Which itinerary is best for land potion in Alaska

[TPotthast]

We are planning a trip to Alaska July 2025 that will be land and cruise.  We have chosen Sapphire Princess and are trying to decide between the following 2 itineraries:

CHOICE # 1      13 Day 6 nights on land 7 nights on the ship 

     Land first:

     July 13th Arrive in Anchorage Hotel Captain Cook for overnight stay

     July 14th Princess Rail from Anchorage to Talkeetna to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure

     July 15th Motorcoach to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure

     July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure

     July17th Sightsee by motorcoach to the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge 

     July 18th Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge full day of leisure

     July 19th Motorcoach to Valdez, catamaran to Whittier.

     July 19th Motorcoach to Pier, ship sails at 8:30pm

     Cruise:

     July 19th ship sails at 8:30pm

     July 20th Hubbard Glacier 3:00pm - 8:00pm 

                    Scenic cruising

     July 21st Glacier Bay 9:15am - 7:30pm

                  Scenic cruising

     July 22nd Skagway 7:00am - 8:30pm

     July 23rd Juneau 6:30am - 4:00pm

     July 24th Ketchikan 10:00am - 6:00pm

     July 25th At Sea

     July 26th Vancouver 7:30am

 

CHOICE # 2          12 day 5 nights land 7 nights on ship

     Land first:

      July 14th Fairbanks 

     July 15th Cruise on Sternwheeler down the Chena River 

                    Motorcoach to Denali National Park and Princess Wilderness Lodge, afternoon at leisure

     July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure

     July 17th Princess Rail to Talkeetna, motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge

     July 18th Motorcoach across Kenai peninsula to Cooper Landing, Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge.  Remainder of day at leisure.

     July 19th Motorcoach to Whittier to embark and sail at 8:30pm

     Cruise is the same as above.

 

The land portion is the only part that is different and I don't know if one choice is better than the other?  Anyone who can share any advice would be greatly appreciated!   I need to get my reservation secured and I just don't know which would be the better option, or if there is a better option.  This will be our first trip to Alaska and most probably our last.  We will fill as much leisure time as we can with excursions.  We are in our early and mid sixties so don't plan to do any big hiking excursions (don't want to kill my hubby, lol) also don't plan to fish.  Probably more on the lines of Whale/wildlife watching, glacier tours.

 

Thank you!

[dickinson]

I vote for choice #2 because land first and then rest up a bit on the cruise.  We have been to Fairbanks and Denali .  We upgraded to Tundra Wilderness tour which I would advise to do as it goes further into the park.

[Sea Hag]

I would vote for choice #1. The bus trip across Alaska between Denali and Copper River is great. We did it in the other direction, and we agreed that it was one of the major highlights of the cruisetour. Also, the Copper River area is gorgeous. You can take a shuttle up to Wrangell St. Elias park. Nice visitor center there and nice trails around said visitor center.

[Essiesmom]

You asked a little earlier and have two opinions.  Look a bit further down the page.  EM

[azbirdmom]

I would pick #1 if only because it includes the catamaran to Whittier.  It's a shame that you can't get further into Denali but they may not be able to run tours beyond the natural history tour until 2027!  Here's the latest: https://www.nps.gov/dena/getinvolved/polychrome-plan.htm .  By the way you don't have it as a choice but our favorite is to take the train from Denali all the way to the ship in Whittier.  We've done that 3 times and while it's a 9 hour trip it is just amazing to sit back and watch Alaska change before your eyes.

[Thrak]

We have done 2 Alaska cruisetours. #1 gets my vote. Definitely. The park road in Denali is closed not at mile 43 due to a major land slip that took the road with it. The estimate for when it will open again is Summer 2026.

 

Pictures of the "road" (slide) and info on what is planned for the fix.

 

https://www.nps.gov/dena/getinvolved/polychrome-plan.htm

[caribill]

#1 because two of the stays include a full day at the site. 

 

When you are at a lodge for only one night, most of the day is spent traveling between lodges.

[capriccio]

Whichever one you chose (I prefer the first too), if you can't see Denali when you arrive at the Talkeetna Lodge make sure you leave your room number at the reception desk for a wake up call if it 'comes out' while you are sleeping.  We had just gone to sleep around 11 pm (still light out since it was mid-July) when the phone rang with the message.  It was interesting to see people still pulling on clothes and grabbing camera equipment rushing to the lovely large deck facing the mountain.  We stayed there until after 1 am (still light out) just enjoying the view.  We were also lucky to see it again the next morning, especially since we had booked an excursion flight over the summit (one of the top 3 excursions we've ever done).

[HotRoot]

Not your first or second choices.  We like the land trip that goes to Dawson City.  We have done it twice and are considering it again.

[rebeccac]

I would pick the choice with 2 days at Denali because generally when you are only there one day it is much harder to upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness tour (which, while it doesn't go as far into the park right now as it used to, still goes farther than the Natural History tour).

[Babyfat101]

Valdez. Do the trip to see Valdez, which I think is the most beautiful place in all of Alaska. And the drive about 15 miles into Valdez is spectacular. If you don’t see the town on this trip, do once in your life, preferably sooner than later, since it’s rapidly “evolving” (NOT for the better). 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Would do neither prepackaged tour.  Have organized multiple tours all are similar except for duration.

Fly to Anchorage.  2 nights.  Alaska State Museum and various sights

Drive to Healy.  Tour Denali on the way there.  Overnight BnB in Healy

Drive to Fairbanks.  2 nights.  Lots of attractions.  Cleary Summit and Chena Hot Springs get a taste of rural Alaska.

Return to Fairbanks either direct or via North Pole,Glenallen (overnight) to Anchorage. 

Return car.  Shuttle to Whittier.

I note Seward is a great town with lots to do.  We cruise other lines to cruise our of Seward and native full day boat your, Exit Glacier etc.  Very pretty.  Need 2 nights.  Pier 5 minutes from town center.