Help with short itinerary in Alaska prior to cruise
May 1st, 2013, 09:02 PM
#1
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Help with short itinerary in Alaska prior to cruise
Hi - We are spending a few days (3) in Alaska prior to a cruise. 2 Adults and 3 kids (teens). We are planning on spending 2 nights in Denali and are looking for a place to spend the third night somewhere in between DNP and Whittier (cruise port). We will have a rental car. Was originally planning on Talkeetna to take a flightseeing tour but many places there are already booked and the city seems a little out of the way. Would Wasilla or Palmer be better? Are there other cities south of DNP from where you can take a flight tour?
Thanks.
Thanks.
May 2nd, 2013, 02:18 AM
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A Talkeetna visitors center person helped us find these cabins. There's no nearby restaurant but certainly plenty of room for 5 people. You'll want to bring some food in with you and be warned there's not much choice in grocery shopping once you get north of Wasilla.
http://www.gatecreekcabins.com/winter.asp
We stayed there in 2004 so maybe someone has more current info. The cabin was a pleasant place to spend the night but check the mileage to Talkeetna. Still not as far as Wasilla or Palmer.
http://www.gatecreekcabins.com/winter.asp
We stayed there in 2004 so maybe someone has more current info. The cabin was a pleasant place to spend the night but check the mileage to Talkeetna. Still not as far as Wasilla or Palmer.
May 2nd, 2013, 06:15 AM
#4
Okay, this might sound a little contrary - just my opinion, disregard if you want.
Three days in Alaska and two nights at Denali? That means that the one actual day you can spend in the park will consist of sitting on a bus going into the park interior, getting off for a pretty short visit and look-see, then back on the bus and back to the park HQ. If the mountain happens to be obscured (which it is half of the time or better) or if the animals choose not to reveal themselves at close range, it's a long day, and the benefit:cost calculation might be wonky.
My suggestion, which you surely can discard, would be to scrub the Denali trip and - if and only if the mountain is visible - do a flightseeing trip out of Anchorage instead. Go with Rust's or any other flightseeing operator at Lake Hood. That way it's a threefer - not only do you get to see Denali up close (awesome if it's out) but you get to see some pretty impressive wilderness on the way up and back, AND you get to do it on floats, something you can't do with flights out of Talkeetna.
Doing it out of Anchorage takes half a day, leaving you with a day and a half to spend doing something else. The "something else" I'd recommend would be to head to Seward (2 1/2 hours from Anchorage vs. 5 to Denali) and take a Kenai Fjords cruise. You'll see lots of wildlife, some very impressive scenery (that won't be replicated during the cruise) and will have a greater choice of accommodations, food and activities in Seward. Hike to Exit Glacier, or go fishing, whatever.
Seward and the Kenai Fjords are "sure things," versus a better than 50-50 chance that Denali will be socked in, or that your day on a bus will be your strongest memory of the national park.
If you had a week I'd say fine, take your chances with Denali, but with 3 days I'd go with the odds.
Three days in Alaska and two nights at Denali? That means that the one actual day you can spend in the park will consist of sitting on a bus going into the park interior, getting off for a pretty short visit and look-see, then back on the bus and back to the park HQ. If the mountain happens to be obscured (which it is half of the time or better) or if the animals choose not to reveal themselves at close range, it's a long day, and the benefit:cost calculation might be wonky.
My suggestion, which you surely can discard, would be to scrub the Denali trip and - if and only if the mountain is visible - do a flightseeing trip out of Anchorage instead. Go with Rust's or any other flightseeing operator at Lake Hood. That way it's a threefer - not only do you get to see Denali up close (awesome if it's out) but you get to see some pretty impressive wilderness on the way up and back, AND you get to do it on floats, something you can't do with flights out of Talkeetna.
Doing it out of Anchorage takes half a day, leaving you with a day and a half to spend doing something else. The "something else" I'd recommend would be to head to Seward (2 1/2 hours from Anchorage vs. 5 to Denali) and take a Kenai Fjords cruise. You'll see lots of wildlife, some very impressive scenery (that won't be replicated during the cruise) and will have a greater choice of accommodations, food and activities in Seward. Hike to Exit Glacier, or go fishing, whatever.
Seward and the Kenai Fjords are "sure things," versus a better than 50-50 chance that Denali will be socked in, or that your day on a bus will be your strongest memory of the national park.
If you had a week I'd say fine, take your chances with Denali, but with 3 days I'd go with the odds.
May 2nd, 2013, 04:28 PM
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Thanks for the replies - I like the thought about Seward and doing a float plane ride. We've done a mountain flight/glacier landing in the past but never a landing on water. All good tips!
May 3rd, 2013, 04:36 AM
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Gardy >>That means that the one actual day you can spend in the park will consist of sitting on a bus going into the park interior, getting off for a pretty short visit and look-see, then back on the bus and back to the park HQ.
