May 2024 - Double Denali or Triple Denali land portion?

[LynKev]

Holland America is one of the cruise lines we are considering for an Alaska cruise tour (land first, followed by the cruise).   I am not sure if it is better to do the Double Denali or Triple Denali tour.  We are not interested in going up to the Fairbanks/Yukon area.

 

If you've taken either of these land tours I would appreciate your feedback.

[Crew News]

Note that the park does not officially open until June 1st.

 

The first day of the double Denali will be traveling which leaves little time for excursions.  The second day will be the included Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

Triple Denali allows for two full days of excursions.  I strongly recommend the triple Denali with a Fly Denali excursion that lands in the snow.

 

FWIW I avoid the Fairbanks airport because of its very limited flight selections.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Crew News

[cat shepard]

I totally echo Roger’s advice. I followed it exactly last year and really enjoyed my visit.  My only disappointment was the weather didn’t allow my Fly Denali plane to land on a glacier. BUT flying low over a massive field of ice with huge crevices was still breathtaking.  
 

The Tundra tour was great, a great number of wildlife, even though it was cut short by the part of the road covered by the land slide. You might want to see when the road reopens, so you can book your cruise in time to travel the entire length of it. In fact it may already have reopened. 
 

Be sure to try some of the eating places across the highway. A wonderful dinner place very close to where you cross. And a great coffee/ breakfast place further down the way. 
 

Enjoy yourselves!
 

 

[Crew News]

32 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

I totally echo Roger’s advice. I followed it exactly last year and really enjoyed my visit.  My only disappointment was the weather didn’t allow my Fly Denali plane to land on a glacier. BUT flying low over a massive field of ice with huge crevices was still breathtaking.  
 

My Fly Denali was unable to land in the snow on my first visit to Denali but the next visit the landing happened.  Landing on an up slope was amazing but going downhill, picking up speed,  seeing snow on all sides, and then lifting away from valley of snow into blue sky was exhilarating. 

 

Here is a link to the HAL Alaska Tour tips for 2023 (should not change for 2024) to help in your planning:

 

HAL Alaska Tour Tips 2023

[oaktreerb]

FYI,  the Yukon trips are amazing.  Double Denali will give you 2 nights and one full day, Triple will give you 3 nights and two full days.  There is plenty to see and do for a Triple Denali especially if this is your first trip to Denali.

[MrBill923]

We did the triple. There were good parts and not so good. I posted a review here on CC for the Nieuw Amsterdam Aug 31-Sept 10. If we went again we would arrange it ourselves. 

[HappyInVan]

I would recommend the triple Denali. More days means more chances of seeing something. 

 

My group came in from Fairbanks and checked-in late in the afternoon. The Tundra Wilderness tour (5 hours) was the next morning into mid-afternoon. Leaves you time for a short excursion.

 

On the last full day, I attended an interesting free dog-sled demonstration at the Park HQ. From HQ, I boarded the park shuttle into the park. We got off at the turnaround point; Savage River 15 miles in. You can wander around until boarding the shuttle (half-hourly) back to the lodge.

 

Enjoy.

Edited September 28, 2023 by HappyInVan

[LynKev]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:01 AM, MrBill923 said:

We did the triple. There were good parts and not so good. I posted a review here on CC for the Nieuw Amsterdam Aug 31-Sept 10. If we went again we would arrange it ourselves. 

I will look up your report - thank you.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by LynKev

[LynKev]

On 9/27/2023 at 4:33 PM, Crew News said:

Here is a link to the HAL Alaska Tour tips for 2023 (should not change for 2024) to help in your planning:

HAL Alaska Tour Tips 2023

Thank you for the link to the tour tips.  

 

I looked on the National Park website for Denali and it showed that tour buses run from May 20th to September.

[alwaysfrantic]

Fairbanks was a favorite interior location on our trip.  We spent an extra day or two on the front end and it was amazing.  From Fairbanks was actually the only time we saw the peak of Denali and we even went up in a plane for a tour of Denali.  
 

Without hesitation I say 3 day Denali option.  Rafting, a flight, your included bus tour day, hiking, resting and enjoying nature.  It’s very nice.  

[Reagan0712]

Definitely Triple Denali. I did this in June 2022. The first day is always a travel day so that cuts into your actual Denali time.  I’d also recommend doing the Yukon.  Dawson City is a lovely town and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves while we were there.

[P&PNH]

We did the triple Denali last year in May, and it was wonderful.  Would do it again in a heartbeat. The train south to Anchorage, and then on to Whittier is amazing. The cruise south on N. Amsterdam was fantastic.  

[Alphen]

On 9/27/2023 at 7:28 PM, LynKev said:

Holland America is one of the cruise lines we are considering for an Alaska cruise tour (land first, followed by the cruise).   I am not sure if it is better to do the Double Denali or Triple Denali tour.  We are not interested in going up to the Fairbanks/Yukon area.

 

If you've taken either of these land tours I would appreciate your feedback.

We did the Y1L Land first, Cruise Second Triple Denali last year and can highly recommend it. You can read our extensive report here;

 

 

[POA1]

Make sure you check the itinerary for your trip. The Yukon Tundra Wilderness Tour does not run for the first few trips of the season. They substitute a different tour, but it's not the same one that runs in season.

[lyndarra]

 Alaska is a long way from home and, to make the most of it, it was  three night Denali for me. From my experience most visitors, especially cruisers, arrive late in the day and leave in the morning. Therefore, two nights is only one day and if a Tundra tour is taken there's no time to do much else and there is a lot more that can be done.

So far I have done three Alaska cruises and two Denali stays, both three nighters, and one time continued on to Fairbanks for a couple of nights. I would do it again if I ever have the opportunity.

 

[SightCRR]

Make sure you read all the reviews that you can find and check youtube. Here is a great review that is in the process of being posted. You can skip over the first part that has the flight info since it is likely not to apply. They were some of the lucky 1/3 of the people who got to see the mt without clouds.  Live (well, not so) and Life from a combo land and sea Alaskan tour - Holland America Line - Cruise Critic Community

 

[Gblasingame]

We did the double Denali and it was disappointing.  As others have stated, you lose just too much time traveling there the first day and then having to leave the next day early, so very limited excursions for such a short stay.  

[Btimmer]

We've done the Double and the Triple Denali and we definitely prefer the Triple Denali for all the reasons stated above.