We are doing a pre-cruise land tour on our own end of August. Does this look ok, or are we spreading ourselves too thin? Is it worth all the travel time going to Fairbanks?

Aug 29 - arrive late into Anchorage and stay overnight
Aug 30 - Take Alaska train departs 8:15am, arrives Denali 3:40pm, check into lodge
Aug 31-Sep 1 - on our own
Sep 1 - depart train to Fairbanks (leaves 4pm, arrives 8pm) or by Alaska Shuttle (1:15-4:14pm)
Sep 2 - rent car and see Fairbanks or flightseeing?
Sep 3 - fly from Fairbanks airport to Anchorage and get ship's transfer to Whittier
             Ship leaves at 8:30pm

Just my opinion, but I'd skip Fairbanks and head back to Anchorage after Denali, and - again just my view - travel to Denali by car and skip the train and interior flights. Do your flightseeing from Talkeetna (small town between Anchorage and Denali) but only if the weather's clear; otherwise flightseeing out of Anchorage gives you many more options - Denali if the weather's okay, otherwise Prince William Sound, various glacier fields in the Chugach Mountains, across the Inlet to volcano land... options. For example, look at Rust's, a venerable floatplane operator at Lake Hood - http://www.flyrusts.com/

I agree, skip Fairbanks. You could get crummy weather and the flight back to Fairbanks delayed. Flight delays are common.

Thanks Gardyloo and MichelleY! How long is the drive to Denali?

I thought the train ride was a big part of seeing Alaska?? I had it at the top of my list when I started planning, now I'm not so sure!

I did not think the train ride to Denali was that spectacular. It was a nice comfortable way to travel for sure- our train car was owned by the cruise line we were with- but I did not think that the scenery was that magnificent- saw a lot of trees and a few moose.

From Anchorage it's around 4 hours not counting stops etc. By comparison the train takes around 6-7 hours.

It's not that the train isn't scenic; there certainly are scenic bits, but overall - again, my opinion - the ordinary (boring?) parts outweigh those sections. You see a LOT of trees next to the tracks. The road is not hugely scenic either, but offers way more opportunities to pull off and see the mountain, or roadside wildlife, or visit some of the small settlements along the way.

The train south from Anchorage to Whittier or Seward is shorter but way, way more scenic, although there, too, a car gives you the opportunity to stop and gawk, or take little detours, etc.

Rent a car in Anchorage. Drive to Denali, since a car is useful in that area - you can't drive into Denali other than to Visitors Center, but for restaurants, etc, it is nice to have. Some of the route Anchorage to Denali train tracks parallel road - so scenery is about the same.

But I might skip Denali all together and head to Kenai Peninsula. We did both, having 9 days - and while I am glad I can say I have been to Denali, 12 hours on a school bus with an average of 1/2 animal per hour sighted (although some beautiful vistas) was not the best use of our time. I wish we had spent more time on Kenai.

Yes, skip Fairbanks. I found the downtown area to be a bit depressing.

The train to Denali is OK. Not great, not awful, just OK. I'd probably drive if I had it to do over.

How much you enjoy the wildlife tours into Denali kind of depends on you. I met people who took the tour twice because they loved it so much. Others, like gail, could take it or leave it. One piece of advice if you do take the wildlife tour: pack your own lunch.

We had a great tour in Denali, but we left very early in the morning. I think the animals tend to be more active at dawn and dusk. The views of Denali with the tundra in the foreground were fantastic.

If you don't mind driving, I would drive. For more than one person it will be cost effective too. If you want the train experience, consider taking it south from Anchorage after you drop the car off.