the wall of WAC to call "Salmon Bake" restaurant to pick us up to the restaurant and enjoyed a nice dinner there. Afterward we just walked across the street back to our hotel room.

[alaskawdw12]

I say NO!!!! Do not upgrade to the TWT for $50 but book the shuttle bus to Wonder Lake independently for less than that. If the Mountain is visible, stay on to Wonder Lake. If not, get off at Eielson and catch another bus back. The shuttle buses almost always give great commentary, go further into the park (in prime bear habitat that the TWT usually misses) and you can also get off the shuttle bus to hike or take more photos, then catch another shuttle bus.

 

We're planning on taking the shuttle to Eielson the last week of July. At what time should we take the shuttle? Does it make a difference? We'll be getting into the park with the Princess Wilderness Lodge shuttle.

[agabbymama]

Also, by all means,get tickets at Princess Desk in Denali for Jeff King's Homestead right outside the park. He won the Iditarod twice and you get to meet and hold the puppies and hear his stories. Great fun!

 

Actually Jeff King has won the Iditarod 4 times and many other sled races as well. His wife Donna is an artist. This is their website!

 

http://www.huskyhomestead.com/

[LEtue]

We're planning on taking the shuttle to Eielson the last week of July. At what time should we take the shuttle? Does it make a difference? We'll be getting into the park with the Princess Wilderness Lodge shuttle.

 

Some have written that in the heat of the summer going early is better since the wildlife may be more active in the morning and evening. Hopefully you will get plenty of responses....

 

We're not going until the end of August so I think we'll be okay with a little later start time.

[frugaltravel]

We're planning on taking the shuttle to Eielson the last week of July. At what time should we take the shuttle? Does it make a difference? We'll be getting into the park with the Princess Wilderness Lodge shuttle.

 

The "see more wildlife on earlier shuttles" is IMHO a myth. The biggest reason for taking an earlier (or very late) shuttle bus is that the odds increase of seeing Mt. McKinley, which often clouds over by mid-morning.

[alaskawdw12]

The "see more wildlife on earlier shuttles" is IMHO a myth. The biggest reason for taking an earlier (or very late) shuttle bus is that the odds increase of seeing Mt. McKinley, which often clouds over by mid-morning.

 

Is 8 AM considered an "earlier" shuttle bus? (since there are buses already at 6 AM, but that's REALLY early :), and since the shuttles from the Princess to the park only start running at 7 AM I think that's the first one we can catch)

 

Also, at about what time would the 8 AM shuttle arive at Eielson? I read on the Denali website that there's a short hike with a ranger at 1 PM out of Eielson, and that if you want to participate you should take a shuttle that gets there before 1 PM.

 

Thanks for your great insights :)

[LEtue]

The "see more wildlife on earlier shuttles" is IMHO a myth. The biggest reason for taking an earlier (or very late) shuttle bus is that the odds increase of seeing Mt. McKinley, which often clouds over by mid-morning.

 

Good tip, thanks :)

[frugaltravel]

Is 8 AM considered an "earlier" shuttle bus? (since there are buses already at 6 AM, but that's REALLY early :), and since the shuttles from the Princess to the park only start running at 7 AM I think that's the first one we can catch)

 

Also, at about what time would the 8 AM shuttle arive at Eielson? I read on the Denali website that there's a short hike with a ranger at 1 PM out of Eielson, and that if you want to participate you should take a shuttle that gets there before 1 PM.

 

Thanks for your great insights :)

 

In the height of the summer, the first Wonder Lake shuttle departs at 5.15am. 8am is not considered early!

 

I have often been on 7am and 11am buses (and others as well) and have seen TONS of wildlife. Heck my last time in the park (Sep) one day I took a 9.30am shuttle. Saw a lynx before we even turned onto the main road into the park and saw two bull moose rutting right alongside the road.

 

Without a car you are "doomed" to taking the earliest shuttle bus you can that coincides with the hotel shuttle (or just walk - a little over a mile). One-way to Eielson is usually shy of 4-1/2 hours, a bit less on the way back. Usually 8 hours round trip to Eielson.

[Ready 4 the next 1]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Do you mind me asking what kind of camera equipment you used when you got the wildlife pics and if you need a lot of zoom?

[frugaltravel]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Do you mind me asking what kind of camera equipment you used when you got the wildlife pics and if you need a lot of zoom?

 

What pics and from whom? I don't see any links to pics (unless they are in a signature line, which I suppress).

[mapleleaves]

Also, at about what time would the 8 AM shuttle arive at Eielson? I read on the Denali website that there's a short hike with a ranger at 1 PM out of Eielson, and that if you want to participate you should take a shuttle that gets there before 1 PM.

 

 

Our shuttle left at 8:30am and arrived at Eielson around 12:30ish maybe a bit later. We saw lots of wildlife so we made lots of stops along the way. The drivers have to stay somewhat on schedule but I suppose frequent stops could impact your arrival by 10-20 minutes. We took a shorter lunch break to make up some time. Returned to the entrance around 4:30pm closer to 5. We had a great driver. I've only been on 3 trips into Denali and each time the drivers were so informative and friendly; providing lots of info on geology, history, and of course wildlife. Very deserving of a tip for such an economical excursion.

If you stay on the same bus the entire trip is scheduled for 8 hrs which includes a 30-40 minute stop at Eielson. If you don't stay on the bus, there's a dispatcher at Eielson who can help with availability on return buses.

[account4fun]

The Denali Natural History Tour is included in our cruise/tour to Alaska in August 2012. Should we upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness Tour? It's about $50.00 per person to upgrade. The Tundra Wilderness is a couple of hours longer and goes deeper into the park. Is it worth it?

Thanks for your help. :)

 

Whatever you do book the TWT! It's absolutely worth it if you want to get into the park and have an opportunity to see animals. We saw all of the Big 5 when we were on the TWT and the wolves circled our bus for 20+ minutes. It was a big highlight of our trip! Bring your own lunch though!

[alaskawdw12]

Thank you frugaltravel and mapleleaves! I can't wait to go!!

[frugaltravel]

Whatever you do book the TWT! It's absolutely worth it if you want to get into the park and have an opportunity to see animals. We saw all of the Big 5 when we were on the TWT and the wolves circled our bus for 20+ minutes. It was a big highlight of our trip! Bring your own lunch though!

 

Note that this is not a typical experience. I have been in Denali NP probably as much as 99% of the posters on this forum and I have only seen a wolf a handful of times. Seeing them so close for 20+ minutes is extremely rare.

 

Plus, taking a shuttle bus to Eielson greatly increases one's chances of seeing wildlife since it goes to mile 66 vs. 53 or 61 for the TWT (not to mention it costs less than half the price of the TWT!).

[Sea Hag]

Here's another vote for the park shuttle! I found out about that here on the boards, and booking the shuttle instead of a tour was a complete winner for us. The driver was great - he seemed to know everything and would stop anytime somebody saw something good. Don't see how a tour could have been better. We're going again in May, and I just booked the shuttle for us again.

[olemissreb]

I haven't gone to Alaska yet, but having learned about the shuttles on the CC board we are going to book the shuttle for our 2013 trip. I can't wait!!! 3 months and I can book the cruise portion and really get started booking our land portion! So much to see, so many pictures to take and so little time.

 

One question: Is there any advantage to going all the way to Kantishna (I think that's the end of the line)? I know we'll go as far as Eielson and possibly Wonder Lake and maybe do a couple of hikes too - still working out logistics on that. We'll have a week before the cruise to see as much as we can and plan to spend at least 2 days in Denali.

[frugaltravel]

One question: Is there any advantage to going all the way to Kantishna (I think that's the end of the line)? I know we'll go as far as Eielson and possibly Wonder Lake and maybe do a couple of hikes too - still working out logistics on that. We'll have a week before the cruise to see as much as we can and plan to spend at least 2 days in Denali.

 

Depending on when you are going, I always recommend booking to Wonder Lake and getting off at Eielson if Mt. McKinley is not visible. No need to go to Kantishna, which is an abandoned mining town with private lodges now.

 

When you say "spend at least 2 days in Denali" do you mean two full days (i.e. three nights)? That is great. Most people spend 2 nights/1 full day in Denali and often complain about not seeing wildlife, the Mountain, etc.

[olemissreb]

Depending on when you are going, I always recommend booking to Wonder Lake and getting off at Eielson if Mt. McKinley is not visible. No need to go to Kantishna, which is an abandoned mining town with private lodges now.

 

When you say "spend at least 2 days in Denali" do you mean two full days (i.e. three nights)? That is great. Most people spend 2 nights/1 full day in Denali and often complain about not seeing wildlife, the Mountain, etc.

 

I'm thinking 2 full days. Driving up from Anchorage (1 night) the morning after we arrive and then 3 nights and driving back to Anchorage (2 nights) with a stop or 2 in between. Want to get to Seward (1 night) the day before we set sail so we can take a Kenai Fjord cruise and then relax a little before getting to the ship bright and early!