? for cruisers who did land tour at Denali

[dkoitz]

If you had to do it over again, would you do the ships cruise land tour itinerary or plan and do the land tour part yourself with out the cruise ship involved? Two days just doesn't sound like enough time in Denali, especially if you want to horseback ride and ATV around there. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!:)

[irisheileen]

I am doing independent next time. Two NIGHTS in Denali was enough for us as we had the days to do what we wanted. Of course, if you have plenty of time to do all that you want around Alaska stay longer!

Eileen

[gnewton]

we did the cruise land tour in may. i think it was way to muh h time

in a bus. with a little planning we could have done it ourself.

[Guest garden4cook]

We designed our land tour on our own with the help of Alaska Tour and Travel. This is bwecasue we did not see any landcruise itinerary that interested us and seemed like it was on the go - all the time. Here's how we did it:

 

Off the ship, we caught the but into Anchorage - then to our hotel. Next day a bus took us to the outskirts of Denali NP, where we stayed 2 nights at Denali Bluffs Hotel. Our big excursion was a bush plane ride over Denali NP with a glacier landing - AWESOME!!!! It was 3 1/2 hours of pure heaven...a pretty penny worth the price!!!

 

Then the next day we took an 8 hour bus ride deep into Denali to say 3 nights at a private lodge in the park at Kantishna Roadhouse. In Kantishna, there are only 4 roadhouses, no cafes no theater...just the roadhouses. Beautiful settings where you can hike lightly or big time, have nature studies, etc. Kantishna Roadhouse was on Moose Creek and it was a great place. All the roadhouses had their own cabins - a great way to go.

 

The roadhouse also have private chefs too.

 

Then, after 2 full days deep in Denali, we took the bus ride out of the park, back to Denali Bluffs. On the way out, the sky was blue, blue, blue...and we got georgous shots of Mt McKinley! After one last night in Denali, we took the train (Gold Star Dome) from Denali to Anchorage...beautiful way to leave Denali.

 

We would do our own tour again, on our own, anytime.

[Chenega]

As a local resident, I would recommend at least two nights in Denali but would make the trip by car from Anchorage. It's about a 4.5-5 hour drive north on the Glenn and Parks Highway.

 

You can make reservations for the shuttle bus into the park (Fish Creek is the minimum distance you should go; some even opt further into Wonder Lake); that will take a minimum of 8 hours. The shuttle bus is considerably cheaper than the wildlife tour but there's only one road in and out so everyone goes the same way. The shuttle also gives you the flexibility to get off and walk if you wish in areas open to that activity. Go through the Denali National Park website at http://www.nps.gov/dena

 

Be sure to take in the park visitor center and the dogsled demonstration at the park kennels on one of your other days. There are plenty of activities in the area as well.

 

As far as accommodations, they run the gamut from simple to deluxe in both quality and prices. We like to stay 15 miles north of the main tourist area (dubbed "glitter gulch" by the locals) in one of the many B&Bs in Healy. A personal favorite is Denali Lakeview Inn where we just spent two nights.

 

The rental car from Anchorage also gives you the flexibility to stop at Talkeetna, the Iditarod museum in Knik, and other neat places along the way.

 

All of these you can do on you own via the web. Have fun planning!

[KAYEF]

Couldn't agree more with the above poster. We disembarked in Seward, rode the train to Anch. airport and picked up a rental car..........north we went and after Denali (two nights and almost three days, because we stayed 100 miles south the first night..............and we saw the mtn. all three days/nights:) ) we headed back south and "did" the beautiful drive and spent two nights in Seward. There's lots to do there..............I KNOW, we could have done that first, but I HAD to get to Denali first so my first-time-to-Alaska daughter could hike and enjoy and be amazed.

Do it on your own............it can become lots of work but you will get lots of support on these chats

and

be sure you get the Great Alaska Tour Book (coupons).

[cynt]

Is this the book you're refering? http://www.toursaver.com/

If not, could you post it? Thanks.

[fti]

It would be my recommendation to spend at least two nights at Denali. If you can get on an early shuttle to Wonder Lake and spend an hour or two hiking near there, then taking a later shuttle bus back, you will definitely not regret it.

 

Even better is spending the night at/near Wonder Lake as garden4cook mentioned. Besides the roadhouses in Kantishna, there is also the Skyline Lodge which is more reasonably priced but books up early.

 

Note that Mt. McKinley is often visible in the evening and early morning then clouds over again during the day - that means if you are on the shuttle busses, you most likely will miss it. That is exactly what happened to us. The Mountain became visible at 7pm one evening and stayed 100% visible until 1pm the following afternoon. We camped at Wonder Lake so we had the privilege of seeing it. The shuttle busses were all gone when the mountain came out and the next day, those who took any bus later than the 5.15am departure didn't get to see the mountain for very long, if at all.

 

The cruisetours just don't spend enough time at Denali for my liking. I am going back again next summer and planning on three nights at Denali.

 

Even if you take the shuttle bus two days in a row, you will get two completely different experiences with regard to wildlife viewing. The further you go into the park, the better. Moose are more likely to be seen between Fish Creek and Wonder Lake, and more likely on cloudy than on sunny days.

 

As Chenega mentioned, there are also things to do at the park entrance - visitor center, dogsled demonstrations, a couple of hiking trails.

[maggie mac]

We got back from a HAL cruisetour a couple of weeks ago. We chose this tour specifically because it included 2 days in Denali. Would I do it again? No way. By the last day of the tour in Fairbanks, I could have cheerfully killed everyone on the bus . . . and they were all perfectly nice people.

 

We only had a couple of hours in Anchorage one evening. I wanted to visit the cultural center, check out the state fair in Palmer, visit the weekend street fair which we passed on our way to the train station. Instead we only managed dinner and a couple of shops which were open late.

 

The next day, the train arrived in Denali around 4:30pm. We barely had time to check out our rooms before running off to do the white-water rafting. After that, it was a quick dinner and bed so we could get up at 5am for the 6am TWT tour. This was the only totally blue sky day we had so the mountain was most definitely out and we got to go further into the park than usual. After the tour, a couple of us went hiking and others went golfing. Again there was only time for a late dinner. The next morning some of us went to Jeff King's kennels, then met up with the rest of our group to go to the visitors' center and the Park Service dog demo before getting back on the train.

 

We had a wonderful time, the excursions were fabulous. But there was simply no time to take a breath or reflect. We have already talked about going back but not on a cruise and definitely not on a cruisetour.

 

 

Margaret

[1tuckersmom]

My DH and I did the Cruise land tour in Aug. `05.

We plan a return Alaska trip in Sept. `07, will definitely do the land tour on our own.

As others have already stated to much time on the train, and not enough time in the park.

[Genessa]

If you had to do it over again, would you do the ships cruise land tour itinerary or plan and do the land tour part yourself with out the cruise ship involved? Two days just doesn't sound like enough time in Denali, especially if you want to horseback ride and ATV around there. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!:)

 

for me, I'd have to say, it depends. We chose a land tour rather than independent to begin with because there were 6 of us, none of whom are "skinny minnies" and with our luggage, etc., we would not have been comfortable in even a large van. Also, with the exception of me, none of us had any interest, in the slightest, in b&b's or anything less than as top notch motel/hotel as was possible.

We did choose a tour with down time, added on a day prior to relax after our flight from the east coast.

 

when we got to Denali, we arrived on the train from Fairbanks at around noon. We had time to check out our rooms, grab lunch, and then took the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We saw Denali, had the extended tour due to Denali being out, saw every bit of wildlife possible, with the exception of no moose. When we got back, late, we ate, then went in the hot tubs. In the morning, three of us went horseback riding, which was one of the most disappointing excursions I have ever been on due to the fact that it was a very slow, boring walk. There were other options for experienced riders, but I am a very infrequent rider.

 

So, for us, it was a perfect visit, a perfect amount of time. It would be hard to top it.

So, I am not planning to visit Denali again, even if we go back to Alaska - which we hope to do. We're hoping to go to Kenai Peninsula next trip. But, if we end up going back to Alaska with a group and they want go to Denali I would choose a tour again if there were more than 4 of us...

[Chenega]

Your comments are one of the biggest problems with the organized tours. People are literally overscheduled with activities, allowing little room for breathing time. People go from bus to tour to excursion and back again. This is a big place so be sure to give yourself some down time to simply take it easy.

[Genessa]

Your comments are one of the biggest problems with the organized tours. People are literally overscheduled with activities, allowing little room for breathing time. People go from bus to tour to excursion and back again. This is a big place so be sure to give yourself some down time to simply take it easy.

 

Chenega,

 

I'm not sure if you meant my comments or not, but that is what we did with the tour we took. We weren't just "seeing" Alaska, which is a wonderful, incredible place, we were on a much needed vacation, and purposely chose a tour that would give us the opportunity to see everything on our "top 10" list and still be "on vacation". All 6 of us are train lovers, so we picked a tour that maximized being on the train. We enjoyed the train ride...really enjoyed it, and I would definitely take the train again. We chatted with our table mates, looked over our travel papers, had meals, looked at the scenery, took pictures, went to the observation car.

 

We learned long ago that for us, vacations aren't about seeing or doing the most in whatever time we have, but are about enjoying the most in the time we have :).

[Chenega]

Oh, not your comments about the tour but the fact that you did build some time in. Many people do not consider that and come back exhausted from their vacation. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[keeponcruisin]

I agree with Chenega. Allow time and take it easy. I just got back Sunday from a week touring in rental vehicles (all planned by me for a group of seven) and then a week on the cruise ship. There were no crowds where we were touring the first week other than the day at Denali. The sights were absolutely breathtaking. Alaskans love their state and were more than happy to go out of their way to help recommend a friend for a plane ride of Mt. McKinley (awesome!), a great local place to eat, or even fill you in on where the moose like to hang out. Even the local Safeway Store gave me a discount card on the spot to get their discounted prices. We picked blueberries and made the best pancakes ever! I could go on, but if you want more info just let me know.

[Genessa]

Oh, not your comments about the tour but the fact that you did build some time in. Many people do not consider that and come back exhausted from their vacation. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

 

Chenega,

 

you were clear...I was the confused one ;).

[Chenega]

That's quite ok. You really raise a good point travellers need to remember.

 

On our way back from Denali on Sunday, we were talking to a foursome at the McKinley Princess Lodge. They were saying that they seem to be constantly on the go so much that they have to constantly look at their itinerary to figure out what was going on.

 

The whirlwind tour approach is exhausting whether in Alaska or Walt Disney World (three parks in four days!).

[NancyIL]

The whirlwind tour approach is exhausting whether in Alaska or Walt Disney World (three parks in four days!).

 

I'm going to try that whirlwind approach, to some extent, in 9 days next June!

 

You need to go back to Disney World. Now there are FOUR parks to visit!

[Genessa]

The whirlwind tour approach is exhausting whether in Alaska or Walt Disney World (three parks in four days!).

 

 

we did that whirlwind in Disney when we were younger and more energetic. Then, the next time I went back, we stayed on their property and we went back to the room for a few hours every afternoon, hanging out by the pool, napping, etc. Much more enjoyable!

 

Some of the most memorable times we had in Alaska were when we were just chatting with people we met (the docents in the flight museum in Fairbanks), some Alaskans from Barrow in the museum at Fairbanks University, the van driver at McKinley Princess, or relaxing in the hot tub or watching the midnight sun on the terraces.

[Chenega]

Oh yeah - I went last April and had a blast. Of course I'm a Disney junkie and love Epcot. Four parks in four days was exhausting but I slept all the way on the long flight from Orlando to Anchorage.

 

I always loved the joke about what EPCOT stands for - "every person comes out tired".

[Chenega]

I agree on the nap - I actually took one every day I was working the Radiance of the Seas as a naturalist.

 

Alaskans love to talk (or write) about our state so it's great you got to meet some locals.

[jd10367]

Having just got back from Alaska, I can answer your question by saying that the question answers itself. In retrospect, yes, I would do my own landtour. However, having never been to Alaska, my wife and I weren't prepared to do it on our own. We had a good time on the landtour, and now that I'm familiar with the lay of the land, if we ever go back to Alaska we'll probably forego the cruise altogether and concentrate on Anchorage, Denali National Park, and exporing some areas we didn't get to see (like Kenai and/or Copper River).

[kennicott]

Packaged land tours, shore excursions, independent travel arrangements, there are advantages and disadvantages for each. Catch the unfortunate story over on http://boards.cruisecritic.com./showthread.php?t=404212 This scenario would probably never have occurred with a cruise line sanctioned package.

[NancyIL]

Packaged land tours, shore excursions, independent travel arrangements, there are advantages and disadvantages for each. Catch the unfortunate story over on http://boards.cruisecritic.com./showthread.php?t=404212 This scenario would probably never have occurred with a cruise line sanctioned package.

 

I hardly think this incident is a reason to book a cruisetour rather than make one's own travel arrangements to go to Denali. This was a limo service from the port, not a package tour.

[kennicott]

This was a limo service from the port, not a package tour.

 

Certainly. But whether it is a package tour, in its entirety, a shore excursion or a simple transfer package any potential participating shyster enterprises are usually weeded out by cruise company advance negotiations, investigations, specifications and/or negative experiences.