Doing land tour on our own

[JAN1]

We are flying into Anchorage on May 29th and renting a car. We will stay overnight and then planning to drive to Denali National Park. Should we spend 3 nights there or 2 nights? We have to be back for our cruise on Star Princess on June 2nd. Should we spend 2 nights in Anchorage and 2 in Denali? Also is it too much rushing to drive back from Denali on June 2nd, return the car, and get to the ship all on the same day. We found a place called White Moose Lodge in Healy which is close to Denali and reasonable.

 

Janice

Teach4Jan@aol.com

[SuperCrewBear]

The only advice I can give: It will take longer to get where you're going (Denali and back to Anchorage) than you might expect. The highways are mostly two-lane and unless you can ignore everything you're seeing along the way (or just enjoy it while driving by) you'll be wanting to stop for pictures or to enjoy the view more than you think. Traffic can also be an unexpected issue. We saw a couple of wrecks (not too serious) that had everything backed up some. I would probably estimate about twice the amount of time for traveling.

[cruiseguy1016]

Spend two nights in Healy. Depending on when you leave Anchorage, you will have a few hours in the afternoon on the 30th and all day on the 31st to do things in Denali/Healy. I would not plan on driving from Denali to the ship in one day. Your ship does not leave from Anchorage, it actually departs from Whittier which is 1-1/2 to 2 hrs. south of Anchorage. The drive from Denali to Anchorage is a 5-1/2 hr. drive if traffic is good and you don't make any stops. That's a minimum of 7 hrs. driving on the day you depart. What if something goes wrong? Where are you dropping the car off, Anchorage or Whittier? Maybe spend a relaxing night in the Girdwood/Alyeska area before heading to the ship.

[Straitlover]

What are you planning on doing at Denali? Keep in mind the shuttle only goes as far as Tolkat through May 31st. It goes as far as Eilson Visitor Center starting June 1st. If you want to do the narrated tours, you only get the really short Natural History Tour before June 1st.

 

I haven't gone yet, but from what I've read, no way would I try to do Denali to the ship on the same day unless it was booked through the cruiseline. First, it's a long day. Second, if you run into traffic/wreck/etc, you could possibly miss the ship. I would come back on the 1st if your cruise leaves on the 2nd.

 

If you cna't head towards Denali until 5/30 and have to come back on 6/1, I personally would skip it. Tehre's plenty to do outside of Anchorage. Drive to Seward and do stuff around there, spend the night, then head back and do stuff on the way, spend the night in maybe Girdwood, then head back towards Anchorage. Spend the night there,return the car and then head to the ship. If you want to see Denali, you can do flightseeing out of Anchorage or Talkeetna.

[AKStafford]

Also is it too much rushing to drive back from Denali on June 2nd, return the car, and get to the ship all on the same day. We found a place called White Moose Lodge in Healy which is close to Denali and reasonable.

White Moose Lodge: We've stayed there twice. It's affordable and clean, but it's a very, very basic accommodation. Rustic is a polite way of describing... But it was clean and comfortable and I would stay there again. Here's a list of lodging options in the area: http://www.denalichamber.com/denali-member-directory/

June 2nd: I would not do the drive from Denali to Whittier in one day. There's too many things that could go wrong that would cause you to miss your ship.

[wolfie11]

As an Alaskan, I wouldn't hesitate to drive Denali - Anchorage in one day. The ship doesn't leave until 8pm. I would leave Denali early (8am), plan on 6-7 hours to Anchorage airport where you drop off the car and book on the Princess shuttle to Whittier. It's a little over an hour from the airport to the Tunnel by bus. Most arriving pax don't get in until the afternoon anyway. If you're really worried about it you can drive from Denali to Wasilla (about 4 hours) after the tour. Remember, it doesn't get dark so night driving isn't a problem.

 

Denali is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I would not go to Alaska without a trip to Denali and without getting as far into the park as I could.