1 night in Denali
 

My wife and I are booked on Holland America Zaandam for a June cruise to Alaska (D8L). The itinerary reads:

Day Port
1 Fairbanks
Arrive at your downtown hotel
2 Denali National Park
Head to Denali for an unforgettable stay at this magnificent national treasure
3 Seward
Enjoy some of Alaska's most spectacular scenery via deluxe motorcoach to Seward (lunch included) where you will embark your ship

My question is, when do you get to Denali and how much time do you have "in the park"? I'm assuming this does NOT include a park tour, so I need to make shuttle reservations.

We did this exact itinerary w/ Holland America only on Statendam. We didn't arrive Fairbanks til early evening (after 6 pm) so weren't able to do any sightseeing. We had to be up and ready by 8 am next morning for departure to Denali on open dome train. It is 4 hr. trip and we arrived about 12:30 pm. I pre-booked our Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour thru Holland America but you could do this at your hotel or do the shuttle. Do not do the Natural History Tour! It is not worth the time or money. June you will have long daylight hours so can stay much longer in Denali. We took the 1:30 tour to Denali and didn't get back til 10 or so. Very long day but so worth it! Animals we saw were amazing. It's too bad you don't have a couple of days in Denali because it is a rushed tour this way. We had to leave next day around noon time to go to Seward. Again it was rushed. We took the train to Seward as well.

What hotel are you staying at? I will look up some info for you as I still have my notes.

You should stay more than 1 night in Denali ... going all the way for 1 night?

Thanks for the info. We're staying at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and then The McKinley Chalet Resort in Denali.

Eschew, we would love to have more time there but we are on a very tight budget. This is our 40th anniversary and it was now or never.

Anybody know what you do for dinner in the park. Is there a restaurant at the Wilderness Access Center.

Jawhn, congratulations on your 40th! We are 2 more years away to hit that milestone.

The visitor center clsoes at 6 pm. Quite early IMHO.

Morino Grill is a stone throw away from the visitor center but they close even earlier at 5 pm. They open for breakfast at 7:30 am though. I would classify their food as "institutional" as it is run by the corporate giant ARAMARK.

You are staying at the McKinley Chalet Resort, you might as well have dinner there.

Congrats on your upcoming 40th!!

We stayed at Westmark also, I would call it a 2* hotel, but as I mentioned we only slept there cause we arrived so late. Small lounge and we had drinks and some apps, then went to bed. LOL

McKinley is very nice and we did enjoy the limited time we had there. Agree w/ Eschew that would be nice for a longer stay but "it is what it is" so you will make the best of it! You will love Alaska and Denali.

We had a nice 2 room cabin that was in the woods. LOL

Just checked the Tundra Wilderness Tour and here is the info on their website:

https://reservedenali.ahlsmsworld.co...Search/Results

You need to know the arrival time at McKinley before you can schedule a tour time. As I noted, we arrived about 12:30 and took the 1:30 pm tour. It does still offer this option and you will see it on above website. Tour price will be $160.50 pp and believe you make reservation and pay online. There is a National Park Service fee to enter Denali and this should be included in your ticket price.

I would also check w/ Holland America and ask about their Denali tour offerings (can probably get the info on their website) or call and ask what they offer. We only could book the Natural History Tour and did not want this tour. If this is all they offer I would email the Hotel and ask them what you can book for Denali tours. You would pay the hotel on the day of your tour. This is what we did.

Natural History Tour is also listed on website and departs McKinley 2 pm but is 4.5-5 hr. tour instead. Goes to mile 17 then turns around so you may or may not see any wildlife. This tour costs $98. so you may as well do the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

You can also take the shuttle busses thru the National Park Service and they are considerably cheaper. You would be riding on a "green school bus".

Here's the info and website on this type of transportation/tour:
http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

It can be confusing trying to sort out the different types of tours that are available. Depends upon what you want to do - shuttle busses you can hike, etc. or stay on the bus. The first website I listed is a "tour bus trip" and you do not get on/off but remain on this bus for the entire trip. They will make rest room (port a potty) stops along the way and you can get out and take pictures, etc. You may or may not see Denali, depends upon the weather that day. We got a partial view. The wildlife we saw was simply amazing!

There are no restaurants or places to get food once you go into the park and they are very strict about disposing of any food items due to the wildlife, bears, etc. The Tundra Wilderness Tour we took you got a box lunch included w/ your ticket. It was awful! LOL I would suggest that you purchase food before you go on the bus and/or bring snacks w/ you. We were starving by the time we got back to the lodge.

Here's info on restaurant, take out, etc. at McKinley:

http://www.westmarkhotels.com/wp-con...Sheet-2014.pdf

I believe that the only place open will be the Nenana Grill (til 10 pm) for something to eat if you do the later tour. We got pizza and some apps after our tour.