11 days in south central Alaska
 

We plan to arrive late June 22 and fly out late July 3. We are committed the 29th and possably the 30th at Anchorage for business. I need help with the planning of the rest of the time. We will rent a motor home, so we will be more flexable. I know I need to reserve space at Denali and book the schuttle bus to Wonder Lake. What about the Husky Kennel Tours? Which is best, the 2 1/2 hr at the park or Huskey Homestead Tours for 1 1/2? Is 2 nights enough time at Denali? Should we do both tours, the Prince William Sound out of Whittier and the Kenai Fjords Tours out of Seward? How soon do I need to make reservations for these? How long of tour should we get to see the Kenai Fjords? 6 1/2 or 9 1/2 hours?? Which tour company is the best to see animals and scenery. We want to spend some time at Homer also.
Should we make the drive from Denali back to Anchorage on the George Parks Highway or take the Richardson Highway and go down to Valdez and across to Palmer to make the loop? Do we need to reserve other campsite space in advance?
We are interested in seeing the beautiful scenery and wildlife, but not in fishing ect. All help appreciated with time frame plan on when to do what.

Although I can't answer all your questions, I can tell you I would do.
Denali is fine, but I was so partial to Homer and Seward and places in between Anchorage and these cities. I would definatly take a cruise out of Seward, but even in June make sure to bring a jacket, a pair of gloves, and money for cocoa or coffee aboard the ship. It gets cold. You will love the cruise! Be aware that this is peak season, so book now anyplace you're thinking of staying. Try to also visit Exit Glacier. This is an easy 1/2 mile walk to get up close and personal with a glacier. Very cool. Have a wonderful time and please report to us when you get back. PS motorhomes book quickly,so book now if you haven't already.

I agree with tcapp about the cruise to Resurrection Bay out of Seward. Our captain was Mike, "Captain Hook," because he had both hands burned off and uses hooks to do everything. Amazing man. Nothing to do with the scenery, of course, which is fabulous.

Bob Gardner

Joypen..don't know about your budget, but we took a private charter out of Whittier (strange little community). It was arranged through www.BreadnButtercharters.com It was magnificent day...the Captain prepared a delcious onboard lunch while my children kayacked and explored the glaciers...absolutely amazing. I do remember that our Captain was a retired school teacher and lives in Girdwood. I truly can't remember the price, but I do know it wasn't much more for our family of 5 than paying for the "cattle call" boats. This was go and do as we pleased...Truly one of the highlights of our trip. The other highlight was the helicopter trip to the top of the glacier (Seward) where we visited the summer dogsled camp...and then went on a dogsled ride..fun/fun/fun...Enjoy!!!

You do need at least 2 nights at Denali Park, so plan on that. You might want to consider the loop getting you back to Anchorage the 28th, but I have a great preference for the ferry- greatly superior in my opinion. If you have no desire to tour Fairbanks, than I would go across the Glenn and then down the Richardson to Valdez. You can backtrack the Richardson to the Paxson and the Denali Highway- can drive about 20 miles. But from there north, is the least scenic portion.

Then spending the rest of the time on the Kenai Peninsula. AND yes both boat trips are very worthwhile. Longer is better in Kenai Fjords in my opinion, and always my first choice. But if you are using toursaver, then go with Renown's 6 hour trip for savings. Toursaver had a Kantishna coupon in this year's book, I think?? May be another option to consider. Realize however, you are going PEAK bug problems at Wonder Lake, so much so potential, I never go there any longer before mid August. Just too significant for my touring. I would add a night in Talkeetna and some great flightseeing, if of interest. Denali State Parks are nice too.

Thanks so much for all your advice!
Budget Queen, would it be better to not go as far as Wonder Lake? We couldn't picnic there because of the bugs anyway. We will be sure in stick in bug spray!
I've checked into the ferry schedule and it looks like a great idea. How far in advance do you think we need tickets for the ferry from Valdez to Whittier?
Do you have a preference in the huskey's tour?
We were also thinking about a flight trip for bear watching, do you recomend this?

We drove through Alaska last summer by car. We would definitely drive the Richardson Hwy to Valdez again. It's a beautiful drive with incredible scenery. There's the Worthington Glacier which you can walk right up to. And the Chugach Mts. are stunning. We took the ferry across the Prince Wm. Sound, but it was quite rainy. In Seward, we took the 8 hr. tour of the fjords with Major Marine Tours which we loved. They have a ranger on board who provides a very thorough discussion of the area and the animals living there. We couldn't have asked for more. We then took the Seward Hwy north and headed for Homer. What a wonderful area. If you can, take the trip to Halibut Cove for dinner. Guaranteed to be a great trip. Enjoy, Joypen.

You absolutely will need reservations for the ferry and be prepared for the price, it goes by the foot both long and up. :)

As for Denali Park, most of the wildlife is before Fish Creek. On average, I see maybe 25% of the wildlife Fish Creek to Wonder Lake , then prior. You need full strengh Deet there. If McKinley is viewable, Wonder Lake is the place to be, but in all my trips, it was never seen. :(

It can be cool that time of year, but it can also be hot. I got quite a sunburn Father's Day weekend when we spent the whole day outside ... never thought to pack sun lotion. We visited similar time of year and were able to book the day before for the longest tour on Kenai Fjords cruise. The day was perfect with calm sea. My husband napped on the way back. Whittier is a former secret military base. You probably won't want to spend much time there except for the tour. Don't forget to check the tunnel schedule to get to Whittier. Traffic and trains alternate use of the tunnel.