A week in Alaska
 

My son & I are planning a trip to Alaska in late June. Following are the activities in order of importance.

1. Trek on a glacier for a few hours.
2. Cruise for a day to look at glaciers, whales, etc.
3. Fish for King Salmon.

I have looked at Anchorage as jump off point to Seward for cruising, Exit glacier for trekking and Kenai river for King salmon fishing. If we go to ANC, then we can do a trip to Denali for a couple of days.

I have also looked at Juneau as jump off point for Mendanhal Glacier trekking, to Sitka for Salmon fishing and not sure about cruisng.

Any suggestions on how to accomplish our list are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Dear vp4:

Your Anchorage/Seward/Kenai River part sounds good and easily doable. I have never been to Denali, but know it will be a trek. It would depend how many days of fishing you would like to get in. You could also throw in a day of halibut fishing.

Perhaps others will chime in on Denali or the Juneau option.

Search above for trip reports and info to help you plan.

Good luck,

MY

Oh my, you are in for an adventure!! Alaska is breathtaking. We took a day cruise out of Seward. We saw glaciers, whales,puffins, sea otters,sea lions and beautiful scenery. Enjoy!!!

dchoate, can you please tell me the cruise line you had used? Thanks.

Dear vp4,
I am so sorry I do not remember the name of the cruise line. We did this over 10 years ago. All I know is that it was out of Seward and was a day cruise, sorry I could not be of more help. We also drove to Denali. It is a must see!!!!

We took the Kenai Fjords cruise out of Seward. Google or search here. Another company mentioned here is Renown.

MY

Two longstanding tour boat companies out of Seward is Alaska Heritage and Renown. Alaska Heritage, does have the longer, excellent Northwestern fjords trips. Always my priority. But consider using coupon books available for purchase with either Northern Lights and Toursaver.

This is not a day trip from Anchorage. So I highly recommend at least 1 over night. For Denali Park, you need two overnights there and two transit days, in my opinion and the shuttle bus to at least Eielson, and ideally Wonder Lake.

How much time are you looking at?? If you have two weeks, it would offer you an excellent option to consider a one way cruise and the Interior Alaska week, the cruiseships are ideal for offering, transportation, meals and lodging all in one. :) There are itineraries that do include Juneau and Sitka.

It looks like my late planning might kill this trip for us. The airfares from New York area are approaching $1000/person. Ouch! Still thinking of going, less sure now.

If you want to gamble on whether or not you go on a trip try this. Go ahead and book all your lodging making sure you can cancel. About 1 to 3 weeks out, you can sometimes find lower airfare. If not then cancel your hotel and not worry about it.

Also, you would need to get your guide booked early for king fishing on the lower Kenai. I think they book by half days (starting at 4 a.m.) and full days.

Check other airports. A friend got a better price from a NJ airport even considering the price of flying from NH to NJ. Good luck. Maybe wait til next year.

Good point---

looks like there are flights for $855 out of Newark the last week in June (Northwest). My flight out of JFK this month was just under $850 so I would say that seems like a good price for this close to the trip.

Meant to add that I took a cruise out of Seward and really enjoyed it.

I took the Northwestern Fjord Tour
http://www.kenaifjords.com/545.cfm

We saw orcas, porpoises, fin whales, humpback whales, a bear, goats, sea otters, and sea lions.

Bundle up no matter how warm it looks!

I also did the Exit Glacier hike; would definitely recommend as it's really easy to get to.

Katie_H-

How many people were on the boat tour you were on? I am looking at the smaller, Captain's Choice tour but wonder if the boat will be too small. Thanks!

Monica

The boat was probably only a quarter full--- but late May really isn't within the high season; I've read here that these excursions can book up so I imagine that many go out full.

Hmm...to answer your question-- maybe 30 people give or take? I sat outside on the bow for the trip's entirety which was uncrowded due to the temps. There were plenty of seats inside but I wouldn't want to be on a crowded boat where those were my only option though I imagine you could have a seat as a "base" and then spend more time outside on the bow or upstairs in the back (partial coverage). Maybe someone can sound off who has visited during peak season. When is your visit?

Katie -- Did you rent a car?

I did not. My friends did, however, the week before to drive from Anchorage to Homer and onto Seward. I can ask them who they used if you'd like.

For my trip, we used my friend's boyfriends car (long story; they live in Fairbanks). Took the train from Anchorage to Denali; he picked us up for the ride from there to Fairbanks at the end of our time in Denali.

Excellent, Katie, are you doing a TR?

I mean to! Perhaps I'll get around to it tomorrow? Throughout the trip, I kept thinking that I should remember to put some tidbit of info or idea into my report... hopefully I haven't forgotten them all. It will be nice to write one---I certainly read enough of them! =)

vp4... let us know if you have any more questions.

I am looking at about $1280 in airfare for two people after using a $50 companion fare on Alaska Air. Also booked a day on Kenai River for King Salmon fishing. I am planning to go on Renown tours cruise from Seward. My son won't like a 9-hour long cruise.

The car rentals are incredibly expensive there! The cheapest I saw to rent in Anchorage for a week is $75/day. Never seen anything like that.