Can you get by in Seward, Alaska without a car? We want to do outdoors things--possibly hiking in the National Park/kayaking,etc. Do I need a car to get to those places from Seward cruise terminal, or I can just walk or rent a bike?

We're thinking of taking a one way cruise from Vancouver to Seward, and want to spend a day or 2 in Seward before taking the bus to Anchorage where we'll rent a car.

Alternatively, we could take a bus to Anchorage right after the cruise, pick up our rental car and drive back to Seward. But I'm afraid that's too much backtracking when we want to do Denali NP too--all within 3 days! Possible?

Please advise.

You can walk around downtown Seward pretty easily, but not to Exit Glacier. The NP is mainly seen from scenic boats tours, 6+ hrs out on the water to really see the area and wildlife. If you are not taking a boat tour, then after the cruise and that 1 night would probably be long enough in Seward. If you kayak, you may want the whole next day, depending on what interests you. We did an overnight kayak trip out of Seward and loved it--many outfitters offer such trips.

Enjoy your trip!

BayouGal, your kayak trip sounds interesting. Could you tell me more about it? Where does it go and with what company? And how much it costs, approximately? Do I need to be an experienced kayaker?

Is it going to be freezing cold at the end of May/early June? I'm from southern Cal.

Thanks!

Agree with the Seward National Park Cruise -- Seward is very walkable and some of the hotels cater to cruiseline tourist. I know that the one we stayed in (Edgewater) did shuttle tourist to/from the train terminal, cruise dock and would take you out to see Exit Glacier. Call and confirm with them ahead of time. Remember -- your not the only one with the same game plan -- Seward is packed with folks before/after cruise dockings so get your tickets for the cruise / hotel ahead of time and enjoy Seward.

JC98, we went with the best deal for a one night kayaking overnight trip that we could find online. Repete, an Alaska expert on Fodors, turned us on to this kayaking trip. Try searching "blackstone bay" and "Blackstone Bay kayaking." You should find several outfitters--pick the one that's most convenient and most suits the kind of trip you want. We went out of Seward, but lots go from Whittier, too. This was the the kayaking experience of a lifetime to us . . . here's a couple of links to photos of the type of enviroment you'll be in: http://www.xcskiracer.com/gallery/BlackstoneBayKayaking
http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Depa...lackstone.html

No, we had never kayaked before going to Alaska. There were 3 of us--me, DH, and DD-16 yo.

It's pretty cold around the glaciers (we're from Louisiana), but if you dress in layers, you'll be fine. Our tour group told us what to bring in advance. You'll see and paddle among lots of ice, stunning glaciers, and snow will still be very abundant on mountain tops and in shaded areas.

Hope this helps! Have fun! ;-)

Good luck!

Sorry, JC98, I forgot to mention cost. "It ain't cheap!" I worked A LOT of overtime to pay for our Alaska trip and since we didn't know if we'd ever be back, especially not with that much time off from work, we wanted to "do it all."

We did all day kayaking trips out of Homer and Valdez, and they were quite impressive, too. I know your time if limited, but I wish you had time to see Homer. We have traveled extensively, the views around Homer might be some the best we've ever seen.

Also, I know you'll just be coming off a cruise, but are you doing the Kenai Fjords Northwestern boat tour out of Seward? It's about 9.5 hrs long--ours was about 10.5 because we so much wildlife--but it's a WONDERFUL tour. Lots of wildlife, glaciers and incredible views.

Thanks, BayouGal, for your enthusiastic recommendations of Seward. The kayaking trip sounds great. I'll look into that, and hopefully can find a half-day kayak trip.

Also, I wonder if you've done the Inside Passage cruise, and if the the activities/sceneries there will be similar to Seward. We want to try to see/do the best/quintessential thing in each of the places we visit, and not repeat things when one place is superior to the other.

Thanks again for your help!

We've done the Inside Passage from Bellingham to Skagway on the state ferry. There's a lot of trees! I'm not sure when we began to see snow capped mountains. I think there's been discussions about cruise vs land tour on Fodors. The ferry was great but I like an independent tour on land better.

BayouGal, when you kayaked in Seward, do you go next to the glacier as the photo in the link below shows?
http://www.nps.gov/kefj/trip_plannin...o/Kayaking.htm

That's the type of experience I want, but I wonder if you have to be an expert kayaker to get so closer to the glacier? Is the boat tour better than kayaking? We figure after a whole on the cruise, we wouldn't want another cruise, but do something physical like kayaking.

Thanks.

I'm not sure where that photo would have been taken in Kenai Fjords--it looks more like Glacier Bay to me, but I'm no expert. I suggest calling the NP to see exactly where that is and get more info on that paddling trip if that's what you want to see. We kayaked out of Homer and Valdez on day trips. We got very close to Shoup Glacier out of Valdez. You don't have to be experienced to kayak, but you will probably want a guide out of Seward because most bring you out by boat to the glaciated area and then you paddle from there.

We had a cruise scheduled followed by a land tour, but after doing a lot of research, we cancelled the cruise and did it all on our own, so-to-speak.

JC98, here is just one option for a great day trip from Seward. It will give you an idea about such trips.

http://www.kayakak.com/aialik_bay_day_trip.cfm

Here is a link to the Kenai Fjords NPs listing of kayak tours:

http://www.nps.gov/kefj/trip_plannin...%20Touring.htm

I just reread you OP. Are you trying to do all of this in only 3 days??? For some reason, I thought you meant 3 days in Seward and 3 in DNP. You don't have time to do both. Maybe you should just focus on the Kenai Peninsula for this trip.

As already mentioned, you really don't need a car in Seward. There are available taxis if you need them. As for Kayaking- be aware, that photo is "compresses", they are a safe distance away from the glaciers. http://www.alaskakayak.com/

Thanks, all, for the great info! A lot of stuff to digest and figure out here.

Ok, I've decided to stay for 4 days after the cruise. Sadly, I can't take too much time off from work.

How about this itinerary:
Sunday in Seward:
* Cruise docks in Seward at 7 a.m.
* 3 hour kayak trip in R Bay from Lowell Point
* Taxi to Exit Glacier and walk around
* Maybe do another hike nearby?
* Catch evening bus/train to Anchorage airport to pick up rental car
* Stay in Anchorage

Mon:
* Drive to Denali NP, stop at scenic spots along the way
* Visitor center and hike on some trails near the entrance. Need to take the shuttle bus for this?

Tues:
* Take shuttle bus further into the park. Like to hop off and hike and hop back on. Any recommended hikes?
* Wonder Lake sounds interesting, but I don't want to sit on the bus for 11 hours for this. Is it even do-able in a day?

Wed:
* Possibly, splurge on a flightseeing trip to see Mt. McKinley
* Drive back to Anchorage
* Check out Anchorage and have dinner
* Hang out Anchorage at night til midnight flight out of Anchorage. Anywhere to hang out in Anchorage at night?

Itininary for 6/4 - 6/7

Thanks much!

IMO, I think the NW Kenai Fjords boat tour would be better than kayaking Resurrection Bay, unless you are just determined to kayak in Alaska. Views much better from the boat tour, and kayaking Resurrection Bay, you never leave sight of Seward.

Not a lot of scenic stops along the way from Anchorage until you get to Talkeetna area, unless you are going to Independence Mine (check to see if it's open yet when you are there.) Musk Ox Farm in a good side trip, too.

You can drive to DNP visitor center and a very short distance into park. Yes, the Wonder Lake trip is a one day shuttle bus trip. If at any point McKinley is visible, that's when you want to take your flightseeing trip. (Only visible 30% of the time.) We saw Denali all the way from Anchorage, headed straight to Talkeetna to take a summit flight, had to wait till afternoon (earlier already booked, of course), took flight, clouded in as we were flying back to Talkeetna . . . never saw Denali again the whole time we were there.

Thanks, BG, for the insight on kayaking vs. cruise tour in Seward. I might reconsider it.

If I want to do sea kayaking once during my Alaska trip, where's the best place to do it? Seward, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan? They're all stops on my cruise.

BQ, about the train ride from Seward to Anchorage. Is it very scenic? It takes 1 hour longer than the bus, and it departs a bit earlier too. Is it a must-do train ride in AK?

Could I drop off my luggage at the train station in Seward the whole day before boarding it the evening?

Also, how far is the train station in Anchorage to the airport, where I pick up my rental car?

Yet another slew of questions from me. And as well, I really appreciate all your enthusiastic help!

I'm one of the rare few who have visited Alaska without going to Denali. Talkeetna is an interesting town but with so little time you might think about only going that far. If the mountain isn't visible, the ride gets kind of boring. We loved Independence Mine. I think there is more to see and do between Anchorage and Seward than between Wasilla and Denali. As far as hanging around Anchorage until a midnight flight, you will probably need to get to the airport at least 2 hours early. Security gets very backed up and there's a lot of late flights. I really like the Title Wave Bookstore (it's near the EMS Store). It's huge and has a cafe area. See how late they are open. I'm not sure how far it is to the airport from there. Anchorage is a big, sprawling city and there's a lot to see and do right in the area.

Go kayaking in Ketchikan and do a Kenai Fjords tour out of Seward. Alaska Heritage picks up at the ship, will store your bags and shuttle you to the depot. What I suggest if you want to consider the 11:30am trip- take a cab to the depot and drop off your bags, have them wait, then take you to Exit Glacier. Arrange a pick up time, by 10:45am and cab direct to the marina. The train is superior scenery, and if you go with the above recommendation- works out perfectly.

I would suggest you have your car pick up for the next day, rather than picking up late at night. Get a hotel that has depot and airport shuttles. The Ramada's, Day Inn do.

BudgetQueen, to book the rail tix going Seward to Anchorage, is there an advantage to book it with Alaska Heritage vs. the with the rail company directly? The price seems to be the same.

But you mentioned that Alaska Heritage would pick our luggage up from the ship and store it until our boarding time (6 p.m.)?

Also, why is Ketchikan particularly good for sea kayaking?

Thanks!

When we did our cruise from Vancouver to Seward, we rented a car in Seward just before leaving which was cheaper than paying for all of us to take the bus to Anchorage and then rent a car. The rental car was a little more to rent out of Seward but when you add the cost of the bus trip and rental car together it was about the same. We were able to stop and enjoy the scenary as we wanted. We drove to Denali and then dropped the car off in Anchorage after our trip to Denali.
Jamie