Should we visit Fairbanks or Anchorage?

[Moondoggy51]

My wife and I are thinking about an Alaska cruise with a 4 day Denali excursion.  One tour spends two days in Fairbanks to start the excursion.  Another spends one day in Fairbanks at the start of the excursion but adds an excursion to Mt. McKinley and a 3rd cruise starts in Anchorage instead of Fairbanks and also goes to Mt. McKinley.  The rest of the stops on the excursion are the same between all 3.  The cruise portion on all 3 are exactly the same.

 

So my questions are for those that have been on the excursions is whether we should go to Fairbanks or Anchorage as I know nothing about either city?

If Fairbanks is a better stop on the trip, is it better to spend an additional day in Fairbanks and skip Mt. McKinley or see Mt McKinley and only spend the first day in Fairbanks?

 

 

 

[Shmoo here]

24 minutes ago, Moondoggy51 said:

My wife and I are thinking about an Alaska cruise with a 4 day Denali excursion.  One tour spends two days in Fairbanks to start the excursion.  Another spends one day in Fairbanks at the start of the excursion but adds an excursion to Mt. McKinley and a 3rd cruise starts in Anchorage instead of Fairbanks and also goes to Mt. McKinley.  The rest of the stops on the excursion are the same between all 3.  The cruise portion on all 3 are exactly the same.

 

So my questions are for those that have been on the excursions is whether we should go to Fairbanks or Anchorage as I know nothing about either city?

If Fairbanks is a better stop on the trip, is it better to spend an additional day in Fairbanks and skip Mt. McKinley or see Mt McKinley and only spend the first day in Fairbanks?

 

 

 

Personally, I'd take either of the two that go to Denali.  Just be aware, you may not be able to actually SEE the mountain on the one day you're there, but it's pretty spectacular, if you do.

 

Anchorage vs Fairbanks - I'd suggest you look up "What to see/do in XXXX" for each of them and see if anything strikes your fancy.

[donaldsc]

First of all, it is now Mt. Denali and not McKinley.  Second of all, with the construction on the road in Denali, all bets are off with regard to getting into the park.  

 

Now in answer to your question.   Many of the cruisetours which may say that you have 2 days in Denali give you one night in Denali.  This means that you arrive there about noon on day 1 and depart early afternoon on day 2 so you really have 1 day in Denali.  Even assuming that the road is open, you can't see much of Denali in 1 day so the Denali visit may not be worth it.

 

Regarding Fairbanks versus Anchorage, as Schmoo has suggested you need to do some research on what interests you in each city.  Most of the interesting places in Anchorage are outside of the city you you have to consider how you will be getting to them.  Fairbanks has several places that I really likes that are in town - a great museum and one of the better car museums in the world.  I loved both of them and have visited them 2 or 3 times.  However, if you are not interested in museums or cars, this downgrades Fairbanks.  For me, I would pick Fairbanks but my interests are certainly different from what yours might be.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

DON

[geoherb]

Our cruise tour started with two nights in Fairbanks. We did not arrive until after midnight the first night. Our first day was the riverboat cruise, lunch, and gold dredge--a full day. We left the next morning on the train to Denali. We arrived around noon and had a 2:00 reservation for the Tundra Wilderness Tour (upgraded from the Natural History Tour). It was great. We ate sandwiches from a coffee shop across the street (in Glitter Gulch) before the tour. We left the next day around noon. That gave us time to go to the National Park Service and see the sled dogs in the morning.

 

There wasn't much to do at the McKinley Lodge without booking an optional excursion. But it was a welcomed respite after doing so much our first two days in Alaska. We enjoyed a free guided nature walk (about 45 minutes) and dinner in one of the restaurants. 

The next day we rode to Anchorage and spent the night there. (If you add it up, you'll discover ours was a 5-night precruise package.) There wasn't much for us to do there other than enjoy a nice dinner and stock up on wine for our cruise. 

[mcrcruiser]

Save money , get the mini bus service from Anchorage   to pick  you up at the pier . Set up a car rental at the anchorage airport & the mini bus service will drop you off there  .just google mini bus service from Anchorage .Take the half day tour  & you will see Alaska animals at the rehab center 

 

We did this trip , We  stayed in Anchorage & honestly the best place to go is their Zoo .i knew to see Alaska wolves in the wild was like hitting the jackpot , This zoo has a pack of Alaska  wolves . Very interesting zoo lay out  .  The only other attraction worth any thing was the Native Center & we had a half off coupon .check on the net :Alaska discount books 

 

 We drove to Denali ourselves ,a wonderful easy road & stayed at the Denali Lake view lodge ,a AAA triple diamond bed & breakfast  .Talk with the management as to where to eat & they also will make you a lunch to take on your tour of Denali , We stayed there 3 days  going up & 2 days coming back .I hot clear pictures of Denali both summits north & south  .This B&B   over looks lake Otto which has wild life .We did this trip in May ,so we got great rates , We love this B&B ,so clean & with a private balcony & breakfast was in the fridge .There is a ATV place next door  . We also went to Fairbanks  & saw Santa Claus house of Christmas decorations & a antique car display & don't miss the University of Alaska   museum ,It is fabulous 

 

 Enjoy your trip 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[mcrcruiser]

Book your Denali National Park tour  at least 6 months to one year in advance .If you have the senior national park card you will get a rebate for the entry price .don't miss the dog sled demonstration

[caribill]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Book your Denali National Park tour  at least 6 months to one year in advance .If you have the senior national park card you will get a rebate for the entry price .don't miss the dog sled demonstration

 

The rebate is one per park card. Although two of us are covered by the senior park card, they would only give the rebate for one when we did it.

[mcrcruiser]

 

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The rebate is one per park card. Although two of us are covered by the senior park card, they would only give the rebate for one when we did it.

My wife has one card & I have one senior park card . This is how we  got the 2 rebates   . We knew that in the event of one of us dies that the card privileges do not go on .Each senior must own their own National Parks card .We bought my wife's when the price was still $10 .now it is $80  I had mine when  I  turned 62   & the was 20 years ago .We have seen a lot in that 20 years & we are going on another land trip to Arches & Canyon Lands   National Parks May 2022 

[AKStafford]

If you are seeing "McKinley" in the description and it's a Princess tour, they are talking about their MT. MCKINLEY PRINCESS WILDERNESS LODGE. Which is several hours away from the Denali National Park entrance. It's also an hour away from Talkeetna, the nearest town. Some people enjoy the solitude, others feel like it's a wasted stop....

My recommendation (having been a motorcoach driver for these tours for two years) is to skip the pre-packaged "cruisetour" from the cruise line. I think you'll have a much better trip by renting a car and putting together your own great trip. There's nothing offered on the cruisetour that you can't book on your own, often for less. Doing your own trip allows you to see what you want to see at your pace. You'll have more options in dining, lodging and activities. 

You can get trip planning help here, or I'd recommend using the TripAdvisor forums: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

[Northern Aurora]

Not only is our OP needing to research Fairbanks and Anchorage to determine which is of more interest to them, but I am wondering what year the OP is planning to visit Alaska.  Since the single road into Denali National Park is closed at mile 42 until the NPS deals with the unstable soil condition at the area named Pretty Rocks any one considering a visit to DNP in the summers of 2022 and most likely 2023 will need to determine whether it is worth it to them.  Some folks will still find it worthwhile, but others will not.  This will be a very individual decision.

[oaktreerb]

Anchorage instead of Fairbanks.  Flights more convenient to Anchorage.  If you rent a car it will cost you more at the airport.  Rent your car from a downtown agency.  A cruisetour does not require a car and they will pick you up at the airport, take you to your hotel and handle your luggage.  If you want to rent a car in Anchorage I would suggest you drive down Turnagain Arm.

 

You didn’t say which cruise line so it’s hard to know if you are referring to the Mt, McKinley lodge in Talkeetna or Denali at the National Park.  Denali National Park should be your goal for a 2 night visit.  You will hear that the tours into the park will be shortened because of necessary construction.  There is still plenty to see and do.  The train from Anchorage to Denali is longer and more scenic than the train from Fairbanks which is mostly pretty boring for anyone who has done it before.  

 

For such a short trip I would skip Fairbanks.