Pre-cruise touring on your own ??

[CRB#33]

We're going to cruise in 2006 and I've narrowed down my options to a 7 night cruise at the end of our trip.

 

We would like to fly into Anchorage before the cruise. There will be five of us (2 adults, 3 teens) probably with close to two pieces of luggage a person.

 

Here are my questions:

 

We have eliminated a cruisetour into Denali because of the cost, but what is the probability that we could do this on our own? We would just love to see Mt. McKinley.

 

How many days before the cruise should we come in?

 

Where should we stay? In anchorage or Denali or both? Any good recommendations for two bedroom suites that aren't too expensive? Two rooms would be okay too.

 

Should we rent a car (or small tank in our case :D ) or is there a tour we could hook up with by rail or bus?

 

How do most people get from Anchorage to Whittier? Is there a car rental agency at the port that we should use?

 

Thanks so much! I'm just looking for general ideas!

 

Think two years out is too far to plan?:D A bit compulsive wouldn't you say?:o

[aussie jb]

I don't call it compulsive :) cos this is exactly what we have done - planned 2 years in advance - and now it's down to just 4 weeks to go and it's coming too fast!!

We fly into Vancouver (from Australia) and have a couple of days before heading up to Anchorage. We have planned to pick up the hire car at the airport - we have a BIG map and a copy of the Alaskan Bible - The Milepost (I'd recommend you get one - it is brilliant) we have no set plans and prefer to call it "flying by the seat of our pants" But we have 12 days in Alaska before heading back down to Vancouver to pick up our cruise. I'm expecting that we will cover quite a few miles. as far as accommodation is concerned, we'll just drive till we stop and hope that there is somewhere to stay.

As I say this....I'm wondering exactly why it took us 2 years to plan??? After the cruise, we're doing the same thing in Canada.

Happy planning and make sure you get The Milepost or maybe visit the website http://www.milepost.com for starters

 

Debbie

[42trvl]

CRB - we have the similar trip coming up at the end of this week, so can report back in a few weeks. Basically, we are flying into Anchorage, renting a car (large SUV actually - there are 5 of us, including 2 kids) then touring around on our own until our cruise from Seward to Vancouver (we will have 6 days pre-cruse, not counting travel day). We decided against actually going all the way up and into Denali on this trip. Instead, we will spend a couple of days in Talkeetna, which is on the southern end of Denali, although offers no access into park. However, if weather cooperates you can get excellent (possibly better than from inside Denali) views of Mt. McKinley from there. Then we will spend a few days in Anchorage and do some day trips/boat rides, etc. to places like Whittier and Girdwood, then ultimately take the train down to Seward where we will have a couple of days before our cruise leaves, after which we will spend a long weekend in Vancouver. There is a train from Anchorage to Whittier also if you sail from there, or you can consider a one-way car rental.

 

One thing I've concluded is that there is a lot to see even within a small area, so we decided that we don't want to overdo the driving and instead be able to really explore and enjoy wherever we are. Hopefully, we will go back some day and cover more ground...

[JohnQ]

We're going to cruise in 2006 and I've narrowed down my options to a 7 night cruise at the end of our trip.

 

We would like to fly into Anchorage before the cruise. There will be five of us (2 adults, 3 teens) probably with close to two pieces of luggage a person.

 

Here are my questions:

 

We have eliminated a cruisetour into Denali because of the cost, but what is the probability that we could do this on our own? We would just love to see Mt. McKinley.

 

How many days before the cruise should we come in?

 

Where should we stay? In anchorage or Denali or both? Any good recommendations for two bedroom suites that aren't too expensive? Two rooms would be okay too.

 

Should we rent a car (or small tank in our case :D ) or is there a tour we could hook up with by rail or bus?

 

How do most people get from Anchorage to Whittier? Is there a car rental agency at the port that we should use?

 

Thanks so much! I'm just looking for general ideas!

 

Think two years out is too far to plan?:D A bit compulsive wouldn't you say?:o

 

We did a similar trip in 2002 and are getting ready to do it again in 4wks. The easiest and maybe less costly would be to fly into Anc, pick up roundtrip rental car, overnight in Anc. Denali is 287 miles and at least 5 hrs of good 2 lane highway. Sightsee along the way, stop in Talkeetna for lunch and spend a little time. You need to spend at least two nights in denali, in order to take the shuttle bus tour into the park to at least Eielson visitor center (63miles,8hrs),or to Wonder Lake (11hrs, 80+miles) round trip This will give you best chance to see wildlife, and be close to denali mtn if clear. This was the highlight of our whole two weeks and deserves to be done right. There are also dog sledding demos, rafting and other things to do on your other partial day. Depending on how much time you have, you should also drive to Seward for Kenai Fjords 6hr or longer whalewatching tours. This can be done with your rental car and then return 3.5 hrs to anc the next day. If you decide to take the train or bus to Whittier, their is a prince william sound tour to take there if time permits. 5-6 extra days would be about the minimum to see denali and a little something else.

[Budget Queen]

Allow at least 5 additional days- not counting your arrival day. Consider a RV with your group- probabaly the most economical and easy access to food, drinks and bathrooms. Very easy to drive Alaska roads. AND Denali Park is a must do for most people and always a trip for me. It is about 240 miles from Anchorage- but as mentioned allow 6 hours for no rush and frequent stops. THE MILEPOST is a necessary reference- head to your library and purchase a 2006 copy when your trip goes. My opinion only- but HAVE RESERVATIONS. I would never go to Alaska without them unless you are willing to sleep in your car. There is very little availablity in season for walk up space. Consider using http://www.toursaver.com Request each area's visitor guide- plenty of useful information. For transferring to your ship consider the train- may be children's rates? Or rent a car with Avis- high drop off fee but you may be ahead with your group.

[CRB#33]

Wow! Thanks so much everyone for your ideas! I can't believe how much I've learned here in just a short time.

 

Budget Queen, thanks for your reply on the Princess board also. Is there an RV rental place in Anchorage?

 

Thanks again all! Love to hear other experiences too!

[JohnQ]

Do a google search for anchorage rv rentals and you will be find plenty. Go to anc visitor site where most are also listed.

[hooked-on-travel]

http://www.bearfootguides.com/

I also found the bear foot guides essential for roadtrips. All info is on website for planning and then when you get there you can pick up copies at about any tourist place. You can have them mailed to you for a little $$. But they're free in Alaska. There are three. One for the Kenai area. One for Anchorage to Denali (Parks Hwy). One for Fairbanks to Valdez (Richardson Hwy). I think the Glenn Hwy is on both Parks and Richardson. Spur highways and areas are included with the highway they're accessed from.

[CRB#33]

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

(The five of us include me, my husband, my two children and one stepchild if anyone is interested) Two cabins, two rooms, blended family, seperate incomes, etc.

 

K? :D

[Budget Queen]

I highly recommend Great Alaskan Holiday. New RV's in top condition, good housekeeping package and no clean up or dumping the last day. But do get their extra insurance. http://www.greatalaskanholidays.com/

[Tricia724]

CRB...space and availability may also depend on when you plan to travel, too. We flew into Anchorage on June 1 this year, toured around on our own, and sailed on June 11 on the Summit out of Seward. We had planned our itinerary and made all of our lodging reservatons in advance, as well as many of our excursions.

 

We stayed mostly in log cabins, lodges, and B&Bs, using our Toursaver coupons on a couple of occasions. Most of the places we stayed had some availability early in June....but were booked solid after that. So, I think you might be taking a chance on finding rooms unless you are going in May or September. You don't want to waste your time driving around hunting for a place to sleep when it's so easy to make a few phone calls in advance. If you don't do an RV, please consider making some reservations.

[lmcd]

We stayed in 2 bedroom suites last Aug. After arriving in Anchorage we picked up a rental car, ate dinner at Marx Bros and then drove about 45 minutes to Wasilla, Ak. We stayed at the Agate Inn. There is a Wal-mart close by the main road in Wasilla. We then drove to Denali next day. Very leisurely drive. Spent 2 nights at Denali Suites in Healey about 20 minutes from Denali entrance.

 

The Walmart was handy for doing the shopping for snacks, drinks, film if needed, bug spray, small cooler for Denali Shuttle. We disposed of the cooler before we boarded the ship since we did not need it any more. This is the last major shopping opportunity before Fairbanks.

 

Both of the 2 bedroom suites were very reasonably priced. Had full kitchen if you want to cook or eat meals in rather than goin to restaruants.

 

Larry

[gazingm42]

We just got back from touring on our own. We took the north bound on the Spirit and

landed in Anchorage on July 7. We decided to stay in Talkeentna which is about 1/2 way

between Anchorage and Denali. We used it has our base camp. There alot to do out of

Talkeetna. No food stores, but is restraunts and a cute town. We took a flight tour out

of the local airport on Fly Denali and it was unforgetable. We did it on a clear day and

glad we did. We also took the safari jetboats up the Talkeetna river on Class 3 and 4. Which was so much fun. We drove up to Denali 2 different days and also did the palmer-hatcher pass. Then we took the monster truck into Denali via a south entrance

which has government permits to do so. It was the only way to cross the braded

river. Since they were having a "heat" wave, the glaciers were melting faster thus

higher river waters.

 

We were there for 6 more days and wish we had more time. There so much to see

and do in the area. Our biggest complaint is there simply not enough time to sleep.

Plus the daylight issue did not help us get to bed on a "normal" time. If you like to

take photos, there is so much to take. We took 3500 pictures on the digital camera.

So glad we did not have to develope all those pics..... :)

 

One thing I can say is do not make reserveration for flights to mt. McKinley as the

clouds can be in its way on the flight. We were able to see the West side from the

plane. But they went around Mt Hunter and then landed on the ruth Glacier. But we

were not able to see the top on the East side. But got great photos from the plane

and even from the Glacier even with the clouds. However several day before this

was not the case. Sometimes they are not able to land on the Glaicer at all due to

weather.

 

Have fun.

[mscloyd]

You might want to inquire about the best time of the year to go, i.e. weather, bear viewing, whalewatching, etc. before deciding on a date. Also check out the toursaver coupon book. You could save a bundle by buying 2 books.

[CRB#33]

CRB...space and availability may also depend on when you plan to travel, too. You don't want to waste your time driving around hunting for a place to sleep when it's so easy to make a few phone calls in advance. If you don't do an RV, please consider making some reservations.

Certainly! I had always planned on making reservations well ahead of time, but thanks for the tip. :)

[CRB#33]

These are all wonderful ideas! A big help for me! Thanks to you all!

[kelmac]

If you have the time, consider taking a northbound cruise--spend a week touring on your own--then take a southbound cruise. My wife and I found this to be as cost effective. Because we only needed roundtrip air to Vancouver, and no Fairbanks/Anchorage open jaw link, the cost of the extra cruise was a wash. Rent a car in Seward (roundtrip), buy a toursaver book, and have a great time! Our 22 day vacation cost about the same as a 12 day cruisetour. Just a thought.