Our 2024 Alaska Adventure--including planning!

[Kathscof]

1 hour ago, no1racefan1 said:

Itinerary-wise, even though we made a revised itinerary we are still going back and forth on whether we should come in Sunday or Monday and add Denali back to the trip. On the one hand, yes it cut out a few hundred dollars and several hours of driving to drop Denali. On the other hand, it would be a lot less expensive to include it in this trip than it would to plan a whole other trip to Alaska someday to visit Denali. So many decisions!! (A person on Tripadvisor recommends a flight-seeing trip over Denali which sounds really amazing and also like it would be *adding* to the budget, not taking away from it....but also, amazing! Sigh...)

 

To throw more of a wrench in the rationale, there was the rock slide that now stops the Denali buses at mile 42 (or something close to that) and they are building a more sturdy replacement to that part of the REALLY LONG ROAD and it won't be ready for a while.....don't know if your trip is before the completion (and I wouldn't trust a timeline so far out, I am hearing 2024/2025 completion?) but you could always go small for this one and then when you "figure out" Alaska, you can plan another Denali trip for after the road is built! 

[no1racefan1]

34 minutes ago, Kathscof said:

 

To throw more of a wrench in the rationale, there was the rock slide that now stops the Denali buses at mile 42 (or something close to that) and they are building a more sturdy replacement to that part of the REALLY LONG ROAD and it won't be ready for a while.....don't know if your trip is before the completion (and I wouldn't trust a timeline so far out, I am hearing 2024/2025 completion?) but you could always go small for this one and then when you "figure out" Alaska, you can plan another Denali trip for after the road is built! 

Yes, that is also a factor!

[no1racefan1]

I spent this afternoon fine tuning our tentative itinerary--I'm already so excited for this trip!! By looking at this it probably seems like I'm one of those people that wants to have every single day planned out to the minute, but I'm really not! I like to have *ideas* for what we could do in a day, but we're very much go with the flow type people.

 

Monday, 5/13

B-airport

L-airport

Fly to Anchorage

Stay @ Hyatt

Pick up rental car

D-49^th State Brewing OR

Haute Quarter Grill

 

Tuesday, 5/14

B-free at hotel

Denali flightseeing trip?

Explore Anchorage

Buy groceries

L-picnic

Massages?

Wild Scoops ice cream

D-Anchorage

Stay @ Hyatt

 

Wednesday, 5/15

B-free @ hotel

Drive to Glacier View

Matanuska Glacier guided hike

L-The Butte Burger Place

Bodenberg Butte hike?

D-leftovers

Stay in Palmer?

 

Thursday, 5/16

B-groceries/make our own

Drive to Seward

Scenic stops along the way

L-picnic

Visit Exit Glacier

D-The Cookery OR

Woody’s Thai Kitchen

Stay @ yurt in Seward

 

Friday, 5/17

B-groceries/make our own

Orca quest tour in Seward OR

Kayak tour

L-Seward?

Drive back to Anchorage

Buy wine & soda for cruise?

D-Anchorage

Drop off rental car

Stay @ Hyatt

 

 

Saturday, 5/18 Embark Whittier 8pm

B-free @ hotel

9:45am-12:05pm Alaska Railroad

L-onboard or eat remaining groceries

Portage Pass Trail hike?

5:20pm dinner in MDR

 

Sunday, 5/19 Hubbard Glacier 3pm-8pm

Laundry day

3:30pm-5:30pm Hubbard Glacier cruise?

6:40pm dinner in MDR

 

Monday, 5/20 Glacier Bay 9:15am-7:30pm

5:20pm dinner in MDR

Tuesday, 5/21 Skagway 7am-8:30pm

7:30am-11:45am Chilkoot Hike & Float

Lunch back on board

Walk or shuttle to Gold Rush Cemetery

Hike to Lower Reid Falls?

Shopping in Skagway

6:40pm dinner in MDR

 

Wednesday, 5/22 Juneau 6:30am-4pm

7am-10:30am Mendenhall Native Canoe

Lunch in town—fish & chips

Mt. Roberts Tramway?

5:20pm dinner in MDR

 

Thursday, 5/23 Ketchikan 10am-6pm

Breakfast in MDR

10:30am-3:30pm Fishing excursion (Wade)

Lumberjack show?

Walking tour/shopping

6:40pm dinner in MDR

 

Friday, 5/24 Sea Day

Laundry day

5:20pm dinner in MDR

 

Saturday, 5/25 Disembark Vancouver 7:30am

Breakfast on board

Taxi to airport

L-airport

D-airport

Stay night in Denver?

 

I've started a wish list of 'would like to do this if we win the lottery' things to do (we don't play the lottery....) such as flightseeing in Denali. I'd like to know what everybody's ONE thing in Alaska is to do, if you did nothing else--what would feel quintessentially Alaskan to you?

 

(We did a helicopter flight to dogsledding camp on top of a glacier on our first cruise, so that's why those experiences are not included in our trip this time. We also did the White Pass train ride in Skagway. Both highly recommended!!)

 

For budgeting purposes, I'm trying to map out when/where we might be eating meals so we will know what to grocery shop for. I've also started researching restaurants in various places to see if there are any 'must do' places! I don't eat seafood sooooo....yeah. No crab legs here! Recommendations welcome, of course! Part of the reason I started this thread was to help give other people ideas as well... and the other reason I started this thread is to keep myself amused and give myself an outlet for my over 400 days left of trip planning I'll be doing....

 

 

[no1racefan1]

Oh! I got an AARP membership (I signed DH up because he's...more mature...) It was on sale for $12 for the year and it came with a free gift--a multi-USB port charger thingie. I was actually planning to buy something similar for our cruise that was $15 on Amazon, so basically the membership already paid for itself? Unless the multi-USB port thing is a piece of junk. Will update when I receive it!

 

Anyways, you can get the discounted Princess gift cards from AARP without a membership. However, they offer a lot of other gift card options available to members only. Some that may be of interest to CCers: Carnival, American Airlines, Royal Caribbean, Hotels.com, Airbnb, Celebrity... I am most interested in the Airbnb gift cards. They are only 5% off but money is money, amiright??? You can also get various supermarket cards for 8% off.

[dfilpus]

11 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Oh! I got an AARP membership (I signed DH up because he's...more mature...) It was on sale for $12 for the year and it came with a free gift--a multi-USB port charger thingie. I was actually planning to buy something similar for our cruise that was $15 on Amazon, so basically the membership already paid for itself? Unless the multi-USB port thing is a piece of junk. Will update when I receive it!

I’ been using my AARP USB charger at home for some weeks. It seems to work. I would take a backup charger just in case.

[no1racefan1]

Woohoo, I booked an excursion today!! I want to take advantage of the 6% back on paypal from Discover right now. I can get 6% cash back on up to $1,000 in paypal purchases through the end of May. So if you have a Discover card, check your offers! I got this paypal offer in an email, and it's in addition to the rotating 5% cash back categories.

 

My take on excursions:

I booked the Alaska Fishing & Wilderness Dining in Ketchikan for DH. We almost always book ship excursions because it's worth it to me to not have to make any of the arrangements (unless they are waaaay more expensive, but in the case of Alaska, I have found most ship excursions are comparable or just a few dollars more than booking independently). Having said that, I am pretty picky about ship excursions, or excursions in general. I usually try to avoid coaches, hoho buses, city highlights, etc. I look for small group tours and I read the reviews to get a sense if something will be a good fit. We have never had a bad ship excursion, and most of them have been the highlights of our trips!

[wolfie11]

2 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Woohoo, I booked an excursion today!! I want to take advantage of the 6% back on paypal from Discover right now. I can get 6% cash back on up to $1,000 in paypal purchases through the end of May. So if you have a Discover card, check your offers! I got this paypal offer in an email, and it's in addition to the rotating 5% cash back categories.

 

My take on excursions:

I booked the Alaska Fishing & Wilderness Dining in Ketchikan for DH. We almost always book ship excursions because it's worth it to me to not have to make any of the arrangements (unless they are waaaay more expensive, but in the case of Alaska, I have found most ship excursions are comparable or just a few dollars more than booking independently). Having said that, I am pretty picky about ship excursions, or excursions in general. I usually try to avoid coaches, hoho buses, city highlights, etc. I look for small group tours and I read the reviews to get a sense if something will be a good fit. We have never had a bad ship excursion, and most of them have been the highlights of our trips!

I did this one a few years back and loved it!  

[no1racefan1]

Budget update! For those of you looking for ways to plan/budget/save money as you plan your Alaska trip.... I have been continually tweaking the budget as I am able to do more research on certain activities, find deals, or change our itinerary. I haven't gotten the cost down too much yet since I posted the initial budget, BUT the update includes two additional possible tours (flightseeing and Hubbard Glacier) that weren't included before. So we are making progress! Column on the left is projected, column on the right is what has actually been spent so far. I hardly ever see people talking about actual numbers in their trip planning so maybe this is actually taboo... but I know I find this kind of information extremely helpful when planning!

 

$1,000.00	Plane tickets			Plane tickets
$600.00	Rental car			Rental car
$80.00	Gas in rental car			Gas in rental car
$1,786.56	Cruise fare		$274.60	Cruise fare
$153.36	Travel insurance			Travel insurance
$160.00	Lodging in Palmer			Lodging in Glacier View
$200.00	Lodging in Anchorage			Lodging in Anchorage
$300.00	Matanuska Glacier hike			Matanuska Glacier hike
$100.00	Wifi on board			Wifi on board
$224.00	Onboard gratuities			Onboard gratuities
$1,800.00	Shore excursions		$347.75	Shore excursions
$600.00	Denali flightseeing			Denali flightseeing
$150.00	Lodging in Seward			Lodging in Seward
$300.00	Orca quest tour			Orca quest tour
$400.00	Massages/spa			Massages/spa
$650.00	Dog sitting			Dog sitting
$100.00	Guide tips			Guide tips
$60.00	Extra ship tips			Extra ship tips
$550.00	Meals/groceries			Meals/groceries
$200.00	Train to Whittier			Train to Whittier
$50.00	Taxi to airport			Transfer to airport
$200.00	Hotel in Denver			Hotel in Seattle
$300.00	Miscellaneous			Miscellaneous
$25.00	Fishing license			Fishing license
$30.00	Laundry			Laundry
$45.00	Bear spray			Bear spray
$500.00	Shopping			Shopping
$10,563.9			$622.35

[Sail away MK]

I'm planning a similar trip about 2 weeks after yours.  I'm going to get the TourSaver Coupon book to help with airfare and some excursions throughout the trip.  We plan on renting a car or van in Anchorage and driving south for 3 days. Activities include: Portage Glacier Cruise, Cooper Landing River Float, Salmon fishing on the Kenai, Orca cruise in Seward (all have BOGO or money off offers).  Then we drive to Whittier to drop off the car and board the cruise.  In Skagway we will do a private City/Summit tour; I'm renting a car in Juneau to go to Shrine of St Theresa,  Alaskan Brewery, Mendenhall Glacier/Nugget Falls, then Glacier Gardens; Ketchikan will either be a private Tour by Natives outing, or I may splurge and do the Flightseeing & Crab Feast.  I'm meeting a large group of friends onboard so we will get a great rate for the private city tours for 10 people.

I agree with you.  The planning is half the fun.

[no1racefan1]

22 minutes ago, Sail away MK said:

I'm planning a similar trip about 2 weeks after yours.  I'm going to get the TourSaver Coupon book to help with airfare and some excursions throughout the trip.  We plan on renting a car or van in Anchorage and driving south for 3 days. Activities include: Portage Glacier Cruise, Cooper Landing River Float, Salmon fishing on the Kenai, Orca cruise in Seward (all have BOGO or money off offers).  Then we drive to Whittier to drop off the car and board the cruise.  In Skagway we will do a private City/Summit tour; I'm renting a car in Juneau to go to Shrine of St Theresa,  Alaskan Brewery, Mendenhall Glacier/Nugget Falls, then Glacier Gardens; Ketchikan will either be a private Tour by Natives outing, or I may splurge and do the Flightseeing & Crab Feast.  I'm meeting a large group of friends onboard so we will get a great rate for the private city tours for 10 people.

I agree with you.  The planning is half the fun.

Awesome!! I'd love to hear more about your planning as it goes. I saw that there was a 10% off for early booking for the orca cruise, so I'm thrilled about that! I've looked at the TourSaver book and haven't been able to determine yet if it would be worth it--I'm going to keep checking though! There is another similar coupon book called Northern Lights you might want to check out! I'm keeping an eye on that one too.

[Stowaway LFC]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:51 AM, no1racefan1 said:

After selecting a cruise, I penciled out a rough land itinerary for the week before. I considered a lot of different possibilities, including flying into Fairbanks, etc. Two weeks is the limit we set for ourselves to leave our dogs at home and also to take off work at one time. This is still a very rough itinerary and will probably change several more times, but this is the plan so far:

 

Monday, 5/13

Drive to Billings; fly to Anchorage

Pick up rental car

Stay @ Hyatt

 

Tuesday, 5/14

Drive to Denali; explore

Lunch in Talkeetna

Stay near Denali

 

Wednesday, 5/15

Morning hike in Denali

Drive to Glacier View

Stay @ Sheep Mtn Lodge

 

Thursday, 5/16

Matanuska Glacier hike

Drive to Seward

Stay @ yurt in Seward

 

Friday, 5/17

Kayak tour in Seward

Drive back to Anchorage; drop off rental car

Stay @ Hyatt

 

Saturday, 5/18 L

Alaska Railroad train to Whittier

Board ship

 

Sunday, 5/19

Hubbard Glacier

 

Monday, 5/20

Glacier Bay

 

Tuesday, 5/21

Skagway—Chilkoot Hike & Float

 

Wednesday, 5/22

Juneau—explore on our own

Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier?

Mt. Roberts Tramway

 

Thursday, 5/23

Ketchikan—Fishing excursion

Lumberjack show

 

Friday, 5/24

Sea Day

 

Saturday, 5/25

Ship transfer to airport

Stay night in Seattle

 

Sunday, 5/26

Fly to Billings & drive home

 

Totally open to any input/suggestions at this point. One thing I learned that may be helpful to others as you start to plan your time in Alaska--you can post your itinerary in the Alaska forum on TripAdvisor and there are a lot of knowledgeable locals and travelers that will provide feedback/make suggestions/tweak your itinerary in order to make it more efficient and enjoyable. 

 

Cool plan! We are doing a Carnival from San Franscisco, flying in from Texas, staying the night then boarding the next day for a 10 day cruise.  I love your pre trip plans! Sounds awesome!  We want to do a Ireland/Scotland cruise in a couple of years and then maybe a Carribean one after that although we are more into sightseeing than hanging on a beach or pool. Old I guess lol

[no1racefan1]

I came across this info for those of us who are planning everything far in advance! This is from 2021, so YMMV. Still a couple months to go until I can really start pricing out some things!

 

• Alaska – 331 days (just shy 11 months)
• Allegiant – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 9 months in advance
• American – 331 (just shy 11 months)
• Delta – 330 days (just shy 11 months)
• Frontier – how far in advance they announce their flights vary from season to season. On average, figure about 228 in advance (7.5 months)
• Hawaiian – 330 days (just shy 11 months)
• JetBlue – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 10 months in advance
• Spirit – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 10 months in advance
• Southwest – they announce their upcoming schedule 90 to 180 days in advance (roughly 3 to 6 months)
• United – 330 days (just shy 11 months)

Hotels

• Best Western – 12 brands, 350 days (11.5 months), cash/award
• Choice Hotels – 12 brands, 350 days (11.5 months)/cash or 30-100 days (1-3 months/award)
• Hilton Hotels – 18 brands, 365 days (12 months. Because math LOL), cash/award
• Hyatt Hotels – 18 brands, 395 days (13 months), cash/award
• Intercontinental Group (IHG) – 16 brands, 350 days (11.5 months) if not a Kimpton property, 355 days (11-2/3 months) if it is, cash/award
• Marriott – 31 brands, 50 weeks (11.5 months), cash/award
• Radisson Hotel Group – 8 brands, 2 years cash, 270 days (just shy 9 months) award (I’ve read that they take cash reservations 3 years in advance, but when I tried, their calendar only went 2 years into the future)
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts – 20 brands, 364 days (12 months minus one day LOL),  cash/award

Besides hotels owned by major nationwide or international brands, there are, of course, thousands upon thousands of privately owned hotels. They make their own decisions, as would bed & breakfasts, hostels, etc.

Rental Cars

• Advantage – 1 year
• Alamo – 360 days
• Avis – 370 days
• Budget – 1 year
• Dollar – Their online calendar went to 2 years in the future but when I tried to book, their computer said, “No rates qualify with requested parameters.” The same thing happened with 1 year out, and 11 months out. I did get rates for 10 months out. So somewhere between 10 and 11 months LOL
• Enterprise – 1 year
• E-Z – 1 year
• Fox – 18 months
• Hertz – 15 months
• National – 360 days
• Silvercar by Audi – 180 days
• Sixt – 1 year
• Thrifty – Their online calendar went to 2 years in the future but when I tried to book, their computer said, “No rates qualify with requested parameters.” The same thing happened with 1 year out, and 11 months out. I did get rates for 10 months out. So somewhere between 10 and 11 months LOL!

 

Here's the original link: https://yourmileagemayvary.net/2021/08/28/how-far-in-advance-can-you-make-airline-hotel-car-rental-reservations/

[Stowaway LFC]

33 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

I came across this info for those of us who are planning everything far in advance! This is from 2021, so YMMV. Still a couple months to go until I can really start pricing out some things!

 

• Alaska – 331 days (just shy 11 months)
• Allegiant – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 9 months in advance
• American – 331 (just shy 11 months)
• Delta – 330 days (just shy 11 months)
• Frontier – how far in advance they announce their flights vary from season to season. On average, figure about 228 in advance (7.5 months)
• Hawaiian – 330 days (just shy 11 months)
• JetBlue – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 10 months in advance
• Spirit – they announce their upcoming schedule 6 to 10 months in advance
• Southwest – they announce their upcoming schedule 90 to 180 days in advance (roughly 3 to 6 months)
• United – 330 days (just shy 11 months)

Hotels

• Best Western – 12 brands, 350 days (11.5 months), cash/award
• Choice Hotels – 12 brands, 350 days (11.5 months)/cash or 30-100 days (1-3 months/award)
• Hilton Hotels – 18 brands, 365 days (12 months. Because math LOL), cash/award
• Hyatt Hotels – 18 brands, 395 days (13 months), cash/award
• Intercontinental Group (IHG) – 16 brands, 350 days (11.5 months) if not a Kimpton property, 355 days (11-2/3 months) if it is, cash/award
• Marriott – 31 brands, 50 weeks (11.5 months), cash/award
• Radisson Hotel Group – 8 brands, 2 years cash, 270 days (just shy 9 months) award (I’ve read that they take cash reservations 3 years in advance, but when I tried, their calendar only went 2 years into the future)
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts – 20 brands, 364 days (12 months minus one day LOL),  cash/award

Besides hotels owned by major nationwide or international brands, there are, of course, thousands upon thousands of privately owned hotels. They make their own decisions, as would bed & breakfasts, hostels, etc.

Rental Cars

• Advantage – 1 year
• Alamo – 360 days
• Avis – 370 days
• Budget – 1 year
• Dollar – Their online calendar went to 2 years in the future but when I tried to book, their computer said, “No rates qualify with requested parameters.” The same thing happened with 1 year out, and 11 months out. I did get rates for 10 months out. So somewhere between 10 and 11 months LOL
• Enterprise – 1 year
• E-Z – 1 year
• Fox – 18 months
• Hertz – 15 months
• National – 360 days
• Silvercar by Audi – 180 days
• Sixt – 1 year
• Thrifty – Their online calendar went to 2 years in the future but when I tried to book, their computer said, “No rates qualify with requested parameters.” The same thing happened with 1 year out, and 11 months out. I did get rates for 10 months out. So somewhere between 10 and 11 months LOL!

 

Here's the original link: https://yourmileagemayvary.net/2021/08/28/how-far-in-advance-can-you-make-airline-hotel-car-rental-reservations/

This is great information!  I was wondering about those things. Thank you!

[Cruisefanatic71]

Following your sdventure as we are also planning our first trip to Alaska in 2024. 

[Vagabond Knight]

We were planning on taking either Celebrity's or Royal Caribbean's 8B 13-day cruisetour because of the emphasis on rail travel for that itinerary (that's a southbound cruisetour that includes most of the Alaskan railroad route, which is a prime attraction for my husband and me, and both lines do the same itinerary).  Then I decided to check out doing just the cruise portion and doing a DIY for the land portion. Of course I wanted to include the railroad legs on our DIY and our stops would be pretty much the same as with the cruisetour. By the time I priced it all out, the cost was pretty much the same and someone else was making all the arrangements, so we booked the 13-day cruisetour.  It may have worked out differently if the railroad hadn't been such an important element of our trip, but we think we're going to really enjoy this trip as they've planned it. We went with Royal Caribbean since that was the preference of the friends who are going with us.  It will be my first time on Royal Caribbean.

[no1racefan1]

3 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We were planning on taking either Celebrity's or Royal Caribbean's 8B 13-day cruisetour because of the emphasis on rail travel for that itinerary (that's a southbound cruisetour that includes most of the Alaskan railroad route, which is a prime attraction for my husband and me, and both lines do the same itinerary).  Then I decided to check out doing just the cruise portion and doing a DIY for the land portion. Of course I wanted to include the railroad legs on our DIY and our stops would be pretty much the same as with the cruisetour. By the time I priced it all out, the cost was pretty much the same and someone else was making all the arrangements, so we booked the 13-day cruisetour.  It may have worked out differently if the railroad hadn't been such an important element of our trip, but we think we're going to really enjoy this trip as they've planned it. We went with Royal Caribbean since that was the preference of the friends who are going with us.  It will be my first time on Royal Caribbean.

I'll be interested to hear how it goes! Sounds like the perfect option for you.

[no1racefan1]

Got the multi-USB charger from AARP today! Works fine but I had to move things around. Don't know if one of the ports doesn't work or if it just likes everything spread out. Right now I have Kindle, phone, and Fitbit all plugged in and charging.

Edited to add: I just logged in to CC on my phone for the first time EVER in 400+ posts just so I could figure out how to share pictures in this thread. You're welcome 🤪

Edited April 14, 2023 by no1racefan1

[no1racefan1]

8 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

Got the multi-USB charger from AARP today! Works fine but I had to move things around. Don't know if one of the ports doesn't work or if it just likes everything spread out. Right now I have Kindle, phone, and Fitbit all plugged in and charging.

Edited to add: I just logged in to CC on my phone for the first time EVER in 400+ posts just so I could figure out how to share pictures in this thread. You're welcome 🤪

Oh and ALSO how cool is it that the bowl in this picture was one of the souvenirs we bought in Alaska on our very first cruise?? We had it shipped home so we didn't have to worry about packing it. I keep it on my nightstand 🙂

[Stowaway LFC]

11 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Oh and ALSO how cool is it that the bowl in this picture was one of the souvenirs we bought in Alaska on our very first cruise?? We had it shipped home so we didn't have to worry about packing it. I keep it on my nightstand 🙂

Did you get the charger with reward points on AARP?  I want to get one!  Love the bowl too!  Y'all got good taste!

[no1racefan1]

2 minutes ago, Stowaway LFC said:

Did you get the charger with reward points on AARP?  I want to get one!  Love the bowl too!  Y'all got good taste!

LOL thanks! I got the charger as a 'free' gift by signing up for an AARP membership. The membership was on sale for $12/year and the charger was free. It sells for $15 on Amazon, so I'm basically up $3 😄

[Stowaway LFC]

45 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

LOL thanks! I got the charger as a 'free' gift by signing up for an AARP membership. The membership was on sale for $12/year and the charger was free. It sells for $15 on Amazon, so I'm basically up $3 😄

I just joined, I'm gonna go demand my free charger lol.  

[no1racefan1]

Today's just for fun question (but also for informational purposes because I want to do ALL THE THINGS but my budget says no) if you had to eliminate two of these things to do in Alaska, which two would they be and why? And/or if you could only pick two of these things, what would be your top two? If you have personally experienced the tours mentioned, that would be fantastic!! 😄

1)Denali flightseeing tour

2)Matanuska Glacier hike

3)Hubbard Glacier scenic cruise

4)Kenai Fjords glacier cruise

5)Mendenhall Glacier native canoe trip

 

[Kathscof]

47 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

Today's just for fun question (but also for informational purposes because I want to do ALL THE THINGS but my budget says no) if you had to eliminate two of these things to do in Alaska, which two would they be and why? And/or if you could only pick two of these things, what would be your top two? If you have personally experienced the tours mentioned, that would be fantastic!! 😄

1)Denali flightseeing tour

2)Matanuska Glacier hike

3)Hubbard Glacier scenic cruise

4)Kenai Fjords glacier cruise

5)Mendenhall Glacier native canoe trip

 

 

I would get rid of the Hubbard Glacier and the Mendenhall glacier canoe (unless its a lake on the glacier? or a different lake from the normal one you see when you just go to the park and do the hike?)

 

Get rid of Hubbard for the ridiculous price for such a small amount of time and do the Kenai Fjords instead.  You're obviously going to do some land portion before the cruise, so you can make time to do Kenai before (or after) the cruise.  Its cheaper, you have a longer time at the glacier, AND you see more stuff beyond just the glacier.  Last year our Kenai Fjords trip got closer to our glacier than the Hubbard explorer did, 1/4 of a mile vs 1/2 a mile and it was an amazing day.  

 

As I shared about Mendenhall, yes there is a lake in front of it (and looking on a map it seems to be larger than I remember) but the glacier isn't that large, and if you're just canoeing, it doesn't have much excitement to it.  I bet if you did a hike ON the Matanuska glacier it would be WAY more thrilling.  

 

I would keep:

 

Denali Flightseeing (cuz seeing it from the AIR?!? WOAH)

Matanuska Glacier Hike (way more unique)

Kenai Fjords (SUCH an awesome day, PLUS a glacier!  I honestly didn't know that we would be close to a glacier when we booked the tour, I just thought "ooo fjords!" and then I realized and I was like "OOOOOO GLACIER")

 

[no1racefan1]

1 minute ago, Kathscof said:

 

I would get rid of the Hubbard Glacier and the Mendenhall glacier canoe (unless its a lake on the glacier? or a different lake from the normal one you see when you just go to the park and do the hike?)

 

Get rid of Hubbard for the ridiculous price for such a small amount of time and do the Kenai Fjords instead.  You're obviously going to do some land portion before the cruise, so you can make time to do Kenai before (or after) the cruise.  Its cheaper, you have a longer time at the glacier, AND you see more stuff beyond just the glacier.  Last year our Kenai Fjords trip got closer to our glacier than the Hubbard explorer did, 1/4 of a mile vs 1/2 a mile and it was an amazing day.  

 

As I shared about Mendenhall, yes there is a lake in front of it (and looking on a map it seems to be larger than I remember) but the glacier isn't that large, and if you're just canoeing, it doesn't have much excitement to it.  I bet if you did a hike ON the Matanuska glacier it would be WAY more thrilling.  

 

I would keep:

 

Denali Flightseeing (cuz seeing it from the AIR?!? WOAH)

Matanuska Glacier Hike (way more unique)

Kenai Fjords (SUCH an awesome day, PLUS a glacier!  I honestly didn't know that we would be close to a glacier when we booked the tour, I just thought "ooo fjords!" and then I realized and I was like "OOOOOO GLACIER")

 

Thanks, this is exactly the feedback I was looking for!

[wolfie11]

I agree with the above.  Get rid of Hubbard and the Juneau canoe.