playmak

Just returned from 8 days in AK with my 19 & 22 sons. It was wonderful. Thanks to all the Fodorites for your advice. It's the only way to have a successful trip.
May 19-Arrived in Anchorage 1130pm(Alaskan Air $700pp nonst from Chicago). First night at Extended Stay downtown ($117). Clean with WIFI. Stayed here because of shuttle service(which we found out doesn't run after 10pm despite my earlier inquiry but they did voucher the cab)and proximity to Hertz rental(less than mile, nice easy walk).I chose to rent away from airport to save on fees. Had no problem returning car to airport. Lesson 1: don't agree to prepay for tank of gas despite cheaper rate($3.86) I had a very difficult time estimating how much was left.I certainly did not want to run out of gas on the way to the airport. Gas was as high as $4.52 out near Denali.

May 20-21 After a wonderful breakfast at Snow City Cafe(yummy crab omelet), we hit the road for Seward. Weather was great. Stopped for tram ride in Girdwood. Amazing scenery. In Seward we stayed at the Holiday Inn($185/nt) with a balcony. Nice view, clean, easy walk to boats. Took the Captain's Choice 9hr tour which would have been wonderful, if the weather was good. I had a hard time with the nausea when the seas got rough despite Dramanine, Bonine and those wrist things. Had the best homemade vegetable soup. Sandwiches and snacks were really great(from the Bakery). Crew guy was so nice and attentive(brought me blankets and hot water bottle). We only went to one glacier(which did calve) but saw tons of wildlife. It was very cold on the water in May. Hindsight, I probably should have gone on the bigger boat but we wouldn't have seen as much.That night we ate at Thorn's Showcase. Good "bucket of butts" but I wasn't prepared for the smokiness of the restaurant. Definitely a flashback to another time. Second meal was at Apollo's great service, good food(tasty salad and pizza).

May 22-23 Headed for Homer. Enjoyed the drive more than I thought. Wonderful little creeks and pullouts for scenery. Lesson 2: You must stop at the Moose is Loose Bakery in Soldotna. OMG! We stopped on the way back as well. Best giant chocolate glazed donut in the world. Everything was so soft and tasty. Worth the stop. Spent first night at a Land's End condo( I was able to view the different condos online). Beautiful room($241)though more expensive than I think it's worth. I did not expect the trucks,oil tanks and construction to be part of the scenery. The Spit was OK. I was not impressed with the area though the view was nice.Our kayak trip was canceled due to high winds. Scott from St Augustine's was very nice. We were disappointed but appreciated his honesty.Our second night was at Alaskan Suites($172). This was by far the best place we stayed at in Alaska. Gorgeous view, warm cozy cabin with great amenities amenities. We had eagles flying outside our deck. Wish we could have stayed there both nights. Our meals in Homer were at Cosmic Kitchen and Cafe Cups. Both were good. I was a little disappointed with the flavors at Cups. The halibut was obviously fresh but the meal itself lacked flavor. Salad dsg was ok, rice was bland, dessert wasn't anything special($125 with 1 glass of wine).

May 24-This was our longest driving day from Homer to Talkeetna. It poured most of the way so other than the bakery, we didn't stop. Made the trip in 5 hours. We stayed at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge($193) The room was nothing special but the lodge and surrounding area was very nice. We ate as West Rib Pub. Had salmon, halibut and crabcake sandwiches. Probably better for burgers and chili but we're vegetarians. I really loved this town. It's what I thought the other towns would feel like. It's so casual. Lots of dogs running around though no moose. The next day we had a 9am flight with K2(by far the best flightseeing group)It was too cloudy to do the Grand tour. They let us wait a couple of hours to see if it was clear. They were very honest about what we would see and only charged us for the 1 hour tour. Despite no sight of Mt McKinley, it was worth the trip to see the size of the glaciers. I could only imagine how magnificent it would have been to see everything.

May25-26 Drove to Denali late in the day. Stayed at McKinley Creekside Cabins($116/nt). Wonderful creek and view right next to our cabin. The cafe was probably the best food we had in Alaska(next to the donut) First meal was halibut tacos, salmon chowder and blackened salmon salad($47). All of it was tasty and delicious. Lick the plate good at the best prices. The second meal was at the Perch(next door) We went because of excellent reviews. It was OK. $120 for 3 fish dinners, 2 glasses of beer and no dessert, it wasn't as tasty as Creekside cafe. We ended up having dessert at Creekside. We finish with a wonderful breakfast the next day. Our day trip into the park with the Toklat shuttle was cold and overcast but we saw tons of wildlife(caribou, bears,dall sheep & lambs but still no moose) We had an excellent driver who really taught us a lot. She was so good we didn't want to get off the bus to hike so we ended up on a trail near the visitors center which was just right for us. Lesson 3: If you see a moose, stop and get a picture, it might be the only one you see. I thought there would be lots of moose since there were so many warning signs but we passed only one on our first day.

May 27th We left Denali at 10am. Fortunately we were able to see Mt McKinley tall and clear. It was amazing. Thought about trying to get on a flight but we were afraid we would miss our flight home that evening. We made it to Anchorage in 4 hours(with photo stops) so we had way more time to kill. We walked arounhd a couple of parks(Earthquake & Tony Knowles. We forgot to stop by University of Alaska(would have made great souvenirs for my college boys)

I wish we could have stayed longer but I was on a budget. Entire trip was approximately $7000. We picked up food at the grocery store for some of our quick meals. The driving times were much better than I expected(or maybe I was a little over the speed limit. Very little traffic/RV preseason. Overall, we were able to see/experience a little piece of Alaska. I can't wait to go back for more. I hope this trip report helps someone and much as the others helped me. Thanks again and again.

Angie

china_cat

thanks for the report. Lots of helpful info here.

is "Captain's Choice" the name of the tour company you used from Seward, or the name of the tour? if the latter, what was the company?

playmak

It's the name of the tour. I booked through kenaifjords.com

dwooddon

"Captain's Choice" basically means the tour boat captain is going to go where he/she thinks the water will be smoothest and the glaciers most approachable that day. Weather changes quickly in the area so the captain and company need the flexibility to change their itinerary on very short notice.

Postal

Thank you for your excellent report. We are returning to Alaska next year after a two week trip in 2000 and Denali is the one area we haven't yet been. Your driving times were much better than ours in 2000 because even in September there was traffic between Anchorage and Seward and Homer.

A couple of questions: Can you elaborate on the McKinley Creekside Cabins? We have been leaning toward Denali Dome or Touch of Wilderness in Healy but McKinley's website looks good too. How roomy was the cabin?

Also, how much money did you save by not renting the car at the airport? Back in 2000 there wasn't much of a difference.

Amazingly enough, during our trip in 200, we saw many more moose in Anchorage than anywhere else!

sludick

Postal, we just returned from our trip a few days ago. We also had considered the Denali Dome but ended up at Denali Lakeside Inn. While the Inn had an awesome view of the lake from our balcony, we drove by the Dome and wished we had chosen it instead. From the outside anyway, it's gorgeous.

BTW, we did prepay for gas at $3.29 (picked up on May 15). Gas at that time was $4.37 near Denali. Brought it back in on fumes -- actually put in $10 worth so we could make it to the airport.

jczinn

Great report, many good tips (I am making note of that bakery in Soldontna!) We are also signed up for the Captain's Choice trip out of Seward--I'm interested to hear your report because I haven't seen many reports on this particular tour. Hopefully we will have better weather than you (end of July.) Do you remember what wildlife you saw?

bmw732002

Honest Report! Thanks for the rec's on the good and bad places to stay and eat!

$7000 Budget? WOW I did not think Alaska would be that expensive! I am planning my trip and will save this post for the good information

Thanks
John

sludick

Even with a lot of research, we were still surprised to find how expensive Alaska is. And the more rural you are, the more $$. In Healy (10 miles past Denali, a smudge in the road), a simple fried egg sandwich will set you back 10 bucks. And with the costs of gas, it's only going up.

I'd say it's the most expensive vacation we've taken. Even a 2-star hotel will set you back almost $200 (speaking of "season," of course). I'd say we're at playmak's range of $7000 also.

playmak

Glad this info could help
Postal:McKinley Creekside Cabins were better than I expected. We stayed in the family cabin which had 3 full size beds, a shower(no tub) and a very small kitchen area with micro, refrig & table. The website is pretty accurate for the outside. The inside is alittle more rustic than pictured but the creek with mountain in the background is really what it was all about. It ran right next to the cabins. I thought the staff was very nice and there were little details, like the firepit, horseshoes and board games. No TV/radio but good WIFI. My boys had to rough it without the TV, I thought it was very nice.
RE: the car rental, I recall it was about $70 savings.I booked through AAA with Hertz. My weekly rate for a SUV(Ford Explorer) was $263 plus 53 for the extra day total with fees/tax $388(plus$87 for tank of gas). It was a special rate thru AAA. It wouldn't have been worth it if I had to pay for a shuttle/cab but I didn't.

jczinn: We saw tons of wildlife on the Capt.Choice-orcas, humpbacks, dall porpoises,dall sheep, a bear,harbor seals, puffins, otters, sea lions, tons of other birds. The captain gives you a lot of time to photograph the wildlife. I would have liked to have seen more glaciers but the seas were to rough to go much further. It depends on the day. I trust that he did what was best.

bmw732002: Here's how my budget went for 3 adults:
$2100 for nonstop from Chgo
$700 for gas and car rental
$1600 for lodging($200 for 8 nights)
$900 for food($100 per day)
$1000 for flightseeing(refunded 400)
$600 for fjords tour
$96 for shuttle in Denali NP
$100 for gifts
The total of $7000 does not include stuff I bought for the trip(binos, boots,jackets,etc)I was under budget on lodging but slightly over budget on food and all of this is preseason. The only preseason savings was on lodging. Everything else is the same year round.
Hope this helps or maybe it's TMI(too much information...sorry)

bmw732002

Thanks for the breakdown. I guess those key things to do while in Alaska (glacier flights, Whale Watch, etc) can add up....but well worth it.

I also plan on using my FF miles to get there so the car, food and lodging would be the only additions.

For a trip of a lifetime.....$$$$...you can't take it with you!

tigerman99515

Excellent post Angie.
You have good insight on alot of this stuff and it is much appreciated. We live here in AK so it is nice to read about places to stay and visit that we don't normally recommend.
Your travel dates were definitely 'early season' - I think that accounts for your travel times. Normally, you can add an hour or two easily to those times.
FYI - I just got back from Fairbanks over Memorial weekend - was expecting heavy traffic along the Parks Hwy from Talkeetna cutoff on down. Surprisingly very little traffic - must be the price of gas keeping tourists away (really surprising considering it is the opening of King (salmon) season and the roads tend to be crowded with fisherman.
FYI - first King caught in Ship Creek last week.
As to prices, that is what things cost here in AK - especially the accommodations as they only have 4 or 5 months to get all their income for the year - the rest of the year they basically close up shop.

dcd

Angie, welcome home! Your itinerary just shows that a whirlwind trip can be done AND enjoyed, if the spirit is willing. It's such a long way to go and it's so expensive. But I doubt there's another spot on the planet like it. Don't blame you for wanting to see and do as much as possible. The weather can wreak havoc on a tight schedule but it sounds like you guys got to do pert near everything anyway, which is terrific. Thanks for the report.