As most of you know, we are planning to drive to AK. Which of these sound better: 1)Drive to Skagway, take the train ride, then the state ferry w/the car to Haines and on up to Haines Jct., Tok, then down to Wrangell St. Elias NP.

2)Drive to Haines, take the fast ferry to Skagway for the train ride, then back to Haines and on to Wrangell

3) Drive to Skagway, do train ride, drive from Skagway on to Wrangell
leaving out Haines entirely.

I'm thinking, once we get to Wrangell St. Elias, we will take the ferry from Valdez to Whittier then drive to Seward for at least 3 nights where we will do the SeaLife Center, hike Exit Glacier--hopefully to the Harding Ice Fields--, Kenai Fjords tour, then down to Homer for 2 nights.

From there we would make our way to Denali/Fairbanks stopping in Girdwood for the night, Palmer (not for the night) 1 night in Talkeetna and two in Denali. Then to Fairbanks for two nights because we want to take a van to the Arctic Circle. Then from Fairbanks home. This leaves out the Inside Passage, but it is about the best I can come up with. Will be trip from Valdez to Whittier make up at all for missing the Inside Passage?

Thanks!

The Inside Passage is nice but I liked other parts of Alaska much better. We chose to depart the ferry in Skagway rather than Haines because the ferry reservations clerk told me she liked the drive out of Skagway better. We saw two orcas while we were on the ferry but saw several pods on the Kenai Fjords trip (plus two humpback whales and lots of birds, seals and sea lions). I think you are in for a treat by visiting Skagway - make sure to read about the gold rush before you get there. I think the only thing you can add to your trip would be a flightseeing even if it's only a short flight from Homer over a glacier.

Thanks Dfrostnh. Do you think we will make a mistake not taking the Ferry? We can do that, but just thought if we took it from Valdez to Whittier and then did the Kenai Fjords tour, we would see plenty of glacier action.

I really want to hike the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias NP and leaving out the ferry trip might allow for that.

If you had it to do over, would you consider driving the whole trip both ways and not taking the ferry.

Lynda

You're not going to see any glacier action on the Inside Passage trip. There was an interesting place where the glacier river mixed with sea water and you could see different colors of water. On your way thru the Yukon there's an old burn area where, if it's late July or later you will see acres of fireweed in bloom. Lake Kluane is also a spectacular sight. The ferry was a great experience and I think it depends on what sort of traveler you are. If you talk to people easily you might enjoy chatting with Alaskans since this is how they travel. It sounds like the hike is a priority for you. The ferry was great for my husband and son after a cross country drive. I flew to Seattle and met up with them there. You won't see any snow covered mountains until you get well up the Inside Passage. The forest service speaker gave about 3 or 4 lectures each day and that was a great introduction to Alaska.
I really wanted to hear Hobo Jim sing so on our last trip we finally managed to hear him at a dinner show in Soldotna. The food was pretty good. He was pretty funny and I love his songs. Except for a couple from Colorado who share our table, I think everyone else was local. So, ... do what you think will be the highlight for you. I bet you'll have a terrific time.

Like you, I think the Ferry trip would be a great change of pace after such a l-o-n-g drive; its' just that we can't do everything--but I'm trying to squeeze in as much as possible!

I have semi-planned the trip driving to Prince Rupert and taking the Ferry to Haines, then taking the fast ferry to Skagway for the train trip then back to Haines to travel on, hopefully, to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I really want to do the Root Glacier Hike. From there, I thought we might travel to Valdez and take the Ferry to Whittier and then on to Homer for a couple of nights,then to Seward for at least 2, maybe three days. I want to do the Exit Glacier hike, Kenai Fjords all day trip and the Ididaride dog sled. Then make our way to Denali with stops in Girdwood and Talkeetna. I'm planning 2 nights in Denali and then two nights in Fairbanks with a side trip to Coldfoot across the Arctic Circle. If we go back to Glennallen from Valdez and then down to Palmer, Girdwood, etc. instead of the ferry from Valdez to Whittier, I would like to do a cruise of Prince William Sound.

Did you say that you drove the AlCan home? Were the roads really bad? One reason I don't want to take the AlCan up is because I don't want to listen to my husband complaining about dings in the car or a broken windshield for the whole trip. If we wait to drive it home, then I only have to listen for the trip home.

In addition to the above, I'd love to go to Gustavus for an overnight and a tour of Glacier Bay but that is really expensive on top of everything else. Am also considering a Fjord Express tour from Haines to Juneau. It lists a visit through the scenic Lynn Canal, whale watching & wildlife in action, a tour of Juneau and a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier. Is this worth doing do you think? Especially if I have to leave out someting else, like the Wrangell-St. Elias trip.

I will be grateful for a critique of my plans and any other advice you have.

Lynda

You're going to places we haven't visited. Looks like you're packing a lot in. I think the only recommendation I could make is to stay flexible. On our last trip we did a spur of the moment trip out of Seward. The water was very calm so there wasn't any problem with seasickness. My husband used to have good sea legs until one deep sea fishing trip so he was afraid he would be sick again. Nobody was sick. We were there during a heat wave and drought so we didn't have to alter plans because of rain. We've only been as far north as Talkeetna which was nice for an afternoon. It's an interesting town. A lot of people do a flightseeing from there.
The jeep stayed in Alaska. We flew home. Eventually our son did a marathon drive home. The roads were fine there was just minor problem with a rear brake and waiting for gas stations to open. You can check road conditions on the internet to see if there is any road construction or closures due to forest fires. Stay open to the unexpected. I love farmers markets. They are only open certain days. The one in Homer had fresh oysters. One of my favorite events was attending the Forest Fair in Girdwood which is held just before 4th of July. Great craftspeople and food vendors. We have friends who made a temporary move to Alaska ... and are still there. It's interesting to hear stories of people who vacationed there and ended up staying. It's impossible to see it all. I'm sure you will savor what you do see and remember it always.

Lynda, please read answer to this post and you get answers to questions you asked today

Of your orginal question, I like the drive out of Haines better then out of Skagway to Fairbanks. So I would take a one way ferry to Haines then Tok. From the S. Klondike Highway to Fairbanks, is pretty boring, it doesn't sound like you have any time for Kluane anyway???

As for the trip to Juneau, you'll need to add a day, I wouldn't do this as a day trip. As for Mendenhall Glacier- certainly very accessable, but not really one of the "beautys" of Alaska in my opinion, having seen a lot of glaciers. You will see Worthington, and probably Aialik Glacier out of Seward?