Anchorage area road trip in July
 

Hi Fellow Travelers,
We need help with the last couple days of our 12 day trip beginning in Anchorage in July. We are a reasonably fit senior couple. Our itinerary so far is as follows:

Day 1 Arrive Anchorage on mid-afternoon flight
Day 2 Seward
Day 3 Seward (Kenai Fjord Cruise)
Day 4 Drive to Whittier (Blackstone Glacier Cruise; drive to Sutton)
Day 5 Sutton (staying 2 nights; feasible to drive to Valdez and back to Sutton???)
Day 6 Sutton (Matanuska Glacier); drive to Talkeetna
Day 7 Talkeetna (Flightseeing); Drive to Healy
Day 8&9 Healy (tour Denali)
Day 10, 11 Drive from Healy to Caldwell to Glennellen to ???
Day 12 Leave Anchorage on late afternoon flight

All accommodations are booked for days 1 through 9. Since the highway from Glenellen to Valdez appears to be a must see, tried to fit it in on Day 5. Any thoughts from other travelers on whether that is too ambitious? Our next dilemma is what to do and where to stay on Days 10, 11 and early part of 12. Would love a few ideas. We prefer not to have too brutal a drive on Day 12, since we have a long return flight. Thanks for any guidance anyone can provide.
Tanzir

Out of Whittier we took the 26 Glacier Tour on a most comfortable, huge catamaran. It was a highlight of our time in Alaska.

HTtY

Days 10/11 - Do you mean drive from Healy to Glennallen via the Denali Highway (AK 8)? If so be aware that the major rental companies don't allow their cars on unpaved roads, which this is for much of its length.

Instead, you might consider driving north from Healy to Fairbanks and back down the Richardson Hwy to Glennallen. The highlight of the Richardson Hwy between Glennallen and Valdez is Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier, which is located on the approach into Valdez.

Since your accommodations are already booked, my suggestion for how to handle this is moot as it would require a significant re-working of your overall itinerary, so instead I guess I'd say leave early on Day 10, drive all the way to Valdez if possible (in July daylight hours won't be a problem) then return to Anchorage on Day 11. If you can't make it all the way to Valdez, stay in Glennallen or Copper Center; that will make the last day quite long but distances in Alaska are what they are.

I would skip the drive from Sutton to Valdez and back and do something else with that day.

Thanks, Gardyloo. We are renting from Midnight Sun, so hoped to take AK 8 from Healy to Glennallen. I think your suggestion of driving from Healy to Valdez on Day 10 makes sense. In retrospect, I too would have planned our route a little differently if we had included Valdez in our original plans. I appreciate your help in finalizing our itinerary. Tanzir

HTtY, Thanks for the suggestion. We will look into the catamaran

The Kenai Fijord Cruise exposed us to some great wildlife, a glacier, and other treats. However, it was a touristy free-for-all. Where is lunch? Where is the naturalist? Is there a naturalist?

At Whittier we received a gracious welcome, a comfortable catamaran, a good lunch, a naturalist and other amenities that enhanced a memorable cruise.

HTtY

We enjoyed our time at the B&B east of Fairbanks near North Pole. We drove from there to a hotel in Palmer.
We also made a stop at the musk ox farm north of Palmer.

Thanks HTty and Tom. Phillips cruise looks good, so will book that and will check out the Ox farm. If anyone has thoughts on flight seeing with and without glacier touchdown, we would be interested in hearing it. And one more question, how far in advance should cruises be booked?