lucrefamily

My wife and I and two girls [8 and 10] are in Alaska from the 3rd to the 18th of June. Have read some stuff about cruises mixed with train travel that stop off at various towns and cities. I'd love to know what others have done and in what order.
Thanks
Colin

dfrostnh

Although we enjoyed our ferry trip up the Inside Passage, I like traveling on land better and making up our own schedule. I like to attend events as well as the usual tourist choices. Our last trip started with a quilt show in Kenai and an event in Palmer and ended with a 4th of July parade. Since you have two young children, I would look for things they would really like to do, maybe panning for gold or identifying sea creatures at the Sea Life Center in Seward. It's easy to spend too much time in a car since Alaska is so big. If you visit the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla, there might be sled dog puppies to hold. They also had short wheeled gig rides when we visited. I think others have said they've rented bicycles in Anchorage. The tram ride up Alyeska is also fun and there will probably be snow at the top if the girls haven't made snowballs before.

dowab

The inside passage cruise is fantastic, but you might get alot of rain. The scenic railroad in Skagway in just incredible. Denali National Park is true wilderness where no cars are allowed. If you are going to Denali, make sure you get the book Discovering Denali. The best Northern exposure like town is Talkeetna which is just south of Denali.

dwooddon

You know your kids better than we do but I would think a cruise might be somewhat boring for them. Mt personal preference is also for land travel in Alaska but with a one-day boat trip to Kenai Fjords National Park thrown in.

The train route from Seward to Anchorage is seriously scenic and is short enough that the kids probably won't be bored.

Have a wonderful trip.

Gardyloo

A bit more info will be useful -

You're in Alaska from 3 - 18 June. How are you getting there and how are you leaving? If by air (assume to Anchorage) then a one-way cruise (all to or from Vancouver BC) may be out of the question, since the one-way cruises consume either the going-to or the coming-from part of the journey. Round-trip ("return") cruises all start and end in Vancouver or Seattle, and don't come close to Anchorage, so if your flight plans are confirmed they're pretty much out of the picture too.

There is very limited train service in Alaska and IMO the train is less scenic, more expensive, and obviously less flexible than hiring a car to visit Denali, the Kenai peninsula, etc. Driving in Alaska is easy and while car rental costs are high, so is everything else (not that Oz is especially cheap to Americans - in fact I bet you'll find prices pretty similar.)

Alaska is similar to Australia in that it's very big and not especially densely settled, with a lot of areas not accessible to casual tourists. So you will need to do some research to make the most of your time. I recommend www.alaska.com for a high-speed primer for visitors to the north country. Happy planning!