kram

Hello, we are doing a northbound Alaskan cruise which ends in Seward. The maximum time we can stay back after the cruise is 3 days.

We reach Seward on Day 1 at 5:00 am. On Day 3, we have to be on a night flight flying east.

What would you recommend for the 3 days (or more like 2.5 days)?

Options we have looked at so far:
1. 6-8 hour Kenai Fjord tour on the day we land and reach Anchorage by Day 1 night
2. Start early morning on Day 2 and spend Day 2 and Day 3 till 2-3 pm in Denali

We know that part 2 of the trip is rushed. What else can i look at? We love scenic drives, photography and short hikes. We want to see beauty that only Alaska has to offer....

dfrostnh

Your lucky. The drive from Seward to Anchorage is one of the prettiest in AK. I would not recommend visiting Denali with time that limited. The long drive north of Anchorage can get pretty boring and it not as scenic as south of Anchorage. Do you have transportation to Anchorage arranged? Even though you've been on a cruise a small boat tour to see glaciers will be terrific. I loved Homer but it's about 3 hours away from Seward on the other side of the Kenai penninsula and further south. You could stop at Portage Glacier visitors center (I enjoyed listening to recordings of when earthquake struck) and take the tram up Mt Alyeska/do a little hiking. I liked Independence Mine north of Anchorage - very good preservation of old buildings gives you an glimpse of life way back when. Explore Anchorage. If it's a weekend, visit the farmers market. Take trolley tour. etc.

kram

We don't have transport arranged as yet. If we did the Kenai Fjords tour, we were planning to take a bus ride to Anchorage and maybe hire a car out of Anchorage.

I will check out the items you have listed. I am assuming that Homer is not a drive but has to be done on a boat?

dfrostnh

Homer is a drive. From Seward head back toward Anchorage then take the road that goes down the other side of the peninsula. There's mountains in between. If you don't have a car while you are in Seward, then you'll have to skip Homer but that is OK because there are other places to go. Alyeska isn't that far from Anchorage so you can visit there once you rent a car or head north to Independence Mine. We didn't visit the Eagle River museum but I've seen recommendations for it. If you're an Iditarod fan, you might want to visit the headquarters in Wasilla. But it's amazing. You can sit at an outdoor table at the Moose's Tooth restaurant at the beginning of the Seward hwy in Anchorage and enjoy the view, pizza and brew. From Anchorage, you can also do a scenic plane ride but you might also want to drive back down the Seward Hwy because it's so beautiful and there are places you can stop for photos. Bay on one side, mounains on the other.

Connie

You really need to do the longest Kenai Fjord cruises to see the most glaciers and wildlife. I would spend the night in Seward and do some things around there then head to Anchorage for a short time. It's a beautiful drive.

It will take you the good part of a day to get to Denali, another day to go into Denali on a bus and another day to get back to Anchorage. There isn't much reason to drive all the way up to Denali N.P. if you don't have another day to do the day long bus ride in. You won't see McKinley from the entrance. You don't have that kind of time.

You could drive up to Talkeetna (2.5 hours from Anchorage) and do a flightseeing trip over Denali. It's one of the most amazing things we have ever done. It's by far the best and only way to really see the whole mountain range. Some land on glaciers. We did that and it is okay but not a deal breaker.

About 30 miles north of the Talkeetna turnoff is Denali View South---a parking lot with open views of Mt. McKinley...... if it is not socked in. It is only clear about 30% of the time but well worth your time to try to see.

Gardyloo

In the time you have I think the Denali option is out. And frankly, I'd hold off on the Talkeetna drive + Denali flight until you're in Anchorage and have a better sense of weather. Denali fly-bys can be very tricky due to weather; if the mountain is socked in (which is pretty often) then the long (and frankly boring) drive to Talkeetna is time better spent doing other things. In fact, while they're a little more expensive than from Talkeetna, Denali flights from Anchorage (Rust's on Lake Hood on floats; Spernak's from Merrill Field on wheels) are way more time-efficient than driving all the way up to Talkeetna. And you can make an easier "real time" decision while you're in Anchorage - if Denali is visible or the forecast is good, get up in the air; if it isn't, do something else (or take one of several alternate flightseeing trips - over Prince William Sound and the icefields, around the volcanoes on the west side of Cook Inlet - whatever.)

When is your trip?

kram

Thanks for all the ideas so far. The cruise ends mid August in Seward.

We are more or less decided on a 6 hour cruise to the Kenai Fjords at this time. May have to go to Anchorage that night to drop off my parents who are not crazy about full day drives

so, plan to stay overnight in Anchorage, hire and car and start roaming for 2 more days