alaska railroad
Jun 10th, 2003, 04:23 PM
#1
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alaska railroad
We will be going to AK in Aug and are thinking of booking a package through the AKRR instead of driving to Denali. 2 nights including Wildlife Tour. But are a bit concerned about the 8 hr length of the train trip. We do not want to overnight in Talkeena- can anyone share their experience with the RR and whether it is easy to move about the train, get a dining seat, dome seat rotation. Are the seats comfortable? Also any opinions about doing this before or after we do our driving tour of Anchorage to Seward (5 days)Thanks.
Jun 11th, 2003, 04:14 AM
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If you like train travel, it is a nice ride, don't expect constant scenery- it gets boring in my opinon with a lot of the same stuff, if McKinley is viewable definately a different story but rarely is in the summer. Instead of a package tour, Look into booking separately, I much rather take the shuttle than the Tundra wildlife tour. Consider looking at and purchasing a toursaver coupon book, has a train coupon- 2 for one and 2 for one night lodging. Very easy to move about the train, meals only so so in my opinion.
Jun 11th, 2003, 12:11 PM
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The Alaska Railroad is a scenic railroad and that is why it goes so slow. You can do the drive to Denali from Anchorage in about 4-1/2 hours I believe, so if you are concerned about the long ride, rent a car and drive up instead. You may only sit in the dome cars for 15-20 minutes at a time when busy. August still may be very busy. I did the trip once, but doubt I'd ride it again. If you don't want to drive, it's the way to go. I agree with Budget Queen, save you money and take the park shuttle. Same scenery and much cheaper. I did my trip during the month of May and the trains weren't crowded at all.
Jun 11th, 2003, 12:22 PM
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If you like train travel, this is a nice trip, but to go up and back from Anchorage to Denali gets a bit too long. I would suggest taking the train from Anchorage to Denali, do your one or two overnights there, then take the train from Denali to Fairbanks. Even with a flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage, the price works out pretty close. This way, you won't be repeating the same trip, and the ride from Denali to Fairbanks is only about 4-5 hours instead of 8.
Jun 11th, 2003, 03:41 PM
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Thanks to everyone for the responses.
We're usually don't do packages, but the AKRR has a special that makes it cheaper to book with them (although the cancellation penalties are scary). I will also look more closely at the park shuttle. We have decided to do the train trip RT AFTER we do all the running around and activies in Girdwood, Anchorage and Seward. Thanks again!
We're usually don't do packages, but the AKRR has a special that makes it cheaper to book with them (although the cancellation penalties are scary). I will also look more closely at the park shuttle. We have decided to do the train trip RT AFTER we do all the running around and activies in Girdwood, Anchorage and Seward. Thanks again!
Jun 11th, 2003, 04:26 PM
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The train ride is great. It's just a long, but that's the point to go slow and enjoy scenery which is fantastic. They will stop if they see wildlife. Enjoy your trip. I saw more wildlife in the interior than the inside passage recently. Alaska is awesome. Enjoy your trip.
