Avoiding the 9 hour bus ride to/from Denali

[baggal]

We're looking into taking an Alaska cruise and land tour this summer. We've done the cruise portion only several years ago and now would like to visit Denali.  Unfortunately, the logistics seem daunting - especially the 9 hour bus ride either to or from Denali.  Due to some health issues, its not recommended that I sit for so long (yes I know the bus makes stops along the way but I don't think it would be enough).  Has anyone ever been able to take the train in both directions  instead of the bus?  Any other suggestions?  

[Alphen]

40 minutes ago, baggal said:

We're looking into taking an Alaska cruise and land tour this summer. We've done the cruise portion only several years ago and now would like to visit Denali.  Unfortunately, the logistics seem daunting - especially the 9 hour bus ride either to or from Denali.  Due to some health issues, its not recommended that I sit for so long (yes I know the bus makes stops along the way but I don't think it would be enough).  Has anyone ever been able to take the train in both directions  instead of the bus?  Any other suggestions?  

We are booked on a HAL triple Denali, so no experience yet, but we have land first and our bus from Fairbanks to Denali is scheduled to be departing at 9:30 AM and arriving in Denali at 1:00 PM, so planned to be about 3,5 hours, assuming with stops included.

After Denali, the tour continues to Anchorage, by train.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Alphen

[SightCRR]

Make sure to read up about the Denali road closures to see if it is worth it this year. May want to consider flight from ANC. Won't see wildlife but if the weather is good you will have spectacular mountain views. If only going to m/p17 or 43 wildlife may not be in the cards anyway.  sightcrr. 

[5waldos]

An additional thing you will want to look into- once you are at Denali, you mostly have to take a bus tour which is another 8 hours or so to see a lot of it. Or last time I looked it was. 

[disneyochem]

We have taken the train both directions—hubby is a train buff—and we enjoyed the ability to get up and walk around during the journey.  Hubby is 6’5” so we avoid bus travel as much as possible.  
 

Without a car, you are somewhat limited to where you stay once in Denali.  There are only a few hotels that offer a free hotel shuttle from the train depot.  We stayed at Denali Cabins prior to a stay at the Denali Backcountry Lodge.  Worked out well for us since they had a shuttle to/from train station and Glitter Gulch (for meals).

 

Do check the different bus tours into the interior of Denali.  Part of the road is closed.  Only you can decide whether is “worth” going to Denali this year.  The bus tours stop every 90 minutes so you can get out and stretch/ use the facilities.

[donaldsc]

Don't take a cruise tour.  Rent a car and you can set up your land portion.  This is very easy to do in AK.

 

DON

[5waldos]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

Don't take a cruise tour.  Rent a car and you can set up your land portion.  This is very easy to do in AK.

 

DON

IF you can get a car to rent. That is the hard part. 

[baggal]

Thanks everyone.  Your responses are very helpful.  We just wanted an easy get-away this summer without much effort on our part.  And considering we live on the East Coast, just getting to and from Alaska this summer was becoming a challenge.  It turns out that its easier for us to fly non-stop over to Amsterdam and board a 7 or 10 day cruise to Norway than it is to fly to and/or from Fairbanks.  Unfortunately, we don't feel comfortable traveling to Northern Europe this summer.  So we're exploring other options.

 

Thanks again.

 

P.S. The HAL website does state that the road into Denali is closed at mile 43 and and the Tundra Wilderness tour will take approximately 5 - 6 hours.

[Northern Aurora]

I am late to this discussion but a quick comment to @baggal:  If you do indeed decide to proceed with an Alaska trip and want to rent a car do so ASAP.  Last year we had a shortage of rental cars in the state, and our tourism officials are predicting a record number of visitors this year.

[oaktreerb]

14 hours ago, baggal said:

We're looking into taking an Alaska cruise and land tour this summer. We've done the cruise portion only several years ago and now would like to visit Denali.  Unfortunately, the logistics seem daunting - especially the 9 hour bus ride either to or from Denali.  Due to some health issues, its not recommended that I sit for so long (yes I know the bus makes stops along the way but I don't think it would be enough).  Has anyone ever been able to take the train in both directions  instead of the bus?  Any other suggestions?  

The bus stops for a comfort break every 2 hours.  The train between Anchorage and Denali is very comfortable and you can walk around.  The bus ride between Denali and Fairbanks is much shorter.  Do you mind flying into or out of Fairbanks?  There are land tour activities in Fairbanks like the Riverboat Discovery and the pipeline and gold dredge.  

[GTJ]

I am assuming that you're looking at transportation direct between the arrival port and Denali, without stopping off anywhere in-between. Note that there are two ports where cruise vessels routinely arrive and depart. Princess Cruises and Holland America Line (both subsidiaries of Carnival Corporation & plc), and the Alaska Marine Highway, use the port at Whittier, while all other lines use the port at Seward.

 

There is direct passenger rail service only between Whittier and Denali, not between Seward and Denali. Trains operate in both directions on Saturdays, Sundays, and alternate Wednesdays, and are timed to meet all Princess Cruises and Holland America Line cruise vessels. The service is known as "Denali Express," utilizes Princess Rail equipment consisting of Ultra Dome cars with panoramic dome seating, observation platform, and full meal service, is operated by Alaska Railroad, with tickets sold by Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. Northbound, trains depart Whittier at 8:15 a.m., arriving in Denali at 5:45 p.m.; southbound, trains depart Denali at 8:00 a.m., arriving in Whittier at 5:30 p.m.

 

From Seward, passenger rail service is a two-day journey, requiring an overnight stay in Anchorage. There are generally two trains operating on days cruise vessels are operating to and from Seward. One train, generally referred to as the "cruise train," or sometimes as the "Grandview" train, utilizes Alaska Railroad equipment consisting of Panorama Dome cars with panoramic dome seating; and Café car with sandwiches, snacks, and beverages, is operated by Alaska Railroad, with tickets sold by the cruise lines. The train begins its day in Seward, departing Seward at 6:50 a.m. or 8:00 a.m., arriving at Anchorage airport at 11:35 a.m. or 12:30 p.m., then departing Anchorage airport at 1:00 p.m. or 1:15 p.m., and arriving back in Seward at 5:30 p.m. or 5:45 p.m. The other train, known as the "Coastal Classic" train, utilizes Alaska Railroad equipment consisting of Coaches; Vista-Dome coach cars with unreserved dome seating; Ultra Dome cars with panoramic dome seating, observation platform and full meal service; Café car with sandwiches, snacks, and beverages; and Dining car with full meal service, is operated by Alaska Railroad, with tickets sold by Alaska Railroad. The train begins its day in Anchorage, departing the downtown Anchorage station at 6:45 a.m., arriving in Seward at 11:05 a.m., then departing Seward at 6:00 p.m., and arriving back at the downtown Anchorage station at 10:15 p.m.

 

After a night in Anchorage, continue the next day on either of two daily trains. The first train, known as the "Denali Star," utilizes Alaska Railroad equipment consisting of Coaches; Vista-Dome coach cars with unreserved dome seating; Ultra Dome cars with panoramic dome seating, observation platform and full meal service; and Bistro car with sandwiches, snacks, and beverages, is operated by Alaska Railroad, with tickets sold by Alaska Railroad. This train also carries private equipment known as the "Wilderness Express," consisting of Ultra Dome cars with panoramic dome seating, observation platform, and full meal service; tickets for these cars are sold by Premier Alaska Tours, Royal Caribbean International, and Celebrity Cruises. Northbound, trains depart the downtown Anchorage station at 8:15 a.m., arriving in Denali at 3:40 p.m.; southbound, trains depart Denali at 12:30 p.m., arriving at the downtown Anchorage station at 8:00 p.m. The second train, known as the "McKinley Explorer," utilizes Princess Rail equipment consisting of Ultra Dome cars with panoramic dome seating, observation platform, and full meal service, is operated by Alaska Railroad, with tickets sold by Premier Alaska Tours, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. Northbound, trains depart the downtown Anchorage station at 9:15 a.m., arriving in Denali at 4:40 p.m.; southbound, trains depart Denali at 9:15 a.m., arriving at the downtown Anchorage station at 5:00 p.m.

 

Alternatively, bus service connects Seward with Denali in a single day. Northbound, the Park Connection service departs Seward daily at 10:20 a.m., a lunch stop in downtown Anchorage from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., and arrival in Denali between 8:20 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Southbound, the Park Connection service departs Denali daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:55 a.m., a lunch stop in downtown Anchorage from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., and arrival in Seward at 6:10 p.m.

[baggal]

Hi Everyone, 

I really do appreciate the time you took to respond to my initial question.  (@GTJ - Wow!!).  But, as I wrote earlier, we are looking for a EASY getaway this summer.  And after researching all the flight options it turned out that if we began or ended our touring in Fairbanks , it would mostly likely require an overnight stay in Seattle (again, health issues even if there was a good flight connection).  So after much discussion today, we have decided to do a complete 180 degree turn and we just booked a Bermuda cruise.  We drive to the port in Bayonne, NJ which is a mere half hour away from our home, park our car at the port, board the ship and then reverse the order when we disembark.  No its not Alaska, but in our hearts I don't think we were really looking for an Alaska adventure this summer.

 

Thanks again.

 

[oaktreerb]

Denali will be better next year assuming the road into the park is repaired.  Have a great cruise.

[GTJ]

13 hours ago, baggal said:

"[W]e are looking for a EASY getaway this summer.

Bermuda fits that bill. Longest bus ride on the island is about one hour, and much can be done while there on spur of the moment: we were there for four days in 2019, having sailed from Bayonne via Celebrity Cruises, and relying on a 4-day bus pass to go almost everyplace. A trip to Alaska really requires attention to detail--in the face of competing claims from various cruise lines, railroads, and tour operators--and making certain that everything fits together geographically and temporally. And when the time arrives to make those plans, and with good health, then you should be able to put something together.

[baggal]

13 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Denali will be better next year assuming the road into the park is repaired.  Have a great cruise.

Thanks!

[baggal]

1 hour ago, GTJ said:

Bermuda fits that bill. Longest bus ride on the island is about one hour, and much can be done while there on spur of the moment: we were there for four days in 2019, having sailed from Bayonne via Celebrity Cruises, and relying on a 4-day bus pass to go almost everyplace. A trip to Alaska really requires attention to detail--in the face of competing claims from various cruise lines, railroads, and tour operators--and making certain that everything fits together geographically and temporally. And when the time arrives to make those plans, and with good health, then you should be able to put something together.

 

Exactly!  Thanks again.