Reasonable Independent Land Tour?

[B&J1]

I'm soliciting opinions & advice on my idea for our brief 5 day land tour.....(FYI this is our first visit to AK, we r in our mid 40's & pretty active / physically fit), so....this is my plan.

Tues. We arrive in ANC at 5:30 pm , p/u rental & drive that evening to Talkeetna & over nite there.

Wed. Spend a little time in Talkeetna & then head up to Denali, check-in at hotel (actually r planning on getting a private cabin at Denali Mountain Morning Hostel), get our bearings at the park, get shuttle tickets for the next day etc. (read another thread about white water rafting at 8pm...can't get used to the idea it'll be light still... so may look in to that). Thurs. spend the day in Denali & probably do an independent hike (DW really wants to see a moose up close) any suggestions for the hike? Over nite again at the hostel.

Fri. Head back to ANC on friday. One option I'm considering on the return trip to ANC is to take the "Denali Highway" from Cantwell to Paxton and loop back to ANC that way (anyone ever done this?) or take the shorter & less adventurous route back to ANC and possibly stop in Palmer to see the Musk Ox. Over nite in ANC

Sat./Sun Take train to Seward in the am & do 6 hr. Kenia Fjords tour on Sat. or Sun. depending on weather & on the other day do Sea Life Center & Exit Glacier. Sail off at 8pm Sunday June 21 on the Veendam :)

That's it....what do ya think?

[GMoney]

Your plan is intensive but very doable IMO. Your first day may be aggressive in getting to Talkeetna; It'll be a long day but I guess not too bad from Vegas.

 

I would be sure to order your Denali shuttle tix online ahead of time.

 

As far as your Denali hike, there's no one hike that will help you see moose. I've seen them right at the park entrance; hopefully you will too. I think you're more likely to see moose early in the park - before the Teklanika stop.

 

A good place to hike is around the Eielsen VC or the Stony Hill / Little Stony area. Rolling tundra provides open areas and good views of Denali if the mountain is out.

 

I would do the KF tour on Saturday regardless of weather, which is of course unpredictable and could be fine in Seward but worse once your our out at sea. The goal (IMO) is to get complete the tour rain or shine.

[Texas Tillie]

It is my understanding that most rental agencies will not allow you to take the cars on the unpaved roads - i.e. the Denali Highway. I was on it this past August as part of a Princess tour and our driver pointed out 2 cars that he knew were rentals and said that they would be in deep financial trouble if they were to have a problem on the road.

[cruise junky joan]

The only thing I would add is that since you are already in talkeetna consider the glacier landing, you can get the 2 for 1 coupon for Talkeetna Air Taxi. We did this in June and I thought it was the highlight of our trip.

[knorrisb07]

You have a great plan laid out. Not too stretched while having everyday's activities full.

[kenish]

Sounds like a good plan, some suggestions:

 

- On arrival, pick up your car and spend the night in ANC instead of Talkeetna. If you pick up your car at a downtown location, you will save quite a bit compared to the airport. There are many reasonably priced B&Bs, we stayed at Arctic Fox and I recommend them highly, but there are many others. If you stay at the same lodging on the return from Denali, you can leave some of your luggage instead of hauling it to Talkeetna and Denali. I didn't see any places in Denali that required formal wear! :-)

 

- Leave the next day, stop in Talkeetna for flightseeing and to see the town. Then continue to Denali, arriving mid-afternoon. See the visitor center exhibits, exchange or purchase your shuttle bus vouchers, and go on a evening whitewater raft trip. We used Denali Outdoor Center, the trips through the "gorge" section are exciting. I know this sounds like a lot but the prolonged daylight helps and we did all this and never felt rushed or "overscheduled". When we were there in July it never got dark...to get an idea, if you were driving at 2am you may or may not want to use headlights.

 

- Take the Denali shuttle at least as far as Eielsen VC. We saw more moose than we would have hiking around. The bus will maximize your chances of seeing other wildlife too. The drivers are very good at spotting wildlife we would have overlooked.

 

- Returning to ANC you have another chance at Talkeetna flightseeing if it got rescheduled the first time. Call before you turn off the main highway onto the stub road, it will save a 30 mile round trip if the flight is scrubbed.

 

- There is also a Wildlife Center on the way to Seward; if you use the Alaskan Leopard shuttle service they stop there (at least they do northbound, check if they do S/B).

 

- In Seward, split a halibut bowl at Thorn's Showcase Lounge (last building on the main street headed to Sea Life Center).

[kenish]

What is the KF tour? Thanks for your help.

 

Kenai Fjord (sorry I'm answering for someone else)

[B&J1]

Thx for the feed back / ideas. We can't rent from down town car rentals as they close at 5 pm & we don't arrive until 5:30 :( Will look into the flight tours in Talketna..

KF = Kenia Fjords tour (Seward)

[Budget Queen]

You DO NOT have time for the Denali Highway, and are greatly underestimating the time and distance involved in this. As already mentioned, you can not do this with a regular rental car.

 

I also suggest you get familiar with moose, no where in Alaska, do you want to get "close" to one. And you are not likely in Denali Park, most all wildlife is distant, if it is close, you shouldn't be near it outside a vehicle.

 

Hiking in Denali Park is- get off the bus where you want and hike. No trails in the park. There are several, outside the access restricted area. Do your homework http://www.nps.gov/dena Discovery, guided hiking is available.

 

You need to reserver your shuttle bus tickets ahead, and not wait until there to get them.

 

Otherwise, your plan is very doable, unless you are coming from a long distance into Anchorage??? Then I would not suggest you continue to Talkeetna the same day.

[B&J1]

ok, ok Denali Highway is a no go :( lol We r coming from Vegas so I expect we can get to Talkeetna without too much difficulty. Don't worry, We'll be careful with the moose :) thx for the advice!

[cruise junky joan]

I wouldn't worry about not seeing a moose, there was a mother a baby and juvenile in the PARKING LOT!!! at Denali. We also came across a few on the way to and from the various B&B's where we stayed. I don't know that they are as common as white tailed deer, I hope not, but my sister came across one feeding while hiking in Denali near the visitor's center. As mentioned above, you really don't want to get close to these guys. I couldn't say what a safe distance might be but at least a couple hundred feet at least I would think.