We were thinking of going to Alaska this summer - to see glaciers and wildlife, especially.
We're not really interested in doing a cruise.
We live on the East Coast, so we were thinking of flying out to Seattle, spending a couple days there, and then flying up to somewhere in Alaska and then looking for a day tour out on a sightseeing boat.
Any recommendations for a city in Alaska to fly into? A boat company to book?
Before we went on our cruise we spent a couple of days in Fairbanks and really enjoyed that area. From there we took a train to Denali National Park which was awesome!
Post by FrozenSunshine on Apr 19, 2016 19:55:15 GMT -5
Were you thinking of one of the port towns, but not on a cruise? Or going into mainland AK?
If mainland, I'd say fly into Anchorage and head south to Seward and do a cruise out of there. They have glacier and whale watching. They also have fishing charters that will ship your fish back for you.
I'm from AK - I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
Were you thinking of one of the port towns, but not on a cruise? Or going into mainland AK?
If mainland, I'd say fly into Anchorage and head south to Seward and do a cruise out of there. They have glacier and whale watching. They also have fishing charters that will ship your fish back for you.
I'm from AK - I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
Post by FrozenSunshine on Apr 19, 2016 20:59:05 GMT -5
To see true Alaska and get a feel for it as a state I always suggest flying into Anchorage. The drive from Anchorage to Seward is gorgeous. Kenai Fjords and Major Marine tours are the two big players out of Seward. The Alaska Sealife Center is down there and there are some great waterfalls and hiking in the area as well. If you're interested in fishing tours, I could give you the names of the places I've used in the past. I use to do event planning up there and hosted fishing trips every year.
There are some great quirky little towns north of Anchorage on your way to Fairbanks. You can do that drive in about 6 - 7 hours. Denali National Park is up there. They have great white water rafting. Chena Hot Springs is outside Fairbanks. They have an ice hotel out there too for novelty.
I really can't speak to what to do in the port towns like Juneau or Ketchikan, I've actually never been. It was cheaper (and more fun) to fly to Seattle than there for vacations.
Driving in AK is easy. They don't have huge highways or anything. Typically there is only one road to get you where you want to go outside of the cities.
Craft beer is really big in AK, so if you're into that kinda thing, certainly take a look. Alaskan Brewing Company is the most widely known, but certainly not the best.
Were you thinking of one of the port towns, but not on a cruise? Or going into mainland AK?
If mainland, I'd say fly into Anchorage and head south to Seward and do a cruise out of there. They have glacier and whale watching. They also have fishing charters that will ship your fish back for you.
I'm from AK - I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
This is exactly what I was going to suggest. We drove from Anchorage down to Seward and did the Kenai Fjords tour out of there. It was really amazing and we saw a ton of wildlife. On the way down to Seward, you can stop and watch the Beluga Whales in the inlet just off the highway.
We also did a fishing charter out of Soldotna for Silver Salmon, which was really fun. Then we continued on down to Homer, which is just phenomenally beautiful!
How long are you planning to spend in AK? We did 3 weeks and could have stayed 3 more. I'd also suggest going up to Denali. You can take the train up so that you can enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about moose. We did that and it took about 8 hours, but it was nice to be able to relax, eat and drink, and enjoy the views.
FrozenSunshine, MH loves craft beer so any brewery suggestions would be great! Fishing isn't really our thing, but nice drives and national parks and beer are right up our alley.
sunshinedaydreams, we're just tossing the idea around for now so we don't have a timeline in mind yet. We were thinking of combining it with a trip to Seattle and maybe even Portland (start by flying to PDX, take Amtrak to Seattle, fly from Seattle to Alaska). MH has unlimited time in the summer; I could probably do a week to 10 days of vacation.
We did the cruise thing but got off in Seward and rented a car and drove up to Denali and back. It was a great road trip and allowed us to move on our own and stay in a couple hotels and eat at the local hotspots.
Post by marshmallowhands on Apr 25, 2016 1:13:02 GMT -5
We did this exact trip in July 2012 and had the most amazing time. I can't wait to go back one day. Everything I mention below I would recommend. I'm having a hard time even thinking of something we didn't absolutely love.
Flew into Sitka (2 nights): We did the Allen Marine Tour's Local Wildlife Quest tour. We also went on a great hike here but I can't remember any details about it. Juneau (2 nights): We did a glacier cruise here. This was the only thing I didn't book ahead of time and we almost missed out. I learned my lesson for sure- book everything before you get there! Glacier Bay (2 nights): This was a great place. Tons of wildlife (we watched a mama & baby moose romp around while out on a walk after dinner one night). We did another boat tour and did some kayaking. Anchorage (1 night): We were only here before heading to Denali but we did really enjoy Moose's Tooth. If you like beer, this is the place to be. Denali National Park (3 nights): we stayed at Camp Denali and it was the best part of our trip. It's pricey but totally worth the cost. The cabins are awesome, meals are delicious and each day they offer naturalist-led hikes. You should definitely look into this. Seward (2 nights): we hiked on a glacier and went on the Kenai Fjords Tour (I recommend both!) Homer (2 nights): Hallo Bay Day Bear Trip- this was an incredible experience and I still can't believe it actually happened. You take a little 6 seater plane to Hallo Bay and land on the beach. Then you hike around with the bears just right next to you. I felt completely safe at the time but in hindsight it's pretty scary.
We moved around a lot as you can see but it felt like a fine pace at the time. I'd do the same if I had it to do over again. Each city was well worth a visit. Remember that it could be rainy so pack accordingly. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. Good luck with planning your trip!
Post by lightbulbsun on Apr 25, 2016 7:40:48 GMT -5
When I was younger we went on a road trip in Alaska. We flew into Anchorage, and rented a car and went around the Kenai Peninsula, spent a night in Homer, then drove up to Denali for a couple of nights, and then Fairbanks. In Fairbanks we took a day trip to Fort Yukon via a tiny chartered plane. We did white water rafting one day, but I forget where.
I loved that trip, and I think I would rent a car again if I ever go back.
FrozenSunshine , MH loves craft beer so any brewery suggestions would be great! Fishing isn't really our thing, but nice drives and national parks and beer are right up our alley.
sunshinedaydreams , we're just tossing the idea around for now so we don't have a timeline in mind yet. We were thinking of combining it with a trip to Seattle and maybe even Portland (start by flying to PDX, take Amtrak to Seattle, fly from Seattle to Alaska). MH has unlimited time in the summer; I could probably do a week to 10 days of vacation.
Thanks, all!
Are you open to cruising?
We did an amazing Alaska trip a few years ago. It was a cruise/land tour combo, and we added another few days at the beginning on our own. We flew into Fairbanks and spent 3 or 4 days there. Then the cruise land tour started and we took the train to Denali and spent a day/night there. Then we took the train or a bus(?) to Anchorage and spent a day there, then our cruise ship left and sailed down the coast, stopping at Glacier National Park, and several other ports. I can't remember which ones right now, LOL, but they were the typical cruise stops. We ended in Vancouver and spent an extra day/night there, then took the train to Seattle, spent a day there, then flew home.
We did about 11 days in Alaska last summer and about 11 days around Seattle a couple years ago. I would definitely make those two separate trips.
We rented a camper in Anchorage and did a route through Seward, Soldotna, and Denali. We really loved having our "house" with us wherever we went in Alaska and the driving wasn't bad at all.
If you are really interested in wildlife I would suggest spending as much time and money as you can on it. In Denali, I would highly recommend taking the bus into the park on multiple days. We saw few animals on one trip and had an excellent bear encounter the second day. Likewise, if you do a whale watching trip out of Seward, go for the longest trip. I think it really increases your odds of good sightings.
Post by 2boys2danes on May 4, 2016 19:59:56 GMT -5
My favorite vacation with my family was to AK a few years ago. We did mostly interior and flew into Fairbanks for a couple of nights, did Chena Hot Springs one day, flew on a small plane from Fairbanks over the Brooks Range up to Prudhoe Bay and stayed there two nights. Dipped our feet in the Arctic Ocean which was cool and saw all the Oil pipeline stuff. We drove for two days down the Ice Road Trucker Road back to Fairbanks. Then we drove to Anchorage and then did Denali for a few nights. We did one small cruise and saw some cool wildlife and glaciers. The most wildlife was on the ice road trucker road (cant remember the name)
we did a similar trip 3 summers ago. We flew into fairbanks then took the train to denali np, stayed a few nights then took the train to anchorage, then rented a car and drove down to kenai fjords and took a day trip boat then back to anchorage and flew out