We are two families traveling together with 5 kids ages 8 - 14. We have used the advice of this forum, the website www.alaska.org, and reviewed the itineraries of several well-known tour companies to come up with the following itinerary.

Are we too late for this summer and does the flow of our trip plan work? We are traveling from South Florida and are looking to arrive late July/early August and spend approx. 10-12 days.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and comments.

DAY 1: arrive Anchorage (prob. late evening) and overnight possibly at Dimond Center Hotel or Hotel Captain Cook

Day 2: Fly via seaplane to Redoubt Bay Bear Sanctuary for a boat tour with an experienced natural history guide. Spend afternoon hiking or probably biking on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Overnight in Anchorage.

Day 3: Leave Anchorage, spend day on drive to Denali National Park. Stops along way include: Eagle River Nature Center and Wasilla, the Iditarod headquarters. (other suggestions?) Drive time approx. 5 hours. Overnight in Denali (decide whether to stay at park entrance or venture further in)Suggestions here? Is it really too touristy to stay at entrance of park? The lodges deep in the park are just outrageously expensive! Any thoughts on McKinley Chalet Resort?

Day 4: Spend day in Denali. Take tour bus inside park. Overnight in Denali. How far in advance do you have to book this?

Day 5: Spend morning in Denali. Leave after lunch for Talkeetna. (2.5 hour drive)Spend afternoon touring Talkeetna. Overnight at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

Day 6: Leisurely morning, then head to Kenai Peninsula. Enjoy views along Seward Highway by taking stops along the way. End at mile 90 for the town of Girdwood. Check into hotel. Take tram to top of Mount Alyeska and walk down the trail.Overnight in Girdwood (Alyeska Prince Resort)

Day 7: Board Alpine Air helicopter for a ride into the Chugach Mountains, land on a glacier and drive a sled dog team with Dario, the owner/operator of Alpine Air, who has his kennel on the historic Iditarod trail, right next to the Alyeska Prince Hotel. Spend the afternoon at the 140-acre Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Overnight at Alyeska Prince Resort

Day 8: Leave Girdwood and head to Seward (not sure of driving time, approx. 90 miles south of Girdwood). Visit Alaska SeaLife Center. In the afternoon, hike to Exit Glacier. Overnight at Seward Windsong Lodge.

Day 9: Cruise the Kenai Fjords National Park with Kenai Fjords Tours.Overnight at Seward Windsong Lodge.

Day 10: This is as far as I've gotten. Should we stay another night in Seward or is it worth traveling to Homer? We'll need to return to Anchorage for our return flight.

Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Hello,
We spent 2 weeks last summer in Alaska. I'm sure you will get a lot of help from other people, but we stayed at the Dimond Center in Anchorage and really liked it... the beds and pillows were fantastic! It is right next to Wal-Mart and we got a lot of inexpensive souvinours there.

We loved Homer, but that would add an extra day driving.

We hiked on all of the trails at Exit Glacier... we tried to hike the Harding Icefield trial but we ran into a black bear on the path and turned around! We were almost at the first lookout... that trail is really big bear country IMHO.

We rented an RV, except for the last night at the Dimond Hotel so I can't help you with the other places.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!

I think Homer is the real treasure of the Kenai Peninsula, with all the fishing, kayaking, hiking, & art galleries. Fun and adventure found us at every turn! If you decide to take the time to go there, you should check out Kenai Landing on your way or way back. It is the oldest preserved cannery that has been turned into a fun family style destination. They have a great restuarant, a small galleria/wharehouse with little shops, a museum, a property tour and there is always the working cannery right there too. The accomodations are budget or economical but it was definatly worth a stop for lunch or ealy dinner. Just a thought...the rest of your trip sounds spectacular. We stayed at the Land's End Lodges in Homer. They were five star quality and right on the water, but more affordable, for the larger group, then the hotel.

Coordinating 2 families and all that would tend to make me suggest skipping Homer this time - the drive back can be quite tiring and because it's a dead end, you'll be driving past things you've already seen.

I would suggest going back to Girdwood after Seward, then on the "extra" day take the "26 Glacier" tour out of Whittier (via tunnel from Portage Valley.) It won't be the same thing as the Kenai Fjords tour, and you'll see some excellent tidewater glacier action.

Otherwise it sounds fine.

Your trip sounds great. We are planning one as well for July. But we are taking a cruise. We have made arrangements for that. But after that, my husband has a convention in Anchorage and I dont know what we will do there( my daughter and I, while he is working). Then we were thinking of going to Denali but it is so confusing. we really want to see wildlife so I am wondering what you are: do we need to go ahead and plunk down the $ to go further in the park? It is really expensive. Also, would the train be best or rent a car? Would really appreciate anyone's imput

Denali Park IS the best wildlife bargain in all of Alaska, extremely cheap. Shuttle bus to Fish Creek is about $35pp Wonder Lake $45. And a full day of adventure.

The expensive part of Denali is if you stay down in the park...I'd suggest going to Wonder Lake and back - full day

There really is not much to see in Talkeetna. We visited the small shops in a couple of hours.

Great trip. Homer's beautiful but i'm with those who suggest skipping it this time unless you add at least two days.

If the kids or adults like fishing, the silver salmon likely will be in Seward during this time. It would be pricey if all took a charter, but when the silvers are biting it's incredible fun -- acrobatic fish mostly 10-14 pounds, plus you often get to see more of the wildlife you saw on the tour.

Also, while in Girdwood ... put the 14-year-old in charge, order pizza for the kids at the hotel and take the adults to the Double Musky.

In Anchorage, I'd opt for the Cook (or the Voyageur across the street) because of better options for strolling/dining.

msnole,

Get a car and drive to Denali and as BQ suggests, take the shuttle.

While hubby is in the meetings, there are plenty of things do do in Anchorage. Museum of History and Art is lovely and has a nice cafe. Hertigae Center is also highly recommended.

You could drive down to Girdwood for the day -- 45 miles of some of the best accessibly scenery in the state. Extremely likely you'll get a good view of Dall sheep. Then there's the tram at Alyeska if the weather's clear.

For hiking, Eagle River Nature Center north of town is lovely (moose possibilities along the roadside at dusk).

Roads to all of these places are good and the driving is easy.