Bill32

There is a saying...”If you want to make God smile, tell him your plans!’
Having said that, if you have Been There and Done That, I would very much appreciate any comments on the proposed Itinerary celebrating my wife’s big 5 –0 . Comments, opinions, and options appreciated. The distances and mileage quoted come from Map Quest..

Arrive Anchorage early afternoon after all day travel from East Coast…
Get rent a car and visit Museum of Art and History
Slow drive 40 miles and spend night in Girwood.

Day 1 Sun
AM Griwood Tam ride
Then drive 20 mikes to and take 4 hr ’26 Glacier Tour.
Drive 60 (2 hrs) miles and stay at Cooper Landing

Day 2 Mon
All Day River Raft trip with Alaska River Trips @ Cooper Landing (Anyone else try this one..?)
Drive 50 miles and spend night at Seaward

Day 3 Exit Glacier Walk to Ice Field (Can this be done and still make the 11:am boat launch time ??) Kenai Fjords Full Day Boat Tour
Stay second night at Seward

Day 4 Wednesday Drive 170 miles (5 hours ?) to Independence Mine (Arrive around 1:00pm)
Stay in Wasilla..Any other suggestions here..?

Day 5 Thurs
Drive 70 (2 hrs) miles to Talkeetna for Flight Seeing with Talkeetna Aero
After flight, drive 130 (3.5 hrs) miles to Denali Spend the night

Day 6 Friday
Denali all day tour with One Day Adventures (Any comments on this Operator..?)

Day 7 Saturday Slow Drive back from Denali to Anchorage (5 hrs) for PM Red Eye back to East Coast

Is this too aggressive.. ? Do the timelines look OK..? For some reason, I would feel a bit cheated if
we didn’t make the trip to Mt. M… But it does seem to take a big chunk of time out of the trip.

Thanks so much in advance…

tcapp

I would take something off and spend a night or two in Homer. I would definatly go to Seward, and I'd take a day cruise out of there.

Pat2003

Bill, when are you going? What time your flight is scheduled to arrive in Anchorage?

Don't even think about going to Homer for one night. You need AT LEAST two nights for Homer. With only one week available you already have plenty to do. Don't try to include any more activities. I would suggest staying first night in Anchorage. Again Anchorage deserves more than a quick overnight stay but your time is very limited. After spending a night in Anchorage leave early next morning for Girdwood to take a tram ride before your glacier tour. Then you can stay two nights in Seward. I would skip Cooper landing. You just don't have enough time for all places you listed. For more acurate milage try www.freetrip.com

After driving from Seward to Hatcher Pass, hiking /visiting mine there, then checking in to your accommodation in Wasilla you won't have much energy or time for many more activities.

Don't skip Denali, it is an amazing place to visit. If you decide not to go to Denali then you may add Homer to your itinerary but Denali is so different and so unique.

Also you need to have a plan B for each day just in case if it rains.

KMK

I like Pat's modifications to your trip.

Re: tcapps' Homer suggestion, I'm not enamored with Homer myself. We do take friends there when they visit us in Anchorage, and maybe it's just me, but I like both Seward and Denali WAY better. (Well...except Cups' restaurant in Homer is awesome, but I wouldn't add Homer to your trip for that!)

You'll want to take your time on the road to Girdwood, it is just spectacular, with lots of great pullouts to take in the view.

I really love Hatcher Pass & Independence Mine, too - that is SUCH a beautiful area, and the state park people have done a great job with the mine area.

Since Pat says to skip the rafting in Cooper Landing, there are short raft trips in the Denali area you could take on day 7 before heading back to Anchorage if you still want to run a river....if you've got a red eye, it's a LONG time before you need to be at the airport. (or you could keep the Cooper Landing raft trip & just do ONE of either the 26 glaciers boat trip or Kenai Fjords boat trip - that's too much time on the water for me, but depends on your interests, of course.)

Whatever you do - have a great time in Alaska!

dfrostnh

Sounds pretty good. Double check which Kenai Fjords tour you want to take. I just checked their website because the full day tour we took was something like 9am - 6pm. I would include a visit to the Sealife Center in Seward. It's small but very nice. You might only need two hours unless you want to take the behind the scenes tour.
We enjoyed the tram ride one August. Fun to take pictures standing in snow at the top. Don't forget you have a one way toll tunnel to go thru to get to Whittier. The visiters center for Portage Glacier is very interesting. You can listen to recordings of people who experienced the great earthquake. The town of Portage was abandoned after that.
We enjoyed Independence Mine but stayed in Palmer. If it's before the pass opens you have to take the long way around to get to the mine. We visited the mine in late June. The road from the Palmer side goes along a beautiful mountain stream. The restored buildings at the mine are very interesting. Hard to imagine it used to be a thriving community before WW2. Wasilla has built up a lot in the past 5 years, I liked staying in Palmer better but we also needed to be convenient to the state fair grounds. You might want to stop in Anchorage for lunch.
Between the time difference from the East Coast and the long hours of daylight, you might find yourself staying up later and dining later and getting a slow start the next day.
I loved Homer. Cafe Cups was fun. But I agree that you don't have enough time to include it this trip, esp if you want to go to Denali. And make sure you get to the airport early. We had a long wait to get thru security and heard people worried about missing their flight.

Miss_Maple

I agree with the previous posters -- you could do more in Anchorage -- Seward and have a taste of Alaska that you will want to come back. A trip to Palmer -- is an doable day trip out of Anchorage. I agree that Independence Mine State Historical Park is extremely well presented -- gives you a real sense of isolation and vastness that is Alaska. Also - the musk oxen farm was a real hit with my group -- as well as a stop at the Palmer Agriculture Visitor center to see some really large veggies.

Seward has lots to offer -- from Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjord's tours (not to be missed -- allow for an extra-day in case of rough seas and tours are cancelled).

The marine museum is worth a visit and make time for a wonderful hike to Tonsina point -- you pass through a majical moss coated forest. Stop at the Forest service park HQ in Seward to get directions. Sea kayaking also possible - offered.

On Saturday -- in Anchorage -- they have the flea market -- I bought my daughter a pair of Beaver Slippers which I just gave to her for Christmas -- she absolutely loves them (I was secretly hoping they wouldn't fit and I could have them). Many vendors with unique Alaskan items for sale. Also bought Christmas ornaments made out of glacier clay -- from native artists.

http://www.camsoft.us/personal2/Alas...e/pages/10.htm

BudgetQueen

I agree, skip Cooper Landing and head to Seward. Yes probably if you get to Exit Glacier by 9am you could take the upper trail to the glacier and be in time for an 11:30am Kenai Fjords boat tour.

You have a lot of driving but your itinerary is very doable.

If your Denali Park "tour" is to one of the lodges in Kantishna, this is never recommended by me for a day trip. Essentially you are purchasing an over priced lunch. You have very little time for any other activities. This area is definately worth overnights.

For day trips you are far better off using the park shuttle buses to at least Fish Creek.

If at all possible, add days, it will pay off greatly and allow you much more time at destinations.