dmcee

I am going to Alaska for a wedding. I will be staying in Anchorage...but I have 3 days to travel and see things. I would like to venture as much as possible. Is it possible to go to Denali for a day trip? How about the Kenai Peninsula? Thanks for the advice.

gracieb

Now I understand why the Frequent Fodorites got so grouchy when I first started visiting this message board.

dmcee - do some research first before asking such an open-ended question. Just do a search for "Alaska" and you will find a wealth of information, including a direct answer to your question in "5 Days in AK". There's a lot more information there too. Have you checked a map to see how far it is from Anchorage to Denali and Kenai?

Incognito

Agree with gracieb. First do some search, get an idea what would you like to do, then tell us what are your interests, budget, what time of the year, are you talking about three full days or 3 nights/2 days? You cannot do Denali as a day trip from Anchorage if you want to take a ride into Denali National Park. I hate to disappoint you but with only three (?) days you won't venture too much.

Shea

Denali would involve one day to get there, one day to visit the park, & one day to return. It would involve 2 overnights. However,it is a great place to visit. You must make reservations to take a bus into the park once you get to the park. Enroute, Talkeetna is a good place to stop for a break if you are doing a rental car. The drive down the Kenai is a can do. It is an easy & a very scenic drive. You could leave early in the morning drive to Seward & do a water tour with someone like the Kenai Fjords Tour Company & return the same day. Plenty of places along the highway for photo ops - Portage would be a nice place to stop for a short visit and/or Girdwood. Doing anything further south on the Kenai, like to Homer, would involve an overnight.

dfrostnh

Anchorage is a big city with some great scenery. I have only driven as far north of Anchorage as Trapper Creek (just north of Talkeetna). Since you are short on time I would recommend heading south to Seward. The Seward Highway scenery is spectacular. You will want to stop along the way or on the way back. Depending on when the wedding festivities are over, you might consider driving to Seward that night and taking an early all day cruise the next day. I really liked Homer but it will probably take you 1/2 day to get there from Seward. You can take a short nature cruise from there but its not as good as the ones from Seward. You can also take a 1/2 hour flight seeing trip with Smokey Bay Air. If your budget allows, you could also fly from Anchorage to Homer on ERA Air, a small commuter line. That would save about 5 hours of driving. Check their website for r/t fares. You would need a rental car in Homer. But if you flew, you would miss stopping at Portage Glacier, taking the tram ride up Mt Alyeska, etc. When you head south from Anchorage you will take the same route and then the road splits. Seward is on one side of the Kenai Peninsula, Homer on the other.