My husband and I are taking a 2 wk vacation to Alaska in August. We want to see Anchorage, Denali, Homer, Seward, Juneau, and Sitka. I'm having a heck of a time trying to work out an itinerary with the ferries and planes. Any ideas?

I would start with the Alaska Marine Highway's website. http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.html

For Anchorage/Denali, you will either need to take the Alaska Railroad (8 hours) or drive (around 4 hours). I believe it's about a 2-3 hour drive from Anchorage to Seward. You can pick up the ferry in Seward or Homer, but the cities you have chosen are a bit tricky. Perhaps you could change them slightly to find ferries that are easier to schedule. Also, Alaska Air allows you to fly into one city and leave from another, so you might want to think about that option too (in to Anchorage, out of Juneau). Good luck. You will love Alaska.

As for Anchorage, Denali, Homer and Seward, I would recommend flying into Anchorage and renting a car. Use the Milepost (available at Barnes and Noble and many other bookstores) and plan it out. The car will allow you the flexibility of lingering at places you like, exploring options along the way, etc. I would spend most of your planning time on picking out places to stay that fit your taste.

Downtown Anchorage has many options, we liked the Land's End Resort in Homer with its incredible views from the middle of the bay, in Denali I've heard that the wilderness lodges inside the park are the best (we stayed at the park entrance) and Seward has several good options with views of the bay.

Sorry, no info on Juneau or Sitka. We spent our two weeks in the other four and even that seemed like a frantic pace with all that there is to see in and between them. Keep in mind that you don't want to spend your entire trip between destinations.

Good luck and have a great vacation!

Hi Tanyia~ Sitka is lovely for nature and we wished we had more time there. Seward, only to take the boat cruises for the day. The Misty Fjords via sea plane are unbelievably beautiful. I liked Anchorage for the restaurants and day trips. We loved Talketeena (sp?) and the lodge there for the fantastic view of Denali and decent rooms and food. We took a boat trip up the river from here, I think it was called Clear Creek, and went looking for bears and salmon fishing. Unbelievably gorgeuos place. Personnally, the odds of having good weather are quite bad and the road construction is just awful, so I would pass on Denali the next time. Save the road travel, unless you really want to explore Denali's beauty and with all the restrictions, that is somewhat difficult.

Thanks for the Good tips! I've worked out a itinerary that hopefully won't kill us and actually allow us to see parts of Alaska.