Pre-Cruise Touring--HELP!

[tapia]

I would love to see humpbacks and have never seen them before, in fact. I'm not sure how much I'd see on the Kenai Fjords trip of the same?

 

I just don't want to bother booking/travel agents asking for comparisons since the 2007 rates aren't even out yet. (I was just comparing 2006 between the brochure prices myself.)

 

Thanks for suggestion Talkeetna Aero, I will definately look into that once I get toursaver. Would you recommend any lodging in that area, Denali park area (my day before trips), Seward, or Anchorage area? If possible, with toursaver. I'm traveling with another couple (actually my parents) and my husband. If I were to stay in a cabin, I'd need two separate rooms for sleeping......

 

Is there anything else I'm forgetting that I should book?

 

I'll also check out Ketchikan tonight--thank you!

[Budget Queen]

Kenai Fjords boat trips are not whale watches, my percentage of whale sightings has run only about 50% of my trips. With your interest- definately consider http://www.orcaenterprises.com out of Juneau.

 

There are a wide range of accomadations available, what are you looking for??? As a suggestion for a unique option, consider 2 of the 3 upstairs rooms at the Talkeetna Roadhouse- 3 share the bath but for one night the experience may be something worthwhile for you?? A great funky place with a must do for breakfast. :) A bargain in Healy is the Denali Park Hotel, and my preferrend B&B is Touch of Wilderness.

 

Consider Morning Calm B&B only 2 rooms and a shared bath. Extremely nice hosts, out of Seward. Anchorage- bottom priced is the Teddy Bear House B&B, 2 rooms share one bath, Chicadee House B&B also very nice. If you want free bikes for the Coastal Trail, Alaska Walkabout B&B is great again with wonderful hosts. Excellent for depot and airport shuttles, The Ramada's, Days Inn etc.

[tapia]

I would definitely consider orca enterprices out of Juneau. My problem is that even more I want to do the dog sledding & helo tour I've heard about there. So, right now I'm set on that. Do you think it would be better to delay that to Skagway and go w/orcaenterprises out of Juneau?

 

Do you think it would be possible to do both?

Capt. Larry's whale watching & Coastal Helicopters?

 

With the accomadations: Really, I'm just looking for something that won't kill my budget that will have 2 separate rooms for us with a queen/double in each. I was looking of taking (as you suggested) the 2 of the 3 upstairs rooms at the Roadhouse, but that still leaves the rest of the places open. For Touch of Wilderness: Are any of the rooms (ie: the one with the queen and double VRoom5) have the 2 beds separated by anything? Otherwise, the ones with 1 bed seem to be a little much at $170 a night. Do they give a discounted rate for 2 nights?

 

Mourning Calm--that sounds very nice! Do you know a website or have any more info? I can't seem to find it...

 

In Anchorage I think I may go for something more hotel and then try for B&Bs for the other places we are staying.

 

Thank you so much for the information!

[tapia]

Sorry for the double post, but I was also looking at <http://www.swissalaska.com/rates.html> while staying in Talkeetna. Do the Mt. Susitna, Russell & Brooks Range Cabins have 2 bedrooms?? I see the 2 Queen beds, but are they in different rooms??

Can Talkeetna Aero make glacier landings?

 

Also, I read somewhere a suggestion to get to Whitter around the 5pm tunnel opening. What is this?

[JohnQ]

You can talk to Talkeetna Aero but I believe that their sister company, Fly Denali, are the ones who fly with smaller planes and do glacier landings. At least that is the way I remember it. They use bigger planes for summit flts that require oxygen.

[Budget Queen]

With toursaver Talkeetna Air Taxi usually has a glacier landing coupon.

 

For Morning Calm http://www.seward.net/~morningcalm

 

In Anchorage- the Ramada's, Days Inn etc have reasonable rates.

 

To get to/from Whittier you have to go through a tunnel, only open 15 min/hour in each direction. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/creg/whittiertunnel/index.shtml

[tapia]

I just took a look at Mourning Calm. It does have 2 rooms, but one of them is 2 twin beds. I'm not sure I'd like that for 2 nights. Do you know any that are good priced with 2 rooms and a queen/double in each?

 

Would you recommend doing the glacier landing while in Talkeetna?

 

Wow, I didn't know the tunnel opening was every hour only 15 minutes--wow! Is it a certain time per hour to get into Whittier?

 

For Talkeetna, <http://www.swissalaska.com/rates.html> looks good, but I still can't tell if there are 2 rooms. Do you have any other hotel suggestions?

 

Where is Chicadee House B&B? I seem to see one in Anchorage, is that right?

 

Is it would be possible to do both Capt. Larry's whale watching & dog sledding with Coastal Helicopters while in Juneau? Otherwise, do you think it's worth it to delay the dog sledding for another island?

 

(copying from above) For Touch of Wilderness: Are any of the rooms (ie: the one with the queen and double VRoom5) have the 2 beds separated by anything? Otherwise, the ones with 1 bed seem to be a little much at $170 a night. Do they give a discounted rate for 2 nights?

 

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

[mmo]

check out Seward Waterfront Lodge....I'm not sure of all the bed combos but they were very nice people to deal with, GlacierLady who posts here recommended them to us.

[Budget Queen]

I just took a look at Mourning Calm. It does have 2 rooms, but one of them is 2 twin beds. I'm not sure I'd like that for 2 nights. Do you know any that are good priced with 2 rooms and a queen/double in each?

 

Would you recommend doing the glacier landing while in Talkeetna?

 

Wow, I didn't know the tunnel opening was every hour only 15 minutes--wow! Is it a certain time per hour to get into Whittier?

 

For Talkeetna, <http://www.swissalaska.com/rates.html> looks good, but I still can't tell if there are 2 rooms. Do you have any other hotel suggestions?

 

Where is Chicadee House B&B? I seem to see one in Anchorage, is that right?

 

Is it would be possible to do both Capt. Larry's whale watching & dog sledding with Coastal Helicopters while in Juneau? Otherwise, do you think it's worth it to delay the dog sledding for another island?

 

(copying from above) For Touch of Wilderness: Are any of the rooms (ie: the one with the queen and double VRoom5) have the 2 beds separated by anything? Otherwise, the ones with 1 bed seem to be a little much at $170 a night. Do they give a discounted rate for 2 nights?

 

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Morning Calm's room can be made into a king, but only one bed in each room (queen in one, king in the other). As already mentioned, The Talkeetna Roadhouse has a double and twin in each of two of the upstairs rooms. There is nothing separating the beds at Touch of Wilderness. I posted the web site for the tunnel schedule.

 

A glacier landing via ski plane is a great trip, but I do give an edge to my preference for the summit flights. Depends on your flying experience and preferences??

 

Yes you can easily cobook your whale watch and helicopter tour which I recommend since it saves you an hour in shuttle time.

 

Chicadee is in Anchorage.

[tapia]

"A glacier landing via ski plane is a great trip, but I do give an edge to my preference for the summit flights. Depends on your flying experience and preferences??"

 

What do you mean my flying experience? I'd say I really don't like it, but deal with it to get where I'm going & see beautiful things.......... Are the summit flights bumpy?

 

 

Thank you so much for all the information! I really like the sound of Morning Calm and it looks great. I'm also going to e-mail the Seward Waterfront Lodge because there's nothing about the rooms on the site, just pictures.

 

http://www.murphysmotel.com/form.htm - Murphys Motel also looks nice. Anyone have info on this?

 

Talkeetna:

I was looking at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, but it looks like the upstairs room have a double bed and a twin bed in each, not 3 rooms with 2 twins in one and a queen/double in each left.

Am I looking at the wrong site?

http://www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com/accomodations.htm

 

http://www.swissalaska.com/index.html The Swiss Alaska looks nice

http://www.talkeetna-alaska.net/Reservations.htm Chinook Wind also looks nice

http://www.talkeetnachalet.com/Accommodations.htm What about the Talkeetna Chalet?

http://www.eyeofdenali.com/rates Eye of Denali

http://www.goldpanbb.com/ Gold Pan B&B

http://www.alaskachaletbb.com/pages/accommodations.html Alaska Chalet B&B

 

Denali:

http://www.denalimanor.com/rates.htm Denali Manor

http://www.alaskanchateau.com/rooms.htm Alaskan Chateau

 

Has anyone heard of the above?

 

 

Who would you co-book the whale watch and helicopter tour with? Coastal or Orca Enterprises?

[Budget Queen]

The Talkeetna Roadhouse has 3 upstairs rooms. 2 have a double and twin in each. The 3rd room has one double bed. All share a spotless bath.

 

By flying experience, I was meaning if you have ever done flightseeing??? If you have you might want to try the ski plane or helicopter if you haven't?? Any flight can be "bumpy", sorry no guarantees.

 

 

Your cobooking will be with both Coastal and Orca Enterprises, either company can set it up for you.

[tapia]

Thanks for the info on the roadhouse, that sounds like it will work perfectly for me.

 

No, I've never done flightseeing. Why do you think a ski plane/helicopter would be better?

 

Thanks for all your help!

[mmo]

Tapia--you might want to contact the Talkeetna Roadhouse soon to make sure you get the rooms you need! We are staying elsewhere there but plan on going there for breakfast, I get hungry just reading their website!!! If no luck d/t their being booked, try Karey at TalkeetnaTravel.com as she was very helpful in setting us up at B&B's that were available mid-June when we are going.

[jimcat]

We have booked the Denali room at the Talkeetna Chalet B and B for our excursion. I read all the posts, checked them all out and decided on this one.

 

We are taking the flight seeing 7 pm flight with a tour saver coupon.. weather permitting. Let's hope it works out :)

[tapia]

Tapia--you might want to contact the Talkeetna Roadhouse soon to make sure you get the rooms you need! We are staying elsewhere there but plan on going there for breakfast, I get hungry just reading their website!!! If no luck d/t their being booked, try Karey at TalkeetnaTravel.com as she was very helpful in setting us up at B&B's that were available mid-June when we are going.

 

I'm definately going to contact the roadhouse the second I solidify my dates for the trip. I'm planning this all for 2007, so the second the rates come out and I have a talk about my vacation with my boss, I'm going to book. Then right after that I'll be booking my hotels. You don't think they'll already start for fill up for 2007, right?

 

Thanks for the info on the Talkeetna Chalet B and B. That does look good, but I'm sold on the roadhouse since it and the price both look good. Thanks!

 

Anyone have ideas for Denali (by the entrance)?

 

Also, is it worth the extra prices to go in July than other times? (warmth, peak Bear season at Anan & so on)

[tapia]

Sorry for the double-post, but I've been doing some other thinking.......

 

I was looking at car-rental prices. If I rented a car to go from Anchorage to Denali to Talkeetna and then back to Anchorage. Then took a train (I assume their is one) from Anchorage to Seward and then from Seward to Whittier later on, would this be cheaper than renting the 1-way car?

 

It seems quite expensive since we would have to get a mini-van, (largest offered by Harleys) (mostly because of my mom's luggage and even now we're thinking of doing 2 cars instead because of it (more expensive)). It ends up being about $778 with taxes and fees for the car for the week (even though we only need it for 6 days, but there's no difference in price).

 

More help?

 

 

I also just want to say that the people on this board are great and I truly thank you!

[Budget Queen]

Sorry for the double-post, but I've been doing some other thinking.......

 

I was looking at car-rental prices. If I rented a car to go from Anchorage to Denali to Talkeetna and then back to Anchorage. Then took a train (I assume their is one) from Anchorage to Seward and then from Seward to Whittier later on, would this be cheaper than renting the 1-way car?

 

It seems quite expensive since we would have to get a mini-van, (largest offered by Harleys) (mostly because of my mom's luggage and even now we're thinking of doing 2 cars instead because of it (more expensive)). It ends up being about $778 with taxes and fees for the car for the week (even though we only need it for 6 days, but there's no difference in price).

 

More help?

 

 

I also just want to say that the people on this board are great and I truly thank you!

 

 

You can not take the train from Seward to Whittier. And a one way Anchorage/Whittier makes the best use of time if you don't want to take the train. There is also shuttles to consider Seward to Whittier. OR just get a Seward ship.

[tapia]

You can not take the train from Seward to Whittier. And a one way Anchorage/Whittier makes the best use of time if you don't want to take the train. There is also shuttles to consider Seward to Whittier. OR just get a Seward ship.

 

I guess my issue is more of a luggage problem than anything else...

 

It may be hard/impossible to actually get all of it in one vehicle, even a mini-van....

[tapia]

Sorry again for the double post.

 

You sold me on the one-way car rental. It just isn't pragmatic to go with the rail system. Also, what do you think of the Denali River Cabins? I think toursaver has a coupon and it looks quite nice.

 

Do you think rates are starting to fill aready with hotels for 2007 yet??

 

I checked with work and I can't go September-time-frame. When is the best time to go otherwise? Warmth/Rain?

 

Also, where is the best place to go fishing? (NOT deep sea or fly fishing) Seward? Skagway?

 

Thank you!!!!

[Budget Queen]

You are way too early for 2007 bookings and frankly, time is better spent doing your research and fine tuning your plans. They are bound to change several more times. :) I like mid/late August myself.

[tapia]

You are way too early for 2007 bookings and frankly, time is better spent doing your research and fine tuning your plans. They are bound to change several more times. :) I like mid/late August myself.

 

Thank you! I really appreciate it! Don't you find mid/late August rainy/bad weather?

[Budget Queen]

Thank you! I really appreciate it! Don't you find mid/late August rainy/bad weather?

 

 

NOPE. :)

[tapia]

Budget Queen: In another thread you said the below:

 

Bus to Talkeetna is 3 1/2 hours. Talkeetna/ Alyeska 3 hours. Bus to Seward 2 hours. As only a suggestion- you may want to consider getting the Alaska RR in Girdwood, Alyeska should have shuttles, then you can spend the day in Seward which has far more to see and do, including a Kenai Fjords boat tour if of interest.

 

(sorry, but I was copy-pasting different comments and I can't remember which thread I origonally pulled this one from......)

 

Can you tell me what bus company does this? I've been looking and can't find any that don't go through Anchorage.

 

Also, why do you suggest taking the Alaska RR in Girgwood? Is it a lot less time than the 2 hours to Seward?

 

At this point, I'm back to considering renting a car out of Anchorage and driving to Denali and then from Denali to Talkeetna. Then I was going to try to pick up some kind of public transportation directly to Seward (and then Whittier from there).

 

I was checking into HAL itineraries and was deciding about going with them again. But, I really have my heart set on a Southbound Cruise including glacier bay. It's just my personal preference, but it's what I want. I see that HAL doesn't have the Southbound glacier bay in their itineraries, so I'm back to Princess. I know it's not a sure thing, but I want specific AFT cabins, so I'm locked into Princess now.

 

I really just don't want to be driving from Talkeetna to Seward. It would just be too much for us. So, do you think that's the best way to do it? I could either start with a car in Anchorage and end in Talkeetna or start with a car in Talkeetna and end in Whittier. Which has the best places to 'stop off?'

 

Thanks for the help!

 

[Yukon]

>>At this point, I'm back to considering renting a car out of Anchorage and driving to Denali and then from Denali to Talkeetna. Then I was going to try to pick up some kind of public transportation directly to Seward (and then Whittier from there).<<

 

You can't drop your rental car in Talkeetna, so Anchorage is your only option.

 

 

>>Can you tell me what bus company does this? I've been looking and can't find any that don't go through Anchorage.<<

 

The only road from Talkeetna to Seward goes through Anchorage.

[tapia]

>>At this point, I'm back to considering renting a car out of Anchorage and driving to Denali and then from Denali to Talkeetna. Then I was going to try to pick up some kind of public transportation directly to Seward (and then Whittier from there).<<

 

You can't drop your rental car in Talkeetna, so Anchorage is your only option.

 

 

>>Can you tell me what bus company does this? I've been looking and can't find any that don't go through Anchorage.<<

 

The only road from Talkeetna to Seward goes through Anchorage.

 

I actually spoke with someone who owns a B&B that would let me drop off in Talkeetna. Even Denali-->Talkeetna if I wanted

 

Just to double check: Talkeetna/ Alyeska actually goes through Anchorage?

 

So, I could get a round-trip Anchorage car rental and then take a bus/train/something from Anchorage to Seward? (I think the only thing that leaves after 7am are buses, right?)

 

My basic point is that I don't want to drive to Seward from Talkeetna, as it's pretty long. That bus schedule Budget Queen posted would work for me, but I don't know what line to be looking at.