I Am planning a trip to Alaska at the end of May. I am having the most difficult time deciding where to go...Kenai area, Denali, the Inside Passage. SO much to see and do! Are there any experts out there who can help me out? I want to see wildlife, the outdoors but am also very interested in the native culture and history of Alaska. I have about two weeks.

Hello karas, if you don't get responses you may wish to start a new thread and entitle it something along the lines of "Where to visit in Alaska?" as the title of this thread does not give any indication that you are interested in Alaska. Best regards.

Quick reply:

My wife and I did a 2 week vacation in late June last year. We flew in and out of Anchorage, rented a car, ans stayed at B&B's or similar. Our route included Denali, across the Denali Hwy to Paxton and on to Chitna, a flight to and from Kennicott, drive to Valdez, ferry to Cordova, ferry to Whittier, out the Kenai Peninsula. We splurged on a weekend at a Bear Camp near Lake Clark NP.

My wife specifically wanted to visit Denali, and I saw no need to drive further to Fairbanks. We rented a car from an Anchorage company that explicitly allowed travel on the Denali Hwy, which is gravel. In our experience Denali NP and the Denali Hwy were fine, but I can't recommend it over other options.

The wildlife at Denali was seen at a distance, and it is a lot of driving. The Denali Hwy is undisturbed landscape, but so is most of Alaska.

I think another itinerary would be a good choice, if you do a similar trip. Drive from Fairbanks to Talkeetna or similar, view Denali from the air, and drive the Glenn Hwy. Use the 2 weeks to enjoy Alaska, not just through a window.

We spent a couple of weeks in Alaska in a RV, and toured from Fairbanks to the Kenai peninsula including Anchorage and Denali. Denali is a beautiful national park but the wildlife can be far away compared to other places in Alaska. I'm glad we saw it but it was not our favorite place in Alaska. Many of the positive comments on this message board about Denali come from people who did a cruise and a side trip to Denali.

I highly recommend the Kenai peninsula with a flight to view bears and other wildlife out of Homer.

As for native culture and history, Fairbanks has a nice museum and just outside Anchorage, there is a "living museum" run by Alaskan natives. I can't recall the name but someone else probably can. Other than those "big city" experiences, to experience native culture and history, I'd recommend visiting some of the small towns where the native Alaskans live.

Agree with pugowner--you could give Fairbanks a miss. We've lived in AK for 26 years. We went to Fairbanks in 1983, and haven't yet seen a need to go back.

You don't say if you're cruising or driving. You won't see the Inside Passage from a car. However, ferries are also much cheaper than cruise ships.

There are lots of day cruises out of Seward which advertise that you'll see wildlife. Not necessarily. On a sunny day the scenery is pretty, but don't expect more--maybe a sea otter on its back with a baby on its chest.

We are planning on taking a ferry. Would you choose Kenai over the Inside Passage?

We were lucky on our 9 hour trip out of Seward to see several pods of Orcas, a pair of humpback whales, lots of seals, birds, etc. The glacier didn't calve but we sure thought it might.
If you fly into Anchorage you could easily head north to visit Independence Mine. They have restored some of the old buildings from when it was a booming mining town. The signs and displays were fascinating. There is also a small transportation museum in or near Wasilla that has a lot of information on early flight. Check their events schedule. We missed a plow up day due to another activity but thought this would be interesting. The town of Kenai has a nice but small visitors center with interesting displays. Don't miss the Pratt Museum in Homer. There are several short videos playing including one on homesteading in AK in the 1950s. You should expect to see mother and baby moose in the Kenai area where it is swampier. Some hang out in suburban neighborhoods. The eagles in Homer are incredible. Also, on the way to Seward, stop at the visitors center for Portage Glacier. Great recordings you can listen to about experiencing the Great Earthquake. Portage had to be abandoned. From Homer it is possible to visit Seldovia. When we were there in 2004 I thought they were working on a native musuem. It is a very small native town only accessible by boat or small plane. We did an overnight package at the Boardwalk Hotel.
If you don't get any books before your trip, make sure to visit the Title Wave bookstore in Anchorage. It has a large selection of new and used books. Tisha, the biography of a teacher during the early 1900s is an amazing story about living in a remote town and the prejudice at the time. Joe Reddington's biography is an interesting story of how he settled in AK and eventually became the father of the Iditarod. Keep in mind that sled dogs were used a lot until the 1960s when snowmobiles became available. I also enjoyed reading Peter Jenkins "Looking to Alaska". He lived in several towns while writing the book. Each are very different. There are some shows on the history channel about how roads etc were built during WW2. Whittier is a former secret military base.
If you read the Anchorage Daily News and the Clarion that covers the KP, you might be able to find some interesting local events to attend. Robin's Place fabrics sponsors Quilting on the Kenai but I think the show is around father's day. There were some beautiful modern renditions of traditional clothing.
Hope you have a great trip!

With 2 weeks you can do a one way cruise and another week of interior Alaska touring. I would only recommend a northbound cruise, so to have Denali park as late as possible, for more access into the Park. Ideally after June 1 so to be on the Eielson shuttle bus. With a Seward cruise- spend a couple days there then take the train to Anchorage. Rent a round trip car, and continue on to Denali Park. Native culture is big in Ketchikan, consider Totem Heritage Museum, Totem Bight, Saxman Village, Alaska Discovery Center.

In Anchorage the Native History Museum. Be sure to stop for an Eklutna Spirt House tour.

Alaska State and Juneau City museums are both excellent.

We took an all day boat trip out of Seward. Saw glacier calving, whales, otters, seals, as well as lots of big birds. Day was sunny, water a little rough - I was seasick for about an hour but it was still worth it.

Karas-

We spent two weeks in Alaska last summer and when I go back again I am spending more time in Cordova (the beauty is unreal and the ferry is fun, clean and a great way to sight see), Valdez for hiking (only spent a night due to mixed reviews and could kick myself for not spending more time) and Katmai National Park for more bear viewing (spent 4 nights there).

We stayed in the Kenai area as there is so much to do and see in the area. When I intially started planning the trip, the good people on Fodors convinced me not to try and cover too much territory and I thought it was good advice as I did not feel like I was running too much (except through Valdez).

Keep us posted on the planning!

Monica