HELP.. advice for choosing land tour in Alaska

[eandj]

Planning a last minute trip in May to Alaska on the Coral. Any advice regarding the 4 day land portion? Looking at one starting in Fairbanks vs one starting in Anchorage. Other than maybe easier and less $ to fly into Anchorage, (actually haven't checked that yet) is there one more appealing than the other?

 

Want to wrap this up today if possible as rooms scarce. Just need to make the last tour choice....EB4 vs DB4.

[hpeabody]

Planning a last minute trip in May to Alaska on the Coral. Any advice regarding the 4 day land portion? Looking at one starting in Fairbanks vs one starting in Anchorage. Other than maybe easier and less $ to fly into Anchorage, (actually haven't checked that yet) is there one more appealing than the other?

 

Want to wrap this up today if possible as rooms scarce. Just need to make the last tour choice....EB4 vs DB4.

 

Choose one that offers Denali overnight(s)

[TNTLAMB]

The train ride between anchorage and Fairbanks is a bust as far as I'm concerned unless you haven't seen a lot of stunted evergreens...... The more time in Denali the better. Its fantastic..

[Kinkacruiser]

We did Anchorage to Fairbanks. I liked the fact that we walked off the ship and onto the train. The scenery isn't too spectacular. We flew back to Anchorage after the 6 day land tour.

[hllwdcruiser]

I had the same questions before I booked our trip - which wasn't last minute so I had a lot of time to research.

 

You can put "Alaska land tours" into the search on this forum and you should be able to find a lot of different reviews and opinions.

 

Time and budget constraints limited us to 4 or 5 days for the land portion.

 

After reading a lot of reviews, we decided on a land tour prior to the cruise. Many people considered Fairbanks a bust so I decided to do a Denali Explorer - DB4. One night in Anchorage, 1 night in Mt McKinley and 2 nights in Denali. We then took the train to Whittier.

 

We flew into Anchorage a day early so that we would have one full day to explore the city.

 

IMO 1 night in McKinley was enough but I am very glad we had two nights in Denali. We switched out the Natural History Tour and booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour which was one of the highlights of the trip.

Edited January 28, 2016 by hllwdcruiser

[Alaskanb]

DB4 --we chose this one for June 2016. You can cancel the Natural History Tour and book the Eielson Shuttle on your own to get further into the park.

[Loonbeam]

As noted, whatever option has more time in Denali. That said, I liked Fairbanks because they included a cheesy Alaska steamboat tour and gold mining trip. Yeah, it was touristy, but a nice way to get oriented.

[Coral]

Check the Alaskan boards of CC. From what I understand, you can't get far into Denali until after June 1st. Again, check the Alaska boards for more information on this as I have not been to Denali.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Coral

[ksm77]

We did the 5 night land tour our last Alaskan cruise 6/15. We have done 3 cruises with one including the land tour. We started our land tour in Fairbanks with cruise after. We really enjoyed Fairbanks. I felt it was the best stop on the land tour. We had a great tour on the riverboat with lunch & gold rush tour included. Also enjoyed Denali, seeing Mt McKinley. We did the full day tour inside Denali National Park. We were lucky to see lots of wild life that day. It is an amazing place. My least favorite of the land tour was the train trip from Talkeenta to Anchorage. The train itself was fine, the scenery just was not what I was expecting. Lots of trees going through some small towns. I was really looking forward to the train trip, but it did not meet my expectations. I am glad we did the land tour, but the cruise is the best part. It is breath taking. I could do the cruise over & over.

[coconut cruiser]

I agree that the train was a big disappointment. Cramped in our seat, not much chance to get up. Enjoyed riverboat in Fairbanks, all day excursion into Denali with lots of wildlife. Another stop at lodge to view Denali Mt was boring, in the middle of nowhere. I agree that the cruise was the best part. Loved viewing the glaciers and the ports.

[Stokeset]

I will be one of those who vote for the train ride; Both Princess and Holland America had glassed domed cars with excellent viewing, comfortable seats, and very good food. Both of our Alaskan land tours were done in the fall, which made for outstanding scenery and why we may have enjoyed it more than others who saw only green (see photos below taken from the train). I will agree that the more time you can spend in Denali, the better; but you really need to be on the Alaska board.

[eandj]

 

IMO 1 night in McKinley was enough but I am very glad we had two nights in Denali. We switched out the Natural History Tour and booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour which was one of the highlights of the trip.

 

We booked the DB4 like you.

 

How and when do you make this tour switch? Does the tundra one get you deeper into the park?

[eandj]

DB4 --we chose this one for June 2016. You can cancel the Natural History Tour and book the Eielson Shuttle on your own to get further into the park.

 

I wonder how this is different than the tundra wilderness tour mentioned above?????

 

We are doing it in August.

[Coral]

Here are the opening dates for Denali and specific tours (distances into the park) and descriptions of the tours:

 

Shuttles:

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

 

Tour Busses:

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm

 

From what I have read, most Shuttle drivers do narrate.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Coral

[jennybenny]

We did our own excursions. We did however book a Princess Lodge. We did a few days ahead of time on our own and we flew into Anchorage, which I absolutely loved. Fun breweries, restaurants, we rented bikes and did a long bike ride that the shop recommended. Also did a beautiful run close to our hotel. We stayed downtown, walking distance to the train terminal. It was an amazing vacation. We rented a car, went up to Soldotna, stayed at a princess lodge along the way. Then took the train to the cruise. It was great. We did it in September, next time I want to do it in May. It was way too warm in September but it was so beautiful.

[spiceyxi]

When I went to Alaska I ended up doing the DB4 tour and had a great time. However, I was really lucky that the weather was fantastic when I was there in July. A definite highlight is sitting on the deck at McKinley with a rum and coke basking in the sun with a view of the mountain.

 

I will echo the tip of dropping the wilderness tour and switching go the Denali shuttles that go out to the eilson (sp?). If the weather is good that day you can always upgrade to get to the lake. The shuttles aren't as nice as a full sized your bus, but much cheaper and a great experience with a lot of (potential) animal views. If you do the shuttle be sure to pre order food the night before from the princess Lodge so you have a nice lunch to take with you.

 

The train ride was enjoyable for the first few hours, but due to a number of stops it lasted a little longer than we would have liked. Worth doing though.

Edited January 30, 2016 by spiceyxi

[Alaskanb]

I wonder how this is different than the tundra wilderness tour mentioned above?????

 

We are doing it in August.

This is the page for booking the shuttles and allows you to compare them --and the cost in comparison to a bus tour. There is a shuttle from the Denali Princess lodge to the Wilderness Access Center where you get the park shuttle.

http://www.reservedenali.com/shuttles.aspx

[Alaskanb]

When I went to Alaska I ended up doing the DB4 tour and had a great time. However, I was really lucky that the weather was fantastic when I was there in July. A definite highlight is sitting on the deck at McKinley with a rum and coke basking in the sun with a view of the mountain.

 

I will echo the tip of dropping the wilderness tour and switching go the Denali shuttles that go out to the eilson (sp?). If the weather is good that day you can always upgrade to get to the lake. The shuttles aren't as nice as a full sized your bus, but much cheaper and a great experience with a lot of (potential) animal views. If you do the shuttle be sure to pre order food the night before from the princess Lodge so you have a nice lunch to take with you.

 

The train ride was enjoyable for the first few hours, but due to a number of stops it lasted a little longer than we would have liked. Worth doing though.

Glad to hear from someone who did the DB4 tour with the shuttle. I'm hoping for sunny days also :)

[spiceyxi]

I wonder how this is different than the tundra wilderness tour mentioned above?????

 

We are doing it in August.

 

From when I went there were a few differences between the two. The Tundra tour is through Princess and is a bigger bus which has a camera on the roof with some monitors inside from what I have read. In addition to that they supply a boxed lunch (don't know how good) and I believe the tour guide talks about stuff. The shuttle bus is directly through the park and you have to make your way from the lodge to the shuttle bus area in Denali. That shouldn't be too much of an issue depending on the time of the shuttle as princess has a bus that starts at some time in the morning which will drop you off right outside the shuttle area. Plus, you have to supply your own lunch and the guide isn't really a guide, but simply a driver. However, the shuttle driver we had (and by most accounts this is common) they really love their job and will provide commentary throughout and are on a constant watch for wildlife. The biggest pluses for the shuttle are its cost (much much cheaper than TWT), it goes further (or much further if you go to the lake) into the park, you can hop on and off of shuttles (depending on capacity) and you still get plenty of stops along the way.

 

Just remember to bring some food and dress in layers as it is a long day out. Princess sells some boxed lunches in the cafeteria under the lodge lobby and you can pre-order the night before. Also, bring some good binoculars because some of the interesting (i.e. bears) can be pretty far off of the road. Some animals can be essentially on the road with you.

 

We took the first shuttle from the lodge to the shuttle area with plenty of time to spare (and picked up some snacks too.) Also, we went the night before to make sure we knew where we were going and what it all looked like because I am paranoid like that. Please keep in mind this was my experience from a couple of years ago and things might have changed.

Edited January 30, 2016 by spiceyxi

[spiceyxi]

Glad to hear from someone who did the DB4 tour with the shuttle. I'm hoping for sunny days also :)

 

We really lucked out on the weather when we were there. Started to get a bit too warm on the shuttle. I told a co-worker to do the shuttle instead of the princess tours when she went last year and loved it too. Even though her weather was not nearly as nice. It is the chance you take with Alaska I suppose. We sat in one of the front seats and it was a pretty good spot. You get the big front window and easier access to the sides and these seats arent reserved like they are on the normal princess buses.

 

It was one of the highlights of the cruise-tour and I hope you have a great time.

Edited January 30, 2016 by spiceyxi

[Loonbeam]

Because the NHT was included for us, the upgrade to the TWT was about the same as the other. We had some great sightings, the driver has a long range camera that can be displayed on monitors on the bus. Think a cross between a school and tour bus.

 

The box lunch was nothing special, think an airline snack box, but it kept us fueled until we got back to the lodge.

 

There is no comparison between the TWT and the NHT. The TWT goes in so much farther, where the NHT goes basically one stop and then you have an indian demonstration or similar. The folks who took the NHT when we did ours all were quite disappointed - didn't see any wildlife at all except about 2 caribou...

 

Whereas we had:

 

 

 

 

 

[Alaskanb]

The chart on this page shows the differences among the tours / shuttles and chances of wildlife sighting.

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/visiting-denali.htm

[geoherb]

As noted, whatever option has more time in Denali. That said, I liked Fairbanks because they included a cheesy Alaska steamboat tour and gold mining trip. Yeah, it was touristy, but a nice way to get oriented.

I had read about the cheesy steamboat tour and panning for gold before our cruise tour. But it was a great day. We did not get in to Fairbanks until after midnight. Having the two nights in Fairbanks worked well for us to get rested. The steamboat and panning for gold excursions were not too taxing. The scenery on the train from Fairbanks to Denali was spectacular, especially when the train is hugging the mountain beside a deep river gorge.

 

We canceled the Natural History Tour and took the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We did not have time to book a shuttle independently with our arrival after noon at the Denali lodge.

[eandj]

We canceled the Natural History Tour and took the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We did not have time to book a shuttle independently with our arrival after noon at the Denali lodge.

 

How do you go about switching the tour? Do you do it at home or when you arrive at the lodge? We REALLY want to do that.

[eandj]

Because the NHT was included for us, the upgrade to the TWT was about the same as the other. We had some great sightings, the driver has a long range camera that can be displayed on monitors on the bus. Think a cross between a school and tour bus.

 

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How and when did you make the upgrade switch? We really don't want to miss that opportunity.

 

DH would go nuts if we saw animals like that. We did Nova Scotia for our honeymoon and he still talks about the mom moose and her babies we came across while hiking Cabot park. ;)