I will be in Anchorage for a week on business and planning to take 5 days off afterwards to get a 1st taste of AK. After many hours trying to squeeze as much Alaska as I could in those 5 days, and reading discussions started by jxt & owninsmom, I decided to skip the Denali area to concentrate on Kenai and Prince William. So far here is my itinerary. What do you more knowledgeable guys think?

Day 1 (Fri, early AM) - Drive from Anchorage to Girdwood along the Seward highway, stopping at Beluga Pt, exploring Girdwood a bit, maybe an afternoon hike in the area. Night in Girdwood.
Day 2 (Sat) - Take a side-trip to Hope for the beautiful views of the Turnagain Arm, then head to Seward, spend the afternoon (hike?) and night there.
Day 3 (Sun) - 1-day guided sea kayak tour on Resurrection Bay. Night in Seward.
Day 4 (Mon) - Glacier hike in Exit Glacier.
Day 5 (Tue) - Head to Whittier for a 1-day sea kayak tour of the Blackstone Bay to see the tidewater glaciers. That'll give me a taste of the Prince William Sound.

Or should I ditch Prince William Sound and replace it by a day trip north of Anchorage to see Independence Mine? Any suggestions would be of great help.

That's a hard choice. We did not like Whittier at all because it's a former secret military base and the tall concrete buildings left there are ugly. We did not spend any time on the water so I can't compare with Seward. DH wanted to go thru the tunnel and the next morning we were first in line to leave.

I loved Independence Mine area but I liked to read all the little signs. The buildings were open. To me, it was amazing to see what kind of town it used to be when the mines were active. It's still in the middle of nowhere. Building a town far from anyplace is amazing.

I would be tempted to skip Hope and the Mine for a day in Homer but that would mean approx 5 hour drive back to Anchorage. Trouble is, each place is different and you will enjoy seeing them all (except maybe Whittier).

While in Girdwood on Day 1, visit the Alyeska Resort for lunch and ride the tram to the top of Mt. Alyeska. Better yet, do both on a special combo ticket: http://www.alyeskaresort.com/resort/...rial-tram.aspx

There are great views of Turnagain Arm from there, so be sure to take your camera.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

If you take Orlando's recommendation about Alyeska, and I recommend you do, stop at The Bake Shop for the homemade soup (all you can eat) and sweet rolls.

dfrostnh,
How was your time on the water at Seward?
Also, was the Independence Mine crowded with visitors?

Orlando_Vic,
Thank you for the tip.

I'll chime in about Independence Mine ... we were there in late August. We had the mine almost entirely to ourselves the morning we went. By the time we were ready to leave around 1:00p, there were quite a few more visitors, but even then I wouldn't say it was crowded. The Visitor Center was closed and so were the buildings, so we just wandered around outside. (You can't go into the mine itself as far as I know.) Many who visit are finished in an hour or so, but we took about three hours. Our rental agency frowned on us driving the length of the Hatcher Pass, so we skipped that on this trip.

If you go to Independence Mine, you can easily combine it with a visit to Eklutna to see the spirit houses and a visit to the musk oxen farm. Both are interesting. Knik Glacier is in that area as well ... not sure what kind of activities are available there.

All that said ... if the kayak trip is your only chance to see tidewater glaciers, I'd do that. Several years ago, we did a boat trip out of Whittier to Blackstone Bay and it was amazing. If you can find a similar kayak tour out of Seward, that would be something to consider, and you wouldn't have to switch bases again (though you'd have a longer drive back to Anchorage) ... Aialik Glacier was amazing when we went there on a boat trip in August.

Whatever you decide to do, have a great time. Alaska is an amazing place to visit.