judybr

We're considering going to Alaska next summer (2010) if we can get FF flights. We want to hit the highlights for about a week so are considering a package of hotels, transportation, and activities. So far I have found 'Alaska Tour & Travel' and Grayline packages. They both go to Denali with a bus tour in the park and Seward with a Kenai Cruise. Alaska Tour & Travel also has a night in Talkeetna with a McKinley flight.
Grayline includes a Portage Glacier cruise.

Has anyone been on either of these? Is so, would you recommend it? Are there other packages that I should consider?

I'd be grateful for all and any opinions.

Thank you, Judy

spirobulldog

Unless you are retired and/or don't feel up to driving I would never take a trip like this. I just don't like being on someone else's schedule and stopping where they want to stop and how long they want to stop. You had better make darn sure exactly what kind of bus trip in Denali and what kind of boat trip in Kenai. If at all possible do the train from Anchorage to Seward to see Kenai. Are you interested in kayaking, dog sledding, helicopter or airlplane flights. Bear viewing/fishing is another great opportunity. All of the excursions in alaska are expensive.

Below is a link to our pictures from 07. This is Anchorage to Seward via car, then return on train. We stopped @ Alyeska resort, did dog sled/helicoper/glacier landing there. Drove to Soldotna and did a fly out/fishing/bearviewing from there. On to Seward did a "full day" trip of Kenai, and did kayaking there. This was end of June and first of July. The kayaking is about 10:30pm, to give you an idea of how light it is there in the middle of the night.

http://www.photoworks.com/slideshow/...7?source=pw980

spirobulldog

Didn't mean to sound negative, my parents are also considering the same type trip you are thinking about.

Nora_S

Judy, how old are you and what is your travel style? Are you sure you want a package tour?

Those two you mention look expensive---$3200 for 6 nights (2 people) for the Alaska Tour and Travel; $4600 for 7 nights on the Grayline (also 2 people). I think you could do better planning on your own.

When I lived up there I ran into a lot of people on package tours. The ones I talked to felt rushed, like they didn't have a chance to meet the Alaskans and really enjoy the scenery and wildlife.

judybr

Thanks for the replies.

Originally we assumed we'd be renting a car and then choked on the $600 a week cost. It seems that the hotels and activities are all expensive also. We then decided to look at packages so that we could see the highlights most easily and efficiently. We're both in our early 70s. I usually do the trip planning and we go on our own or use air/hotel packages sometimes for city trips.

It's proving difficult to ge FF tickets but I'll keep trying and meanwhile look a little closer as doing it on our own.

Thanks again, Judy

gail

Re FF miles - we had to call airline to get Ff tickets to/from Alaska since there is alot of codeshare, partner airlines, etc. My DH spent about 30 minutes on the phone and ended up with not perfect, but still free flights (complicated by fact that we were flying into Anchorage and out of Vancouver) for 4 of us - from Boston - using combination of USAir and United miles from 3 different Ff accounts (good thing he is very patient with this sort of thing).

We had a very tight connection in Las Vegas going west and too long to wait in Phoenix on the way back - but ended up saving thousands of dollars. So it might be worth a call to airline, even if you have to pay the phone fee for using miles this way.

Nora_S

OK, it sounds like the packages would be appropriate for you, then.

If you can't get the FF miles, you might also look at a cruise. Some of the Alaska cruises are very well-priced. (Especially compared to hotels up there).

You would have to add a land extension to Denali if you want to see that, but otherwise the cruise can give you a nice taste of the spectacular coastal areas.

carolyn

We did a Holland-America cruise in late August-early September this year, and it included a bus to Denali, a bus tour of the Park, and the train back to Anchorage. I don't have anything to compare it to since this was our first cruise, but we had a very nice trip. (We are also in our 70s.)

If you are interested, you can find my trip report here tagged Alaska. It's called Across the Wide Missouri and North to Alaska.

BudgetQueen

It is very simple to go on your own in Alaska, so you may want to price out and compare with these tours you have selected. Most important, is to have 2 nights at Denali Park. The Tundra Wilderness tour, is very costly, the Shuttle buses in are 1/3 the cost and get you farther. With Kenai Fjords, you want a boat tour of at least 6 hours on the water, nothing less, and definately not the Bay trips. The far superior section of the Alaska RR is Anchorage/Seward. The Anchorage/Denali Park section just about parallels the Parks Highway. There is a big range of lodging available, with some excellent B&B's to also consider.

Picking up a car rental downtown, may have savings. Enterprise is one operator. At the airport there is Payless, Thrifty, Dollar, Alamo- which I've seen had "sales". There also is a good selection of independent car rental companies. RV's are another popular Alaska touring option- nothing beats that moving bathroom and fridge.

Do your homework on the areas. There are two coupon books that can be purchased that also have significant discounts, depending on your touring. Northern Lights and Toursaver.

judybr

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

We actually got FF flights, arriving at 11:30pm on the 30th of August, and leaving at 5:00pm on the 8th of Sept. We are now looking into car rentals. As budgetqueen suggested, they are cheaper in town compared with at the airport. With 8 1/2 days we should have plenty of time to see Denali and Seward (for the boat trip), as well as points in-between at (I hope) at fairly leisurely pace!

I'm sure I'll be back again with more questions.

Thanks again, Judy

Samsaf

Have you thought about renting an RV for the week? We were able to get a good rate on an RV (so that's your rental car AND your hotel). We are definitely not campers, and this was the first time we had rented an RV, but it worked for us.

We used frequent flier miles for the five of us, so it ended up being a very budget-friendly trip for us. We flew into Anchorage, stayed there one night, then headed north toward Denali and then south toward Seward. I'd love to go back again.