Itinerary help & good tour company to use?

[Travelalot2]

This our first trip to Alaska. I am coordinating a trip for 16 that includes sightseeing around Denali and then cruising on RCCL out of Seward. I have been doing alot of research but the more I think about it, I"m leaning towards working with a tour company to arrange our pre-cruise sightseeing. With all of the different kinds of transportation we will need for a group, various hotels and excurion arrangements, I think this would be much easier (for both me and the group). It seems like it would be better to have someone package something like this up that each couple can then pay one time for directly to them.

 

Does anyone have a tour company that they would recommend for pre-cruise sightseeing arrangements? From looking at the internet, Alaska Tour and Travel seems to look good (I haven't contacted them yet though).

 

A brief idea of what we are wanting to see/do is below:

 

Day 1 - Fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks (we could do either). Stay there that evening for local sightseeing and rest.

Day 2 - AM - Bus to Denali. PM - Afternoon tour (ie - rafting)

Day 3 - Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali. Rest of day on own to sightsee.

Day 4 - Train to Talkeetna. Spend day there.

Day 5 - Train to Seward - Spend rest of day there

Day 6 - AM Kenai Fjords cruise. Transportation to ship after.

 

I would like to cut a night out somewhere (ie - 1 night in Denali) since the group would rather do 4 nights before rather than 5, but, I'm not sure how to do it. Could we do the TWT in Denali the day we arrive and skip the afternoon "on own" rafting tour? Or, could we do the TWT and then take the train to Talkeetna?

 

Thank-you for any help on this you can give me.

[GMoney]

Just curious...

 

> Are you planning for 2008 or 2009?

 

> Are you targeting a specific month?

 

> What is the age range of your group?

[Travelalot2]

This is for 2009. We are all middle-aged (no kids will be coming).

[Chat Noir]

 

Day 1 - Fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks (we could do either). Stay there that evening for local sightseeing and rest.

Day 2 - AM - Bus to Denali. PM - Afternoon tour (ie - rafting)

Day 3 - Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali. Rest of day on own to sightsee.

Day 4 - Train to Talkeetna. Spend day there.

Day 5 - Train to Seward - Spend rest of day there

Day 6 - AM Kenai Fjords cruise. Transportation to ship after.

 

I would like to cut a night out somewhere (ie - 1 night in Denali) since the group would rather do 4 nights before rather than 5, but, I'm not sure how to do it.

 

My opinion only, you will not need a whole day in Talkeetna unless you have travelers who wish to flightsee over Denali. Even in that case, if the flights are coincided, you still won't need a whole day. Nice little town, but little is keyword here. I still think you will have a lot crammed into 4 nights even cutting time in Talkeetna. And of course, you have to stick with train schedules if that's your mode of transportation.

 

I have no opinion on Alaska Tour and Travel as we've always planned independent. However, if you (and no else) in your group feels like taking on the duty for total research and planning, I can understand your choice. Otherwise, you can find invaluable information here. I've planned for groups of 8 and 11, mainly using this board, Fodors and Frommers... and found it very enjoyable. It can be done! :)

[greatam]

I have no opinion on Alaska Tour and Travel as we've always planned independent.

 

 

For a group of 16, Alaska Tour and Travel MAY be your best bet. I am not impressed with their tour planning and they sure do jack up the price. We used them for a Kantishna trip 6 years ago-NOT the trip I asked for-got the standard package tour on their website, not the customized tour I asked them to book. Looked like my custom tour on paper, wasn't the same once we got there. Maybe they have gotten better???

 

MAKE SURE they do not stick you at Denali Cabins:

http://www.denali-cabins.com/

 

Long way from anything with no car. But Alaska Tour and Travel does have large vans-airport shuttle type, so at least your group could go together.

 

My suggestion: Find out the TOTAL package price booked independently.

 

Book 3 or 4 mini vans or even full sized van from Anchorage. Book your hotels in Denali, Anchorage, and Seward and the Denali park shuttle. Book the train to Seward. Book the Kenai Fjords cruise. Then make everyone bring you the money OR send you money through PayPal. They can use their credit cards on PayPal. You pay for every one.

[vbmom87]

Can't speak from experience but in my research here are a couple of links I found. I did consider Alaska Tour and Travel, but in the end I decided to plan it idependently. However, I was only planning for two. If you do choose to go with a tour company, make sure you check them out with the BBB. I thought planning a cruise for 5 and planning the land for two was overwhelming. I can understand why you would like someone else to plan the land trip. However, since you are planning for 2009, you do have plenty of time to work out a land plan for all of you, if you want to undertake it. Perhaps you could find another person in your group to be a co-planner. Once you decide on where you will be each night, one of you could take on reservations for car and lodgings and the other could do reservations for excursions. However, if it was me, I would probably at least look into a tour company and compare costs. I wish you luck with your plans.

 

http://alaska.org/

 

http://www.explorenorth.com/tours-motorcoach.html

 

BBB:

 

http://us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=113&id=a527d7a7-75f0-454d-a861-386e69c9b98d