Land/Tour Cruise on Princess Coral...June 6 2018 or August 29 2018????

[cmessinger]

Please help us choose! We're taking a 7 night land tour before the cruise starting in Fairbanks. Destinations on land include Denali, Talkeetna, and Cooper Landing, embarkation in Whitter and cruising to Vancouver (we'll probably spend a few days in Vancouver).

 

I'd be most grateful for your opinions!

 

Thanks,

 

Cyndi

[PrincessE]

I guess I'm not quite clear on how you're needing help. Choosing towns to visit? Things to do? Is there a choice you're trying to make between a couple of different land tours?

 

To give you an overall idea of the towns you've listed, there is a lot to do in each place. A two night stay in Denali is always great if you can get it. There is hiking, river rafting, flight seeing, the tour at the park (about four hours) and the wildlife search (about 7 hours). Talkeetna is darling with some really great restaurants. Again, flight seeing and river rafting are good here. Cooper Landing (basically Kenai) is beautiful. The Kenai Fjords tour is highly recommended. From the sound of your locations I'm assuming you're taking a Princess cruisetour (which I think is the best product in Alaska). The Kenai Princess Lodge is gorgeous. All their lodges are gorgeous though. In Fairbanks there is gold panning, the natural and cultural museum at the University, visit the oil pipeline, musk ox farm at the University and so much more.

 

If I haven't answered your original question please let me know. I'm a third generation Alaska, born and raised and lived there for over 25 years. When do you plan on visiting?

[mapleleaves]

I've made several trips to Alaska and mostly in late summer since that's the only time I can get away. I've always had bad weather.

If I had the choice I'd always go for early summer because it's statistically drier. Clearer skies, lots of snow in the mtns, baby animals. There's no guarantee with weather . it will be what it will be, but statistically you have a better chance for dry weather in late May thru June.

HOWEVER if a bear viewing tour is your priority, July/August are the peak times depending on the specific location.

So you need to weigh your priorities.

[cmessinger]

Thank you for your responses!

 

Princess E, we would be on a land/tour on the Coral Princess. Thinking about June 6, 2018 (my first thought) or August 29, 2018. We are very flexible, so really anytime between June and September would be fine. Thoughts on timing and the other Princess ships ( Star, Golden, Island) ??

 

 

Mapleleaves, after reading your response, we are definitely leaning towards June.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Cyndi

[TheCalicoCat]

I haven't researched it myself, but make sure if you choose the June date that all of Denali is open if that is important to you.

 

From Alaska.org:

It’s 92 miles and about 5 hours from the park entrance to Kantishna, the end of the Park Road. Private vehicles aren’t permitted after Mile 15, so you’ll need to take either the hop-on, hop-off park shuttle bus or one of the tour buses. The summer bus tours begin as early as May 20th, and a 7-hour half-day tour will take you for the first 53 miles of the road. Full-day 13-hour bus tours covering the entire 92 miles of Denali Park Road begin June 8th.

[mapleleaves]

On any cruisetour, be sure that you have at least 2 nites in Denali. Some of the shorter cruisetours only have 1 nite, (arrive midday on day 1 and leave noon on day 2) which doesn't usually provide enough time to get INSIDE the park to see the wildlife and scenery. The road is open to Eielson Visitor Center on June 1, but Wonder Lake isn't accessible until June 10. (dates are on the park web site)

[AKStafford]

If I had the choice I'd always go for early summer because it's statistically drier. There's no guarantee with weather .

As you say, there's no guarantee, and this year we've had a wet June. So it's a gamble either way.

 

Lots of people do the cruise line land tours and enjoy them. But keep in mind you can easily duplicate them on your own. Typically DIY is cheaper and you get to pick what you want to do at your pace; not as part of a herd.

[mapleleaves]

As you say, there's no guarantee, and this year we've had a wet June. So it's a gamble either way.

 

Lots of people do the cruise line land tours and enjoy them. But keep in mind you can easily duplicate them on your own. Typically DIY is cheaper and you get to pick what you want to do at your pace; not as part of a herd.

 

yeah, we've had a crummy spring in Seattle, following an even crummier winter.

 

I second the DIY!! It's all I've done, either with a rental car or an RV. If you're not comfortable driving, you can also replicate the itinerary by making your own reservations on the train and/or bus along with the Princess Lodges.

[cmessinger]

I would definitely DIY if it were just the 2 of us, but we are traveling with at least 2 other couples. Car transportation could be a problem. I'll do some checking to compare costs. I'm sure this forum has lots of info!!

 

 

Thank you for your input!! :)

 

Cyndi

[Coral]

Historically, June is dryer than September.

[JoRoy218]

Perfect! We just returned from this very tour a week ago. Plenty to do, beautiful sites. Weather was unexpectedly warm all 7 days. I too would vote for June for the chance of better weather. Feel free to message me for specifics of tour. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

On a side note, if you choose this tour into Fairbanks, since there are not many flights into Fairbanks at a reasonable time, would be wise to make air reservations asap. We landed around 8pm but there were many who did not arrive until about 1-2am. Seriously affecting the next day.

Edited June 17, 2017 by JoRoy218

[cmessinger]

Thanks for the input! We have decided to book the June 6 tour and are super excited! Thanks to all who replied!! :)

[cmessinger]

JoRoy

 

Not sure how to message you but I'd love to hear about your trip and pick your brain ;p

 

Thanks again!

 

Cyndi

[JoRoy218]

JoRoy

 

Not sure how to message you but I'd love to hear about your trip and pick your brain ;p

 

Thanks again!

 

Cyndi

 

You're always welcome to email: Josie1054@gmail.com

[mapleleaves]

Perfect! We just returned from this very tour a week ago. Plenty to do, beautiful sites. Weather was unexpectedly warm all 7 days. I too would vote for June for the chance of better weather. Feel free to message me for specifics of tour. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

On a side note, if you choose this tour into Fairbanks, since there are not many flights into Fairbanks at a reasonable time, would be wise to make air reservations asap. We landed around 8pm but there were many who did not arrive until about 1-2am. Seriously affecting the next day.

 

Any chance you can write a brief trip report to share with the forum readers ?

Doesn't need to be a 20 pg photo journal with a picture of every meal, every Patter, every moment. Just a couple of paragraphs about the trip -- activities, highlights, disappointments, lodging.

[Sea Hag]

You can get a lot of rain any time you go. But I can tell you that the fall colors you'd see in late August are simply spectacular!

[PrincessE]

Hands down I vote for June over August. You can almost always bank on great weather in June!

 

Thank you for your responses!

 

Princess E, we would be on a land/tour on the Coral Princess. Thinking about June 6, 2018 (my first thought) or August 29, 2018. We are very flexible, so really anytime between June and September would be fine. Thoughts on timing and the other Princess ships ( Star, Golden, Island) ??

 

 

Mapleleaves, after reading your response, we are definitely leaning towards June.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Cyndi