Alaska Trip-March 2006 for Iditarod
 

I am going to Alaska in March for the Iditarod. I was wondering if this iternary would be good or if i could get some more suggestions. I am only going for 3 days, so i am limited

Thanks:

Alaska Trip March 2-5th

Arrive Anchorage 11p.m, Check in Hotel, Grab Drink

Friday March 3rd, Get Rental Car Early 7:00a.m, Grab Breakfast in Girdwood, Tour the Area, Arrive in Seward in Afternoon, Take Either Half Day Cruise or visit Alaska Sea Life Center. Tour the Downtown Area of Seward and Eat Dinner in Seward or way back to Anchroage

Saturday March 4th
Wake up to Arrive Downtown to See Start Cemonial Start of Iditarod.
Eat Lunch in Anchorage, Tour Anchorage (Coastal Trail, Earthquake Park,Wildberry’s) or Head back down Seward Highway, Grab Dinner at Moose Tooth Pizza, Drinks at Chilkoot Charlie’s

Sunday
March 5th
Option to go to Wasilla to see Offical start of Iditarod, or head to Whittier, Grab Lunch, head back to Anchorage. Flight Leave 930p.m

Sounds like a good itinerary to me. Try to go to Homer and Exit Glacier if you get the chance. The cruises may not be running out of Seward that time of year, but the Sea Life Center, although small, is great.
Have a very nice trip. We love Alaska.

Definitely forget about Whittier, especially in March. This is not a good idea.

On Friday, grab dinner at Double Musky in Girdwood. It's worth the wait.

On Sunday -- this might be difficult to pull off -- you might consider checking with snowmachine or air charters are available to head out the Susitna River and watch the teams come through. If you can work it out with your schedule it's a great way to view the race -- much better than a second, somewhat tense and chaotic start session. At the very least, go to Knik rather than watch from Wasilla.

Chilkoot's is a great choice, but you might want to consider the Whalefat Follies at the nearby Fly By Night Club.

As nice as Homer is, there's little room for it with a three-day trip and two days of Iditarod viewing.

Have a plan B in case the the roads down to Seward are bad that day.

Thanks for the Tips so far, We will cross Whittier off the List, and Maybe the Official start of Iditarod and maybe focus on things in Anchorage or Girdwood

I don't want to scare you off of Seward. The ride alone is wonderful, just be flexible because the weather could be anywhere from sunny and 40s to rainy to freezing and blizzardy.

If you can make the trip and the weather is decent, I'd go for it. The upside is tremendous.

Whittier, because of its roots as a secret WWII port, is a bit of ugly government development in a lovely setting. There's just not much there.

Not sure if the folks are still there, but there used to be a great, short dogsled ride in Girdwood.

I too agree, forget spending much time in Girdwood, and definately get a better look at the race on Sunday- Repete offers you excellent advice, try and arrange that now.

As for Seward, you really don't have much time and only you can decide if this is a good choice for you. My opinion only, it is not a day trip. And in winter, Kenai Fjords boat tours are very iffy, in 2004 I had to wait 3 days for a boat going out and that was end of March, beg of April. You will see far less wildlife than in season, and you are too early for the gray whales. Rethink this in my opinion, you do not have time for Homer either, it needs 2 nights, again my opinion only.

To save some time, you might want to consider picking up your rental car upon arrival. The airport offices are open to 1am for most companies.

I agree. I suggest spending time in Anchorage and renting a car for a day or two. During Iditarod this city is very busy with endless activities.

brewcrew2222 , I think it would be a good idea to keep all your questions regarding this topic in one place. Please check your previous post and read my answer to this question.

Did not finish typing before it got posted. Anyway, I am posting my answer right here.

IMO, visiting Homer as a day trip in March is simply not possible unless you want to take a drive there, turn around and drive back to Anchorage. You need to remember March is still winter there and driving to Homer can be difficult because of snow, slit, freezing rain. Once a while the road is closed because of avalanches. In the summer it is 5 hour drive to Homer from Anchorage. Driving to Seward takes under three hours in the summer. I agree with BudgetQueen that Seward is not for a day visit. You need more time there. IF you decide to visit Seward do not drive back after it gets dark. Driving on this road could be challenging if you are not familiar with Seward Highway, you could hit a black ice.
If you stay in Anchorage a night before Iditarod you may attend many celebrations and have an oppportunity to meet some of mushers and dogs too. Also don't miss an official start of the race in Wasilla.

Thanks for the Tips Pat, i was thinking it was a quick 2 hour drive to Seward just cause it said it was a 127 mile drive, i didn't realize the roads where that bad, but i am used to icy roads and can drive them without a problem, in fact i Drove on I-90 in Montana in January and well, it was mostly Black Ice and things like that

To answer your other questions

<What is the Most Scenic Drive?>
There is only one road that will take you to Seward and one road that goes to Homer. From Anchorage they go together for some distance

<City with Best Chance for Wildlife?> You will have a slim chance to see any wildlife right in town on such a brief visit. Actually the most often we saw moose was right in Anchorage

The latter part of the highway to Seward is nothing like an interstate. It is a narrow, twisting road which over a large portion has few escape routes - going off the road means up against a solid wall of rock or down a ditch into a creek.

I agree with other posters--Homer is out of the question for your 3 days and I'd really weigh going to Seward. Last night my guests were on their way back from the weekend in Seward, and his girlfriend was departing from Anchorage on a 10 p.m. A deadly 4-car accident closed the highway for 6 hours (2 narrow lanes, as someone else mentioned) and there's nothing you can do but sit and wait for emergency vehicles to come haul off the awfulness, document the accident, etc. Black ice is bad through there and too many people drive foolishly. Not that going to Seward is bad, but with tight time constraints, it sets you up for disappointment and, hopefully not!, unwise decisions, to try to cram in more miles, more activities.

On a cheerier note, there is a lot going on with Fur Rondy and the Iditarod--check their websites for activities.. My suggestion would be to soak up as much of that as possible. The Wasilla Chamber has planned a musher's ball (those are a hoot and getting to talk to mushers and people in the dogsled biz is fascinating) and other activities pre- and day-of. Keep your fingers crossed that there will still be no snow here in Wasilla and for the 3rd year they'll need to move the restart to Willow. THAT, my friends, is what how to see the Iditarod (in a few hours, on the road system). In Willow, they restart on the lake and any spot is a good viewing spot, as you watch the teams file out around the big lake on gorgeous snow and ice. Hopefully it's not sacriligious to say, but it's straight out of Snow Dogs (or is it the other way around...?) The Anchorage start is fun, for the crowds, but it's also a pain, for the crowds. I go to both for different reasons. Invariably I meet awesome people and get to hang out with mushers and new friends at the restart. Having a little Hibachi and a cooler of drinks/food at the restart can make fast friends (food smells must be kept away from the dogs--pay attention to where you're cooking).

If you havel the $$, I would also agree with the poster who suggested getting up the Susitna a ways to a lodge or cabins and viewing the race there. That would be an either-or (Anchorage or out on the trail). Those are sought-after spots by foreigners in the know and Alaskans in the know--Find a place there NOW by googling or checking www.alaskavisit.com. Have fun!