Alaskan First Timer
 

Hello,<BR>We will be in Alaska from May 13 - May 25. After reading many posts, we've decided on:<BR><BR>Anchorage<BR>Denali<BR>Seward<BR>Homer< BR><BR>We will be renting a car and driving.<BR>Any lodging suggestions for these locations? Also, what is the suggested time in each place. Am I missing any other places I should include in the itinerary?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help!<BR>Tina

The Denali Park road doesn't open until late May subject to the weather conditions. On a clear day you would still Denali from the main road...just not the same as the spectacular views from the Eielson VC and beyond. Plan your stop late in your trip and you may get lucky.

Denali Bluffs in Denali. Really pleasant. Actually, I believe you can drive into the park until Memorial Day weekend and then after that, cars are banned, so you should be able to drive in the park without a problem. The Spring Hill Suites in Anchorage is nice, but not downtown. It's only a few minutes drive.

We went at about the same time of year. You can drive about 30 miles into the park.<BR><BR>Between Anchorage and Denali is Talkeetna. If you get good weather I recommend you take a flightseeing trip to Mt MkKinley. We took one with a glacier landing, it was amazing.<BR><BR>Also, from Homer we went for an overnight stay in Seldovia. This is a funky little place you can't reach by road. The boats don't run until Memorial Day so you need to fly there. <BR><BR>Would recommend you take the Kenai Fjords boat trip from Seward.<BR><BR>The great thing about being there in May is that the place is empty and there's no need to book.

Sorta correct...you can drive into the park about 30 miles. Check with your rental car company first as the road most likely will be muddy and being repaired from the winter. During the fall a lottery is held to allow 400 vehicles a day access to the entire 95 miles...weather permitting ;)

If you don't want to drive into the park, take the park shuttle which is about $17. Don't take the tour ones which are a rip-off. They aren't even allowed through the whole park until after Memorial weekend either. Second the Fjord trip out of Seward. It's awesome. Also, you can try the Windsong Lodge in Seward.

Between Anchorage and Denali, stop off at the Iditarod HQ in Wasilla, where the annual race actually begins. They have a little gift shop and a good video.