Finally...completed itinerary for 8 day land tour on our own

[JJPacer]

We are doing 8 days on our own land tour prior to our cruise. The cost for the land tour for 2 adults is $2K plus private tour costs.

 

We bought an Alaska Tour Saver coupon book and are using serveral of the coupons to lower our costs.

 

It took us quite some time to research and plan this trip. I'm posting this to possibly help others who might be doing the same.

 

Here's our itinerary:

8/10 ARRIVE Anchorage 10 P.M. spend 1 night Confort Suites Creek Street free breakfast , airport & train shuttle

Sat. 8/11 Take train to Denali. Leave 8:15 arrive Denali 3:45 PM McKinley Express 2 for 1 coupon RT

Sat. 8/11/12 & Sun 8/12/12 Princess Wilderness Lodge 2 nights 2 for 1 coupon

SUN. 8/12/12 Wonder Lake Bus 6:45AM Take Food & water

Mon. 8/13- 8/14 DENALI BLUFFS LODGE 2 nights 2 for 1 coupon

DOG kennels 9:15 Take courtesy bus. for 10 am, show

White water rafting Canyon Run 1:30-5:00 2 for 1 coupon

8:30 PM Cabin Nite dinner theater 2 for 1

Tu 8/14 Eislen 7:30 bus 8 hrs. RT rtrn 3:30 stop @ Toklat if we want

Wed. 8/15 Do any additional hiking in the AM take McKinley express from Denali L 12:55 PM to Anchorage arrives 8:00 PM RT paid for above

Wed. 8/15 - 8/18 3 nights Hampton Inn incl. breakfast & train shuttle

Th 8/16 Seward Train Leave 6:45 AM Arrive 11:05 AM 2 for 1 coupon Return to Anchorage Leave Seward 6:00 PM Arrive Anchorage 10:15 PM

Fri. 8/17 Anchorage Visit Earthquake Museum 2 for 1 & other sites

WHITTIER Sat. 8/18 L Anchorage Train 9:45 AM Arrive Whittier 12:05 PM Drop luggage at Princess cruise terminal Or leave with train in Anchorage

Prince William Sound Glacier Boat Tour 12:15 AM -5:30 Incl. All you can eat prime rib and salmon buffet included.

Cruise Begins!!!! Aug. 18 Board ship after the PWS tour

Tues. 8/21 rent car Skagway drive to Emeral lake and back Use Murray’s Guide Take passports and water

Wed. Aug. 22 Juneau Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour 2 for 1 PU 9AM at Dock Rtn 12PM ....Mount Roberts Tramway 2 for 1 and/or shop

Aug. 25 arrive Vancouver Princess transfer from Vancouver to Seattle

[jrmende63]

Where did you get the Alaska tour saver book? Thanks!

[Northern Aurora]

The website for the Alaska TourSaver is: http://www.toursaver.com. They can be bought on line. Also, in the past, Safeway grocery stores in Alaska have sold them at their customer service desks.

[frugaltravel]

Generally a nice itinerary.

 

I would probably book the shuttle bus to Wonder Lake both days since you don't know which day will have the best weather. Also, since when you book the shuttle on the phone, you can get a third day for free, I would have set up my itinerary such that I could take the shuttle into the park the third day and planned the rafting the morning of 8/15. That would give me the flexibility to take the bus the best 2 of the 3 full days weather-wise. I would then plan my other activities like the sleddog demo at the last minute, depending on which days I took the shuttle. Easy to change this far in advance if of interest.

 

Your idea of switching hotels in Denali half way through is a great cost saver. It means a bit more hassle with luggage, but worth the savings. Few people spend that much time in Denali, but I think it is well worth it for those who like scenery, wildlife and/or hiking.

 

I am not a big fan of day trips to Seward but I assume you are taking the Kenai Fjords tour? You didn't mention that but it is by far the best touring option in Seward unless you plan on the Harding Icefield Hike, which you really don't have time for with a day trip.

 

You might consider adding Mendenhall to your whale watching in Juneau. It is almost on the way there (or back).

 

Does your cruise not stop in Ketchikan too?

[JJPacer]

Thanks Frugaltravel. You bring up some good points, that we will consider.

 

If the whale watching tour will drop us off at Mendenhall, then we'll do that. We've been to Mendenhall before. If they drop us at the pier, we won't have enough time at Mendenhall to do the hiking trails we want to do, and we feel we'd be too rushed for time.

 

I forgot Ketchikan! Yes the cruise goes there. We were going to do a walking tour of the town, and watch the salmon. Do some shopping maybe some hiking...weather permitting. We've been to Ketchikan before also.

 

We went back and forth about whether to go to Seward. We finally decided to go to see the scenery from the train. We don't know if we'll get back to AK to do a land tour, and decided it was best to go ahead and do it. If some of the shorter Kenai Fjord tours were still running when we're there, we'd do one of those. But they're not. Since we're doing PWS we decided not to do a long tour in Seward. We'll enjoy Exit Glacier, the town, do some hiking, etc. We just returned from a cruise to the Galapagos and saw sea lions, seals, penguins, etc very up close & personal. So we decided not to go to the Sea Life center.

 

You make an excellent point about improving our chances of taking advantage of the weather by making ourselves available to do a tour bus all 3 days we're there. We may change our raft tour to the 15th. Thanks for the suggestion. There's always room for improvement!

[scapel]

We are doing 8 days on our own land tour prior to our cruise. The cost for the land tour for 2 adults is $2K plus private tour costs.

 

We bought an Alaska Tour Saver coupon book and are using serveral of the coupons to lower our costs.

 

It took us quite some time to research and plan this trip. I'm posting this to possibly help others who might be doing the same.

 

Here's our itinerary:

8/10 ARRIVE Anchorage 10 P.M. spend 1 night Confort Suites Creek Street free breakfast , airport & train shuttle

Sat. 8/11 Take train to Denali. Leave 8:15 arrive Denali 3:45 PM McKinley Express 2 for 1 coupon RT

Sat. 8/11/12 & Sun 8/12/12 Princess Wilderness Lodge 2 nights 2 for 1 coupon

SUN. 8/12/12 Wonder Lake Bus 6:45AM Take Food & water

Mon. 8/13- 8/14 DENALI BLUFFS LODGE 2 nights 2 for 1 coupon

DOG kennels 9:15 Take courtesy bus. for 10 am, show

White water rafting Canyon Run 1:30-5:00 2 for 1 coupon

8:30 PM Cabin Nite dinner theater 2 for 1

Tu 8/14 Eislen 7:30 bus 8 hrs. RT rtrn 3:30 stop @ Toklat if we want

Wed. 8/15 Do any additional hiking in the AM take McKinley express from Denali L 12:55 PM to Anchorage arrives 8:00 PM RT paid for above

Wed. 8/15 - 8/18 3 nights Hampton Inn incl. breakfast & train shuttle

Th 8/16 Seward Train Leave 6:45 AM Arrive 11:05 AM 2 for 1 coupon Return to Anchorage Leave Seward 6:00 PM Arrive Anchorage 10:15 PM

Fri. 8/17 Anchorage Visit Earthquake Museum 2 for 1 & other sites

WHITTIER Sat. 8/18 L Anchorage Train 9:45 AM Arrive Whittier 12:05 PM Drop luggage at Princess cruise terminal Or leave with train in Anchorage

Prince William Sound Glacier Boat Tour 12:15 AM -5:30 Incl. All you can eat prime rib and salmon buffet included.

Cruise Begins!!!! Aug. 18 Board ship after the PWS tour

Tues. 8/21 rent car Skagway drive to Emeral lake and back Use Murray’s Guide Take passports and water

Wed. Aug. 22 Juneau Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour 2 for 1 PU 9AM at Dock Rtn 12PM ....Mount Roberts Tramway 2 for 1 and/or shop

Aug. 25 arrive Vancouver Princess transfer from Vancouver to Seattle

Where do you get all these 2 for 1 coupons?