Denali: Natural History or Windows into the Wilderness tour?

[Budget Queen]

Perfect. That should give me just enough time to finish my research and determine whether Princess will refund the Natural History Excursion.

 

You might want to consider getting the refund for the TWT. IF you have decided on Eielson already, there is no need to go on the TWT. Add to the mix, you will have a BIG refund, that more than pays for these shuttles plus several meals.

 

Depending on your timing- you may be able to get a third entry for free, since, in the past they have had buy 2 get the 3rd free. You may be able to snag a Toklat shuttle on one of your arrival/departure days. Denali is ALL about getting INTO the park, the more you go in, and the farther you go, the more you see. This would have to be confirmed it is still available and booked by phone- likely.

[rockdoctor]

IMHO the Tundra Wilderness Tour is taking a bad rap here. I have taken the NHT, the TWT, the Kantishna Experience and the Eielson Shuttle. They all serve a purpose. The TWT stops frequently at wildlife sightings and has closed circuit TV so everyone can see what you're supposed to be looking at. In addition, if the Mountain is out, the bus goes to the Stoney Hill overlook. The Eielson Shuttle is a shuttle. Don't expect wildlife stops. Additionally, in peak season, if you get off the bus to hike, don't necessarily expect to get on the next bus. It may be full. From Stoney Hill to Eielson is maybe 6 miles. The real Denali experience is the Kantishna Experience. Even if the Mountain isn't out, the stops at the Mildrow Glacier, Wonder Lake and Frannie Quigley's are still worth it. If you are in the park before June 1, don't expect to get beyond Stoney Dome - no shuttles.

[frugaltravel]

IMHO the Tundra Wilderness Tour is taking a bad rap here. I have taken the NHT, the TWT, the Kantishna Experience and the Eielson Shuttle. They all serve a purpose. The TWT stops frequently at wildlife sightings and has closed circuit TV so everyone can see what you're supposed to be looking at. In addition, if the Mountain is out, the bus goes to the Stoney Hill overlook. The Eielson Shuttle is a shuttle. Don't expect wildlife stops. Additionally, in peak season, if you get off the bus to hike, don't necessarily expect to get on the next bus. It may be full. From Stoney Hill to Eielson is maybe 6 miles. The real Denali experience is the Kantishna Experience. Even if the Mountain isn't out, the stops at the Mildrow Glacier, Wonder Lake and Frannie Quigley's are still worth it. If you are in the park before June 1, don't expect to get beyond Stoney Dome - no shuttles.

 

Though I agree with you about the TWT taking a bit of a hard hit on this thread, I totally disagree with a couple of your points. First of all, the shuttle buses do indeed stop for wildlife sightings. In fact, I am convinced the shuttle buses are far superior for some wildlife sightings than the tour buses. You can get off and on the shuttles to go back and forth to spend more time observing the wildlife, especially bears.

 

Secondly NO ONE gets past Toklat until June 1st. The TWT usually goes to Stony Overlook but only on/after June 1st. The road is closed to all shuttle and tour buses past Toklat until June 1st.

 

Regarding getting on a shuttle bus after you get off, true that it is "space available" but having hopped off and on hundreds of buses, I rarely have to wait more than 15-30 minutes for a bus.

 

You don't stop at Muldrow Glacier on any tour or shuttle bus - you just see it from a distance. Though I often camp at Wonder Lake Campground, I would not take a day trip to Kantishna. It is just too long of a day and limits any hiking or extra time at Eielson. Fannie Quigley's cabin is interesting, but so little time is spent here. I can't imagine that is a huge reason to go all the way to Kantishna!

[Budget Queen]

IMHO the Tundra Wilderness Tour is taking a bad rap here. I have taken the NHT, the TWT, the Kantishna Experience and the Eielson Shuttle. They all serve a purpose. The TWT stops frequently at wildlife sightings and has closed circuit TV so everyone can see what you're supposed to be looking at. In addition, if the Mountain is out, the bus goes to the Stoney Hill overlook. The Eielson Shuttle is a shuttle. Don't expect wildlife stops. Additionally, in peak season, if you get off the bus to hike, don't necessarily expect to get on the next bus. It may be full. From Stoney Hill to Eielson is maybe 6 miles. The real Denali experience is the Kantishna Experience. Even if the Mountain isn't out, the stops at the Mildrow Glacier, Wonder Lake and Frannie Quigley's are still worth it. If you are in the park before June 1, don't expect to get beyond Stoney Dome - no shuttles.

 

Sorry, shuttle buses indeed make similar stops for wildlife, and they may not be on as fixed of a time schedule compared to tour buses. As an example, I did the Wonder Lake shuttle twice and Eielson shuttle once, this year, and all three trips went over the "time".

 

The OP, talks about price in several posts. The responses in favor of the shuttle buses is significant. I also mention that for the shuttle buses, you MUST split off from your group and independently get yourself to the Access Center. Plenty of people are not willing to do this. This OP doesn't give any indication? The information given is about shuttle buses. The OP already knows about the TWT. That is fine for many people, and frankly the highlight of cruisetours and significantly superior compared to the NHT.

 

I too agree, for me, staying overnight at Kantishna is my only interest. But the tour has gotten great reviews, so certainly an option- that the OP does NOT mention.

 

Bottom line is information, which is what the responses are and what the OP did not have with their original post.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Budget Queen

[Bossman1]

I will be staying at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge on August 6-7, 2015.

I just booked the 7:30 am shuttle to the Eielson Visitor's Center for August 7th. How do I get from the lodge to the Wilderness Access Center and back to the lodge? Also, when I booked the shuttle there wasn't an option to take a different shuttle back. If I want to stay longer and do a hike, how do I confirm a later shuttle?

[Bossman1]

I just received notification from my TA that we got a $99.00 credit back from Princess for the Natural History Tour.

[Budget Queen]

I will be staying at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge on August 6-7, 2015.

I just booked the 7:30 am shuttle to the Eielson Visitor's Center for August 7th. How do I get from the lodge to the Wilderness Access Center and back to the lodge? Also, when I booked the shuttle there wasn't an option to take a different shuttle back. If I want to stay longer and do a hike, how do I confirm a later shuttle?

 

Frankly you jumped into booking, before knowing the options. Hopefully, if needed, you are willing to walk the mile to the Access Center? Princess does run a lodge shuttle bus, but I'm not sure if it starts early enough for the Park shuttle you booked? You need to be at the Access Center at least a 1/2 hour prior. (lines start by 1/2 prior for boarding) You will likely be needing to pick up your tickets and will need to get in line for the bus. They do leave on time.

 

The Salmon bake also has a shuttle service for $5pp each way, if their schedule stays the same- you are going to have to be there by 6am.

 

Frugal writes frequently about a taxi, I happened to overhear people on the phone claiming they weren't answering, and they had been trying "all day" to get a hold of them. The lodging staff where this happened, also claimed they weren't easy to get a hold of. So if this is your choice, I would definitely verify and perhaps pay in advance for this service.

 

There is NO confirming a later shuttle bus. Once you leave your reserved shuttle bus, anywhere in the park, you will just be returning to the Park Road, and waiting for ANY available shuttle bus that has seats. IF you choose to reboard a different bus at Eielson, you will have to get on a dispatcher list, who then loads buses, based on availability of seats.

 

There is no problem with your return to your lodge, except maybe having to wait, an hour, if you just missed a Princess bus (clearly marked).

[islandwoman]

I just received notification from my TA that we got a $99.00 credit back from Princess for the Natural History Tour.

Thank you for posting this. It gave me the incentive to email my TA. Previously I asked him to have Princess change a duplicate excursion that they assigned us as part of our cruisetours. This is the response I received:

 

"I checked with Princess and they are not able to substitute or change specific land packages which are part of the tour."

[frugaltravel]

Frugal writes frequently about a taxi, I happened to overhear people on the phone claiming they weren't answering, and they had been trying "all day" to get a hold of them. The lodging staff where this happened, also claimed they weren't easy to get a hold of. So if this is your choice, I would definitely verify and perhaps pay in advance for this service.

 

Actually I personally helped people book the taxi service a couple of times this past summer. Easy peasy. One phone call, set price within the Denali area, arrived on time as scheduled. I am sure as with any service there might be issues now and then. I have absolutely nothing to do with this company, but I wanted to relay my recent experience from summer 2014.

[mapleleaves]

Thank you for posting this. It gave me the incentive to email my TA. Previously I asked him to have Princess change a duplicate excursion that they assigned us as part of our cruisetours. This is the response I received:

 

"I checked with Princess and they are not able to substitute or change specific land packages which are part of the tour."

 

I wonder if your TA really called .... Princess has refunded for YEARS and as seen by the previous post, did so this year.

Call Princess yourself?

[islandwoman]

Usually Princess doesn't want to work with me if I booked through a TA. But if I don't get a satisfactory answer this time, I'll try calling them anyway. Notice that the message didn't say "not able to cancel", only "not able to substitute or change". It's also possible that changing or cancelling an excursion could cause problems if a transfer to the next destination is attached to the assigned excursion.

[Bossman1]

Actually I personally helped people book the taxi service a couple of times this past summer. Easy peasy. One phone call, set price within the Denali area, arrived on time as scheduled.

 

Thank you for the information. Would you email me the name and/or phone number of the taxi company? jganthony1 at suddenlink dot net.

[shelby101]

We would love to do the shuttle bus in Denali, but I called and they will not pick us up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. How would we get from the lodge to the shuttle bus?

[frugaltravel]

Thank you for the information. Would you email me the name and/or phone number of the taxi company? jganthony1 at suddenlink dot net.

 

No need to email it. I can post it right here.

 

Denali Taxi Shuttle

Tel. 907-683-4765

Based in Healy

 

Figure +-$30 each way for any taxi between Healy to the north and Carlo Creek to the south.

 

We would love to do the shuttle bus in Denali, but I called and they will not pick us up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. How would we get from the lodge to the shuttle bus?

 

What time would your shuttle bus be? Princess offers a bus from about 7am until about 6pm. After 6pm they still pick you up but it costs you something like $5/person. You can also walk (a bit over a mile each way).

[Bossman1]

We would love to do the shuttle bus in Denali, but I called and they will not pick us up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. How would we get from the lodge to the shuttle bus?

 

After doing a little more research I found the Denali park salmon bake schedule. http://denaliparksalmonbake.com/shuttle-schedule.pdf

The pickup location is 0.1 mile from the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.

[Budget Queen]

We would love to do the shuttle bus in Denali, but I called and they will not pick us up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. How would we get from the lodge to the shuttle bus?

 

I noted this information above. Many cruisetour people won't take the park shuttle buses due to the independent requirements involved.

 

You will need to allow extra time for any hotel shuttles. And as I responded above, the poster did not plan for this when they booked their park shuttle bus tickets. Frankly, there is no need to jump into reservations now, easily can wait until next spring. Timing is everything for park shuttles and lodge shuttles, if you don't have a car, so take that in mind when coordinating the two. You also have to bring in ALL your own food and drink. Subway across the street from Princess, is open 24 hours. There are also several eateries you can order box lunches from.

[mapleleaves]

The walk to the Wilderness Access Center is on flat well worn path along the hwy and takes about 30-45 minutes depending on how fast you walk.

After you cross the bridge over the Nenana River, look for the Jonesville Trail, a helpful shortcut. You probably won't be alone ... it's another well worn path.

 

The Jonesville Trail is marked on this map. Pg 9 of the Park Newsletter:

http://www.nps.gov/dena/parknews/upload/Alpenglow2014_int.pdf

 

If you need a ride back after the shuttle trip, ask fellow passengers on the bus. Many people will have cars and don't mind taking you a mile down the road to your hotel.

In the past, some people have reported that Princess ran a later shuttle so be sure to ask about it.

[islandwoman]

I understand from the posts here that further into the park is better. I see from the map that the Kantishna and Wonder Lake shuttles go the furthest. But the description says that they take 11 and 13 hours respectively round-trip. For me, it would have to be done in one day and it's a very long ride. We do have all day, but sitting on a school bus for 11 or more hours straight does not appeal. Do they stop along the way?

 

We are looking for a replacement for the Natural History Tour. We're already signed up for the Tundra Wilderness Tour on a different day. I think that the TWT goes to the same place as the Eielson Shuttle Bus, so we wouldn't want to take that one. DH is a photographer and both of us like SHORT hikes. Which shuttle bus would you all recommend for us?

[Budget Queen]

I understand from the posts here that further into the park is better. I see from the map that the Kantishna and Wonder Lake shuttles go the furthest. But the description says that they take 11 and 13 hours respectively round-trip. For me, it would have to be done in one day and it's a very long ride. We do have all day, but sitting on a school bus for 11 or more hours straight does not appeal. Do they stop along the way?

 

We are looking for a replacement for the Natural History Tour. We're already signed up for the Tundra Wilderness Tour on a different day. I think that the TWT goes to the same place as the Eielson Shuttle Bus, so we wouldn't want to take that one. DH is a photographer and both of us like SHORT hikes. Which shuttle bus would you all recommend for us?

 

You have some wrong assumptions. The TWT and Eielson shuttle buses are NOT the same. It's all about distance. There is ONE road, the only difference is distance and type of bus. ALL the buses stop for wildlife, ALL the buses stop about every 90 minutes for breaks with the ability to reboard the same buses. In my opinion- it is significant to get to Eielson as it's the ONLY running water in the park, also only flush toilets. It is nicely set up with exhibits, and ranger activities. the TWT does NOT go that far. Not sure, in your case- but an option for some is the significant refunds you can get from Princess with these tours.

 

As I have already written above- Kantishna is a lot of private property so not the "usual" destination for day visitors. The farther you go the more you see. The 5 mile difference isn't significant with Wonder Lake and Kantishna. IF you want to consider Kantishna- you may be better off with the Kantishna TOUR that is mentioned above. But for anyone who is purely interested in wildlife and scenery- frankly may want to consider Wonder Lake BOTH days. There would be NOTHING worse than being stuck on the TWT and having McKinley viewable with no option to keep getting closer. With refunds of both the NHT and TWT, you can easily book 2 Wonder Lake entries, and have a boat load of money left over for multiple meals. You then can bail out of the shuttle bus ANYTIME, (that is safe) and wait along the side of the road and return, if you find Wonder Lake not of interest.

[islandwoman]

oops. I misread the map. Thanks for setting me straight.

[islandwoman]

We do have all day, but sitting on a school bus for 11 or more hours straight does not appeal. Do they stop along the way?

Does the 11 or 13 hours round-trip include the time at stops or does it mean time spent riding?

[Budget Queen]

Does the 11 or 13 hours round-trip include the time at stops or does it mean time spent riding?

 

These are suggested total times, that drivers keep pretty close to most of the time.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Budget Queen

[tigerbeth]

We will be in Denali August 2015 , staying at the Princess lodge. We would like to do the Tundra Wilderness Tour , now when Princess advised us we could book our tours this tour wasn't on the list.! Now it has appeared but it's sold out!

I have found vacancies booking through other Alaska websites one is about $40 cheaper for the same tour , does anyone have any thoughts about booking with someone else?

We usually like to do independent tours so this may be ok for us.

[Budget Queen]

We will be in Denali August 2015 , staying at the Princess lodge. We would like to do the Tundra Wilderness Tour , now when Princess advised us we could book our tours this tour wasn't on the list.! Now it has appeared but it's sold out!

I have found vacancies booking through other Alaska websites one is about $40 cheaper for the same tour , does anyone have any thoughts about booking with someone else?

We usually like to do independent tours so this may be ok for us.

 

The ONLY site you should be looking at for shuttles/tours is the official site http://www.reservedenali.com Nope- I never recommend using any booking agents. From your post- are you on a cruisetour, or did you just reserve the Denali Princess on your own or what? If independent, I never recommend the TWT, triple the cost and not my min. "required" distance for my preferences. Again- with anyone making changes or adding shuttles/tour buses be certain you also have your pick up arrangements figured out.

 

I will comment again, there is no need to jump into these reservations, especially with some of these above questions, it sounds like there could be a lot more found out first.

 

Finally- cruisetour people- IF you go with independent booking- YOU will be picking up your own bus tickets- when you do, have your cruisetour paperwork with you, and you will be refunded your park fee. This fee is an automatic charge with any bus tickets.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Budget Queen

[tigerbeth]

The ONLY site you should be looking at for shuttles/tours is the official site http://www.reservedenali.com Nope- I never recommend using any booking agents. From your post- are you on a cruisetour, or did you just reserve the Denali Princess on your own or what? If independent, I never recommend the TWT, triple the cost and not my min. "required" distance for my preferences. Again- with anyone making changes or adding shuttles/tour buses be certain you also have your pick up arrangements figured out.

 

I will comment again, there is no need to jump into these reservations, especially with some of these above questions, it sounds like there could be a lot more found out first.

 

Finally- cruisetour people- IF you go with independent booking- YOU will be picking up your own bus tickets- when you do, have your cruisetour paperwork

with you, and you will be refunded your park fee. This fee is an automatic charge with any bus tickets.

 

Yes we are on a cruise tour with Princess and wanted to go further in the park than the Natural History tour which is included in our package .

The site you mentioned is the site I was looking at ,$130 pp compared with princesses price $179 pp. they pick you from the lodge , so no issue there.

I wouldn't mind the Eielson shuttle but then have to figure out getting to the pick up point and supplying our own lunch , which we may not have time to do as the pick up is at 5.00 am !