Natural History Tour vs Tundra Wilderness Tour

[theminnow]

We are booked for an Alaska cruisetour with Celebrity this June. The land tour includes a full day in Denali with the Natural History Tour. We are thinking about up grading to the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Not sure what the difference is as Celebrity's website does not give too many details. About the only thing our TA could get from Celebrity was that we can upgrade with our tour guide once we disembark from the ship. I'm worried if we wait til then to upgrade the Tundra Wilderness Tour could be sold out. Any input as to what to expect on theses tours from someone who has done one or both tours would be appreciated. Upgrade would be cheaper, but we don't mind paying full price now and just book the Tundra tour if there is that much difference. Thanks for your input. Primary reason is to see wildlife, in particular bears and wolves.

[dfilpus]

These tours are described on the National Park Service Denali National Park website. 

https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-tours.htm

 

[AKStafford]

I wouldn't do a "tour". Book the shuttle bus. Same road, same views, much cheaper: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm 

The only difference is that you have to provide your own meals, but there's plenty of options for grabbing a boxed lunch.

[Northern Aurora]

As someone who lives about a two hour drive north of the entrance to Denali National Park I feel that those who don't go into the park as far as Eielson Visitor's Center cheat themselves.  As AKStafford has just posted, it is easy to book a shuttle trip into Eielson.  

[wolfie11]

The NHT is pretty worthless.  Most people don’t see bears or wolves.  The TWT is pretty much a guarantee for bears and the only chance for wolves.  The snowshoe hare population is up, so there should be a lot of wildlife around this summer.  I prefer the shuttle, but the logistics can be difficult for getting to and from the place it departs versus tours picking you up at the hotel.

[thinfool]

We went thru this same situation...cruisetour included the NHT, after research we decided we wanted the TWT.  We were willing to 'eat' the cost of the NHT and just pay for the TWT.  I called...bookings were full for our date.  

What about cancellations?  No..no list to get on...but any cancellations would be available, by phone, beginning 8 days before our date.  That was the day we would be in Juneau...so, in Juneau I called the TWT number...there were 6 cancellations available...I took 2...it was so worth it. 

[masterdrago]

I'm sure I'm a bit confused, but can tours even be booked at this time? Has anyone been able to get through on the phone or get an email reply?

[thinfool]

5 hours ago, masterdrago said:

I'm sure I'm a bit confused, but can tours even be booked at this time? Has anyone been able to get through on the phone or get an email reply?

The TWT can be booked thru the http://reservedenali.com website.  Whether Celebrity has booking available I do not know.

[theminnow]

Thank you all for the responses. Looks like we are going to try and book the Tundra Wilderness Tour and skip the Natural History Tour.

[Mommydust]

On 1/10/2019 at 6:54 AM, wolfie11 said:

I prefer the shuttle, but the logistics can be difficult for getting to and from the place it departs versus tours picking you up at the hotel.

This is exactly what I'm wanting to figure out. I really wish to do the NPS transit to EielsonVC, but not at all sure how to get to transit system from our Princess hotel. Can you advise?

[rma2001]

They offer a shuttle from the lodge, I want to say $10 a person from last I saw.  We are planning on taking it for our tour.

https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/denali-lodge/