Cruisetour budget

[Denise&Paul STL]

I asked previously about dining on a budget during the tour portion of a cruise tour, now I would like info on shuttles from the lodges. Doing a Princess cruise tour with stops in McKinley and Denali and Fairbanks. Can hike and walk far, but wondered about getting to the Wilderness Access Center and taking shuttles, and busses into town or to various parks/attractions on my own. Any help is appreciated.

[mapleleaves]

Shuttle info is on the princesslodges web site. When you open the web site, visit each location and you'll find info on the shuttle. $10.

At Denali it's about a 35-45 minute walk to the WAC. Level and about 3/4 of the way is along the hwy.

At Talkeetna the lodge is about an hr away.

[Webecruzen]

There are free shuttles that stop outside the lodge every thirty minutes that go to the Denali Visitors Center as well as the WAC. You can walk across the street from the Princess Denali Lodge to find several shops and rest. We had dinner at Prospectors Pizza there. It was really good. There was many pasta dishes, sandwiches, and pizza on the menu. We were at the McKinley Chalet resort and walked over to the Princess lodge. The grounds are beautiful and it appeared to have many choices for meals and shops.

In Fairbanks we had one full day of tours with our group but the next day out we had a very late (midnight) flight so we rented a van at the airport and went up to Northpole Alaska, and went to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. You could also do the Hot Springs easily if you had a full day.

 

Pat

[Denise&Paul STL]

Thank you all for all this great information!

 

Mapleleaves, I did spend some time on the princess lodges site, and even with a princess rep while we both looked through and couldn't find it. I would be grateful if you could tell me where to go on there to find it! Thanks!

[mcmarya]

Those free shuttles are a thing of the past. The $10 pp round trip they now charge seems a little high for the distance involved at Denali. At the McKinley Princess Lodge it is a one hour drive to Talkeetna for the same cost. At Denali, you can take the salmonbake shuttle (across the street) for $2 each way, but they only run every 1.5 hours. Do a search on their website for "shuttle" and you can find the schedule. They only run the early morning shuttles if you call in advance.

[mapleleaves]

Thank you all for all this great information!

 

Mapleleaves, I did spend some time on the princess lodges site, and even with a princess rep while we both looked through and couldn't find it. I would be grateful if you could tell me where to go on there to find it! Thanks!

 

For Denali it's on the front page. Look under the paragraph titled "Wildlife, Adventure and Much More" . The last 2 lines provide info on the shuttle and the schedule.

http://www.princesslodges.com/denali-lodge.cfm

 

For McKinley it's also on the first page. The second paragraph.

[ROCruiser]

Don't know which hotel you will be staying at in Fairbanks. If it is the Bear Lodge, they have/had a free shuttle that goes around and make several stops in the city every hour. We took that shuttle to Pioneer Park for their salmon bake buffet.

[cruzntogether]

I just got back from a Princess Cruisetour. I reserved a 7:30 AM park shuttle in Denali going to Eielson Visitor Center from WAC. For budget travelers this is best, a big savings over the Tundra Wilderness Tour and goes further into the park. Denali Princess Lodge has a shuttle going to the WAC beginning at 7 AM. You can also request an earlier shuttle at the registration desk which I did, and the charge was $5 per person one way. You can also hike from the Lodge to the WAC fairly easily. There is a trail going from the lodge that parallels the highway and you do not have to walk on the road. We took this going back. A trail from the WAC toward the highway (the Jefferson Trail, I believe) is a short-cut and nicer walk than going to the park entrance. You can print a map at the national park service website, www.nps.gov/dena.