Denali shuttle bus v. tour bus

[cruise junky joan]

I need an opinion on the shuttle vs. tour bus issue. I have spoken to some who say skip the extra cost of the tour bus and stick with the shuttle. What are the advantages and disadvantages of one over the other? Thanks for you help.

[GMoney]

Others can speak to this more expertly, as I have only done the shuttle bus, but 1) there just isn't that much physical difference between the buses (they are both glorified school buses) and 2) I don't think you can get on and off the tour buses like you can the shuttle buses. Most importantly, you can go further into the park on a shuttle bus v. a tour bus.

 

I think some of the tour buses may have monitors and they try to show the wildlife, but I can't image that works too well. Plus I would just go nuts with someone yammering away on the PA.

 

I was very happy on my cheap shuttle bus with my binoculars and my driver who basically gave us as much info as a tour. She was so good I tipped her $20.

[Budget Queen]

It depends what your priority is??? The shuttle buses get you farther into the Park. Farther yields more scenery and wildlife potential. The TWT bus goes to mile 53. The Wonder Lake shuttle bus, mile 85, Fish Creek shuttle (my min. distance) mile 63. At 1/3 the cost, they are the bargain of Alaska. Shuttle bus drivers are EXTREMELY knowledgable and I find no advantage to having a tour guide on a bus, when it's the passengers who mostly find the wildlife. :) Some tour buses are definately better, but I have never had any problem with a shuttle bus comfort. My opinion only, I do not come to Denali park for a look at wildlife on a screen, this would be a great option for people who don't want to extend any effort with binoculars themselves or have some trouble locating the wildlife. For me, binoculars of at least 10 power are a necessity.

 

Tour buses also are most always full, shuttle buses may have some empty seats. Although tour buses come with a box meal and drinks, you would still be best advised to bring your own, which you have to do on the shuttle buses.

 

Just my opinion and experience. For more information http://www.nps.gov/dena

[cjnky]

I was one of those who thought going to Fish Creek would be as long as we would want to ride a bus - but was I EVER WRONG on that! You won't believe how fast time flies on that ride! Luckily we had a TEK pass since we were staying at the campground, so when we got off at Fish Creek, we could catch the next shuttle by to go all the way to Wonder Lake. I DEFINITELY recommend SHUTTLE, and get it to Wonder Lake!

[Chenega]

The only advantage of the tour busses is that they go directly from the main hotels (i.e. Denali Princess and McKinley Chalet) vs. the Wilderness Access Center just inside the park entrance. However, they are also filled to the max with people on prearranged land tours vs. the more local mix you get in the park shuttle. They cover the same route (only one) but do stop and turn around long before Wonder Lake.

[agabbymama]

Be careful of what you are signing up for. We were on HAL, so had no choice as to when to take the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We left Fairbanks in the morning and arrived at Denali about 12:30. We were scheduled for the afternoon Tundra Wilderness Tour. Half of us left the lodge at 2:00, the other half at 3:00. We did go to Toklat (mile 53) then turned around and came back, making the ride on the bus a full 8 hours, we arrived back at the lodge at 11:00 pm. It was a very long day, from 5:00am to 11:00 pm. I was sure glad to see the bed that night. So tired, Denali is the only place I didn't get a photo of the interior of our room.

 

 

BQ has said that the shuttle to Wonder Lake is a 12 hour ride. So be prepared.

 

And seeing the wildlife on the monitors was very nice. I had my binoculars, but with other folks on the bus, it was sometimes difficult to get a good view of the wildlife. The bus driver would point the video camera, and the monitors (like those on an aircraft) would fold down out of the roof of the bus and you could watch the animals really well. I was also able to take a photo of the bear on the monitor.

 

And we did purchase some sandwiches in the McKinley Chalet Resort snack shop, as we knew we had lunch at 1:00, but if the TWT was going to be 8 hours, there would be no place to eat dinner. The box lunch they provide was more of a snack, than a meal.

[fti]

Another vote for the shuttle buses. Lower cost, same road, same wildlife, goes further. Plus, you can get on and off the shuttle buses at will to hike or just walk along the road or just spend more time at Wonder Lake then get onto another bus.

 

With all due respect to agabbymama, I am not into taking photos of a TV monitor. If I can't see the animal with my binoculars or my telephoto lens, I an't gonna take a photo of it :D .

 

And one reason why I would never take a cruisetour is exactly what agabbymama experienced - no control over your own schedule. They sometimes make you go from early till late and it wasn't expected. I prefer to plan my own day, make it how I want to make it and enjoy it (or if I planned too much or too little, it was my fault!).

 

John

[agabbymama]

With no disrepect to fti, we are riding along in the bus seeing bears, moose, caribou and wolf, there is no way this gal is going to get out of the shuttle to be walking in that same area or anywhere close to it. I didn't even walk around the McKinley Chalet Resort, other than to go on the path to the shuttle stop. I can hike in the mountains of Southern California and run into bear, I'm not willing to ruin my vacation to Alaska by taking off into unknown territory hiking where I know there are wild critters.

 

I don't see why you wouldn't want a photo of a bear on the monitor. I saw the bears, I even looked through my binoculars at them, but my camera wouldn't get a good shot of him. If I hadn't taken the photo of the monitor, I wouldn't have a had a photo of him at all, and I did see him. Would you rather have nothing to show that you saw the bear???

 

And I wasn't disappointed at all in the cruisetour on HAL. To cover the 1800 miles we covered, they have to have a time schedule and keep to it as best they can. I wasn't complaining about the cruisetour at all, just stating that after the better than 3 hour train ride and an 8 hour bus ride, it was long tiring day, I wouldn't have wanted to try and go on the Wonder Lake shuttle bus that was a 12 hour ride.

[cruise junky joan]

Does anyone know when you can start booking the shuttles buses?

[fti]

With no disrepect to fti, we are riding along in the bus seeing bears, moose, caribou and wolf, there is no way this gal is going to get out of the shuttle to be walking in that same area or anywhere close to it. I didn't even walk around the McKinley Chalet Resort, other than to go on the path to the shuttle stop. I can hike in the mountains of Southern California and run into bear, I'm not willing to ruin my vacation to Alaska by taking off into unknown territory hiking where I know there are wild critters.

 

No disrespect taken. But even if someone does not get off the bus, I still vote for the shuttle bus over the tour bus. Goes further and more chance to see more wildlife.

 

I don't see why you wouldn't want a photo of a bear on the monitor. I saw the bears, I even looked through my binoculars at them, but my camera wouldn't get a good shot of him. If I hadn't taken the photo of the monitor, I wouldn't have a had a photo of him at all, and I did see him. Would you rather have nothing to show that you saw the bear???

 

As an avid photographer (avid hobbyist but I have been told more than once that I should try to sell my photos), I can't see taking a photo of a TV screen. I would take more time and/or more money to get a better photo. In other words, I would stay there longer to have more chances of seeing a bear closer (there have been numerous reports of bears within 10 yards of the bus), or I would go elsewhere where I know there is a 100% chance of seeing bears up close. I did just that when I 1) spent three nights at Denali to give me more chances to see wildlife and 2) went to Katmai National Park in July. I would never have been able to blow up two photos of bears from a TV monitor into 11x16" enlargements and hang them in my office like I did from two photos at Katmai.

 

That is not to say, as I realize now, that others have no problem taking photos of wildlife on a TV monitor and in fact enjoy it. For me, it just wouldn't work.

 

John

[fti]

Does anyone know when you can start booking the shuttles buses?

 

Last year you could book online starting December 1 and you could book by phoning starting in February.

 

John

[agabbymama]

fti, Guess it's different strokes for different folks. I'm not an avid photographer, as a matter of fact a lot of my pics are blurred, too dark, too light, glare from the windows, etc. I have just a point and shoot camera. And I don't think I've ever blown them up bigger than a 5x7. So yes, I was tickled pick that the monitor shot even turned out. With the schedule we were on for the Alaska trip, with only 10 vacation days, I couldn't afford to spend 3+ days at Denali and still see the Yukon (Whitehorse, Carcross, Dawson City) and rural Alaska (Eagle, Chicken, Tok, Braeburn Lodge, Moosecreek Lodge, Rika's Roadhouse).

 

I know I've seen from some of your other posts, that you even camp at Wonder Lake. I have no idea of your age, but you are clearly more of an outdoor person than I am. I used to do the hiking/camping vacations, even took Camp Fire Girls to Yosemite for a week in a tent. Bears got into our cooler not two feet from the tent I was sleeping in. Now at 60, I prefer the comfort of a nice cabin/hotel/motel, with little chance of wildlife encounters. While I did want to see some wildlife while at Denali, it was not the major driver of my visit there. Mt. McKinley and Husky Homestead were also major points of interest for me. I was completely thrilled with the wildlife I saw, the quick view of Mt. McKinley and the three hour tour to Husky Homestead. It was a nice ending to our two weeks in the Yukon and Alaska.

 

And again, wish I had your camera. We got better views of Denali from the train from Fairbanks than what we saw from the TWT bus. But my little point and shoot camera only showed a white speck in the center of the viewfinder. The mountain was just too far away to get a good shot. The afternoon on the bus, there were rain clouds threatening, the mountain finally came out at just about dark, so once again I did take a photo, just because I know what I was looking at. I then put a beautiful postcard of Denali in my photo album next to my not so good photo, so others would know what they were looking at. For me, the photo doesn't have to be great, it's more of a memory of what I saw.

 

I knew I wouldn't get a good view of Denali, mountains don't like me. Mt. Etna, Mt. Vesuvius, the Matterhorn have all stayed hidden from me. You would laugh at my photo of the Matterhorn. It's nothing but clouds, you wouldn't even know the mountain was there, but I know it was, and again a beautiful postcard is right next to my photo so others know what I was taking the photo of.

[orhodes]

I assume the definition of a Denali "tour bus" excursion in this thread is the Tundra Wilderness Tour sold by the cruise lines. You can, but you don't have to, take a park shuttle to be able to go all the way to Wonder Lake. There are several "tour busses" that go a little further past the lake to the end of the road.

 

We had a great time with the "Kantishna Experience" the last week of August. The park service shuttles are much lower priced but don't offer the same experience. Our naturalist had sixteen years experience driving in the park and seemed to have great insight into what our needs were. We were able to stop when we wanted and saw all the popular animal species except wolves. We saw 8 grizzlies, three were quite close to the bus just off the road. The Mountain was only out for a partial view--still beautiful. We saw it last time we were here so it was not such a disappointment.

 

This is not the tour that goes to the lodge in Kantishna. We went to Fannie Quigley's homesite, accumpanied by a Park Ranger along with our Naturalist. It was all very interesting history--relaxed--a long day but relaxed and worth the money. The food was pretty nice. The usual wraps, cookies, many different snack items and drinks. Plenty for everyone.

 

Again, the park service shuttle is a great, cost effective way to go all the way to Wonder Lake but there are alternatives. Some will respond that there's not much to see after Wonder Lake but that's not true. ...different strokes.

 

Peace, and great travels:)

[fti]

I appreciate your insights agabbymama and I realize that everyone has different desires, priorities and objectives. And for the record, I am 51 years young :)

 

John

[fti]

Thanks for your post, orhodes. My only comments to your post are that true, the shuttle bus does not offer the same experience as your Kantishna Experience. But it is close. The shuttle buses also stop whenever the passengers wanted, basically have the same chance of seeing wildlife, same only road to Kantishna, the shuttle bus drivers generally have 10-20 years of experience and are very knowledge, wear a headset and give extensive commentary. No park ranger on the bus but I could not tell from your post if the ranger was on the bus the entire time or only with you in Kantishna.

 

Actually the Tundra Wilderness Tour is sold both by the cruise lines and directly by the park concessionaire.

 

Some shuttle buses also go to Kantishna. I have been there at least twice. Not as scenic as some other areas of the road but if you have the time, definitely worth a visit. I love being near the west side of Wonder Lake more than in Kantishna.

 

The big difference between any of the tours and the shuttle bus is food - no food whatsoever on the shuttle buses. And of course the price.

[orhodes]

ok. We picked the ranger up at Wonder Lake--she was with us the last couple of hours. I realize the different 'tours' can be purchased by anyone, not just cruise passengers but I would guess that's how most Denali visitors get there--being part of a cruisetour. That's how we got there the first time (until we knew better--went a week independent this time before boarding a southbound on the 8/27 Island Princess--no more cruisetours for us). :)

 

The most cost effective way to go a long distance into the park is the shuttles--no disagreement. My wife is disabled and I was hoping the Kantishna Experience bus would be a little more comfortable and experience less on and off traffic/people/moving around, etc... Probably not much difference from the information provided in this thread.

 

All I know is there were several shuttle customers who were glad to see us when it was pouring down rain. We picked up a few and they were glad to get in where it was dry. A good day for all.:)

 

Peace and great travels.