ALASKA with teens
 

Family of 4 - (kids 14 and 16)going to Alaska in summer 2009. Where would you recommend going? Flying into? We're pretty active - love hiking. Thanks.

Most flights to Alaska go to Anchorage. Go to the Kenai Peninsula (Seward, Homer, etc.) and Denali. There are many, many posts about Alaska for you to review.

We just returned from Alaska with our 18 and 22 year old adult kids. Seems everyone in Alaska hikes - son and husband even found a day hike easily accessible from downtown Anchorage. We did one week on land, one week cruise (with land stops). Some places in Alaska, including the state capital, are accessible only by sea or air. Also, keep in mind that distances are great - so pick a few places you want to see and don't try to do the entire state. Also, everything is very expensive - food, lodging, restaurants - and we are used to big city hotel and food rates.

On land we did Denali and part of Kenai Peninsula and felt that that worked well. There is also a ferry system that connects coastal cities/towns if you want to see places not accessible by roadway.

Those are my thoughts to get you started - it is really over-whelming to start to plan, but do some reading and I am sure you will have specific questions.

Several years ago we did 2 weeks -- one on a cruise and one in an RV. Everyone loved it!

Fly into Anchorage

Take Alaska Train to Seward
rent your car there at Hertz
Kayak
Do a full day Kenai Fjord Tour
Sealife Center
Hike Exit Glacier and carry bearspray.

Go Salmon Fishing somewhere along the way. Flyout on floatplane is really cool and you will catch tons of fish. We did this in Soldotna.

Spend day at Alyeska Resort
Take Helicopter/Dogsledding on Glacier, Hike Winner Creek Trail, Parasail from the top of Mountain, Eat at 7 Glaciers Restaraunt, or Double Musky Restaurant.

Denali National Park
maybe Flyover with Glacier landing

If your timing is right watch the July 3rd (i believe this is correct date) Mountain Run in Seward.

We went to Alaska last year and it was a great trip. Dogsledding, fishing, train ride, Kenai Fjords, were the highlights of our trip.

Been there twice when our son was 11 and 13 yrs old. Well worth the cost, time, and effort. Some of our best memories and wildlife sightings were the unplanned unexpected moments that just happened. So give yourselves time to just let it happen...We flew into Anchorage, drove to Denali, Seward, and Homer. What we did: 13 hour bus ride in Denali, took the first trip of the day. Hike Denali. See the free sled dog presentation. Stop at Talkeetna for half a day. Took a 4-6 hour cruise in Seward. Hike Mt. Marathon -- very intense, if you are up to it. What we could have done but didn't do: canoeing in Seward would have been great. Rafting in Denali would have been great. Tons to do. Planning ahead was key for us, and in getting the accomodations we wanted. Reserve in Jan/Feb for the summer.