DIY land trip Fairbank to Whittier

[Ajbolit]

Planing on taking Princess cruise on Aug 9th. Family of 5, kids 14,13 and 10. We are planing to fly to Fairbank - arriving Friday, August 1st early morning and spend a day there - probably Museum of North, pipe line? Not sure whether its worse staying there longer than few hours. We are so far not able to find a rental company that is open at 1 a.m. in the morning - worse case scenario - taxi to the hotel - and than back to the rental boot in the morning. We plan to do one-way car rental there and drive to Denali next morning.

 

Will probably spend 3 -4 nights at Denali - any comments on how many days should we stay there - any specific hikes, tours we should take? Should we go with the ranger supervised group?

 

Drive to Anchorage, sleep and maybe stay there for half the day - and than out to Seward where we plan to spend the remainder of the land trip - since its my understanding thats were roads end? )

 

Planing on taking a taxi straigt to Whittier on the morning of Sat, August 9th - departing at 8.30 p.m, but hoping to take a Prince William Sound glacier tour in the morning.

 

We would really appreciate comments and suggestions in regards to that trip.

[AKStafford]

It sound like you are returning the car in Seward? Just make sure you rent with Hertz. They are the only rental car company in Seward.

 

In Denali, do not use a tour bus for getting into the park. Book tickets on the shuttle buses. They go in further and cost less.

[Ajbolit]

Yep - it is Hertz. Almost $1500 for 8 days rental - but it is still cheaper and much less headache than to try and arrange for all those trains or buses. Thanks for the tip about shuttle buses in Denali - should I book those online - and if so - where at?

[mapleleaves]

no the road doesn't end in Seward. You can drive all the way to Homer.

 

As for Denali, kids under 15 are free on the shuttles. Info and a park map are located on the park reservation site: http://www.reservedenali.com/shuttles.aspx

The shuttle to Eielson is a good choice ... it takes abot 4 hrs to reach the visitor center, there's a 35-40 minute break, then about 3 1/2 hrs back to the entrance. It will take you into prime bear viewing territory. The Visitor Center is a nice destination with exhibits, bathrooms, great views of the mtn, rangers, water, and a nice place to eat your sack lunch. ( remember to get sack lunches and drinks for the trip). Most hotels make them or there's a Subway shop nearby.

Get to the bus depot early so you can get seats on both sides of the bus. With a family your size it will be nice to see wildlife on both sides of the road without having to stretch across strangers across the aisle.

 

The kids might enjoy the free sled dog demo at Denali ... 10am, 2pm and 4pm. A free shuttle takes you there. Savage River at mile 15 is as far as private vehicles can go in Denali. There's a trailhead and a well maintained trail along the river. Information about it and other hikes, ranger activities,sled dogs, etc are in the park newsletter. http://www.nps.gov/dena/parknews/upload/Alpenglow2014_int.pdf

[donaldsc]

no the road doesn't end in Seward. You can drive all the way to Homer.

 

 

You are sort of right. The road does end in Seward. You have to backtrack from Seward to the junction of the Seward Highway and the Sterling Highway at Tern Lake to go all the way to Homer.

 

The road definitely ends at Homer however.

 

I have driven both of those drives. They are both great drives.

 

DON

[eatranman]

Planing on taking Princess cruise on Aug 9th. Family of 5, kids 14,13 and 10. We are planing to fly to Fairbank - arriving Friday, August 1st early morning and spend a day there - probably Museum of North, pipe line? Not sure whether its worse staying there longer than few hours. We are so far not able to find a rental company that is open at 1 a.m. in the morning - worse case scenario - taxi to the hotel - and than back to the rental boot in the morning. We plan to do one-way car rental there and drive to Denali next morning.

 

Will probably spend 3 -4 nights at Denali - any comments on how many days should we stay there - any specific hikes, tours we should take? Should we go with the ranger supervised group?

 

Drive to Anchorage, sleep and maybe stay there for half the day - and than out to Seward where we plan to spend the remainder of the land trip - since its my understanding thats were roads end? )

 

Planing on taking a taxi straigt to Whittier on the morning of Sat, August 9th - departing at 8.30 p.m, but hoping to take a Prince William Sound glacier tour in the morning.

 

We would really appreciate comments and suggestions in regards to that trip.

 

Your hotel in Fairbanks may have shuttle to get you from the airport. We are staying at the Best Western and they are picking us up but around 10pm on the 1st.

[Ajbolit]

Those hotel shuttles usually dont run at night - but we will double check.

Any comments on "must see" at Fairbank and Seward?

[mapleleaves]

Those hotel shuttles usually dont run at night - but we will double check.

Any comments on "must see" at Fairbank and Seward?

 

Perhaps you could borrow some Alaska travel books from the library to learn about all the sights and activities that are available??

The town of seward has a web site and will send a free visitor guide: http://www.seward.com/

Since you have a car, Exit Glacier will be an interesting stop, perhaps a ranger-led walk. There's a SeaLife Center in town. If you walk along the waterfront path between the harbor and downtown you will probably see otters playing just off shore, and bald eagles nrby.

 

The city of Fairbanks has a web site also. http://www.explorefairbanks.com

 

Lots of good info on http://www.alaska.org including scenic drives, info on towns, activities, excursions, etc I would encourge you to spend a night near Girdwood, just south of Anchorage so you can explore sights along the Turnagain Arm. The family might enjoy panning for gold, the Wildlife Conservation Center, Alyeska Resort tram, Portage Glacier/lake info center, Potters Marsh boardwalk. http://www.alaska.org/guide/turnagain-arm-drive

 

If you don't have specfic plans for Fairbanks, you could save a bundle by flying into Anchorage, picking up a RT rental car there for your land travel,

Spend the last night in or near Anchorage, return the car and take a taxi to Whittier.

[mapleleaves]

You are sort of right. The road does end in Seward. You have to backtrack from Seward to the junction of the Seward Highway and the Sterling Highway at Tern Lake to go all the way to Homer.

 

The road definitely ends at Homer however.

 

I have driven both of those drives. They are both great drives.

 

DON

 

OP said "thats where roads end". He didn't specify Seward Hwy.

Edited May 19, 2014 by mapleleaves

[Northern Aurora]

Planing on taking Princess cruise on Aug 9th. Family of 5, kids 14,13 and 10. We are planing to fly to Fairbank - arriving Friday, August 1st early morning and spend a day there - probably Museum of North, pipe line? Not sure whether its worse staying there longer than few hours. We are so far not able to find a rental company that is open at 1 a.m. in the morning - worse case scenario - taxi to the hotel - and than back to the rental boot in the morning. We plan to do one-way car rental there and drive to Denali next morning.

 

........

 

We would really appreciate comments and suggestions in regards to that trip.

 

While we are on vacation following a transatlantic cruise (by the wonders of modern communication I am typing this in Iceland) live in Fairbanks. My husband is retired now, but traveled extensively when he was working. I picked him up from Fairbanks International Airport more times than I care to remember. All of the major car rental agencies have offices (and cars) at FAI, and they stay open until the last flights arrive, even if the late night flights are late. And I continually saw the hotel shuttles meeting those late night flights too (at least the major hotels).

 

If you use the "search" function on Cruise Critic you will find a great wealth of information which should answer many of your questions.

[Ajbolit]

Thanks for replies.

Run into the problem scheduling trip from Seward to Whittier - apparently the only option is taxi and I had read pretty bad reviews on tripadvisor about people missing cruise departure while relying on taxi. Will probably plan to return to Anchorage on Friday and just taking a shuttle to Whittier from there, or just staying in Whittier overnight.

Tickets to Fairbank amasingly are cheaper for us, also dont want to waste extra 8 hours driving from Anchorage and back.

[Flyer55]

Thanks for replies.

Run into the problem scheduling trip from Seward to Whittier - apparently the only option is taxi and I had read pretty bad reviews on tripadvisor about people missing cruise departure while relying on taxi. Will probably plan to return to Anchorage on Friday and just taking a shuttle to Whittier from there, or just staying in Whittier overnight.

Tickets to Fairbank amasingly are cheaper for us, also dont want to waste extra 8 hours driving from Anchorage and back.

 

Seward bus has service to Whittier. It arrives in Whittier in time to make most of the PWS cruises by Phillips and MM.

 

If people missed their PWS cruises it is because they didn't allow enough time for stops, traffic, or other contingencies and missed the tunnel opening. If you are late to the tunnel you will be an hour late. Leave early enough and it should not be a problem and the Taxi's schedule is flexible.

[Ajbolit]

Its roughly $700 more in car rental between one-way trip from Fairbank to Anchorage vs rental for the same 8 days from Anchorage. Now - I would waste 5 hours on the round trip to Denali, plus additional 2 hours to Fairbank. Do I really want to go to Fairbank? Or should I just fly to Anchorage and drive to Denali from there?

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

The pipeline area is just a turn off along the road, so there's no timeframe for that. The museum of the north is pretty good. Downtown, the visitor's center has a free museum for the local area and fliers for the nearby ice carving and dog mushing museums, etc. You may want to check out Pioneer Park; it kind of looks like a theme park, but without the entry fee. Individual museums inside are a few dollars a head. There are also touristy things with a riverboat and a gold dredge that I didn't bother with visiting, so I can't honestly give you feedback on that.

Now, you can do what you want with this advice, but when I was planning the trip the price for hotels was "Way Too Much" - especially near Denali. I can recommend Touch of Wilderness B&B, but I'm sure there are others that are good.

[Ajbolit]

Well - we are flying to Fairbanks, tickets actually cheaper $300 to fly there, so I am going to save myself 7 hours of driving. Anyone aware of the hotel/B&B that would accomodate family of 5 in 1 room around Denali? Which coupon books U guys found most helpful? Groupon isnt really offering much - just a few deals there, none for lodging or shore excursions during the cruise.

[mapleleaves]

You're very late to be planning an Alaska trip for this summer. To find a room that can accomodate 5, use expedia, hotels.com or similar sites to see what's available. Or the Fairbanks web site I posted earlier. When you have a short list, ask for feedback on your choices. The 3 places I checked have no availability on the 1st or couldn't accomodate 5.

 

Either coupon book can be a money-saver but only if you can use the coupons. You need to look at the discounts in each book to see which one offers activities, excursions, etc your family can use. The books are Alaska Toursaver and Northern Lights.

 

Did you book your air already? If not, price a flight to Anchorage with a RT car rental in Anchorage. Since you don't have any interest in Fairbanks, skip it, and just drive to Denali ( 5 hrs each way).

[Ajbolit]

Already got tickets - might consider renting RV in Anchorage upon arriving there on August 5th. So, do U think its too late to buy it?

[mapleleaves]

I've rented with Great Alaska Holidays ... very professional outfit. Got a fantastic deal by reserving in December for the following August.

All you can do is check on availability. I think 3 days is the minimum. ABC Motorhome is the other well known company to check with.

[mapleleaves]

How about this?

Fri arrive in Fairbanks.

Sat SLEEP IN, pick up car. Riverboat cruise, pipeline, Morris Thompson Culture Center. Late afternoon or after dinner, drive to Denali to overnight. 2 1/2 hrs

Sun 10am free sled dog demo, drive to Savage River which is as far as private cars can go. Follow the established trail along the river ... watch for caribou, dall sheep. River rafting? o/n near Denali

Mon shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center. Remember to pick up lunches and drinks for the trip. o/n Denali

Tues drive to Girdwood 6 hrs. Maybe stop at Thunderbird Falls or Eagle River Nature Center along the way. o/n Girdwood

Wed explore Girdwood area... Wildlife Center, gold panning, Alyeska tram. Late afternoon or dinner, drive to Seward to o/n 2 hrs.

Thu Seward

Fri stay in Seward until late afternoon. Visit Exit Glacier on the way out of town. Drive to Anch to o/n 3 hrs.

Sat bus/transfer to Whittier

 

In Denali check out Healy Heights Family Cabins, Alaska Spruce Cabins, McKinley Creekside Cabins, In Girdwood, the Girdwood Guest House or Glacier View B&B. Seward,.... Bear Paw Lodge, Bears Den B&B, Bear Creek Cabins.