I have read a lot of valuable discussions on the suggested itenaries in this forum.

We are flying to Anchorage at the third week of August and planning to spend 12 days. We (wife and two children (>12 yrs)) are planning to rent a car and go around. As suggested by many, We are planning to visit:
Homer(2), Seward(2), Valdez(1), Talkeetna(1), Whittier(1) and Denali(3), and spend little time in Anchorage (as advised by one of my friends).

So my question is:
We are planning to camp (car camp not RV Camp) whenever possible. What are the best places to camp in the above areas. We are avid hikers and what are the best hikes we should do. Also, we would like to do one long hike, which one do you recommend. Also, for four of us, I have a budget of $2000 to spend on activities..which activitiy I should do.? Flights or Bear watching..?

Also, thinking of going to Denali first and coming south from there..any suggestions..?

Thank you in advance

gac1yahoo, I hope you won't mind if I suggest a couple small changes to your itinerary. I worry that with your original schedule you won't have enough time for hiking and you stated you are avid hikers. Also you do not need to stay in Whittier. I assume you are taking a ferry to Valdez, right?
Anchorage 2 nights
Homer 2 nights
Seward 2 nights
Valdez 2 nights
Sheep Mountain or Copper Center 1 night
Talkeetna 1 night
Denali 2 nights
In Anchorage go with your kids to Alaska Native Center www.alaskanative.net

Our absolutely favorite trail around Anchorage starts about 19 miles south of of Anchorage, it is Bird Ridge and you can go forever on this trail. Views are breathtaking and you can see bald eagles fishing in the bay below you. Just fantastic. You can get in less than 1 hour to the first peak and this is a final destination for majority of hikers or you can continue for more views and a nice work out. In the beginning of your hike you are going to see many hikers but soon most of them are going to be gone.
The most popular trail in Anchorage is Flattop. It gets sometimes crowded but views are gorgeous and it is a nice hike.

In Homer go to Pratt museum and to Wynn's Nature Center. Take a noon boat to Halibut Cove for lunch. You may also walk on the beach during a low tide. Remember to check a tide schedule. If you budgeted $2000 for your activities then be aware that a bear watching trip for four people costs about $2100.00

Valdez is a paradise for hikers so you have to stay there for at least two nights. The long hike, about 9 miles one way, is Shoup Bay. There are nice views along the way although not many difficult sections
http://www.valdezalaska.org/maps/maps.html
We also like Keystone Canyon Pack Trail but it is much shorter. Don't miss the museum which is located in two separate buildings. In the airport there is seldom visited but a wonderful small museum. On the way from Valdez to Sheep Mountain area or Copper Center stop at Thompson Pass, then at Worthington Glacier where you can walk to the glacier and get some great pictures.

After you leave Sheep Mountain or Copper Center and before getting to Talkeetna plan on spending a few hours in Hatcher Pass visiting mine and hiking. maybe you would like to go hiking with crampons on Matanuska Glacier.

I am not going to comment on Seward, Talkeetna and Denali. Here are posters who know more about these places so they should be able to give you more helpful suggestions. Further, do search here on this forum under all places you are planning to visit. Sorry, I cannot comment on places to camp. Do you already have Milepost? Don't leave home without it.

I too highly recommend, you need 2 nights in Valdez. One just isn't worth it, since it takes time to get there and if you leave on the ferry, no time that day.

Thank you Pat and BudgetQueen..
Yes..I am planning to take the ferry. Since we will be there end of August..
do we need to make the advance reservations for the ferrry..?
Any advise on Car camping in the above places..? Is it better to camp in Savage River camp or outside the park.?

I am planning to go Denali first and come south becaz don't want to take chances on the temperature during Sep.

Thanks to all.

You definately need reservations for the ferry.

I don't car camp- sorry and not anything I would ever recommend in a rental car.

thank you all.

Since we live in Seattle, most probably we'll take a cruise next year or so. SO I was thinking of cuting a day in Anchorage and one day in seward/homer, use that time to drive upto Arctic. Just becaz to brag about being in Arctic..;-))
Is it worth it..? What are the chance of seeing bears..?

I was thinking of going to coldfoot..any suggestion.

Please advise.

We just returned from Alaska. We took a Artic Circle tour on the bus. For us it was not worth it. Way to expensive. A ALL day trip over very bumpy bumpy pot hole road. Nothing really to see. We did not see any wildlife on the whole trip. We left at 6:30 a.m. from Fairbanks and did not get back to our hotel until midnight. I had a splitting headache from the constant bumpy ride and my back hurt also,Our stops included once at a place on the Yukon river for lunch and again on the way back for dinner. We had to purchase our own lunch and dinner, bag lunch and a regular very expensive meal at night. Then at a place where we could view the pipeline, which we had already done. Nothing there except for a sign saying You are here at the Artic Circle. We thought they would at least have a small gift shop or something. But nothing. So it was the least favorite thing on our trip and we saw and did alot, as we drove and was in Alaska a total of a month. But if you want to just go and say you did it that is up to you. For my DH and I we would not recommend it, as there is so much more interesting things to do and see, nor would we ever do it again. JMO

Thank you very much for your suggestion...we won't do the arctic.

There is a change in Plan...I was able to book the Brooks Camp for first week of Sept. for four days and able to get the ticket to King Salmon...So I have adjusted the plan as below:

Day1 Denali Shuttle @ 1:30 to WonderLake camp
Day2 Wonderlake area - hiking arnd
Day3 Roam around the park in bus and hike. camp in wonderlake
Day4 Leave the park in the first bus and go to Talkeetna and stay..if weather good, take flight tour
Day5 Go to Seward in the morning, hike exit glacier or relax.
Day6 Hike Harding Ice Field
Day7 Fjords NP full day trip and go to Anchorage
Day8 Goto Katmai
Day9 Katmai
Day10 Katmai
Day11 Katmai
Day12 Return home

I don't prefer to cut the Katmai. But do you suggest cutting the Denali and visit Homer or Anchorage..?

Thank you.

We enjoyed Denali Park. Was a gorgeous sunny clear day so got to see Mt Mc Kinley in its glory. We are not hikers so cannot help you there at all, sure someone will step in and help. We went as far as Wonder Lake. Had our lunch right by the lake. The whole day trip was fabulous. Saw alot of wildlife. We did not go as far as Homer, as we do not hike, fish or kayak. But heard it is great if you do any or all of above. Anchorage I have not much to say. Just another city. Not much to see or do. Lucky for us my DH had relatives living in Anchorage. When they came to pick us up and asked what we wanted to do, we said "just show us the sights". Their reply was not much to show,(and they are our age and have lived and worked there all their lives), so they did take us to the museum which was very interesting, and to the Turnigain Bay by the Int'l airport and watch the planes fly in, and then to a area to watch the float planes.They told us to drive out of Anchorage if we wanted to see things. Again not hikers, also there just is not much scenery, we had to drive out on Seward Highway towards Seward before we saw mountains and scenery. We did the Kenai Fjords tour and that was great out of Seward.Loved the town of Seward. Saw alot of whales, otters, seals. Scenery was great. And then the next day we took a bus tour and it included the Exit Glacier. We hiked out to the glacier but did not hike any furthur. So I am sure someone will be here to help you with the hiking part. My DH and I are in our 70's and hiking is not our thing, but have fun and I am sure you will enjoy Alaska in whatever manner you decide.

We hiked throughout Denali - if you click on my name, you can find my trip report. Hiking off road in Denali was absolutely amazing. We also did some hikes between Moose Pass & Seward. Our favorite was Vagt Lake - only 1.5 miles each way to this stunning lake with a gorgeous reflection of the trees on it. My husband fished while I walked around and took photos. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip!