Alaska for 4 days early June
 

We arrive in Anchorage mid afternoon on June 1st & leave on a cruise from Seward in the evening June 5th. I need help planning our itinery. Our main aims are to see the wildlife & glaciers. I have looked at various posts, now it is decision time.... Do we hire a car & drive straight up to Denali or explore the Kenai area? Or is it possible to combine both??? I would be interested in doing either the Kenai boat trip (though guide books seem to say it gets pretty rough) or one on the Prince William Sound. What is there to do round the Kenai area if you are not into fishing & can't afford the expensive (but great sounding) bear viewing flights? Advice please.

It's almost 250 miles to Denali from Anchorage, the better part of a day to drive since it isn't a real fast road. To see any of the park will take a good share of a day and that is only a quick overview. Then you have the drive back to Anchorage and on to Seward. Another very full day of just driving. I think you are way short on time to think of this as part of a 4 day tour.

Instead spend your time in Anchorage and points between there and Seward. If the weather is nice and calm, take a boat trip out to Kenai Fjords to see the glaciers and animals. Otherwise, explore Seward and the area adjacent to it. Even so, you will find that you don't have much time to explore.

Because of your limited time I don't think you should try to include Denali. It's a long drive with not much along the way besides Talkeetna once you get past the Wasilla area. You could still head north to Independence Mine and visit the Iditarod Museum. Overnight in Anchorage. Take the train to Seward. Enjoy Seward for the rest of the day. Since I've never been sea sick (knock on wood) I'm not sure if I would try the Kenai Fjords trip or not. DH wore a patch. We both wore wrist bands but we had a calm day. DH got terribly sea sick on a deep sea fishing trip after not experiencing any problems before so he was reluctant to go. It was one of the highlights of our AK trips. The scenery is so great between Anchorage and Seward, you should also consider driving back as far as Girdwood. Explore Girdwood, take the tram ride, etc. We have not been to the wild animal center but even friends from AK think it is great. I liked the visitors center at Portage. There are recordings of peoples' experiences during the great earthquake. Portage had to be abandoned. Whittier is the only place we would not visit again but the drive thru the tunnel is quite an experience. We did not take the boat trip from there. In June, you have a good chance of seeing moose and their calves in the KP area. The other side of the peninsula from Seward, the terrain is more open and marshy. Seward to Kenai is about 1.5 hours. Not sure if they net fish that early in the month but you could check out the beach, drive to Captain Cook State Park, just watching for animals. There's a long marshy stretch of road, I think between Soldotna and Kenai where we saw moose. They'll even be hanging around neighborhoods. There's a nice visitors center in Kenai. There's more to see and do between Anchorage and Seward so that is why I would recommend skipping Denali. I think you would have more things to do in less miles/driving time.

p.s. You might consider a short flight seeing trip. The one we took was from Homer but they are available in Anchorage. Kenai has a small airport but I don't recall if flightseeing trips were available.

Thanks, it sounds like I should be staying around the Seward - Anchorage area, wish we had more time!

There is a ton to do in Girdwood. Most of it is expensive. Winner Creek Trail is good hike and free. We did a helicopter/dogsled/glacier landing. Really nice-about$400pp.
We did a flyout/bearviewing/salmon fishing from Soldotna. Enjoyed it as well. The train to Seward is great.

I too suggest you forget about Denali park, you don't have the time.

You could consider a round trip Anchorage car rental and head north to Talkeetna for a day trip, considering several stops along the way, would be two overnights in Anchorage. Then take the train to Seward. A Kenai Fjords boat trip is my top tour recommendation, TAKE PRECAUTIONS if prone to motion sickness, many excellent remodies to consider, consult your health care professional.

In my opinion, if you are "prone" you need to consider this for the cruise portion as well. I've been on some pretty rough sailings in Alaska by cruise ship and you're on an itinerary crossing the Gulf.

If you plan to spend the time on Kenai, try to make it over to Homer for at least a day.

In my opinion, Homer is NOT a day trip and for me, never less than a 2 nighter. :) Plenty to see and do, plus all that transit time to get there and back.

In Seward you can also hike the Exit Glacier, or if you are more active, hike the Harding Ice Field - that was tough, but well worth it! :)