We are planning an Alaska family vacation for next summer. There will be 16 of us - the oldest being 77 and the youngest 5. Ideally we will try to rent a house, use it as a base and take day trips from there. None of us has been to Alaska before so we are a little clueless as how/where to start. Please help with suggestions.

Basic questions:
- where should our base be?
- What are some of the must-see sites?
- What is the best month go go (June/July August)?
- What are some places we should steer clear of?

BTW, a cruise is not an option for us because many of us have severe motion sickness

Hoai:
It will be difficult to answer your question as to where to stay. Alaska is enormous! You'll never be able to see everything on day trips from one base. And there are so many awesome places to see!

That said, a location near the center of the Kenai Peninsula would afford daytrips to the areas of Seward, Soldatna, Cooper Landing, Homer, Hope, Girdwood, Whittier, and Anchorage. At almost every turn you'll find amazing mountains, glaciers, waterfronts, fjords, rivers, wildlife, and lots more. In the right seasons, you'll also be able to fish for salmon and halibut.

Other posters may have more advice and some equally good or better suggestions for you. Good luck!

I have severe motion sickness but made out fine on an Alaskan cruise. It was calm and got a tiny bit wavy and I took non drowsy Bonine and felt great. For togetherness and beautiful sights and relaxing the cruise was perfect.
2 years ago we spent a week on the Kenai Peninsula "Alaska in miniature" and a week going from ANC to Denali with stopovers both times in Talkeetna. Even using coupons (1 glacier viewing trip, 1 wildlife and glacier viewing trip and a flight over Mount McKinley (super awesome) and averaging $140 a night the 2 weeks cost us $9,000 for 2 of us, including $1200 for airfare)
The cruise we got was heavily discounted since we booked it 5 weeks before sailing. We took very inexpensive excursions, did not drink or gamble, loved the free nightly entertainment on board and we spent $3000 for 1 week the 2 of us.

deladeb: I agree with your point about motion on the cruise ship. I'm also very prone to seasickness (odd for a former sailor), but hardly ever noticed any motion on our recent Alaskan cruise (end of July). The ships are extremely large, and can deploy stabilizers if necessary. Furthermore, a good portion of the cruise stayed within the Inner Passage, which is calmer than the open sea.

I’d suggest Dave-Ohio’s advice or break your time into (2) bases: Anchorage & the Kenai Peninsula. Anytime June-July-August is good. The end of August has less travelers as families with children are back-to-school or in the school mode.

If you use just main base you’ll still have to stay in Anchorage as flights come in late afternoon to evening. Schedule a morning activity in Anchorage and then drive to your Kenai base.

Anchorage & Kenai Peninsula
1) Anchorage: Alaska Native Heritage Center; Anchorage Museum of History & Fine Art; Rent bicycles & ride the City Coastal Trail; Book a Redoubt Bay Bear Viewing Flight/Boat Tour: Feet tired? Take a one-hour Anchorage Trolley City Tour.

Kenai Peninsula: Anchorage to Seward is 127 miles. The drive offers endless activities, scenic vistas, and requires careful driving. Pack a picnic and some snacks.

-Exiting Anchorage you drive south down the Seward Highway. Along Turnagain Arm there is a lovely walk through Potter Marsh. There are several pull off spots for whale watch sightings.
Hike a portion of the Tony Knowles Trail. On a clear day get off at Girdwood and drive to the Alyeska . Stop at the Alaska Wildlife and Consevation Center. Ride up the Alyeska aerial tram.

-Cooper Landing is a central base on the Peninsula.
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge: Kenai River Rafting trip from Cooper Landing to Skilak Lake.

-Kenai Fjords National Park: Free Ranger Hikes to Exit Glacier (1/2 hour ) and to the Harding Icefield (1/2 day);

-Seward: Guided Boat Tour excursions in Resurrection Bay of the Kenai Fjords wildlife and sea life; Alaska Sea Life Center; Kayak from Sunny Cove Sea kayaking, Seward guided kayak tours.

-In Soldotna make plans to go charter fishing

3) Best Planning Tools for Alaska
-The Milepost
This is the bible of all Alaska and the highways. It has detailed Mileposts of the communities, sights, attractions, gas stations, maps and diagrams of what is along the route. You can carefully plan an itinerary ahead of time to include things of interest to you. Purchase it on Amazon.

-Great Alaskan TourSave, LLC, PO Box 104859, Anchorage, AK 98510
www.toursaver.com; Tel: (909)-278-7600
Coupon saver book offering 2-for-1 admission price on attractions, tours, excursions, rental cars, lodging, and souvenirs. Purchase it online for $99.95, then use the coupons for two people. You can plan ahead and you can save money and time.

- Guidebooks from local library, book store, or from online.

- (http:www.travelalaska.com); (http:www.alaska.com)

4) I don't know much about house rentals but sounds like the best idea to me.

We stayed at the same RV park outside Anchorage one July. At the first of July, the mosquitoes were very bad. When we were there a week later, most of them had disappeared (eaten by dragon flies, I think).

Thus, I would go after the first week of July.

We spent a wonderful 10 days on Kenai Peninsula in early July with kids - visiting Homer, Seward, Alyeska and Anchorage. In town for Mt. Marathon race and July 4th festivities in Seward and also visited the Girdwood Festival near Alyeska resort. Another highlight was fishing for Halibut out of Homer. Kids loved our guided half day kayaking trip (very calm water, no problem for my seasick prone little one) in Seward and also the Danny J ferry to the Saltry (out of Homer, and one of the best meals of the trip). We saw lots of Bald Eagles and a few moose. For more animals - check out Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Alyeska/Girdwood. Both were much enjoyed by the whole family. Good stuff!

Spruce Moose Chalets in Moose Pass, Alaska has three properties. Two of the chalets will sleep eight people each. Moose Pass is about 25 miles from Seward on the Kenai Peninsula.