Anchorage to Seward?
 

Just starting to think about a trip to Alaska next year. Probably would fly into Anchorage. Sounds like Seward is the place everyone talks about, though, for day cruises to glaciers. Should we plan to drive from Anchorage to Seward? Any interesting stops along the way? Is there a train? We are senior citizens..would not be doing any hiking or kayaking type stuff.

It's a nice drive... around 3 1/2 hours of actual driving. Some nice stops along the way.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is nice and you can see some orphaned/rehab animals up close. You can do a quick detour near Seward and go to Exit Glacier.

Seward is a nice town. Some good places to eat. The SeaLife center is very nice.

It's an easy drive on good road. There are so many opportunities to pull off and admire the gorgeous views, especially along the Turnagain Arm.

The thing I liked most about Exit Glacier was that you could actually walk up and touch it. :-)

It's probably one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Stop in Girdwood for a tram ride up Mt Alyeska and a view of 7 glaciers. We also liked the stop of Portage Glacier visitors center. Write for the visitor guides to Anchorage and Seward. Seward is south of Anchorage and would require an overnight if you take a day long cruise. I would also drive north of Anchorage to the Wasilla and Palmer areas and a visit to Independence Mine. Anchorage has a lot to offer. You can easily spend most of the day getting from Anchorage to Seward. There's not a lot of places like restaurants and gas stations to stop along the way but lots and lots of beautiful scenery.

There is a train that runs between the two, but it tends to leave Anchorage pretty early in the morning. Here is a link to the Alaska Railroad schedule information. This is for this year only of course:
http://www.alaskarailroad.com/arrc18.html#4

The train is nice and scenic. A car would provide more freedom for stops along the way of course.

Yup, ChristieP, you can touch it, but folks have to pay attention to the markings. A chunk once broke off and killed a tourist -- what a way to go ...

Still, this is a great stop and I truly don't mean to scare anybody. Very safe, easy walking and accessible.

Anchorage to Seward is my favorite drive anywhere -- although weather plays a big role. Yes, you can take the train, which gets away from road area for some nice scenery, but IMO it is so much better to be able to stop and watch what's along the road -- anything from Dall sheep or moose to beluga whales. I once had a wolverine cross the road at Turnagain Pass -- the only one I've ever seen in the wild.

If the weather's nice, consider taking the tram up Alyeska.

We took the train in August. It left the airport station at around 1 pm. The scenery and wildlife were fantastic! I highly recommend.

The normal run from Anc to Seward leaves at 6:45 am each morning and arrives at Seward at 11:05am. You can still catch the 6 hr Kenai Fjords NP tour at 11:30. If you book in advance and request it, they will pick you up at railroad station. The train back to Anc leaves at 6pm. This is a beautiful hwy and nice to drive. You can also stop at Potters Marsh, Portage Glacier, and Exit Glacier just outside of Seward. We have driven three or four times and taken train once. Both are nice.

It is a lovely drive from Anchorage to Seward. If I remember correctly along the way we saw Dall Sheep, Beluga Whales, several Moose, Bald Eagles - all in the space of a few hours. We stopped at the Portage Glacier.
The boat trip from Seward was amazing. Definitely a MUST do. Won't even list the animals/whales we saw as there are too many to mention.

Any recommendations for places to stay overnight in Seward if we make the drive from Anchorage?

Click on my screen name to find my review of the drive down to Seward, and Seward lodgings. There's SO much to do and see. I would recommend more than 1 night in Seward ... but you should definitely drive down, stop off at Portage Glacier, make sure you do all the little pull-offs on the way to Portage - so pretty.

I took the train. Beautiful scenery. I preferred this Anchorage-Seward train to the Anchorage-Denali route, though that was nice too. Took the return back to Anchorage also and enjoyed that trip too. If you are doing other driving during your trip, this might be a nice alternative experience.

Have a great time in Seward. Yes, it is a good stop to include! If you are going on a small boat 8-12 passengers, I'd recommend Bonine for sea sickness. Even on the larger boats if you are prone to become ill.