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Homer, Kodiak and Icy Straits

bellaggio

By bellaggio,
in Alaska

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Assateague Island Princes

Assateague Island Princes

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Have done HAL's 14 day itinerary three times and have some recommendations for those ports you requested:

 

Homer: Rent a car, drive out East End Road and visit Dr. Linda Chamberlain's Mushing Kennel (www.howlinghuskyhomestead.com). Wonderful inside look at recreational dog mushing in Alaska - very informative and personalized. On the way back to town, stop at Fritz Creek General Store/Post Office for some great and unsual lunch offerings. Their homemade pizza is delicious!

 

Do you enjoy the tv show "Deadliest Catch"? If so, be sure to scope out the deep water harbor on the Spit - the Time Bandit homeports there, and we've seen her there each time, as well as the Saga, the Ramblin' Rose, and the Cape Caution at various times.

 

Take the ferry to Seldovia - wonderful little town with great beaches for finding beach glass, have lunch on the outside pier of one of the waterside restaurants, enjoy the sail to and from Homer - exquisite scenery, amazing sealife/bird life, and stunning views.

 

Visit the lovely Pratt Museum in town - just fantastic for such a small town museum. Have lunch at Capt. Pattie's on the Spit - delicious fish and chips or Kachemak Bay oysters fresh from the sea. Walk out to the end of the Spit, stopping at the mariner's memorial along the way, watch for sea otters frolicking in the surf, and eagles catching their meals close to the shore. The views from the Land's End Resort at the end of the Spit are just lovely. Stroll the boardwalk of shops on the Spit, wonderful little shops w/handcrafted items that just scream Alaska - far better than some old tee-shirt or coffee mug that you'll forget about in time.

 

Kodiak: Highly recommend a tour with Dake from Memorymakers. A six passenger van with personalized tour of the island - out to Ft. Abercrombie with hikes thru the forest (and w/any kind of luck, the salmonberries will be ripe and ready for the picking), up to Pillar Mt. where the wind turbines are located for excellent vies of the harbor, and a drive out the road to the various rivers and streams where you may catch a glimpse of some bears fishing for their dinner.

 

Take the HAL shuttle into town, visit the local museums, walk the waterfront, take a cab over to the deep water harbor to seek more Deadliest Catch boats and to see the sealion haulout with the massive beasts loudly making their presence known. Take a cab to Cy's Sporting Goods new out of town location for terrific souveniers, be sure to pet their resident yellow Lab and ask to see the photographs of all the massive Kodiak brown bears that have been bagged on the island. Visit the craft market downtown and talk to the locals, while admiring their beautifully handcrafted jewelry, woodworking, and fresh jams/jellies.

 

Icy Strait Point - Take a whale watch and/or bear search (if the fish run timing is right) - we highly recommend Misty Bay Lodge for both (small 6 passenger boats). Excellent excursions! Stop at Misty Bay Lodge for some of their delicious salmonberry ice cream, halibut pizza, seafood chowder or sandwiches to go.

 

Walk along the path from the cruise ship dock area to the lovely town of Hoonah, visit the totem carving shed and engage in conversation with the local carvers whose unique and detailed work is right in front of you for inspection. Look for the eagles nest near the post office. Watch for whales right from the shore - we saw plenty! Walk out to the end of the zipline, grab an Alaskan brew at the restaurant at the bottom of the zipline while watching the crazy fools who have paid a fortune to fly down the side of the mountain in 90 seconds flat:D! Tour the cannery museum at the cruise ship pier, visit the shops inside, grab a cup of crab chowder from the little stand on the pier, enjoy the serenity of that quaint little Alaskan town.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise to the Great Land as much as we've enjoyed all our trips there. Smooth sailing to you.

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Assateague Island Princes

Assateague Island Princes

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We rented from John Thompson of Hertz at hertzgo@alaska.net in 2011. The cost was $66.60 plus tax, and they were indeed located at the airport. We called John when we disembarked, and we met him at the Fisherman's Memorial, he then drove us to the airport to complete our paperwork (took a matter of minutes). From there, we were off. When we were done touring for the day, we went back to the airport, and John drove us back to the ship. Very easy and economical for our day in Homer. However, as AKStafford and Mapleleaves noted, there are several other car rental places to take advantae of, as long as they bring the car to you on the Spit, I wouldn't anticipate any difficulties with any of the car rental agencies.

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Northern Aurora

Northern Aurora

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Homer is one of my favorite south central Alaskan coastal communities; I much prefer it to either Seward or Valdez. On a clear day Kachemak Bay is absolutely stunning. It is an "arty" community with several very good restaurants (featuring local seafood); a number of their restaurants seem to change ownership frequently, so it might be a good idea to ask a local for current recommendations. In addition to fishing charters, folks can also fly over to Katmai for bear viewing. A day trip to Seldovia is lovely. And the Pratt Museum is fairly small, but worth a visit. Since when we visit we are there for several days, we have the option of a visit to Halibut Cove and the Saltery restaurant. But the Bear Creek Winery is also in Homer, and does offer a tasting room and tours on certain days of the week (check their website).

 

I have been to Kodiak both on business and on vacation, but it has been several years since I was last there. Kodiak is one of the few communities in Alaska in which visitors will feel remnants of Alaska's Russian America heritage; the Russian Orthodox church is active with Holy Resurrection Church, and St. Herman's Theological Seminary and archives. Kodiak also has fishing opportunities and bear viewing. The drive toward Chiniak is lovely on a clear day. Major museums include the Alutiiq Museum and the Baranov Museum (periodically referred to as the Erskine House). We've also enjoyed visits to the Ft. Abercrombie State Historical Park.

 

There is a great amount of information about Icy Strait on this forum, but it reminds my husband of Ketchikan before it was discovered by the cruise industry.

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  • 1 month later...
SBZS

SBZS

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We rented a car in Kodiak. There is a great self guided driving tour posted online. Highlight for us was visiting fossil beach...found many wonderful fossils there!

 

 

Hello!

 

Would you mind sharing the URL of this self-guided driving tour?

 

Thanks!

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