Denali Excursions

[kathyemma]

We are doing the sea/land package with HAL. We arrive in Denali at 530pm. There are a few excursions listed on HALs page. Does anyone have any recommendations? After a LONG ride I am not sure if we are going to want to have a drink and go to bed or if we are going to want to run 5 miles.

 

Also, the next morning we are free until 130. Anything we should see in the morning? At some point between 130 and 330 we will leave for the Tundra Wilderness Tour. HAL says we are going to go to mile 53. It is a 9 hour tour.

 

TIA

[Belle 1986]

Commenting because we are doing same itinerary on our cruise in July. Great question and I would like to know also!

 

 

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[Straitlover]

If you have transportation the morning of your TWT, you could go to the park to do the Visitor Center stuff, the sled dog demo, and I think there's a short hiking trail near the front of the park. I ahven't been yet, so I'm going off my research (I go in June).

 

Are you headed to Denali from Anchorage or Seward? Personally, if it's Seward, I'd be ready for dinner, a little bit of exploring around the hotel and bed after that long drive!

[Belle 1986]

We are Seward.

 

 

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[Crew News]

We are doing the sea/land package with HAL. We arrive in Denali at 530pm. There are a few excursions listed on HALs page. Does anyone have any recommendations? After a LONG ride I am not sure if we are going to want to have a drink and go to bed or if we are going to want to run 5 miles.

 

Also, the next morning we are free until 130. Anything we should see in the morning? At some point between 130 and 330 we will leave for the Tundra Wilderness Tour. HAL says we are going to go to mile 53. It is a 9 hour tour.

 

TIA

 

I was on the HAL 3-day Denali cruisetour last June. Part of my tour package was a dinner theater with a delicious family-style dinner and a historical Denali show (funny) that included audience participation. It should be open for those without a package.

 

On my free day, I took a plane ride to the big mountain that lasted about 3 hours which included pickup at the McKinley Resort and return. This might be possible for your morning. Denali was shrouded in clouds but the plane took us over them for great views.

 

FWIW the Tundra Wilderness Tour comes with a huge snack box of pretzels, cookies, chips, raisins, etc so you can skip buying the $20 box lunch.

 

Here is a link to my Denali Photo Review that includes menus, chalet photos, TWT photos, map, flight photos, etc:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/denali/

 

Enjoy your cruise planning and feel free to ask lots of questions on this forum as well as your roll call.

[kathyemma]

Yes, we will be arriving from Seward. I have yet to tell my family about the long day of travel. Would it be wrong of me to slip something in my husband's coffee???

[kathyemma]

Your photos are brilliant! I am so jealous about the bears. I see you were there in June- I thought bears showed up later in the year. Do you think we will see bears the first week of June??

 

I will have to call HAL and see if dinner is included with our package.

 

Thank you!

 

Kathy

 

 

I was on the HAL 3-day Denali cruisetour last June. Part of my tour package was a dinner theater with a delicious family-style dinner and a historical Denali show (funny) that included audience participation. It should be open for those without a package.

 

On my free day, I took a plane ride to the big mountain that lasted about 3 hours which included pickup at the McKinley Resort and return. This might be possible for your morning. Denali was shrouded in clouds but the plane took us over them for great views.

 

FWIW the Tundra Wilderness Tour comes with a huge snack box of pretzels, cookies, chips, raisins, etc so you can skip buying the $20 box lunch.

 

Here is a link to my Denali Photo Review that includes menus, chalet photos, TWT photos, map, flight photos, etc:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/denali/

 

Enjoy your cruise planning and feel free to ask lots of questions on this forum as well as your roll call.

[oaktreerb]

We are doing the sea/land package with HAL. We arrive in Denali at 530pm. There are a few excursions listed on HALs page. Does anyone have any recommendations? After a LONG ride I am not sure if we are going to want to have a drink and go to bed or if we are going to want to run 5 miles.

 

Also, the next morning we are free until 130. Anything we should see in the morning? At some point between 130 and 330 we will leave for the Tundra Wilderness Tour. HAL says we are going to go to mile 53. It is a 9 hour tour.

 

 

 

We scheduled the Husky Homestead excursion on the day we arrived at Denali on the train. Jeff King's Husky Homestead will pick you up at your hotel, take you to their homestead where Jeff and his staff will give a presentation about training dogs for the Iditarod, let you cuddle puppies and return you to your hotel. It's a great way to spend the evening after a day on the train! It's almost Iditarod time in Alaska and I believe Jeff will be competing again this year

[Crew News]

Your photos are brilliant! I am so jealous about the bears. I see you were there in June- I thought bears showed up later in the year. Do you think we will see bears the first week of June??

 

I will have to call HAL and see if dinner is included with our package.

 

Thank you!

 

Kathy

 

Bears living near streams with large salmon runs from the ocean show up when the fish appear. Denali bears are not so fortunate and are on the lookout for food all the time.

 

I was at Denali the first week of June. Since the TWT returns on the same road, it does not matter which side of the bus you are seated. It is imperative that you use a strong telephoto lens to get decent bear pictures as they will not be near the bus. The bus drivers rely on the passengers to shout, "Bear" so they know when to pull to the side of the road for photographs of the bears.

 

The bus drivers will point a movie camera at the animals and you can watch the extreme zoom images on the bus TV monitors while the other passengers are struggling to point their cameras out of the window opening.

[cenmn18]

Your photos are brilliant! I am so jealous about the bears. I see you were there in June- I thought bears showed up later in the year. Do you think we will see bears the first week of June??

 

I will have to call HAL and see if dinner is included with our package.

 

Thank you!

 

Kathy

We purchased a dining package for the land portion of our trip. It was comparable to purchasing meals and includes gratuities. Not having to search out a place to eat in each location of the land tour was attractive to us.

[Crew News]

We purchased a dining package for the land portion of our trip. It was comparable to purchasing meals and includes gratuities. Not having to search out a place to eat in each location of the land tour was attractive to us.

 

Good choice for your first visit to Denali. I did the same last year but now I know other options for my next visit in 2019.

 

The link in my previous post had the menus for the McKinley Resort.

[kathyemma]

We didn't buy a dining package. I did call HAL and the Music Dining show is part of our tour. I think we will start there and see how it is. If it is a bit too cheesy for us we will head over to the vegan pizza place. It is crazy how late the sun is up! I feel like after dinner we should do SOMETHING. But I think after dinner and a few drinks we will be ready to crash. We will get up early in the morning and do something.....not sure what. I am really torn about visiting the dog sled guy. I LOVE animals, probably more than people. I have a house full of rescues. We spend our weekends driving dogs from high kill shelters to no kill shelters, foster homes and forever homes. I am sure most of the time these dogs have a blast racing in Alaska but I am not a fan, so not sure I want to visit....however, I would LOVE to get some puppy kisses!

 

I really want to see bears. I have to keep telling myself to not pack a cooler of salmon to toss out of the windows to attract bears. I keep remembering the signs from yogi bear....do not feed the bears. AHHHH it is going to be so hard!!!!! I saw an amazing tour that looked promising for bear sightings - but the timing didn't work. It recommended bringing bear repellent spray, knowing me I would bath in salmon first. My family is convinced I am going to die trying to cuddle with a bear.

 

I think we might look into a helicopter tour for the morning. We are free until 130. Can anyone recommend a good tour??

 

TIA

 

Kathy

[Crew News]

 

I think we might look into a helicopter tour for the morning. We are free until 130. Can anyone recommend a good tour??

 

TIA

 

Kathy

 

Fly Denali will give you a flight around the summit and a glacier landing. Since the mountain is usually shrouded with clouds, the plane will get you a good visual. They will pick you up at the McKinley Resort.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Crew News

[Budget Queen]

Yes, we will be arriving from Seward. I have yet to tell my family about the long day of travel. Would it be wrong of me to slip something in my husband's coffee???

 

It's about a 9 hour transit with the stops. He knows this, doesn't he? :)

[kathyemma]

It's about a 9 hour transit with the stops. He knows this, doesn't he? :)

Nope! I didn't know either until after I booked.

[Belle 1986]

It's about a 9 hour transit with the stops. He knows this, doesn't he? :)

 

 

 

Do the stops include lunch?

 

 

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[Crew News]

Do the stops include lunch?

 

 

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If you are riding the bus to Denali from Seward, there will be a lunch buffet stop in Wasilla. Good food and great chocolate cookies. My bus arrived too early for the buffet so we got an unscheduled stop at the Iditarod HQ nearby. Lots of puppies and sled rides for a small fee.

 

There will be bathroom stops every 90 minutes as well as a quick stop near Denali where a HAL rep will board the bus and deliver your room keys and meal vouchers if you are on the meal plan.