Mount Mckinley or Denali Nat'l Park???

[rolando]

I have just booked an Alaska cruise/tour for next year but I'm having a difficult time deciding between two land programs. The two involve the same 7 day cruise aboard the Island Princess out of Whittier, and both include a 4 night pre-cruise package. Only difference is that one includes 2 nights in Mt. Mckinley Wilderness Lodge with one night in Denali Nat'l Wilderness Lodge, and the other offers the opposite (1 night Mt. Mck, 2 nights Den Nat'l). Both start out in Anchorage and include one night there.

 

My question is, where should I spend the extra night? Where are there more things to see? In addition to seeing wild life, I'm looking for wonderful scenery and lots of choices for activities.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Also, is Fairbanks worth a look-see?

 

I've been on 3 cruises to Alaska but this will be my first time heading inland.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

[Budget Queen]

You are making a big mistake with only a 4 day add on, not nearly enough time to see or do anything. MOST important is your Denali Park tour, you need the TUNDRA WILDERNESS tour and not the worthless Natural History tour. That would be my top recommendation for deciding what you purchase. For clairfication, the Park Road into Denali Park is 90 miles, superior is going independent via the SHUTTLES, 1/3 the cost of the TOUR buses. Anyway- my min. distance in is Fish Creek, mile 63, the tundra wilderness tour goes to mile 53, Natural History mile 17, you get the idea hopefully. The farther in, more scenery and more wildlife. You do need a good pair of binoculars for each person.

As for your location question, the Denali Princess is right outside the park entrance, McKinley Princess 100 miles away. Too many people think they have options for getting back into the National Park, you do not. This location is out in the middle of nowhere. Nearest town, Talkeetna is 50 miles away. It is a very scenic location IF McKinley is visable - seldom is. But this isn't a place I would be would a car. Another factor, all your time in transit- if going via rail, it is 8 hours Anchorage/Denali Park, by bus, 6 hours. Just understand FULLY what you are purchasing, a great many do not. As for Fairbanks- yes certainly very worthwhile, BUT the cruisetours offer little here with just the 2 major attractions only. A car rental is necessary and extra days outside of the cruisetour are way superior.

If at all inclined, independent travel is superior for the freedom to see and do what is of interest for you. Very easy to rent a car and go. You can see and do twice as much for much less cost. On the cruisetours, factor in 50% more for meals than you do at home for a cushion.

[jrobinso]

We did the Alaska cruise tour in 2002 with 2 nights at Mt Mckinley lodge. My husband and I were hoping we could spend the 1 full day doing some hiking. Well, we were wrong. The hotel is in the middle of no where. Their advertised hiking trails were very short, the one that was a bit longer was closed because of a recent animal sighting ( isn't that what we were there for?) We spent the day playing cards in the lobby. I would not do that tour again, I would rent a car, take a few extra days, and do it on my own. We spent 2 nights in Fairbanks, and we did enjoy it. The cruisetour is pretty expensive if you ask me, and if you want to stop and take pictures of scenery or animals a rental car is your best bet.

[Genessa]

I took a land tour in 2003 and loved it and, with six people in our party, would take one again. But, if it is just two of you or four of you, particularly if you are only going 4 days, I would recommend that you think about going independently, especially if you want to be very active. We didn't want to be very active.

 

Denali Wilderness Lodge is outside one of the entrances to Denali an the access road. We took the Tundra Tour (an 8+ hour bus ride) and thoroughly enjoyed it, during a one night stay. We got up in the morning and 3 of us took a horseback riding excursion, which wasn't very "satisfying" at all. Never went above a walk, as we were riding on such uneven, mucky ground.

There also wasn't much to see in the way of scenery or wildlife (couple of small birds).

 

Mt.McKinley Lodge is a much prettier, newer lodge, in an idyllic setting with a great view of Denali if weather is permitting, but is 45 minutes away from the nearest town and so you are pretty much a captive audience. We spent two nights there and enjoyed it, but then again, we were looking for a little down time having spent three nights in Fairbanks, half a day on the train, 8 hours on the Tundra bus, another half a day on the train and a 45 minute bus ride to get there. We took the two short hiking trails (very short, under 45 minutes strolling to complete both), spent an afternoon in Talkeetna, and took a half day jet boat excursion to a homestead (one of the highlights of our entire trip). Our friends tried for three days to take one of the flightseeing tours out of Talkeetna, but couldn't because of the weather conditions.

 

As for Fairbanks, it depends what you are going to Alaska for. If it is scenery and wildlife, skip Fairbanks. If you are interested in history and natural history and meeting great people, Fairbanks is definitely worth it. We enjoyed most our "free" day in Fairbanks, when we took a "shuttle" around town, driven by a local man and stopped at Pioneer Park and talked to the young people working there and went to the airplane museum and spent time speaking to the docents and went to the University Museum (where I could have stayed for several days, opening the drawers underneath the exhibits).

 

If you are still unsure, list the things you really want to see and do and then ask more questions and definitely visit the Alaska ports of call here.

[Maryfred]

We were on the Coral Princess in May, headed north. We did the 8N and consider it perfect. When we got off the ship, we got on the train, and had a great ride up to Deanli. Took most of the day. After a very nice transfer to the Denali Princess Lodge we were free until the next morning, where we started the Tundra Wilderness tour at 7 a.m. I was a little worried about such a long ride, ours was 7 hours. But it was wonderful. Our bus driver was Joyce, and she was unbelievable. We were up and out of our seats all the time, as she stopped the bus, windows were lowered, and we all took pictures, and enjoyed what we were seeing. There were very nice rest stops. We watched bears across the creek at the first stop.

 

Next morning we had a nice bus ride up to Fairbanks, and we were surprised how great the paddleboat ride was. You'll be amazed. Next morning, we were driven to the Fairbanks airport, which we could see from our Fairbanks Princess hotel. It's a very nice airport to leave from.