After cruise land touring questions

[smokey11]

Hello I’m cruising June 2024 arriving into Seward Monday.  Planning on taking a Kenai Fjord boat tour then hopping on the train to Anchorage and staying the night in Anchorage.   First question….where to stay in Anchorage that doesn’t cost a fortune?  We will be renting a car so I’m willing to drive north toward Denali to stay the night. I really don’t want to drive too far out of town because we will be getting in around 10pm from Seward on the train.  
 

I was planning on heading up to Denali on Tuesday morning and take the bus into the National Park 1pm Tuesday.  We will be staying the night in the Denali area Tuesday night then back to Anchorage for flight out Wednesday evening.  Second question…. Is that a feasible plan?  Will I be trying to fit too much in less than two days?  Should I not try to go all the way to Denali with that short of a time frame?  Would my time better spent going elsewhere out of Anchorage for the short two days?  I have been to Alaska twice before and traveled into Denali park but my husband has never been.  Also, I am aware that the bus only travels approximately 43 miles into the park due to a landslide blocking the road.

I was also debating just going as far north as Talkeetna.  We could take a flight seeing tour of Denali from there and stay Tuesday night.  Then we could take our time driving back to Anchorage Wednesday.  I feel like I might be missing out if I’m in Alaska and don’t go to Denali National Park. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by smokey11

[Gardyloo]

Instead of the long (and IMO largely boring) drive up to Talkeetna, consider a Denali flight from Anchorage.  While the flights are a little more expensive, they're longer (more scenery) and a big advantage is that if Denali is socked in (which happens often) the Anchorage operators have alternative options - Chugach Mountains and Knik Glacier, Prince William Sound and Harding icefield, across Cook Inlet to volcano country... It's worth noting that Rust's, a large and well-respected floatplane operator on Lake Hood in Anchorage, is the parent company of K2 Aviation, the main operator out of Talkeetna.

 

If you went flightseeing out of Anchorage, you could spend your driving day heading south to Girdwood, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and a "26 glacier" cruise out of Whittier.  OR, you cold head north and visit Hatcher Pass, do a helicopter tour of Knik Glacier, visit the Native village of Eklutna, etc.  

 

Map south (east) - https://maps.app.goo.gl/9YQ1BAoSvCPoU8999

 

Map north - https://maps.app.goo.gl/rmkbihAKT2Rqkufj9

 

Rust's - Alaska Flightseeing Tours & Air Charters | Rust's Aviation (flyrusts.com)

 

Knik Glacier - 

 

[AKStafford]

3 hours ago, smokey11 said:

where to stay in Anchorage that doesn’t cost a fortune

Hotels in Anchorage in the summer are expensive... But getting off the train that late in the evening, you'll probably want to stay in Anchorage. The Copper Whale Inn used to have some more affordable rates, but I haven't compared in a while. Susitna Place B&B was another one that seemed more reasonable on rates.

Gardyloo gave you some great suggestions. Another one is the visit the Matanuska Glacier north of Palmer and stay the night in that area.

[GTJ]

5 hours ago, smokey11 said:

Hello I’m cruising June 2024 arriving into Seward Monday. Planning on taking a Kenai Fjord boat tour then hopping on the train to Anchorage and staying the night in Anchorage. First question….where to stay in Anchorage that doesn’t cost a fortune? We will be renting a car so I’m willing to drive north toward Denali to stay the night. I really don’t want to drive too far out of town because we will be getting in around 10pm from Seward on the train.

You can expect the train to arrive in Anchorage at about 10:15 p.m. Sunset in June will be no earlier than 11:21 p.m., but if you're planning to pick-up a rental vehicle at 10:30 p.m. (are any vehicle rental agencies open at that hour?), it seems unlikely that you would be able to get very far before losing daylight. I might be tempted to stay at Wingate by Wyndham Anchorage Downtown/Ship Creek (price range: $360) because it is a quick and easy walk from the train station at a late hour. The still-close Ramada by Wyndham Anchorage Downtown might be a better value (price range: $197). If you were able to get out of Anchorage on the night of arrival, then perhaps you might stay in Wasilla (price range: $135-203), which would also give you a head start on driving the next day.

 

6 hours ago, smokey11 said:

I was planning on heading up to Denali on Tuesday morning and take the bus into the National Park 1pm Tuesday.  We will be staying the night in the Denali area Tuesday night then back to Anchorage for flight out Wednesday evening.  Second question…. Is that a feasible plan? Will I be trying to fit too much in less than two days?

It is possible that you could drive to Denali in four hours, and for that reason your plan could be completed as intended. Are the hours of the rental vehicle agency such that you could retrieve a vehicle between your train arrival time and the time by which you would have to depart Anchorage for Denali? Do you know where the rental vehicle agency is located, and the logistics of getting there? There seems to be a number of small details that have to have to confirmed to fully ascertain if your plan is practicable. If all the pieces do fit together, that it might still be pushing things a bit, but you're the best judge as to how much you would like to pack into a day.

[smokey11]

1 hour ago, GTJ said:

• City)

• #4   

Posted 1 hour ago

   8 hours ago,  smokey11 said: 

Hello I’m cruising June 2024 arriving into Seward Monday. Planning on taking a Kenai Fjord boat tour then hopping on the train to Anchorage and staying the night in Anchorage. First question….where to stay in Anchorage that doesn’t cost a fortune? We will be renting a car so I’m willing to drive north toward Denali to stay the night. I really don’t want to drive too far out of town because we will be getting in around 10pm from Seward on the train.

You can expect the train to arrive in Anchorage at about 10:15 p.m. Sunset in June will be no earlier than 11:21 p.m., but if you're planning to pick-up a rental vehicle at 10:30 p.m. (are any vehicle rental agencies open at that hour?), it seems unlikely that you would be able to get very far before losing daylight. I might be tempted to stay at Wingate by Wyndham Anchorage Downtown/Ship Creek (price range: $360) because it is a quick and easy walk from the train station at a late hour. The still-close Ramada by Wyndham Anchorage Downtown might be a better value (price range: $197). If you were able to get out of Anchorage on the night of arrival, then perhaps you might stay in Wasilla (price range: $135-203), which would also give you a head start on driving the next day.

 

   8 hours ago,  smokey11 said: 

I was planning on heading up to Denali on Tuesday morning and take the bus into the National Park 1pm Tuesday.  We will be staying the night in the Denali area Tuesday night then back to Anchorage for flight out Wednesday evening.  Second question…. Is that a feasible plan? Will I be trying to fit too much in less than two days?

It is possible that you could drive to Denali in four hours, and for that reason your plan could be completed as intended. Are the hours of the rental vehicle agency such that you could retrieve a vehicle between your train arrival time and the time by which you would have to depart Anchorage for Denali? Do you know where the rental vehicle agency is located, and the logistics of getting there? There seems to be a number of small details that have to have to confirmed to fully ascertain if your plan is practicable. If all the pieces do fit together, that it might still be pushing things a bit, but you're the best judge as to how much you would like to pack into a day.

I planned on renting from Turo which I understand you just have to Uber to the location of the car and pick it up at anytime you have arranged prior.  

[wolfie11]

9 hours ago, smokey11 said:

Hello I’m cruising June 2024 arriving into Seward Monday.  Planning on taking a Kenai Fjord boat tour then hopping on the train to Anchorage and staying the night in Anchorage.   First question….where to stay in Anchorage that doesn’t cost a fortune?  We will be renting a car so I’m willing to drive north toward Denali to stay the night. I really don’t want to drive too far out of town because we will be getting in around 10pm from Seward on the train.  
 

I was planning on heading up to Denali on Tuesday morning and take the bus into the National Park 1pm Tuesday.  We will be staying the night in the Denali area Tuesday night then back to Anchorage for flight out Wednesday evening.  Second question…. Is that a feasible plan?  Will I be trying to fit too much in less than two days?  Should I not try to go all the way to Denali with that short of a time frame?  Would my time better spent going elsewhere out of Anchorage for the short two days?  I have been to Alaska twice before and traveled into Denali park but my husband has never been.  Also, I am aware that the bus only travels approximately 43 miles into the park due to a landslide blocking the road.

I was also debating just going as far north as Talkeetna.  We could take a flight seeing tour of Denali from there and stay Tuesday night.  Then we could take our time driving back to Anchorage Wednesday.  I feel like I might be missing out if I’m in Alaska and don’t go to Denali National Park. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

You cannot drive from Anchorage to Denali in four hours.  You might be able to do it if you drove somewhere north of Willow and stayed somewhere overnight.  There are no cheap hotels in Anchorage in the summer unless you get lucky and find a deal.  Don’t think that because a hotel is a Best Western or a Red Roof or other national chain it is a good hotel.  The ones in Midtown especially are dumps.  I think you are trying to do too much in two days.  Hang out and take an extra night in Seward, go kayaking or fishing, take the Spenser Glacier trip back on the train and relax a little.