bigtyke

Excellent report. I am glad you enjoyed the riverboat ride in Fairbanks and the U of A museum. Those were two of our favorite activities on our trip. I am always puzzled that so many on various forums say to skip Fairbanks.

Fodorite018

We were in Alaska a few weeks after you. I agree, such a wonderful place! Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed reading

indiancouple

Thanks bigtyke and mms for the nice words. Glad you enjoyed the TR.

Maggi123

This is an awesome trip report. I am also planning to travel Alaska for 9 days. After reading your trip report, I am making some, no lots of changed to my trip report. I am from Delhi, but now both me and my husband are in California. Really liek the way you described everything.
Thanks!

indiancouple

Thanks Maggie. Hope you have a wonderful trip to Alaska. It is the closest place to Heaven on this planet !

TigerPhotog

Nice report, am using your info for my trip . I had a question, did you pay in full for the 2 For 1 MM Wildlife tour and then get reimbursed on the day of the cruise ? I don't see a choice on their site for entering any coupon code for the 2nd free ticket...Thanks !

incognitochic

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your TR. I'm in the beginning stages of planning an Alaskan trip from Pennsylvania. Bookmarked this page. Thanks again.

indiancouple

Tigerphotog, I think you have to book over telephone to avail of the 2-for-1 discount ; atleast that is what we did. If you mention that you will be using the coupon, you will be charged for only 1 ticket. The ticket will mention that the booking has been done based on the coupon, which you will have to produce at the time of boarding (else you pay then for the extra ticket). I don't think you can pay for 2 tickets and get a refund for 1 later. So I suggest you call them up and do a telephonic booking.

indiancouple

incognitochic, first of all, I love your screen name ! Secondly, thanks for writing in your appreciation ! Have a great trip.

joangk

I want to jump in and add my compliments to a well-written and informative trip report. I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Alaska and your report really helped. I am impressed by your energy; you certainly did not waste your valuable travel time.

indiancouple

Thanks for the kudos joangk. Hope you have as lovely an Alaskan vacation as we had ! If I can be of any help, please let me know.

50states

Awesome trip report. Please educate us if we need have any Canadian clearance in any of these places. We are both on a U.S. visa only and need to make sure we have a Canadian one too in advance. Thanks.

LindainOhio

This itinerary is all in Alaska.

Many cruises start in Vancouver, which is in Canada. IF you are considering a cruise, you would need the Canadian visa

indiancouple

Hi 50states, as the post just after your query mentions, you need not get a Canadian visa if you are flying in and out of Alaska. We flew in from New York, and flew back to New York, and hence a Canadian visa was not required. However, if you are transiting through Canada, then it would be different.

50states

Thanks LindainOhio & indiancouple. I have one more question pertaining to Fairbanks....We are planning a 9 day trip (8 full days). I see that you did a 11 day trip...Is it ok to trade off Fairbanks to compensate for the 2 day shortage? Please advice.

indiancouple

50states, yes I would leave out Fairbanks if I had limited time. I would not consider Fairbanks a high tourist priority in Alaska. Our reason for visiting Fairbanks was to see the University where our daughter had studied for 3 years, and to meet some friends. Since you have only 8-9 days, you should definitely leave out Fairbanks and concentrate on the more touristy spots. What time of the year are you going ? How are you reaching Alaska - by cruise or by air ?

50states

@indiancouple - Thanks for the advice! We (Indian couple) have scheduled our trip from June 7-Jun16 2013...We will arrive in Anchorage by air on the evening of 7th and go from there. Also, can you let us know which coupon book is good for the trip (I see you used NL coupon).

Scrappr2

Wonderful summary of your trip! We are planning our trip to Alaska in August. I can't wait. Our itinerary is still in the works, but very similar to yours, except for Fairbanks. A few questions, if you don't mind:
-You seemed happy with the N/L discount book. Did you purchase it online or when you arrived in AK? Did most businesses accept it easily?
-You did quite a few organized tours - Denali bus, flight seeing, glacier viewing by boat. How far in advance did you book them? I'm concerned about booking in advance and then not having good visibility.
-I'm going to try to book at Bears Den B&B. You had a good experience according to your report?
Thank you, Nancy

indiancouple

50states, there are 2 coupon books available. You can google them, and check out the exact discounts offered on each (by scrolling online). Both books are good, it is just a matter of which one suits your itinerary better. We found the Norther Lights coupon book much better for what we wanted to do.

Scrappr2, yes we did purchase the NL coupon book online in advance. There was absolutely no problem whatsoever in any merchant accepting or honoring the discounts listed. In fact they all welcomed it.

We booked most tours a few months in advance. This is essential especially for tours in which you want to use the coupon book. They offer limited seats on each tour for coupon holders, and if these have sold out, they may not offer you the discounted tour on that date. So I highly recommend booking them well in advance.

As for visibility, the only tour that could get affected by visibility issues is the McKinley flightseeing. If the weather is really bad, I think the flight does not go and you get a refund (you can check this while booking). The boat cruises out of Seward or Whittier do not get affected by visibility, and I doubt if bad visibility will really affect the trip. As far as Denali is concerned, if you are there, I am sure you will want to go inside the park irrespective of the weather (what else will you do sitting out anyway ?). Also, seeing Mt McKinley inside Denali may or may not happen (we did not see it on both days inside), but the Denali experience is not really affected anyway.

Although Alaskan weather is always a matter of chance, I do not think it takes away from the joys of viewing. So go ahead and plan, and make all your bookings. Even if the weather is iffy on some days, you will enjoy them anyway. Do not leave these bookings till the end, as they will get sold out (unless you are traveling in a lean season period).

Please definitely book the Bears Den B&B at Seward. It is simply awesome. Best B&B we have ever stayed in by a mile !

marlene_

Great report.

We are planning to visit Alaska next summer (2014) and are trying to decide if doing the trip on our own versus a cruise would be more cost effective and more importantly, more enjoyable.

Did you feel you were rushed? Would you have opted for more time in any area? Also curious on the number of miles you put on the rental car.