Alaska Land Tour - Denali question

[MSPCUBS]

Someone posted on Trip Advisor that they plan on changing their HAL TWT tour in Denali to one of the national park's shuttle buses. They did not say how this was going to be done. I've posted a question on that site, but have not had a response.

 

Has anyone changed their TWT tour to one of the NP's shuttle busses?

[oaktreerb]

The TWT is part of your land/sea package. You will be transported from your place of lodging and will travel on a narrated bus into Denali as part of your Denali experience. You will not be reimbursed for this if you decide to do something else.

 

 

If you prefer to go further into the park you can opt to take a nps shuttle bus which is much cheaper and goes further into the park to Eielson visitor center or Wonder Lake. This bus will let you hop off, hike, and hop on another bus that has seats available, those busses will also (like the TWT) stop for animal viewings and have some narration. Look on nps.gov for schedules and prices. I think you will need to make reservations and take a shuttle from your lodging to the Wilderness Access center to catch your bus. If you have three nights at Denali you could do both touring options if the weather is great.

[alwaysfrantic]

The included HAL tour into Denali IS on a NPS bus. Those are the only vehicles allowed in the park.

[GE Mom]

There are two different tours offered as part of a Denali visit. One is the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which is the longer of the two tours. The other is the Natural History tour, a much shorter trip. Both are on remodeled school busses. See: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm

 

Generally, these are included in your land tour package, and it will be one or the other. If you want to do a different tour than is included, sometimes you have the option to change. Check with HAL.

 

There is also the non-narrated shuttle bus which is less expensive, but if you already have paid for a narrated tour, I don't think they will refund it.

Having done the Tundra Wilderness Tour, it was one of the highlights of our trip and I would hate to go all the way to Denali and miss this.