Is Pre-Booking Every Excursion Necessary?

[namaste1223]

I just finished searching this board and I didn't find exactly the information I'm looking for, so I thought I'd ask.

So far, for our July Alaska trip,

Transportation: booked (planes, train, rental cars, etc.)

Cruise: booked

Land hotels: booked

Cruise excursions: booked (privately)

Land excursions: some booked, some not

 

Here's my question: Is it necessary to pre-book things like the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward or the Native Heritage Center in Anchorage? What about the Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks? I'll probably pre-book the Wildlife Conservation Center because my daughter wants to do a behind-the-scene tour and that might not be available on a walk-up basis.

 

I haven't booked our Denali tours yet because we're still discussing if the Tundra Wilderness Tour will satisfy everybody or if the park bus and going further into the park is what we really want. Is it absolutely necessary to pre-book our tour for getting into the park, even if it's the park bus and not a "true tour?"

We're prebooked for Seavey's Dogsled in Seward. Does the Husky Homestead tour in Denali have to be pre-booked? We'd like to wait if possible to see if we still want to do this or if Seavey's will satisfy our dogsled needs!

 

We'll be touring on land for 9 days after our cruise and would like to leave some "free" time where we can decide the day before what we'd like to do and maybe occasionally "stop and smell the roses" (fireweed!) Is this feasable in Alaska and if so, for what things?

Many thanks!

[Budget Queen]

I just finished searching this board and I didn't find exactly the information I'm looking for, so I thought I'd ask.

So far, for our July Alaska trip,

Transportation: booked (planes, train, rental cars, etc.)

Cruise: booked

Land hotels: booked

Cruise excursions: booked (privately)

Land excursions: some booked, some not

 

Here's my question: Is it necessary to pre-book things like the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward or the Native Heritage Center in Anchorage? What about the Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks? I'll probably pre-book the Wildlife Conservation Center because my daughter wants to do a behind-the-scene tour and that might not be available on a walk-up basis.

 

I haven't booked our Denali tours yet because we're still discussing if the Tundra Wilderness Tour will satisfy everybody or if the park bus and going further into the park is what we really want. Is it absolutely necessary to pre-book our tour for getting into the park, even if it's the park bus and not a "true tour?"

We're prebooked for Seavey's Dogsled in Seward. Does the Husky Homestead tour in Denali have to be pre-booked? We'd like to wait if possible to see if we still want to do this or if Seavey's will satisfy our dogsled needs!

 

We'll be touring on land for 9 days after our cruise and would like to leave some "free" time where we can decide the day before what we'd like to do and maybe occasionally "stop and smell the roses" (fireweed!) Is this feasable in Alaska and if so, for what things?

Many thanks!

 

No prebooking, the Sealife Center and Heritage Center are both walk ups. The Behind the Scenes - yes you do need to book ahead. IF you only have one day for the Riverboat tour, then it is best to at least book it a day ahead. Try for walk up- if you don't care if you go or not.

 

Absolutely - Denali has to have buses booked in advance. They can be full for days ahead. Not sure why anyone going independent would even consider the TWT? I'll speculate the differences are not what you are thinking they are. It's a huge big plus to get to Eielson, and kids 15 and under are free.

 

You can wait until you get to Denali for the Husky Homestead.

[xlxo]

In general... low capacity marine and flight excursions are the only ones that need to be considered for prebooking.

[eandj]

We booked the Homestead Huskies. Numbers are limited, but there are several time slots everyday. So some flexibility is required if a slot is full.

[namaste1223]

... IF you only have one day for the Riverboat tour, then it is best to at least book it a day ahead. Try for walk up- if you don't care if you go or not. ... You can wait until you get to Denali for the Husky Homestead.

 

We booked the Homestead Huskies. Numbers are limited, but there are several time slots everyday. So some flexibility is required if a slot is full.

 

We were thinking of waiting to book Husky Homestead until shortly before arrival. Because we will have already done the Seavey's Dogsled tour in Seward before we're in Denali, we may decide to spend our time doing something else if Seavey's gives us enough dogsledding. As Budget Queen said regarding the Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks, neither of these two tours are absolute "must-dos" and so we're probably willing to take the chance and wait until closer to arrival before booking.

Next up is pre-booking our Denali experience!

Thank you both for your insights!

[mek]

Jeff King doesn't offer sled rides at Husky Homestead, but he is a great story teller and a highlight of our trip last year. We also did the riverboat/lunch/gold mining in Fairbanks and thought it was a wonderful day.

Edited May 14, 2016 by mek