Reeder

My husband and I are in our early sixties. He is more active than I am due to bad knee and lack of motivation I guess. We LOVE to travel and he has been wanting to go to Alaska. While I am not thrilled about it we are planning to go this spring.
When we travel we don't like tours per se and "do our own thing"--renting a car and making our own itinerary etc. We have done this in Italy, France, Ireland and many locations in the US. We do like to cruise so we will definitely do that. First question--which cruise to Alaska would you recommend and why?
Secondly I know there is a land tour many people take via train I guess. Would you recommend this and why? Does this land tour make more sense that renting a car and "doing our own thing"? Remember we will not be doing much hiking etc.
Any other tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Helen

BudgetQueen

Definately consider a rental car, it will offer you the best use of time and all the freedom. I do give a big edge to Seward sailings, with HAL that includes College Fjord my top recommendation. What fits in nicely here is the must do Kenai Fjords tour and then the Alaska RR Seward/Anchorage.

A common mistake that Alaska travelers make is not allowing enough time, go for as long as you can afford. Distances are vast, at least a week is really necessary if you want to include Seward and Denali park, which will allow time for sights along the way. An excellent money saver is www.toursaver.com I never use it for lodging since B&B's are always cheaper, but you can't beat it for attractions.

Denali Park take the shuttle to at least Fish Creek, your best bargain for scenery and wildlife in all of Alaska. Have a good pair of binoculars, necessary for each person, I think 10x50 wide angle are just about perfect for land and marine sightings.

As mentioned, get to your library and get a copy of THE MILEPOST after 3-06 purchase the new edition. This is a necessary reference and will give you a good idea of distances. As a sample route, spend an overnight in Seward, 2 nights split in Anchorage, 1 Talkeetna, 2 Denali Park, add if of interest 2 Homer, 2 Fairbanks, 1-2 Valdez.

Dreps

We went to Alaska last August. We rented a car at the Anchorage airport, stayed overnight near there and headed for Denali the next day. We stayed overnight at a B&B near the Park and had essentially a full day at the Park. We then drove to Talkeetna and spent two nights at the Alaskan Lodge and did excursions on our own around that area, using the toursaver coupon book (including a flight over McKinley). We then drove back to the Anchorage airport. Turned in our car and boarded the train (at the airport) to Seward to board our ship, the Radisson Mariner. We spent a week on the ship (using a mix of Radisson and our own independently booked excursions). We disembarked in Vancouver, spent 3 nights there, and then returned home. We had a great time, and I can't say enough good things about Radisson. Alaskan excursions are easy to arrange independently, especially with the helpful hints from people like BudgetQueen. If you'd like more details, drop me a line at [email protected].

therenaissanceman

I won't argue with the other posters who praise renting a car, but I will say we took the Holland-America land tour from Seward through Denali to Fairbanks and thought it was outstanding. You get to ride the train, see Portage Glacier and Alyeska, and generally are treated royally. Whatever you choose for the land portion, I definitely recommend Holland-America for the cruise. And take whatever tour in Denali that takes you as far into the park as you can go. Going to Alaska was one of our best travel experiences.

KESinMN

Having cruised Alaska twice, I would strongly recommend avoiding a large cruise if you are more of a DIY traveler. I hated the time constraints, cattle call lines and bad excursions.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to get my parents to take the Alaska marine highway staying at B&B's in cities of interest and taking the Alaska railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

If you've done Europe on your own, Alaska should be a breeze!

Reeder

Okay guys you are being so helpful here as in planning I am starting to see some plan forming here. HAL has two one way trips to Seward. ONce the Ryndam goes to Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines/Skagway Glacier Bay Natl Park and College Fjord. The other cruise goes to Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier. Which do you prefer and why. Keep in mind following the cruise we will take a week on the road--flying back to Vancouver from Anchorage. Helen



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BudgetQueen

Especially on a one way, I give a big edge to Glacier Bay and College Fjords. The other routing is open ocean making a stright shot across the gulf.

desertduds

Years ago we took Holland America cruise-land tour, three nights on the ship, off at Skagway and inland for a number of days, it was wonderful with a HA terrific guide who accompanied us, much better than staying on the ship the entire time.

BudgetQueen

I totally disagree on the above

"much better than staying on the ship the entire time."

Since they didn't do it how do you know?? You missed either an excellent glacier sailing or port. And had a lot of time on a bus with limited at destinations I stay longer at and skip others going independent.

Cruises in Alaska are extremely worthwhile and varied. 7 days is a nice mix of ports, glacier and sailing.

jacketwatch

BQ: You may have done it differetnly but how can you judge what someone else prefers? We all choose what we like and we all don't like the same things.