3 to 4 days in SouthCentral
 

Hello <BR>We are attending a conference in Anchorage in late August and have 4 days at the tail end to explore the neighbouring areas. We were thinking of heading south to Valdez, taking the ferry to Whittier, then doing the 26 Glacier cruise and the Kenai Fjords cruise. will we be glaciered out? Or optionally, is it worth driving out to Homer instead - if so, how long is the drive from Seward to Homer? Any suggestions for what else we could do. Basically, we are free from Wed afternoon until Sunday morning. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just had to check out this post as I thought you were going to vacation for 3 to 4 days in south cntral LA. Glad to see you're going to Alaska. Have fun!

I was upset too... I wondered what you could do for 3 days in South Central LA....whew.

Where are you coming to us from? Do you have tide water glaciers where you live? <BR> <BR>The truth is, there is more to a Kenai Fjords tour than glaciers, and glaciers are reason enough! Plan to see whales, seals, sea lions, otters, puffins and other sea birds. In short, make sure your best camera is functional, and you have LOTS of film. <BR> <BR>Were it me, in August, I'd probably rent a car, do a flightsee from either Anchorage or Talkeetna, then head down to Seward to fish one day, and take a nine hour trip with Kenai Fjords Tours. <BR> <BR>Depending on your age, you might consider a guided kayak tour from Miller's Landing as well. So many options! <BR> <BR>I've done all of these things, and do them as much as I can every year. Nothing in Alaska gets boring...except politicians of course. <BR> <BR>Post script: If their are bars on the grocery store windows, and people are trying to tip your car over for no apparent reason, the odds are, your travel agent also thought you meant Southcentral LA. :-) <BR> <BR>

Dear Alan... no no NO we don't tip cars in LA. that is SO East Coast... we have riots, thank you very much.

I would skip Valdez and a ferry to Whittier myself. The 26 Glacier cruise is great especially on a nice day. Whittier is Alaskan. I personally like the Kenai Fjords all-day tour (of course the great weather we had helped). With 3-4 days I would dedicate time to Seward, the Kenai and Homer over Valdez and Whittier. The scenery is super, there are plenty of activities and you'll get the Alaskan feel. Seward is a 2-2.5 hr drive from Anchorage. Homer is about 4.5 to 5 hr. It is at least 80 miles from Seward to the cut off to Homer and then another 3-4 hrs I think. Pick a cruise - the 26 Glacier has lots of Glaciers, birds, a few otters and harbour seas. Really lucky lucky folks see orcas. The Kenai cruise has fewer glaciers but more varieties of birds, two types of seals, some otters and also if lucky orcas. The Kenai tour is a well-rounded nature trip. The Glacier tour is fab for glaciers - seeing so many you are sure to view a calving. Seward has a few nice restaurants and the aquarium (small compared to those in the lower 48 but interesting). Homer has some nice day trips either for halibut or salmon fishing, or to the small artist colony of Halibut Cove or a tour to see birds and the community of Seldovia. the Kenai has beautiful scenery and nice gentle raft trips are available. This info is sort of jumbled but I hope it helps. It's late here but although its 12:40am the sun just dipped below the horizon - it was a gorgeous liquid gold sunset about 20 minutes ago.