DIY land tour July 2013 - Which reservations would you make first?

[Phalst]

If you were planning a four to five day land tour in Alaska for early July 2013 when would you begin making reservations (rental car, hotels, Denali tours, 7-day cruise) and which one would you make first?

 

Our plan is to visit Denali and the Kenai Peninsula. We'd like to include fishing and the Denali bus tour to Kantishna. We're planning to fly into Anchorage, rent a car, drive to Denali then Kenai. Then we hope to cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. We were in Alaska in August on a cruise tour and want to return to spend more time in Denali and visit the Kenai peninsula.

 

I've been reading postings here and checking web sites for Alaska travel. Is it too early for July 2013 reservations at Denali? I hope so because the web site indicates that the Kantishna tour is completely booked already for next summer! Is that possible? That's what prompted me to ask for advice about the timing and priority of reservations.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you may offer.

[mapleleaves]

Denali reservations generally open on Dec 1 for the following yr.

For a car rental, reserve the best price you can find now, then check all the web sites frequently for a price drop. They prices will be up and down until the day you leave! so be diligent about checking. Just make sure there's no cancel fee.

If you have an itinerary set, reserve the rooms now and you may get the 2012 prices. Again, be mindful of cancel fees. Many of the smaller vendors for cabins and B&B's might leave for the winter so they won't be as acessible between Oct/Nov and April/May.

For excursions, wait until the Alaska Toursaver and Northern Lights coupon books are out (around Thxgiving). You might find some good savings .

I've reserved the shuttle to Wonder Lake but have only gone as far as Eielson because the mtn wasn't visible. When I travelled with a larger group I booked the seats in Jan but for 2 people I waited until spring. The Kantishna trip is a very long day with limited departures so I wouldn't wait until the last minute to make that reservation.

Five days is a pretty short period of time to visit Denali AND the Kenai. That's a lot of distance to cover. Were you thinking of just one location on the Kenai, like Seward maybe? You might be able to squeeze in a day there. Keep in mind that unless you get an expensive one-way car rental, you'll need to return the car to Anchorage then get a transfer to Whitter so that will cut into your time. Hope this helps .

[Phalst]

Denali reservations generally open on Dec 1 for the following yr.

For a car rental, reserve the best price you can find now, then check all the web sites frequently for a price drop. They prices will be up and down until the day you leave! so be diligent about checking. Just make sure there's no cancel fee.

If you have an itinerary set, reserve the rooms now and you may get the 2012 prices. Again, be mindful of cancel fees. Many of the smaller vendors for cabins and B&B's might leave for the winter so they won't be as acessible between Oct/Nov and April/May.

For excursions, wait until the Alaska Toursaver and Northern Lights coupon books are out (around Thxgiving). You might find some good savings .

I've reserved the shuttle to Wonder Lake but have only gone as far as Eielson because the mtn wasn't visible. When I travelled with a larger group I booked the seats in Jan but for 2 people I waited until spring. The Kantishna trip is a very long day with limited departures so I wouldn't wait until the last minute to make that reservation.

Five days is a pretty short period of time to visit Denali AND the Kenai. That's a lot of distance to cover. Were you thinking of just one location on the Kenai, like Seward maybe? You might be able to squeeze in a day there. Keep in mind that unless you get an expensive one-way car rental, you'll need to return the car to Anchorage then get a transfer to Whitter so that will cut into your time. Hope this helps .

 

Thank you so much for your detailed response. You have given me a number of reasons to reconsider our original plan. We want to go back to Alaska because we felt our land tour was too rushed. I really don't want to feel that way again. We're going to have to focus on Kenai OR Denali and/or extend our time by a few days.

 

I'm trying to work within a two week time frame with one week for a cruise. Unfortunately since we are flying from the east coast we may lose one or two days to travel. That's something I'll have to work on once the flight schedules are released.

 

Your comments make me realize we need to finalize our itinerary first. Then we can start making reservations. Thank you again for taking the time to offer suggestions.

[mapleleaves]

Yeah, between the flight and travel times to destinations, your vacation time dwindles quickly. This is what a rushed trip to Denali and Seward could look like:

Mon. late afternoon arrival from East Coast. overnight in Anc

Tue Pick up car. Drive to Denali 5 hrs plus any stops

Wed shuttle to Wonder Lake 11 hrs, or to Eielson 8 hrs

Thu drive to Girdwood (1 hr south of Anc) so 6 hrs plus stops

Fri drive to Seward 2 hrs. Half day charter. Exit Glacier

Sat drive back to Anc 2 1/2 hrs to return car. Bus to Whittier 1 hr. (Park Connection Bus services Whittier when a ship is in port. Anc-Whittier is 3pm-5pm for an 8pm sailing. There are other transfer options too)

A pretty rushed trip. If you flew into Anc on a Sat the extra 2 days would be very helpful. This chart will help you with travel times.

http://alaska.org/gettingaround/alaska-transportation-guide.htm

Or maybe concentrate your 5 days on the Kenai Peninsula if fishing is a priority. http://kenaipeninsula.org/destinations

Or concentrate on Denali with a side trip to Matanuska Glacier or Independence Mine. Where to go will depend on your interests and priorities.

By the way, if fishing is a priority be sure your visit coincides with a salmon run if that's what you're fishing for! Visit the Alaska forum of tripadvisor and read some trip reports to get itinerary ideas. You'll find a link to the reports under Top Questions. Good luck with your planning.

[biker1972]

If you are planning a cruise, since it is the big ticket item, get it booked. This early you can get your choice of cabins and can cancel without penalty. Air is open now for July 2013 and you can get an idea of that cost. Lowest cost seats will be non-refundable however. With dates in place you can work the car rentals and hotel reservations, many bookable today.

[pdmlynek]

I would book the cruise, book the plane tickets to/from Alaska (when you think that the prices are at the appropriate level), reserve a car, and reserve the shuttle within Denali. I am not sure if you need any other reservations. I think that you have plenty of time; we decided to go on a cruise about two months before, and made all the reservations a couple of weeks prior to sail. But economy might be different next year, and maybe there will be too many tourists, so YMMV.

[pdmlynek]

Yeah, between the flight and travel times to destinations, your vacation time dwindles quickly. This is what a rushed trip to Denali and Seward could look like:

Mon. late afternoon arrival from East Coast. overnight in Anc

Tue Pick up car. Drive to Denali 5 hrs plus any stops

Wed shuttle to Wonder Lake 11 hrs, or to Eielson 8 hrs

Thu drive to Girdwood (1 hr south of Anc) so 6 hrs plus stops

Fri drive to Seward 2 hrs. Half day charter. Exit Glacier

Sat drive back to Anc 2 1/2 hrs to return car. Bus to Whittier 1 hr. (Park Connection Bus services Whittier when a ship is in port. Anc-Whittier is 3pm-5pm for an 8pm sailing. There are other transfer options too)

A pretty rushed trip. If you flew into Anc on a Sat the extra 2 days would be very helpful. This chart will help you with travel times.

http://alaska.org/gettingaround/alaska-transportation-guide.htm

Or maybe concentrate your 5 days on the Kenai Peninsula if fishing is a priority. http://kenaipeninsula.org/destinations

Or concentrate on Denali with a side trip to Matanuska Glacier or Independence Mine. Where to go will depend on your interests and priorities.

By the way, if fishing is a priority be sure your visit coincides with a salmon run if that's what you're fishing for! Visit the Alaska forum of tripadvisor and read some trip reports to get itinerary ideas. You'll find a link to the reports under Top Questions. Good luck with your planning.

 

Yes, I agree with mapleleaves. For me it would be a bit too rushed. But we all have different travel styles, so it may work out fine for you.

[Phalst]

If you are planning a cruise, since it is the big ticket item, get it booked. This early you can get your choice of cabins and can cancel without penalty. Air is open now for July 2013 and you can get an idea of that cost. Lowest cost seats will be non-refundable however. With dates in place you can work the car rentals and hotel reservations, many bookable today.

 

Thank you for your suggestion. The cruise really is the biggest ticket item for us, and I know we are taking a chance waiting to book it. Last year we booked a cruisetour in September, canceled and rebooked in November to save $800. Then the cruise portion continued to drop, but we couldn't cancel and rebook because our deposit now was nonrefundable. This time we thought we would wait at least until November to book.

 

We will be flying Southwest to Seattle so we have to wait awhile for those flights to open. They will be "earned" flights so they are worth waiting for.

 

We will just have to keep checking prices.

[Phalst]

Yeah, between the flight and travel times to destinations, your vacation time dwindles quickly. This is what a rushed trip to Denali and Seward could look like:

Mon. late afternoon arrival from East Coast. overnight in Anc

Tue Pick up car. Drive to Denali 5 hrs plus any stops

Wed shuttle to Wonder Lake 11 hrs, or to Eielson 8 hrs

Thu drive to Girdwood (1 hr south of Anc) so 6 hrs plus stops

Fri drive to Seward 2 hrs. Half day charter. Exit Glacier

Sat drive back to Anc 2 1/2 hrs to return car. Bus to Whittier 1 hr. (Park Connection Bus services Whittier when a ship is in port. Anc-Whittier is 3pm-5pm for an 8pm sailing. There are other transfer options too)

A pretty rushed trip. If you flew into Anc on a Sat the extra 2 days would be very helpful. This chart will help you with travel times.

http://alaska.org/gettingaround/alaska-transportation-guide.htm

Or maybe concentrate your 5 days on the Kenai Peninsula if fishing is a priority. http://kenaipeninsula.org/destinations

Or concentrate on Denali with a side trip to Matanuska Glacier or Independence Mine. Where to go will depend on your interests and priorities.

By the way, if fishing is a priority be sure your visit coincides with a salmon run if that's what you're fishing for! Visit the Alaska forum of tripadvisor and read some trip reports to get itinerary ideas. You'll find a link to the reports under Top Questions. Good luck with your planning.

 

Your sample itinerary is really helpful in planning our trip! I appreciate all your suggestions. We will definitely plan on two weeks and try to get to Anchorage by Saturday afternoon. Adding travel times between locations gives us a more realistic view of just how many activities we can comfortably fit into the time we have. We really do want a less harried experience compared to this year. Also thank you for the links. The more information we have the better decisions we can make. Thanks again.

[Phalst]

I would book the cruise, book the plane tickets to/from Alaska (when you think that the prices are at the appropriate level), reserve a car, and reserve the shuttle within Denali. I am not sure if you need any other reservations. I think that you have plenty of time; we decided to go on a cruise about two months before, and made all the reservations a couple of weeks prior to sail. But economy might be different next year, and maybe there will be too many tourists, so YMMV.

 

Thank you. Your sequence for purchases makes sense. Most likely we will book the cruise before we can book flights. We have to wait for Southwest to open up the dates we will need. I wish we could pull this all together a few months before departure, but the anxiety would be too much for me! However your experience is encouraging. In what month did you go? Would you go again?

Also, what does YMMV mean?

[pdmlynek]

Thank you. Your sequence for purchases makes sense. Most likely we will book the cruise before we can book flights. We have to wait for Southwest to open up the dates we will need. I wish we could pull this all together a few months before departure, but the anxiety would be too much for me! However your experience is encouraging. In what month did you go? Would you go again?

Also, what does YMMV mean?

 

 

Generally, booking from the most expensive items to the least expensive ones gives you to lowest price. And, the nice thing about booking the cruise first, is that if you can't find the flights that fit your cruise, but are available a week or tow earlier or later, you can rebook your cruise relatively painlessly.

[pdmlynek]

In what month did you go? Would you go again?

Also, what does YMMV mean?

 

Oops, I forgot to answer these questions in your post. :o

 

We went over the first week of July (i.e., July 4th week).

 

Yes, it was very enjoyable and I would do it again.

 

YMMV = "Your milage may vary", meaning that your experience might be different from mine.