mberry

After getting great feedback and revising my first draft, I began rethinking the route altogether. I drove 4,000 mile across the US a few years back; it was a great trip, but I'm a little leery about another driving trip. Plus, I would enjoy (and learn from) the social interaction that trains/buses provide.

So now I now have two plans for the 16-day land portion of our Alaska trip and am weighing the pros and cons of each. Option 1 (revised original) includes a two-week drive (daily miles noted) in a circular route from Anchorage to Fairbanks, with lots of opportunity to view the pipeline via the Richardson Highway.

Option 2 includes only one week of driving by omitting the Fairbanks loop in favor of the Glenn and taking train/bus transportation up and down the Parks Highway. While there is less opportunity to view the pipeline, it does include what I hear is the most scenic route of the Richardson into Valdez.

I'd love to hear your feedback. Which would you choose and why? What revisions would you make to either?

option 1
1. arriving 11pm (ANCHORAGE)
2. TRAIN to Seward (SEWARD), Kenai Fjords cruise or kayaking (SEWARD)
3. Exit Glacier guided hike (SEWARD)
4. KF cruise or kayaking (SEWARD)
5. train/bus to Whittier, rent car, ferry to Valdez (VALDEZ)
6. drive 120 miles to Chitina to (fly in) Wrangell-St. Elias NP (KENNICOTT)
7. Wrangell-St. Elias NP (KENNICOTT)
8. bus (60miles) to Richardson Highway, drive 80 miles (GAKONA
9. driving day (220 miles) to Fairbanks (FAIRBANKS)
10. Fairbanks: Riverboat Discovery, U of Alaska (FAIRBANKS)
11. drive 125 miles to Denali National Park (DENALI)
12. Denali (bus day) (DENALI)
13. drive 150 miles to Talkeetna (TALKEETNA)
14. 1/2 day fly fishing, drive 140 miles to Matanuska Glacier, w/stop at Ind. Mine (Matanuska Glacier area)
15. Matanuska Glacier (rafting?), drive 100 miles to Girdwood (GIRDWOOD)
16. Girdwood (GIRDWOOD)
17. drive to Whittier, return car, evening departure for cruise (SHIP)

option 2
1. arriving 11pm (ANCHORAGE)
2. TRAIN to Seward (SEWARD), Kenai Fjords cruise or kayaking (Ailik Glacier?) (SEWARD)
3. Exit Glacier guided hike (SEWARD)
4. KF cruise or kayaking (SEWARD)
5. KF cruise or kayaking (SEWARD)
6. train to Anchorage, rent car, drive 100 miles Glenn Highway, stopping IND Mine, Mantanuska Glacier (MG area)
7. drive 160 miles to Chitina, fly to Wrangell-St. Elias NP (KENNICOTT)
8. Wrangell-St. Elias NP (MCCARTHY/KENNICOTT)
9. return by bus to Chitina, drive 120 miles to Valdez (VALDEZ)
10. day in Valdez (kayak if unable in Seward) (VALDEZ)
11. 8am ferry to Whittier, short drive to Girdwood (GIRDWOOD)
12. short drive to Anchorage, return car, 3-9 BUS to Denali (DENALI)
13. 7/20: Denali (DENALI)
14. 7/21: Denali (DENALI)
15. 12-5 TRAIN to Talkeetna (TALKEETNA)
16. am fishing, 2pm BUS to Anchorage (ANCHORAGE)
17. Sat market, shuttle to Whittier for evening departure

THANKS again for all the helpful advice given to me and others here!

Orlando_Vic

mberry,
Regarding days 12-16, why return the car and take a bus and train instead? You would have much more flexibility at Denali (lodging & restaurant choices) and Talkeetna if you keep the car. This is a very easy drive.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

enzian

Are you sure you do the things you want to do in Seward (such as get to the Exit Glacier hike) without a car?

You will have numerous opportunities for social interaction without taking the train or bus to Denali and train to and from Seward---your KF cruise if you do that, bus tour in Denali, the ferry between Valdez and Whittier, getting to Kennicott, etc. You'll have much more flexibility in terms of lodging choices (particularly at Denali) and schedule if you just keep the car the whole time.

Also, option 2 has you passing thru Whittier 3 times. It seems that doing both the Glenn Highway and the Valdez-Whittier ferry are important, but you could cut out one visit to Whittier by moving Valdez to the end and taking the ferry to Whittier just in time to catch your cruise.

So the order would be something like this: train to Seward, pick up rental car there. Drive back through Anchorage (maybe stopping for a night at Girdwood) and up to Denali. Then back down to the Glenn Highway and start your Chitina---St. Elias---Valdez to Whittier loop.

I'm not speaking from experience---haven't been to Alaska since I moved away from there 30 years ago---but from research and planning I am doing for a trip next summer. I originally thought we would take the train to Denali, but after looking into lodging opportunities around the park entrance, it seems like that would limit one to the big impersonal (and expensive) hotels that house the cruise ship passengers doing a land tour. We'd rather stay in cabins or B&B's and meet the Alaskans ans other more adventurous travelers.

mberry

Thanks for that feedback; I haven't worked out all the transportation details since I'm still deciding on an itinerary, but I am considering keeping the car for the Denali portion of option 2.

The train between Anchorage and Seward was recommended by many and there is a (waste veggie oil powered) park shuttle in Seward. Plus, we can use taxis if we have early/late departure times. There is also a veggie oil bus between Anchorage and Fairbanks and the driver will pick up at hotels/hostels for $10, though I'm not sure his schedule will work for us. I'm also considering dropping the stop in Talkeetna if I opt for the train/bus.

Since this trip precedes a 7 day inside passage cruise, I wanted to put the time on the water at the beginning. The 5 hour ferry ride was recommended by BQ, but I'm not sure that it would be as enjoyable on the day of the cruise departure.

enzian

Ah, good. It sounds like you've considered things carefully. You are also farther along in your research than I am (but we're not going until 2011). I wasn't aware of these veggie-oil buses at Seward and up the Parks Highway. Pretty cool!

mberry

The Alaska Bus Guy drives the Anchorage to Fairbanks Parks Highway route, but doesn't go south of Anchorage. The Parks Shuttle bus is a separate operation, but they both use veggie oil.