I would apprieciate help with my Alkaska plans. We are two adults and two children 9 & 11 and we arrive in Anchorage on the 12th of July and have one week to see the interior before we board Princess Cruises on the 19th in Whitter. I have read all the great advice here and have learned much! Plan to pick up a van at airport (355.00 Dollar rental fee for the week), drive down to Seward for exit glacier and Kenai Fords tour (which tour do I book- the longest yes but does anyone know the name of the tour?). I want to book one or two nights in Seward, recommendations please!!! From Seward we plan to drive to Telkeetna. Should we stop for an overnight on the way to Telkeetna or drive it in one day from Seward? Telkeetna Alaska Lodge sounds like the most highly recommended lodge so we may splurge and stay there one night, so pricey 350 per adult includes a tour! We would like to fly over McKinley summit but it sounds like we should hold off booking this sightseeing flight until we see if we have a clear day, is that correct? Please post any flight tour operator recommendations? Then on to Denali Princess Lodge for two nights. Lots of fun things to do at Denali, shuttle bus through the park, kennels and mushing demo, hikes, ranger talks and campfires maybe some rafting. Last but not least we drive back to Anchorage stopping, to explore and spend one or two nightst & then catch our cruise on the 19th out of Whitter. Any comments &/or ideas most welcome and appriecated! Do you think it's worth it for me to purchase the Alaskan toursaver book?

Sounds like a busy trip. You'll need to rest up when you get back!

Newbee, we did our trip in 1998, so I hope this will still be of some help to you.

The Kenai Fjords we took was the "Kenair Fjords National Park Tour".
In Seward, we stayed at the Best Western HOtel Seward on 5th Avenue. It was very nice.

We did not overnight in Talkeetna but we used the Talkeetna Taxi Service for our 2 hr Grand Denail and Glacier Landing Flightseeing Tour. It was fabulous. Because there were 7 of us, we had prebooked our tour for a specific time and date and the weather was perfect.

In Denali, we stayed at the Denali Bluffs which as I remember was across the street from the Princess. We did the Raft Trip along the Nenanna River with Wolf Spirt Expeditions. They were very professional and provided a great adventure.

While we enjoyed the 11-hr trip thru Denali, it does make for a very long day, especially if you have young children who are apt to get bored easily.

One thing you did not mention that we really enjoyed and the kids probably would too is a visit to Portage Glacier, Mt. Alyeska (take the tram up to the Seven Glaciers Restaurant) and a gold mine near Girdwood (can't remember the name). These are all just outside of Anchorage.

Hope this helps.

Bettyk thanks for all your suggestions. Portage Glacier does sound like a great addition to our trip. I am concerned about the kids tolerating the long shuttle ride through Denali park - maybe a tour vs the shuttle is the way to go since there will be a guide and a presentation. I will find out if the tours/lodging you used are still operating. Thanks again for the tips! I am rethinking the Telkeetna Alaska Lodge as it is just so pricey. Any suggestions of where to stay in Telkeetna?

Sorry, I can't help with the overnight in Talkeetna since we didn't stay there. However, I did find some info on the Gold Mine we visited. I think the kids would really enjoy "panning for gold". http://www.crowcreekgoldmine.com/.

Oh, I remembered something else you might enjoy if it fits into your schedule. There is a wonderful place called the Resurrection Roadhouse Restaurant outside of Seward. Wonderful place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. http://www.alaskatravel.com/seward/s...ong-lodge.html

We rented an RV so we didn't have to worry about hotels/motels/B&Bs and could just pick up and go. Even though it seemed expensive, given the cost of food and lodging, it saved us $$. We picked up food in an Anchorage supermarket for the week (plan your meals) because food in the interior was more expensive. You can park in RV parks all over Alaska for under $20/night(the RV company can give you maps or you can look online). Can even do a dry camp overnight in Walmart if you wanted, or along the highway in a rest area. It's allowed there.

Denali area has an RV park. Suggest you get an early tour into the park if you want to catch more animals (they're getting breakfast too). Suggest you bring something for the kids to do if there are no sightings. Pack food/drinks in a collapsible cooler since there are none in the park. (Gameboy or such too, but only as a last resort given the ages of your kids). Binoculars are a definite and cameras. We gave ours each a disposable camera so they could create their own memories along the way. At the lodge where you sign up for the tours, the rangers have a coloring book where the kids could get "official Ranger badges" if they do the activities in the book. So bring a few crayons or colored pencils too. The kids will like the dog kennels.

There are a lot of tours out of Seward to Kenai Fjords; we took the one with the Ranger aboard who gave us great info. Seward's Exit Glacier can take 1-2 hrs but I doubt you'll spend more than that unless you're into wilderness and hiking. You can climb on the glacier, but you need to walk 1/2 to 1 mile to get to it. Some of it is on paved ground, but around the glacier it's dirt/mud/glacial streams to cross. The only part of the glacier most people seemed to crawl onto to get a photo op was at the edge. It's very slippery ice -- even my hockey playing kids thought so.

You'll enjoy the cruise and so will the kids. Have fun!

Regarding recommendations :

In Seward, we enjoyed our stay at the Seward Windsong Lodge.

Talkeetna Aero Services provides summit flights over Mt Mckinley from Talkeetna.

In Denali, i would recommend the shuttle over the tour bus. The tour buses do not go far enough. Maybe the shuttle upto Eielson if you do not want to go to Wonder Lake.

I would suggest that you check out the Toursaver website for the deals and restrictions so you get to know before hand how much you might save before buying it.

BTW, I would pass on Portage glacier especially if you are going to Glacier Bay on your cruise.

Hope this helps !

I too never recommend the tour buses- too costly for what you get. As mentioned, take a small cooler and either have your lodging prepare you a box lunch or purchase something your self, like Bubbs subs- or my favorite- a loaf of bread and peanut butter and jelly. Eielson would be my distance in in July- Wonder Lake is JUST too buggy then. For clairfication- there are signs ALL over Exit glacier prohibiting contact with the ice- it is dangerous and unpredictable. You can get very close views however. For a REAL Alaska adventure- you can consider the Talkeetna Roadhouse- upstairs rooms only- you would need 2 with a shared bath. Just so "Alaska" and great food there too. There are several B&B's that are wonderful- for a budget the Latitude is cheap. Good food there too. Contact the Visitor Center there- they offer supurb lodging information.

Thanks everyone, I've gotten so many good ideas from you all. After I read your wonderful messages I keep changing my mind about how to fill up my week of sight seeing in Alaska. It all sounds so great!

Hope you're still reading the replies to your original post. My wife and I did a very similar trip two years ago and I can strongly recommend pretty much everything we did (and that you're going to do). The Kenai Fjords tour was a definite highlight - lots of wildlife both in and out of the water, and lots of calving glaciers - the scenery on the Princess ship the next week paled in comparison since the megaship can't get nearly as close to the action.

We stayed at the Talkeetna Lodge for two nights. It is very nice - make sure you pay the couple extra dollars to face the mountains, we woke to an amazing view of McKinley both days, not a cloud in the sky (very lucky, we hear). Make sure to bring the bug spray - we tried to stay outside to watch the sunset (at 11:30pm!) but found the gnats at that hour unbearable. We flew K-2 Aviation to McKinley and landed on a glacier and walked around - very cool and highly recommended.

Also, outside of Seward, try to go to Ididaride, which is a dog sledding place. You can play with the puppies and take a ride behind some of the dogs (in the summer you're in a wheeled sled.) The owner/operator just won the Ididarod last week.

You don't need to stop between Talkeetna and Seward, it's not that far.

Have a great time!