Alaska Excursions

[D Ritter]

On 4/22/2023 at 7:53 AM, SueMo said:

We did our own land tour by car in 2023.  We did the Major Marine tour, the Riverboat cruise in Fairbanks, and the green shuttle bus in Denali (much cheaper than the Tundra Wilderness tour, and had a great driver!)  Below are some of the other activities we really enjoyed.

 

On the way to/from Seward:

1.  Hike to Exit Glacier.  Turn on to Herman Leirer Road, commonly called Exit Glacier Road, at mile 3 of the Seward highway (AK9).  Drive 8.4 miles where the road will end at the parking lot for the nature center.  There is limited parking, so get there before 10:30 am. Turn left at the nature center and follow Glacier View Loop Trail (1 mile) through the cottonwood forest to the Glacier View.  Continue on and turn left at the trail side kiosk for .6 miles to the Exit Glacier Overlook.  The trail to the overlook is moderately strenuous.

2.  Do the Seavey's Ididaride dog sled tour.  https://ididaride.com/tours/

3.  Stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  https://alaskawildlife.org/visit/

In Anchorage:

1.  Take a Flora and Fauna walk.  https://www.gohikealaska.com/summerhiking

2.  Take a Coastal Cruise Bike tour.  https://alaskatrailguides.com/tour/coastal-cruise-bike-tour/

In Talkeetna:

1.  Do the Denali Flyer with glacier landing.  Expensive, but by far the best thing we did on our trip!  https://www.flyk2.com/tours/denali-flyer/

 

You may be able to save money by downloading the Alaska Tour Saver app.  The app is free, but you then need to peruse the discounts and purchase the coupon package that might save you $.  

 

[D Ritter]

Does my plan make sense? Drive from Whittier cruise port to Seward and spend the night then do the Major Marine Tour in Seward then start driving to Denali National Park. Could I stop in Anchorage for lunch and trolley tour then drive to Talkeeta and spend the night or go ahead and drive all the way to Denai and spend the night there? In Denali, I will take the green bus shuttle and do some hikes before heading to Fairbanks.

[SueMo]

2 hours ago, D Ritter said:

Does my plan make sense? Drive from Whittier cruise port to Seward and spend the night then do the Major Marine Tour in Seward then start driving to Denali National Park. Could I stop in Anchorage for lunch and trolley tour then drive to Talkeeta and spend the night or go ahead and drive all the way to Denai and spend the night there? In Denali, I will take the green bus shuttle and do some hikes before heading to Fairbanks.

Assuming you get off your cruise ship early, I would pick up the car rental and drive the short 12 miles to the Alaska Wildlife Center and spend an hour or so there.  Then I would drive two hours to hike to Exit Glacier. If you have the time you can visit the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward (I think it closes about 5 pm in September).

 

Spend the night in Seward and go on the morning Major Marine cruise.  The Major Marine cruise is 4-6 hours long, depending on which one you choose, so considering it is a 2.5 hour drive to Anchorage, you won’t get there in time for lunch.  The last trolley tour in Anchorage is about 4 pm so you might be able to get the last tour and have dinner in Anchorage (I loved the Glacier Brewhouse—reservations needed).  This is really pushing for time.  If it were me, I’d spend a night in Anchorage and after breakfast at Snow City Cafe take the trolley tour the next morning before driving 2 hours to Talkeetna.

 

I definitely recommend the pricey Denali Flyer tour with glacier landing through K2 Aviation.  We also did the ziplines in Talkeetna, but they really weren’t that great.  It is a 2 hour drive from Talkeetna to Denali National Park.  I would recommend spending the night near Denali so you can get an early start for your green transit tour.  Spend a 2nd night near Denali as it is only about a 2.5 hour drive to Fairbanks and you have plenty of time to make it on the Riverboat trip.

 

Here are a couple bed and breakfasts that we stayed at that we recommend:

https://bearlakelodgings.com/ is 11 miles outside of Seward, but has a great breakfast and very nice setting near Bear Lake.  There is a salmon viewing station on the road leading there.

https://www.talkeetnadenaliviewlodge.com/talkeetna-lodging.html has a great view

https://www.denalilakeviewinn.com/ Loved this place!

I remember one of the places above was cheaper booking through Expedia and the others through their websites, so be sure to comparison shop.

[fishiecrackers]

How many days are you planning on for each city? 

[D Ritter]

2 hours ago, SueMo said:

Assuming you get off your cruise ship early, I would pick up the car rental and drive the short 12 miles to the Alaska Wildlife Center and spend an hour or so there.  Then I would drive two hours to hike to Exit Glacier. If you have the time you can visit the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward (I think it closes about 5 pm in September).

 

Spend the night in Seward and go on the morning Major Marine cruise.  The Major Marine cruise is 4-6 hours long, depending on which one you choose, so considering it is a 2.5 hour drive to Anchorage, you won’t get there in time for lunch.  The last trolley tour in Anchorage is about 4 pm so you might be able to get the last tour and have dinner in Anchorage (I loved the Glacier Brewhouse—reservations needed).  This is really pushing for time.  If it were me, I’d spend a night in Anchorage and after breakfast at Snow City Cafe take the trolley tour the next morning before driving 2 hours to Talkeetna.

 

I definitely recommend the pricey Denali Flyer tour with glacier landing through K2 Aviation.  We also did the ziplines in Talkeetna, but they really weren’t that great.  It is a 2 hour drive from Talkeetna to Denali National Park.  I would recommend spending the night near Denali so you can get an early start for your green transit tour.  Spend a 2nd night near Denali as it is only about a 2.5 hour drive to Fairbanks and you have plenty of time to make it on the Riverboat trip.

 

Here are a couple bed and breakfasts that we stayed at that we recommend:

https://bearlakelodgings.com/ is 11 miles outside of Seward, but has a great breakfast and very nice setting near Bear Lake.  There is a salmon viewing station on the road leading there.

https://www.talkeetnadenaliviewlodge.com/talkeetna-lodging.html has a great view

https://www.denalilakeviewinn.com/ Loved this place!

I remember one of the places above was cheaper booking through Expedia and the others through their websites, so be sure to comparison shop.

 

[D Ritter]

That is exactly what I needed to know and will follow this plan. It makes a lot more sense. Thank you!

[D Ritter]

3 hours ago, fishiecrackers said:

How many days are you planning on for each city? 

Date	Location
8/30/24	Fly to Vancouver
8/31/24	Explore Vancouver, Board cruise ship
9/1/24	Ketchikan
9/2/24	Juneau
9/3/24	Skagway
9/4/24	Glacier Bay
9/5/24	College Fjord
9/6/24	Whittier - Drive to Alaska Wildlife Center (12 miles),  2 hours then hike Exit Glacier then to Seward
9/7/24	Take Major Marine Tour (8 hr) then drive to Anchorage (2.5 hr.)
9/8/24	Explore Anchorage, Drive to Denali stopping by Talkeeta (4 hr)
9/9/24	Explore Denali
9/10/24	Drive to Fairbanks (2 hr)
9/11/24	Explore Fairbanks
9/12/24	Fly home from Fairbanks

[fishiecrackers]

Try to hit Talkeetna for lunch - they have surprisingly great food. We like the pizza place best. Walk all the way down to the river and if it's clear you can see Denali (the mountain). Make sure to stop in the general store, as it's very random and charming. 

 

For Denali, try the Horseshoe Lake Loop right at the entrance - it's very pretty. We also hiked Savage River and did a whitewater rafting trip. Also, be aware you may be without cell coverage for much of the way to Denali, so download some podcasts or something, or you can get very bored.

 

And know that between car accidents, RVs, and construction, none of the driving time Google shows you will be anywhere close to accurate. Plan on 20-30% longer than stated. When we drove to Denali, they were doing some construction, so routing traffic one way at a time with a pilot car, and I think we sat there for at least 45 minutes to an hour before we got through, and multi-hour delays are not unheard of, so don't leave any of your driving or bathroom stops for the last minute, and always have food and water in your car with you. Two-lane highways, tired/distracted tourists, a short construction season, and 800-lb. animals make for some pretty nasty road incidents from time to time. This goes for the other direction from Anchorage out to Seward as well.

 

Have a great trip!