Alaska trip 2004 - Help.
 

We are planning a 8 night trip to Alaska during late May to Mid June time period. Based on info I've gotten from the Web and this site, this is our basic plan:<BR><BR>- spend first night in Anchorage<BR>- Drive to Steward next day (stopping at Exit Glacier and possilby Aleyska Resort(sp?) for Tram ride. Spend 3 nights in Steward. Doing Kenai Fords Tour, sea kyacking, portage glacier tour etc.<BR>-Drive to Homer and spend 3 nights. Doing Halibit fishing, Homer spit tour, maybe another boat tour.<BR>-Drive back to Anchorage and spend last night before flight out next day.<BR><BR>Questions:<BR>1. for such a short time, should we skip the drive to Homer and spend more time in Seward area?<BR>2. if we do go to Homer, would the drive back to Anchorage be far too much to do in one day ?<BR>3. personal recommendations for lodging in both Anchorage and Homer?<BR>4. suggested changes or modifications to schedule? <BR><BR>Basically we enjoy outdoor activities such as boat tours,scenic drives, mild hiking and biking and good food. Will be 4 adults and 1 teen (13).<BR><BR>Your help is greatly appreciated.

Hey Karen:<BR><BR>I haven't been to Homer, but Seward is a lovely area. The fjord tour is a great day trip. We saw all kinds of whales, birds and even a brown bear from the boat. The Aleyeska resort also has good hiking. The 26 Glacier cruise from Whittier is also a nice day trip. I stayed at the Spring Hill Suites and The Holiday Inn in Anchorage. Both hotels were fine, but the SHS is not downtown. If you have a car, I recommend it. They have a continental breakfast included. Enjoy your trip. You will love Alaska. I loved it so much that I am going back myself next month.

I think three nights is enough in Seward. Another thing you can do while you are there is hike to the Harding Icefield.<BR>Homer is beautiful! Halibut fishing is terrific there. We also, took a water taxi that leaves out from Homer to Halibut Cove and enjoyed looking at the artist's shops they have there. If you go there make sure you eat at their resturant. It was the best meal I ever had. Don't miss Homer! I would also, recommend the Land's End (I think that was the name ) for a hotel. It's right on the water.<BR>

Any of the major chain hotels in Anchorage will be fine for one night. We stayed at the Comfort Inn, which has huge rooms but is a little out of the way. I agree that three nights is enough for the area around Seward. The drive from Anchorage to Seward is especially scenic. The 26 Glacier Tour from Whittier is nice (which is on the way from Anchorage to Seward), but you don't need to do that if you're doing the Kenai Fjords tour out of Seward. Seward is a good place for sea kayaking as well and Exit Glacier is great (you can walk right up to it). We stayed at the Alaska Saltwater Lodge in Seward(actually about 1 mile out of town right along the water). If you want, you can stop at Cooper Landing, which is between Seward and Homer, and do a float fishing trip on the Kenai, which is great. At Homer, I would also recommend the Land's End, which is right at the end of the spit and has a good restaurant. Homer is supposed to be the place for halibut fishing, although you should check to make sure it's good that time of the year. You can drive back from Homer to Anchorage in one day, or break up the trip somewhat by staying in Girdwood (where Alyeska is located) about 45 minutes out from Anchorage. We did the Alyeska Tram and I would say that it's worth it if you have the time.<BR><BR>

I disagree about the Whittier 26 Glacier tour. I did Kenai Fjord tour and the glacier tour and I would have taken even another boat trip. It's so beautiful there. It's all up to you what you want do. Both tours were lovely days out.

Thanks everyone for your responses. We are really looking forward to seeing Alaska. This would be our first trip.<BR><BR>There's so much to see and do its hard to narrow it down. Thanks for the lodging suggestions. You guys really make a great case for Homer and Lands End. I will be looking into it.<BR><BR>Anyone else out there with additional suggestions.

I am doing a 14 day trip this summer but the first week is similar to what you are planning. How about going to homer first? this way you take the longer drive at the beginning.(we are also staying at lands end this summer.)You could then drive from Homer to Seward and then from Seward back to Anchorage and it wouldn't be as long of a drive.If you are going to take the 26 glacier tour you will have to go to Whittier which is not near Seward. To get to Whittier you have to go through this tunnel which is used for both cars and train. The cars can only go in one direction at a time so they alternate every 15 minutes.If the train is coming through then everyone waits both goin and coming.In seward you can also do the National park tour with Major Marine Tours. They offer an all you can eat prime rib and Salmon buffet style Dinner and reserved inside seating for each customer and the food is supposed to be better than with the other company, We are not traveling with them because we have the great Alaskan toursaver book so we are getting 2 for 1 on the tour with Kenai Fjords Tour. Also Portage Glacier is not in Seward either. It is closer to anchorage. In Seward we are staying at the Edgewater hotel (also 2 nights for the price of 1 with coupon book) The Edgewater is right in town. The Seward windsong which is outside of town on the way to exit glacier is also supposed to be nice. The windsong can be booked through Alaska heritage tours. Before you go, check out the Great American Toursaver online. The book is expensive, 100.00 , but you can save quite a bit of money. Just make sure you book early, because oncce the hotels hit 80 percent occupancy they won't accept the coupon. We bought 2 of these books. We saved on our hotels, boat tours and flightseeing. Good luck!

Thanks rubigayle.<BR><BR>It's funny you should bring that up. After I posted the trip outline and starting discussing it with dh, the idea of driving all the way to homer first came to us. I think that this would probably be a better use of our time and we can figure out what places we want to stop on the way back.<BR><BR>I've been looking into Land's end also and I think that we may book it once we all agree on exact dates.<BR><BR>Has anyone stayed at the Seward Resort (it's a military facility). My dh is retired military and we can stay there pretty cheap. Anyone have any observations?

The difference between Kenai Fjords Tour out of Seward and 26 Glacier Tour out of Whittier is you see more wildlife in the first and more large calving glaciers in the second.<BR><BR>I'd do both. We would have if we hadn't done Denali. Next time we will skip Denali and stay on the Kenai.

Connie<BR><BR>How far away is Whittier from Seward. Is it possible to take this tour while staying in Seward?

Whittier is about 60 miles from Seward, so it is definitely possible to take the 26 glacier cruise from Whittier if you are staying in Seward. <BR><BR>Just allow yourself plenty of time to get through the Whittier tunnel. It is a one-lane tunnel that is shared with the Alaska railroad so there is a bit of a wait to get through.<BR><BR>Lodging in Homer: Try the Ocean House Inn

Enter to win a free 26 glacier cruise for 2 (out of Whittier) at www.alaskayukontravel.com <BR><BR>Click on Mother's Day Contest

Two years ago, my husband, son and I spent two weeks in Alaska, the first week traveling around the Kenai Peninsula.<BR><BR>We drove directly to Homer the first day, stopping along the way to see the Portage Glacier Visitors Center (the glacier itself is receding so there's no point in going on the boat) and hike ON Byron Glacier about one mile away, stopping to see the salmon spawning area on Portage Glacier Rd, stopped for lunch in Cooper Landing on the Kenai River, and all in all, spent about seven hours getting to Homer, where we stayed at the Wildrose Inn (or B&amp;B?)<BR><BR>Anyway, the Wildrose was wonderful, being four cabins way up on the hill overlooking the Homer Spit. We had the two bedroom cabin, which was simply lovely, and the owners are wonderful as well. If you want to be right on the Spit, I second the Land's End as we ate there one evening and really enjoyed its setting on the water.<BR><BR>After two nights in Homer, we returned to Cooper Landing and spent two nights at the Kenai Princess Lodge, another wonderful place. We did a half day trout fishing trip on the turquoise water of the Kenai and had a wonderful time. Food at the Lodge is spectacular.<BR><BR>From there we drove to Seward, usually a pretty short (one hour) drive that was elongated greatly by road work. And yes, we stayed at the Army's Seward Resort because my husband and I are both retired military. You can't beat the low price - the two story rentals are furnished with cheap furniture but they are roomy enough for a family. Just don't expect a lot of comfort! We didn't spend much time there anyway, just to sleep.<BR><BR>Our 6 hour Kenai Fjords cruise was wonderful as we saw every type of marine life imagineable. We also enjoyed the aquarium (although it is very small) and shopping on the main street, which is basically also the only street with stores. And we hiked up to Exit Glacier, which was comparable to Byron Glacier near Portage.<BR><BR>If you have any more questions, I'll be glad to answer them.