suechef

I would love to have some thoughts on the following trip. Is this too ambitious? Too much driving? We are leaving first part of August and staying for 14 days...just DH and me. We don't care if we don't see Denali this trip..just gives us an excuse to come back again. I did purchase the Milepost and have outlined many stops for small hikes/scenic stuff along the way. I've also gotten so much good advice from these forums...unbelievable. Thanks for your help.

Day 1: Arrive Anchorage..don't know flight yet

Day 2: Drive to talkeetna... Flight over Denali? Stay in Palmer/Hatcher Pass area?
Considering that we are going to McCarthy, is Hatcher's Pass repetitive of McCarthy etc?

Day 3:
Drive to McCarthy/Kennicott area...May fly from Chitina into McCarthy..that way can flightsee and bypass slow, bumpy road...(can also save $$ by not renting SUV from Anc)

Day 4: McCarthy/Wrangell NP area
horseback ride, check out old mine etc
walk on glacier hike

Day 5: Drive back to Anchorage, check out some sights..I believe this is almost a 6 hour drive.

Day 6: Slow drive to Seward..take in all the sights..Turnagain Arm; Girdwood; Portage Glacier...stay overnight at Fox Island??
Has anyone taken this trip in conjunction with the Kenai Fjords trip...sounds very relaxing?

Day 7: Kenai Fjords All day cruise..Is this cruise too much...can we go on the 6 hour cruise and see just about the same thing? Obviously, there is a 3 hour difference, but how much time do you need to really experience this fully?
Has anyone booked with Alaska Saltwater Lodge's Small Group tour...they only take 16, seems much more flexible than larger cruises. I am prone to seasickness, but figured with medicine will be ok on small boat rather than larger boat. Overnight in Seward at B&B.

Day 8: Seward to Homer..stop to watch fishing and check out Kenai River area..overnight at B&B in Homer

Day 9/10/11/12: Homer
kayak in Kachemak; Seldovia day trip/hiking & ATV; fishing charter one day for DH while I just tool around; 1/2 day fishing for both

Day 13: Drive back to Anchorage...check out anything we missed first time around

Day 14: back home!

dfrostnh

Looks like a great itinerary! We went on the 9 hours tour and picked up passengers who had overnighted at Fox Island. Sounded like they enjoyed it. I'm not sure how the 9 hour compares with the 6 hour. We spent a 1/2 hour in front of the glacier with the engines turned off, waiting for it to calve. The bay is filled with ice chunks. You might see a small boat and seals on an ice chunk. It was a very dramatic 1/2 hour even if we didn't see a big chunk of ice fall off. On the trip back there was time for napping. We lucked out with a very calm, warm day. If you are going to get sea sick I wouldn't think the size of the boat would make much difference. I figure more time out on the water gives you more chance to see whales.
Last year there was a nice exhibit at the Kenai Visitors Center. When you pass thru Soldotna, you'll go thru a commercial strip mall area. After that, there's mostly scenery until you get to Homer but there's a fried clam place right on the beach in the Ninilchik area. You'll have to check the Milepost because you have to take a little side road to get to it. The clams are breaded and not like what we have in New England.
If you are in Homer on a Saturday there's a small farmer's market that I really enjoyed. If you have kitchen facilities you could buy some local oysters. Find out where Hobo Jim, Alaska's balladeer, is playing. He's quite a character.

BudgetQueen

Flying into Kennicott is the way to go and most all rental cars are prohibited and ones that are, I still wouldn't drive it, the road is in terrible shape. But this area is totally undeveloped, no comparism to Hatcher Pass, but again you will be limited to the Palmer side since that is paved.

Seward- Fox Island is nice, but definately the Northwestern trip is superior for wildlife compared to the shorter trips, take a look at the route map. Kenai Fjords also puts its fastest and nicest boat on this sailing.

Wrong on your small ship seasickness idea. Totally opposite, you move a LOT more on a smaller boat and precautions are necessary for anyone prone to sea sickness.

As a suggestion, I would cut back one day in Homer and from Copper Center, continue on to Valdez and ferry to Whittier then to Seward. Extremely scenic portion of the Richardson. And gives you another routing.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I can't help with the itinerary, but can almost guarantee you more answers if you put your DESTINATION in the TITLE of this thread. All threads go into one large "United States" msssage area, and a vague title such as yours, "Help with itinerary and lots of questions!" will be skipped over by a number of people who could give you excellent suggestions. Enjoy your trip.

rjw_lgb_ca

Now rb, you know that if the title contains the word "itinerary" without a destination, it ALWAYS refers to Alaska!

And if a place or hotel is mentioned without a city, it's ALWAYS New York City!

Fodors conventions and rules....

suechef

Thanks to you all:
dfrost:
Just what I love about this forum..all these little nuggets of info.
Love the clam restaurant on the way to Homer and also will check out the Kenai Visitor Center. Have heard of Hobo Jim and will try to find where he's playing during our stay.

BQueen:
Great idea about taking ferry from Valdez to Whittier...just saw some info on Stan Stephens tour to Growler Island that drops you off for kayaking. Looks like stunning scenery...altho it all does, which is making it so hard to pick where to go and what to see.
Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
Sounds very similar to Fox Island set-up but in Glacier Bay rather than in Kenai Fjords area.

RB: well, I am somewhat of a newbie and just didn't realize...thought I had highlighted Alaska when I posted..thanks for the heads up and I will be (maybe) more together next time!! So I reposted and we'll see!