Looking for opinions...add a day in Seward?

[Marylandteachergirl]

I have been doing my homework :), but would still like some opinions from CC'ers who have been to Alaska. We will be there in 2015, but I have to have a plan and # of days in place for work.

We will have 2 days in Anchorage, or 1 1/2 depending on flight, 2 days in Homer, possibly a day in Seward before joining 4 night cruise tour then cruise.

My question...is it worth the drive from Homer, which is about 168 miles, and we'd have to leave early in the morning to arrive in Seward for the Kenai Fjords cruise. Yes, I have researched the companies and places to stay. How is the drive from Homer to Seward? I just ordered a Milepost guide, too.

After overnighting in Seward we would travel up Seward Hwy, which is supposed to be spectacular to meet cruise tour

Should I keep Seward in our plans (yes, I am looking for opinions, and know they will vary) or just head back to Anchorage from Homer? Is it worth the 4 hour drive? Please help convince me one way or the other. This is the ONLY part of our 17 days that I am really struggling with.

Thank you very much!

[mapleleaves]

Seward is only a 40 mile detour off the Sterling Hwy so if you want to see Seward, it's easy enough to do. So is the real question , should you do the Kenai cruise?
The cruise is fantastic if you have decent weather ... I've been weathered out twice so keep that in mind before you break your neck rushing to make the 11am departure.

My impression of the drive from Anchorage to Homer:
- the drive from Anc to Coopers Landing is very scenic. Lots to see and do, especially along the Turnagain Arm.
- from Coopers Landing to Soldotna isn't anything special
- from Soldotna to Homer has some wonderfully scenic spots .. beaches, views of the volcanoes, church at Ninilchik, and of course that spectacular view of the Spit

Personally I'd give up that day in Anchorage for a day in Seward. If I had lots of extra days to play with I'd spend time in Anchorage, but with limited time I'd rather wander around a harbor town than a city. But that's my preference.

[AKman2495]

Ok...The road from Anchorage to Homer takes you to a "Y" as they call it. At the "Y" you bear right to go to Homer and stay straight to go to Seward.

Once in Homer, to get back to Anchorage to meet your cruise tour you will take the same road. Once again, you will come to an intersection. Turn left to go back to Anchorage and turn right to go to Seward. It isn;t that complicated.

Once you are in Seward, there are many interesting things to do.

Leaving Seward you simply follow the road straight back to Anchorage.

Assuming you go from Anchorage to Homer to Seward and then back to Anchorage, you will have driven the Seward HWY twice. THe Seward Hwy runs from Anchorage to Seward. At the "Y" where you turn to go to Homer, you leave the Seward Hwy and take the Sterling Hwy.

It is all quite scenic-especially for people who have never been there.

[Marylandteachergirl]

Thank you for both replies. I cannot give up the day in Anchorage as we have a family member there - it would create very hurt feelings.

Since there are not a lot of highways, I figured out that we would do some back tracking. It would only do a Kenai Fjords tour if I had a coupon. Not sure still. :(

[olemissreb]

We loved our day in Seward. We took the train from Anchorage and then right to the Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine. The tour we took did not offer coupons (the 6 hour tour). The next morning, we saw the SeaLife Center and did a Marine Mammal Encounter (MME)- had coupons from the Northern Lights book for both the MME and admission to the center. Our arrival day was bright and sunny and we had smooth seas for our Kenai Fjords tour. Our SeaLife day was overcast. We got so lucky with weather our entire trip.

With my son's broken foot, we didn't really get a chance to walk around the town of Seward though. Will have to do that the next time we're there though.

[Marylandteachergirl]

AKman2495, or anyone else who knows :)..How long should I plan for the drive from Homer to Seward? I know that it's 168 miles. How many hours would that be, allowing for slower traffic (I assume), RV's on road, etc. I think we have decided to try it - now I just have to figure out the timing.

Thank you all again!

[jarand]

It took longer than we thought to drive between Homer and Seward. Probably 4 hours of actual drive time, plus stops.

Some good places along the way (from Homer to Seward):

~As you're coming into Anchor Point, look for a brown sign to your left pointing to a state recreation area. Follow the road out to the beach, scenic overlook, and tractor launch. It's about 2 miles. Amazing view and fun to watch the tractors launch the boats. Allow 20 minutes or so.

~Back on the highway, just a mile or so past that brown sign, on your left is "The Blue Bus" restaurant. It should be featured in Diners, Drive ins, and Dives. Very tiny and quirky with amazingly good burgers. If you're there at lunch time, it's a memorable stop.

~In Ninilchik there is a little Russian Church just off the highway (on your left) that is a nice 10 minute stop.

~If you're in Cooper's Landing around lunch time, after you've gone over the bridge, the road will fork and you can take a left to the Princess Lodge. They have a beautiful deck overlooking the Kenai River, and it's a wonderful, surprisingly reasonable, place to have lunch. Open to the public.

~The road to Exit Glacier will be just outside of Seward. Still on the highway at that fork, look to your left at the old buildings. In the tree above is an eagles nest with several eagles.

The Sea Life Center in Seward is quite nice--a couple of hours is plenty.

If you can possibly go on a tour with Kenai Fjords Tours, even without coupons, by all means go! The Northwestern Fjords tour was absolutely fabulous!

Rays and Chinooks are the two main restaurants in the small boat harbor. We personally liked Rays better.

[Budget Queen]

Seward has plenty to see and do, allow 4 hours for the drive. Is there a reason, why you are taking a cruisetour? A lot of 4 nighter have a LOT of time in transit. You already have a car and are willing to drive the Kenai Peninsula, it would open up your time and allow for better use of it perhaps, just keeping the car and continuing? 10 days in mainland Alaska can be used nicely as one itinerary. You are a LONG way off to be making "plans" at this point. Over and over, people "think" they know what they want, only to keep reading and finding out more and better ideas. :)

[Marylandteachergirl]

Oh, I know I am a long way off! :o I have to submit exact number of days (requesting off) to work this year.

I know we could do all DIY land tour - but as of now, hubby does not want to drive all the time. We have discussed this. It seemed a good way to get to Denali, and yes, I realize the time in Denali will be very limited. I have been looking at the Alaska RR, and I do see there are some ways to follow a similar itinerary on our own. We both have very long commutes (2 hours each way - every day into DC), and would really like to not have to worry about driving for the entire part of our land trip.

That is why I am trying to fit the pieces together so early. I really do appreciate all of the help and suggestions here - and I will weigh and compare what information is given very carefully.
And I love more ideas and better ideas!

[Budget Queen]

[quote name='Marylandteachergirl']Oh, I know I am a long way off! :o I have to submit exact number of days (requesting off) to work this year.

I know we could do all DIY land tour - but as of now, hubby does not want to drive all the time. We have discussed this. It seemed a good way to get to Denali, and yes, I realize the time in Denali will be very limited. I have been looking at the Alaska RR, and I do see there are some ways to follow a similar itinerary on our own. We both have very long commutes (2 hours each way - every day into DC), and would really like to not have to worry about driving for the entire part of our land trip.

That is why I am trying to fit the pieces together so early. I really do appreciate all of the help and suggestions here - and I will weigh and compare what information is given very carefully.
And I love more ideas and better ideas![/QUOTE]

You may want to also consider just booking the Alaska RR on your own, and booking a lodging at Denali. In the past there also have been 2 for 1 coupons in the purchased coupon books. With the train, ideally, I recommend 3 nights.

[frugaltravel]

[quote name='Budget Queen']You are a LONG way off to be making "plans" at this point. Over and over, people "think" they know what they want, only to keep reading and finding out more and better ideas. :)[/quote]

Actually that is the BEST reason to be making "plans" at this point. Start now - about 2 years before the trip - so that by 1 year out after reading and finding out more and better ideas, you have a really nice plan in place. Then you can book flights and car rentals when available and be very comfortable with your itinerary, having hashed it around for a year. So I have to disagree strongly with you here. It is never too early to start planning an Alaskan trip and ideally I do just what the OP is doing - start my planning 2 years in advance so 1 year in advance I can proceed confidently with my itinerary.

What type of cruisetour are you looking at? Which cruise line? If it doesn't have 2 nights in Denali NP (not Talkeetna and not McKinley Princess) don't do it. Also, if it is with a cruiseline that departs from Seward, you can ditch the cruisetour the last morning in Anchorage or Girdwood, take the train to Seward and take the Kenai Fjords tour the day you board the cruise.

[Driftwoodgal]

I found planning for our second Alaska cruise just as overwhelming as the first. Thanks to post here on the boards we choose not to do a cruise tour. My mistake was that I should have added a couple extra days, thought I did just didn't see my flight left at 1:05 AM not later in the day. Our first cruise I focused on several days in Vancouver and Seattle.

This trip we spent two days in Vancouver pre cruise, that ended up being only a full day and one evening as we flew into Seattle and shuttled on a bus up to Vancouver. We choose to board the ship around 11 AM.

After the cruise we used Kenai Fjords tours on a 9 hour tour. We got off the ship about 7:30, got on the tour and returned to the hotel that evening. Wonderful tour, and so glad we did the longer tour as we had plenty of time to see an amazing feeding fest with the whales. Our weather that day was overcast and raining off and on all day. Our seas did get rough on one stretch, but felt very safe the entire time.

The second day we rented a car and drove to Exit Glacier, then to Cooper Landing. We ate lunch at the Kenai Princess Lodge. I think this was one of the cheaper meals we ate the entire trip. The food and view were excellent. We went into the Kenai Fjords National Park and walked from the Salmon parking lot to almost the ferry crossing. Great walk and some great photo shots. Note to those that have a senior pass with the National Parks you can use it at Mendenhall Glacier, and all the parks.

We choose not to travel all the way to Homer as I thought we would be visiting part of the same area more than once.

The last day we rented a one way rental mini van from Seward to Anchorage. I ended up doing this as the train would not allow enough time to get to our flight at 1:00 AM in the morning. The train leaves at around 6 PM arriving around 10:30. Then a mad dash to the airport, and through TSA. Glad we chose the car. We drove stopped at numerous turnabouts for pictures, Hope, Girwood, Portage Glacier, Wildlife Conservation Center, had lunch at the Bake Shop. Jet lag is setting in as we have been up for 30 hours..... time to go to bed. If you have other questions would be happy to share our time in the glorious state.

[Driftwoodgal]

[quote name='frugaltravel']Actually that is the BEST reason to be making "plans" at this point. Start now - about 2 years before the trip - so that by 1 year out after reading and finding out more and better ideas, you have a really nice plan in place. Then you can book flights and car rentals when available and be very comfortable with your itinerary, having hashed it around for a year. So I have to disagree strongly with you here. It is never too early to start planning an Alaskan trip and ideally I do just what the OP is doing - start my planning 2 years in advance so 1 year in advance I can proceed confidently with my itinerary.

What type of cruisetour are you looking at? Which cruise line? If it doesn't have 2 nights in Denali NP (not Talkeetna and not McKinley Princess) don't do it. Also, if it is with a cruiseline that departs from Seward, you can ditch the cruisetour the last morning in Anchorage or Girdwood, take the train to Seward and take the Kenai Fjords tour the day you board the cruise.[/quote]

I booked our rooms and our rental cars over 6 months in advance. No rooms at the Holiday Inn Express or cars at Hertz were available when we arrived in town. So glad I booked in advance, no deposits were required for the car or the hotel.

[Marylandteachergirl]

Looking at RCI.

Yes, I know about Princess. The RCI cruise tour spends 1.5 days in Denali. I have also considered ditching CT early and there is an express bus that runs from a gas station in Girdwood to Seward. I have lots of notes. :D. There is a military resort in Seward we might like to visit (retired AF) too. Trying to at least have a framework. I have it down to about 17 days.

I am a research librarian and also supervise school programs, so summer is our crazy busy time...so the advance approval is necessary to avoid conflicting vacations.

Budget Queen, frugaltravel, and driftwood gal, thank you so much.

Thank you to all of you for the helpful ideas. They are very much appreciated! I have much to consider.

[Budget Queen]

[quote name='frugaltravel']Actually that is the BEST reason to be making "plans" at this point. Start now - about 2 years before the trip - so that by 1 year out after reading and finding out more and better ideas, you have a really nice plan in place. Then you can book flights and car rentals when available and be very comfortable with your itinerary, having hashed it around for a year. So I have to disagree strongly with you here. It is never too early to start planning an Alaskan trip and ideally I do just what the OP is doing - start my planning 2 years in advance so 1 year in advance I can proceed confidently with my itinerary.

What type of cruisetour are you looking at? Which cruise line? If it doesn't have 2 nights in Denali NP (not Talkeetna and not McKinley Princess) don't do it. Also, if it is with a cruiseline that departs from Seward, you can ditch the cruisetour the last morning in Anchorage or Girdwood, take the train to Seward and take the Kenai Fjords tour the day you board the cruise.[/QUOTE]

I used the wrong terms. My point is to not be so fixed at this point. I'm sure you have seen some pretty bad segmented trips. I certainly agree that it doesn't matter how long you plan ahead. Everyone is different. I can plan trips very quickly and frequently do, just different styles.

[Marylandteachergirl]

Budget Queen, your information is always helpful. Even as a researcher, I can only plan in theory. I have never been there nor experienced it.

I just don't see how the transportation option from the Alaska RR to Denali would work without having a car there (once in Denali).

Interestingly, Emerald Air, of Homer, is already booking their bear watching hikes for 2015,,,:eek:

I am sure I will revise, revise. As long as I have the dates and # of days set, I will be okay work wise.

Thank you again.

[Budget Queen]

[quote name='Marylandteachergirl']Budget Queen, your information is always helpful. Even as a researcher, I can only plan in theory. I have never been there nor experienced it.

I just don't see how the transportation option from the Alaska RR to Denali would work without having a car there (once in Denali).

Interestingly, Emerald Air, of Homer, is already booking their bear watching hikes for 2015,,,:eek:

I am sure I will revise, revise. As long as I have the dates and # of days set, I will be okay work wise.

Thank you again.[/QUOTE]

Being you state you do not want to drive, plenty of people take the RR to Denali park. There are many lodgings which provide shuttle service to both their hotels and in/out of the park. (even my "budget" preference) You have the wrong idea here. There also is the possibility of a car rental for this area, and a cab service.