b1uewaterdiver

We are trying to plan a trip to Alaska in July 2014. Flying into Anchorage, renting a car and visiting Kanai, Homer, Seward and Denali. We want to do 3 weeks but have found the costs adding up quickly. I was planning on coming up with an itinary and booking rooms in each town but that restricts us to that time frame with the reserved rooms. We would love to have the flexiblity of not booking rooms ahead of time. Is it possible to find rooms when we arrive in town that are reasonably priced and without much difficulty? We don't want to be driving around the area trying to find a room that isn't too expensive.
I want to do a wildlife viewing cruise and some sea kayaking and must see Denali. I really wanted to ride the train to and from Denali but the cost and lack of a car once we get there have me scratching that idea. Any money saving tips are greatly appreciated.

dfrostnh

We have booked ahead for weekends and then taken pot luck at other times. Make sure you have a good list of b&bs with you. A lot of people rent out a room i.e. over the garage but don't advertise much. Our room over the garage with a cold, simple breakfast was not something I would recommend but it was a room. Much preferred a B&B with hot breakfast and friendly host. Keni, Seward and Homer will have a lot of options but I don't think Denali will. We almost got stranded in Talkeetna since options were full but a tourist info person found us a reasonably price cabin some distance away but it was better than driving back to Wasilla. Cabin was very nice but not near any restaurants. We had to scramble for some grocery items because there are no large grocery stores in this area either.

Eating out is expensive. You can do a lot to reduce food costs esp if you can eat breakfast in your room. Bring an insulated bag and get grocery items when you are in the larger towns. Kenai/Soldotna area has some big stores where you can buy a sandwich instead of eating in a restaurant. It would also be possible to put together a simple supper if your lodging room has a microwave. Limit yourselves to one restaurant meal a day. There was a great family take-out place in Kenai with deep fried halibut and peanut butter shakes. Anchorage Moose's Tooth was about the only place I really liked and that was pizza and great beer. Had some pretty mediocre meals elsewhere. There's a bakery in Soldotna with great pastries so some splurges are worth it. I also picked up some baked items at farmers market in Homer.

thursdaysd

I am planning an Alaska trip right now. Not sure why not having a car in Denali is a problem - everybody rides the shuttle buses - http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm . But I'm thinking of doing a flightseeing trip out of Anchorage instead. My understanding is that Alaska is just flat out expensive.

b1uewaterdiver

My idea of having a car around Denali is that we would be able to find a cheaper room further from the park entrance. Riding the train we are bound to somewhere we can get to by shuttle or on foot. I'm not sure if there is reasonable lodging easily accessable from the train depot. Besides, we can cut the cost of the train round trip from Anchorage (although I would love to take the train). Please correct me if I'm wrong about this as I am still trying to figure all this out.

We do plan on buying groceries for most meals to save on eating out. After reading dfrostnh's comments, I'm going to make sure we always have something on hand in case there are no stores around. Do the rooms for rent about garages allow you to use their bathroom or how does that work? What is the price range of these rooms?

If we were to splurge on a room with a view for a couple of nights to just hang out and relax, maybe go for a hike or something, where would you suggest?

Any comments on the shuttle bus vs the tour bus into Denali? I was planning on the tour bus but have read comments that make me second guess this.

My initial itinerary is:
4 nights Anchorage
2 nights Girdwood or Whittier
2 nights Kenai
3 nights Homer
3 nights Seward
1 night Talkeetna
3 nights Denali
1 night Anchorage

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. Keep them coming, they are greatly appreciated.

Katzgar

you should plan on pretty mush every single room in Alaska being rented out except perhaps a few high end rooms,

WhereAreWe

Define 'reasonably priced' in regards to lodging. What is your budget?

I would not go somewhere like Alaska in the tourist high season and just try to find something as you go along. Sure it offers more flexibility but instead of sightseeing you could find yourself driving around looking for a place to sleep. It depends on how you want to spend your time.

http://www.alaskahostelassociation.org/

b1uewaterdiver

I'm trying to keep the rooms at less than $100/night including taxes. Unfortunately this is difficult to do in high season but I want the warmer and longer days.

We do not want to spend our time trying to find a room.....that's what I'm trying to figure out, if it is easy to find a room last minute at a reasonable price or if I'm out of my mind to consider it.

Thank you WhereAreWe for the link, it looks like a great resource! I've never stayed in a Hostel but looks like Alaska may be a great place to start. I will like my own room but can share a bathroom.

Has anyone stayed in a shared bathroom setting before? What are your comments? My main concern is the timing. If everyong is getting up and trying to use the bathroom at the same time and we are stuck waiting for our turn (and a cold shower). Although, I guess this is the price you pay for the cheaper accomodations? I'm sure this all depends on the number of people sharing the bathroom.

thursdaysd

"I'm sure this all depends on the number of people sharing the bathroom."

Absolutely. I have done shared bathrooms a number of times and not had a problem, but only in New York in the US. The number of people sharing will make a big difference, as will the length of their showers vs the size of the water heater, lol.

I am planning travel in late May and early June, and plan to book accommodation: I would certainly book for high season. (I want to travel ahead of the crowds and the mosquitos, regardless of the length of the days.)

dfrostnh

The room above the garage we had did have a private bathroom plus a microwave and coffee maker. We got the recommendation from another B&B owner who was full and this b&b was a cash only deal. I don't think they advertised.

I would not spend two nights in Whittier unless planning to take a boat trip. It's a former military base you can only reach by a one-way toll tunnel. Thought the b&b was thoughtful to supply a pile of videos but it turned out there was no tv reception due to mountains.

I think you are going to have a tough time finding places under $100.

Look at a map. There are no grocery stores north of Wasilla on your way to Denali except for a tiny one in Talkeetna. Not sure of Denali area since we didn't get that far.

LindainOhio

If you are going to take a budget trip, you may want to look at a 2 week trip. Alaska is expensive.

Have your priced out a car rental? Start looking now. Car rentals are expensive. Book something and then cancel if you find a cheaper rental.

Maybe you should look at renting a motorhome. Compare the cost and see if it works. There are a lot of motorhomes in Alaska and all the roads are easy to drive. There are some tht you are not allowed to drive on with rental cars.

What do you want to do in Alaska? Is there a special reason you are spending 4 nights in Anchorage? I would spend one night there if your flight gets in late. Most flights depart from Anchorage and return you home late in the evening so you don't have to spend the last night in Anchorage. We drove down from Denali and made our flight home.

Click on my name and you can find my 2 week Alaska trip report. I would have loved to have gone to Valdez but the ferry scheduled didn't work with my itinerary--next time.

LindainOhio

Forgot to mention that I would not go in July with no lodging reservations.

Buy a Toursaver or Northern Lights coupon book for tour and lodging savings. You can buy them online. I know I called before I purchased the Toursaver book and made my reservations for the tours, just to make sure they would be accepted--then I bought the coupon book.

gail

I would also suggest cutting trip to 2 weeks rather than 3 - and think 8 nights on Kenai is too much. And sticker shock for Alaska is memorable from when we went a few years ago - even groceries in the supermarket were more. Car rental was twice what I have paid in any major city, in-season.

I actually think trying to find room at last minute would increase expenses rather than decreasing, although many lodgings have very restrictive cancellation policies so be careful. As far as staying farther away from Denali entrance - while big hotel at entrance is expensive, once you get a few miles away from entrance you are in Alaska wilderness - not much there.

Late May may not find the Denali road open - the year we went mid-June the complete Denali road had just opened the week before.

gail

Sorry about the late May comment - now see you are going July and was responding to another poster on this thread.