Kenai or Denali?

[lpowmacback]

I am starting to plan our summer '06 family (husband, then 18 year old son & myself) trip and thinking that our Cruise/Land Tour will be too hectic if we include both Denali and Kenai.

 

I am pretty sure we are going to be taking a Princess cruise out of Whittier, going to Vancouver... so we will fly into Anchorage if we elect to go to Seward/Kenai, or fly into Fairbanks if we opt to go to Denali.

 

Originally I was trying to fit both into our itinerary, but we can only do 5 or so extra days besides the 7 night cruise. I think Denali entails too much travel time (we will already have a lot of time invested in travel, as we are flying from NJ)

 

We want to see scenery and wildlife... as most people probably do who go to Alaska... That said, which is more extraordinary and spectacular... Kenai Fjords/Seward area... or Denali?

 

I am leaning towards Kenai - the Fjords, whale watching, etc... what do you think?!?

 

Thanks!!!

Lisa :)

[Kaylas Mom]

I'm going to go ahead and voice what I am sure will be the minority opinion -- Kenai for sure! Denali is spectacular, but I think you're right about the travel time. We started going to Alaska in 2002 when our daughter was 7. Because we didn't enjoy the travel to Denali, we started staying in Kenai and now we are planning to retire there. There is so much to do in Kenai with great roads and short distances (comparatively!) Once we build our house in Cooper Landing, we plan to spend a lot of time in Denali and north, but for now, flying from the East Coast, we'll stick to the easy fun....

[Budget Queen]

There is a big difference traveling with a 7 year old who probably has no interest in scenery. :) Since you are cruising- Denali Park would give you a different perspective and different wildlife viewing opportunities. Scenery is just excellent, Fairbanks is worth a look too. AGAIN- if of interest. But touring the Kenai- I would not spend 5 days in Seward but would split the days between Seward and Homer. Nice trip. Request visitor guides - and determine YOUR priorities. http://www.kenaipeninsula.com http://www.haines.ak.us http://www.sewardak.org

[csteck]

I have seen a lot of Alaska and I like the Kenai area best.

The # 1 thing is a day cruise out of Seward. Do one of the longer cruises that goes outside of Ressurection bay. You will see the calving glaciers and lots of wildlife. We saw 4 whales our first trip and almost a 100 on our 2nd. This is spendy but worth it. Probally cost $ 129.00 pp. The tour saver booklet has 2 for 1 coupons.

The next thing is Exit Glacier. It was $ 5.00 per car to park and you can walk up close and around the side of the glacier. Most of the path is paved. They had black bears on the trail last time I was there.

Portage glacier and the cruise is a great thing to do. For $ 26.00 pp you can do the cruise. They take you up to see the glacier calve. Its a great tour and very reasonable. The visitor center is well done to and a great place to visit.

Drive along cooks inlet. They have the bore tide if your lucky enough to catch it. Lots of eagles in the mud flats and other bird life. Maybe a Menke whale if your lucky. The department of fish and game stocks many of the lakes in this and the Palmer areas. You could stop at the lakes for a little fishing. Salmon fishing is good to in the rivers. You need to check on dates to fish before hand. I know that for the Kings, most rivers allow fishing only 3 days a week.

The drive to Homer is beautiful!!! The bay and the mountains accross the inlet. It's even pretty in the early summer when the snow is still covering everything.

This area is mostly green and lush, the Denali area is totally different with its stunted growth trees and baren land from the permafrost.

If you want to walk on a glacier, go to Matanuska Glacier. They charged us $ 8.00 per adult and $ 4.00 per child to park on the private property. You can walk for miles out on this Glacier. We Took my cousins kids to see this and had a great times watching the kids run, climb and play. It's beautiful to. It's about 1 1/2 hours out of Anchorage.

We have also enjoyed the eagle river area and done the walk to Thunderbird falls. The path is slightly up hill, and bring mosquito protection.

The Homer spit is a good place to wander around and shop. There are lot's of interesting places to visit and you can watch the fishing boats come in with their catch.

If you choose Denali, The park bus has the best and the cheapest tours. You can not drive into Denali past 13 miles or so. You can find information at the visitors center and you need reservations. The bus ride makes for a long day, but my 14 yr olds never complained. We were lucky and got within 20 feet of a brown bear eating a Caribou carcass on the road. We saw lot's of other wild life to. The road is open all the way ( weather permitting ) by mid June. Remember to take lot's of food and drinks. There is nothing available out on the tour. Good luck. Get some visitors guides and start planning. Carla

[tetleytea]

You can compromise. Instead of going to Denali, go to Talkeetna and take a Mt. McKinley flightseeing tour w/ glacier landing. You're flying right over Denali doing that. And if you get a TourSaver, the 2-for-1 flightseeing tour singlehandedly pays for itself. That whole detour can comfortably take ~2 1/2 days, which should leave you plenty of time to do Kenai and Seward. Another thing is, the days are loooooong; don't underestimate how much you can do in a single day. It's not like you have to avoid driving at night.

 

On the other hand, I hear Homer is the place to go if you like to fish.