We are going ono a cruise to Alaska in May of 2006. We can't decide if we should go from Anchorage to Denali Park and back, or fly to Fairbanks and take the rail to Denali and back to Anchorage. Is it worth the extra cost of the trip to see Fairbanks, and will the scenery on the rail be about the same as what we will see from Anchorage to Denali?

depends on how much time you have and what you want to do.

generally, however, the scenery north of denali isn't that great.

Thanks repete for your response. We will only be on the land part of our cruitetour for five nights. One night in Anchorage, two nights in Mt. McKinely/Denali Park, and two nights in Fairbanks.

I answered on another post, but you would get more information on Fairbanks if you request their visitor guide and take a look and see if the area is of interest? www.explorefairbanks.com Overall, the rail Anchorage/Fairbanks is kind of boring for me, plenty of repeative scenery that clearly isn't the best in Alaska, unless McKinley is viewable, which it seldom is.

I think Fairbanks is an excellent city loaded with attractions and most always a several day stop for me. I always do a flight north, which there are several to consider if you want to get above the Arctic Circle.

As only a suggestion, 5 days isn't a lot of time on a cruisetour, many hours are in transit and if you are going with Princess, your McKinley/Denali Park reference is lodges 100 miles apart and most likely only the Natural History tour into Denali Park- completely worthless in my opinion.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with BQ on this one.

I don't know if your plans are flexible enough to make changes, but here are my thoughts: With that little time on land, I think the Kenai Peninsula (Homer/Seward) has more to offer(nature beauty) than Fairbanks (sorry, Alaskaland is just too hokey and cliched). Yes, you can ride a paddleboat or pan for gold, which you can also do in Girdwood.

A flight north to Barrow, Nome or Kotzebue is another story. All are very worthwile, but you can do that from Anchorage.

Fairbanks used to have a big edge in museums with the great facility there, but Anchorage pretty much has caught up.

Two nights in FBX is too much. It's kind of the Omaha of Alaska -- the general area is not that scenic compared to southcentral AK.

Depending on your comfort level, you could dump the land tour, transfer to Anchorage and get a car. You'd see much more in your short time and the driving to major AK sites is easy. But a lot depends on your preferences.

Repete makes excellent points. I by no means feel Fairbanks should be a priority, but I do greatly enjoy visiting there.

I am fortunate to have plenty of flexability in my Alaska travels, but certainly first timers, need to research fully and make the best choices for the highlights.

We were booked for a land/cruise last year. After reading the great advice on this board, we dropped the land tour and have never looked back. With the help of all the experts here like BQ and repete, we had the trip of a lifetime by doing our own "land tour" in Alaska last summer!

We actually saved money, and we did and saw far more. You might want to consider it.

You will love Alaska! Enjoy!