Denali or Seward?

We want to stay in a very convenient place, so we booked Harbor 360, which is where the Major Marine office is and right next door to where our Bear Glacier kayak tour begins and also near the train depot where we'll catch the Goldstar to Anchorage. It costs a little more, but it will save us because we don't have to rent a car.

For now, barring rain, we'll disembark around 8 am, do the Major Marine 7.5 hour national park cruise, and then get dinner in town (Ray's or Chinooks). The next day, we'll do our Bear glacier kayak adventure from 8-2, get lunch in town and get ready for the 6 pm Goldstar dome rail car scenic ride to Anchorage. It gets in at 10:15 pm, but we'll leave extra time to catch a 1:15 am flight.

Who knows? Maybe we'll see Denali another time, but I think that makes more sense on a southbound itinerary when we have more time as well.

We want to stay in a very convenient place, so we booked Harbor 360, which is where the Major Marine office is and right next door to where our Bear Glacier kayak tour begins and also near the train depot where we'll catch the Goldstar to Anchorage. It costs a little more, but it will save us because we don't have to rent a car.

 

 

 

For now, barring rain, we'll disembark around 8 am, do the Major Marine 7.5 hour national park cruise, and then get dinner in town (Ray's or Chinooks). The next day, we'll do our Bear glacier kayak adventure from 8-2, get lunch in town and get ready for the 6 pm Goldstar dome rail car scenic ride to Anchorage. It gets in at 10:15 pm, but we'll leave extra time to catch a 1:15 am flight.

 

 

 

Who knows? Maybe we'll see Denali another time, but I think that makes more sense on a southbound itinerary when we have more time as well.

Don't let a little rain stop you – I stashed my fleece jacket and my hooded rain jacket in my backpack (along with a knit cap, scarf and gloves). I ended up using all of them at one time or another, but the rain was just a drizzle and let up before lunchtime. I still had a wonderful cruise!

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Don't let a little rain stop you – I stashed my fleece jacket and my hooded rain jacket in my backpack (along with a knit cap, scarf and gloves). I ended up using all of them at one time or another, but the rain was just a drizzle and let up before lunchtime. I still had a wonderful cruise!

 

 

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Thank you.

Major Marine pretty much told us what you say. They hardly ever cancel cruises. If it's raining, we may spend more time indoors on the boat, but that's about it. :cool: The Bear Glacier Kayak adventure is more at risk, but if they go out, we'll do it. If not, we'll spend a couple of hours at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Thank you.

 

Major Marine pretty much told us what you say. They hardly ever cancel cruises. If it's raining, we may spend more time indoors on the boat, but that's about it. :cool: The Bear Glacier Kayak adventure is more at risk, but if they go out, we'll do it. If not, we'll spend a couple of hours at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Is a kayak trip a "must do " priority for you? Yes, I am "jaded" and coming from a different perspective- but kayak trips are something I do as walk up. There is nothing worse for me, than compromising with a foul weather trip. I've been very successful doing this several times. I have my "call" list and make my plans early and quickly.

Especially for kayaking- I want the enjoyment of the paddle and scenery my highlight. Not having that hindered by cold, soaked, handwear, wind, soggy foot wear- wind, etc. something, always seems to leak. No perfect "seal", for me. And no way out of these tours. Unlike a boat tour, with floul weather- no problem for me, stepping in and out, or enjoying some covered areas for extended time out as example.

After my cruise this June, ... then drove up to Talkeetna the next day. From there, I took a flightseeing trip into the Alaska range, and I was very fortunate to spot Mt. Denali. We flew right past its peak, and landed on Ruth Glacier. That's as far as I got into the Denali national park.

Hi OhJinkies (I sound like one of the 7 dwarves :)), we're going June 2018 and, pre-cruise, heading to Seward first, then Talkeetna . Just wondering what flight seeing company you used in Talkeetna, which "tour" did you choose, and what time of day did you fly? We're thinking K2 Aviation, the 2nd most expensive tour (Grand Tour w/ Glacier Landing), and leaving around 11am. We weren't planning on driving to Talkeetna the night before, but we could if getting the 9:00am flight gives us better odds of getting the flight in due to weather. Thanks.

mapleleaves....

 

My caution about Seward is that your activities are all sea based. Be sure to have back up plans in case of nasty weather. I've been weathered out of 2 Kenai Fjords cruises due to storms (and 2 kayak trips in Valdez). /quote/

 

What month was it when you were weathered out of the 2 Kenai Fjords cruises?

It can be ANY time. I went out 5 times, this year, 4 in June and 1 in August. Sick passengers on all the trips. 2 had large numbers of people, at least 25% of the passengers. Have no clue how- but, I've never had a trip canceled of shortened, but boy have I sailed in rough seas up there. I'm around 40 trips so have a good basis.

Hi OhJinkies (I sound like one of the 7 dwarves :)), we're going June 2018 and, pre-cruise, heading to Seward first, then Talkeetna . Just wondering what flight seeing company you used in Talkeetna, which "tour" did you choose, and what time of day did you fly? We're thinking K2 Aviation, the 2nd most expensive tour (Grand Tour w/ Glacier Landing), and leaving around 11am. We weren't planning on driving to Talkeetna the night before, but we could if getting the 9:00am flight gives us better odds of getting the flight in due to weather. Thanks.

K 2 is an excellent vendor, I've flown with them several times. Are you only there 1 day? It can be an advantage to book early flights, then perhaps have the chance of rescheduling. I'd actually hit the flights options at my first available, if a priority. Schedule at your first opportunity, if you are round trip Anchorage.

I have flown all the routes, and my clear preference is always the summit flights. No greater example of the beauty and vastness. :)

K 2 is an excellent vendor, I've flown with them several times. Are you only there 1 day? It can be an advantage to book early flights, then perhaps have the chance of rescheduling. I'd actually hit the flights options at my first available, if a priority. Schedule at your first opportunity, if you are round trip Anchorage.

 

I have flown all the routes, and my clear preference is always the summit flights. No greater example of the beauty and vastness. :)

Thanks Budget Queen. Unfortunately, there is only 1 summit flight and it takes off at 6:30pm on the day we're there and we need to be back in Anchorage that night. So yeah, 1 day only in Talkeetna and summit flight not an option.

Is a kayak trip a "must do " priority for you? Yes, I am "jaded" and coming from a different perspective- but kayak trips are something I do as walk up. There is nothing worse for me, than compromising with a foul weather trip. I've been very successful doing this several times. I have my "call" list and make my plans early and quickly.

 

Especially for kayaking- I want the enjoyment of the paddle and scenery my highlight. Not having that hindered by cold, soaked, handwear, wind, soggy foot wear- wind, etc. something, always seems to leak. No perfect "seal", for me. And no way out of these tours. Unlike a boat tour, with floul weather- no problem for me, stepping in and out, or enjoying some covered areas for extended time out as example.

It's a must do for us. Doing a walk up for a small group tour that can sell out is more risky. All other Bear Glacier kayak trips are done with helicopters and cost about $600 per person. Liquid Adventures uses Jet boats and it's $299. Many on Trip Advisor say it's the best thing they do in Alaska, including their cruise. One of the reasons we chose Seward over Denali was this trip, along with the Kenai Fjords NP cruise and the Goldstar train to Anchorage.

I had my plan all set for Denali. I had even booked a cabin at McKinley Creekside.

 

A couple of things got me to the point of changing plans.

 

Our cruise ends in Seward.

 

Our plans were to take a narrated bus tour at 8 am to Anchorage Airport. It arrives at 10:30 am. At that point, we would rent a minivan and spend the day driving to Denali, with stops in Talkeetna for lunch and a food shopping stop as well. We would arrive at our lodge around 6:30 pm. That is really a full day driving. The second day would be the 8-hour round trip Eielson Shuttle bus. The third day would be a 2.5 hour rafting with another long drive back to Anchorage airport.

 

All of that driving and even the buses got us thinking if we wouldn't be better off in Seward for 2-3 days. The first day would be the National Park Kenai Fjords glacier tour with dinner at Fox Island. The next day we would do a kayak adventure at Bear Glacier and then take the domed Gold Star train from Seward to Anchorage. We would either fly out Saturday night or stay in Anchorage and fly out Sunday.

 

I would hate to think I'm missing out on Denali, but that day is really unknown and what we would see would be subject to weather and even luck on a mid-June day.

 

Any thoughts from those who have spent considerable time in both Seward and Denali?

First question - when are you going to be there? If mid September or early in the season then make sure you can get the full tour in Denali. We have just come back having done Denali before our cruise and although we enjoyed our time there we felt cheated as our 7 hour tour was substituted for a much shorter one which only went a small way into the park & missed the best areas for wildlife.

Apparently this is common at these times although our itinerary showed the full tour with no clear mention anywhere that it may be changed. We only missed the full tour by one day - people we spoke to who had done the full tour on the previous day had seen several bears, a wolf & moose - we got low grade sightings of 3 moose (including one in very poor light as they started the tour 1 hour before daybreak).

We only briefly passed through Seward but there really didn't seem to be much there.

We only briefly passed through Seward but there really didn't seem to be much there.

Seward is a gem and there is quite a bit to do there! Too bad you missed it.

Seward is a gem and there is quite a bit to do there! Too bad you missed it.

I think so many first time Alaska people like me only think about getting to Denali before or after a cruise. To be honest, Seward never crossed my mind when I booked our cruise four months ago. I started reading about the Kenai Fjords National Park cruises and was intrigued and then looked further and found so many great things to do there. Maybe we'll get Denali next time.

Been to Denali twice. First time I made the long boring drive from Anchorage to the park, spent hours on a hot, dusty school bus and saw no wildlife. Second time made same boring drive,dropped my friend off at park and spent the day at the Princess Lodge.He also saw nothing. I now spend my time south of Anchorage. The drive is more scenic,more things to do, and see plenty of wildlife!Just my opinion.

First question - when are you going to be there? If mid September or early in the season then make sure you can get the full tour in Denali. We have just come back having done Denali before our cruise and although we enjoyed our time there we felt cheated as our 7 hour tour was substituted for a much shorter one which only went a small way into the park & missed the best areas for wildlife.

Apparently this is common at these times although our itinerary showed the full tour with no clear mention anywhere that it may be changed. We only missed the full tour by one day - people we spoke to who had done the full tour on the previous day had seen several bears, a wolf & moose - we got low grade sightings of 3 moose (including one in very poor light as they started the tour 1 hour before daybreak).

We only briefly passed through Seward but there really didn't seem to be much there.

The dates are fixed with the Denali park schedules. It didn't just happen for you. But the cruiselines just have the general generic description for all their tours, which sounds like you were on? Apparantely you missed that information since it's posted over and over on this board as a caution with trip planning. Unfortunatly this happens all the time. People just see "Denali" and don't know the precise details that make the trip.

As for Seward, sorry but being you simply "passed through", doesn't warrent a "not much there" .

Unfortuantely this is common too- way too many people completely missing this gem, and not taking advantage of being there. Plenty of excellent activities, along with a varied wildlife jackpot I never miss. :)

If you'd like to consider another visit, I hope more inclusions are available perhaps for you to enjoy.

So yeah, 1 day only in Talkeetna and summit flight not an option.

If the only reason you’re going to Talkeetna is for Denali flightseeing, you might consider Rusts Flying Service who does these from Anchorage, including glacier landings. It would save you 4+ hours of drive time. They may not be comparable so you’d need to look at the details.

Thanks Budget Queen. Unfortunately, there is only 1 summit flight and it takes off at 6:30pm on the day we're there and we need to be back in Anchorage that night. So yeah, 1 day only in Talkeetna and summit flight not an option.

What is your itinerary? Glaciers may have a better option.

Hi OhJinkies (I sound like one of the 7 dwarves :)), we're going June 2018 and, pre-cruise, heading to Seward first, then Talkeetna . Just wondering what flight seeing company you used in Talkeetna, which "tour" did you choose, and what time of day did you fly? We're thinking K2 Aviation, the 2nd most expensive tour (Grand Tour w/ Glacier Landing), and leaving around 11am. We weren't planning on driving to Talkeetna the night before, but we could if getting the 9:00am flight gives us better odds of getting the flight in due to weather. Thanks.

Hi, sorry for the delay in responding. I booked with Talkeetna Air Taxi, and chose their Mountain Voyager with Glacier Landing itinerary. I think my flight was around 10 or 11:00 AM. The weather was great, although we encountered some clouds as we first entered the Alaska range. We flew past the peak of Denali – it was stunning. We landed on Ruth Glacier, and from that vantage point, every now and then, the clouds around Denali would part, and we could see the peak.

If the only reason you’re going to Talkeetna is for Denali flightseeing, you might consider Rusts Flying Service who does these from Anchorage, including glacier landings. It would save you 4+ hours of drive time. They may not be comparable so you’d need to look at the details.

When I was researching my trip, I considered taking a Denali flightseeing trip out of Anchorage, but those flights do not include a glacier landing.

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When I was researching my trip, I considered taking a Denali flightseeing trip out of Anchorage, but those flights do not include a glacier landing.

http://www.flyrusts.com/flightseeing/mckinley-glacier-landing.html