Tours in Denali

[RS79]

Several people have written that the Natural History Tour offered by Princess in Denali is a waste of time. Is the Tundra Wilderness Tour better? Are there other tours of Denali that are recommended? Thanks.

[australian_girl]

Many people say it's better to save your $ and take the shuttle bus to Wonder Lake.

[vbmom87]

Several people have written that the Natural History Tour offered by Princess in Denali is a waste of time. Is the Tundra Wilderness Tour better? Are there other tours of Denali that are recommended? Thanks.

 

Many people on this board recommend the shuttles over the

tours. They are less expensive and you have the option to get off, hike around and hop on another shuttle when you are done hiking.

 

 

Check out this link:

 

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/bus-travel.htm

[thinfool]

Is the Tundra Wilderness Tour better? Are there other tours of Denali that are recommended? Thanks.

 

Here is a nice graphic and description of the tours offered at Denali... http://www.reservedenali.com/tours/index.cfm

 

There are also the Shuttle buses that are highly recommended.

 

To answer your question, Yes, the TWT is miles better than the Natural History tour. We saw tons of wildlife on the TWT last year.

[agabbymama]

Compare not only price, but the time on the tour. Our TWT was a full 8 hour tour on the bus. I understand from other posters that the shuttle to Wonder Lake is approx 11 hours on the bus. Just be prepared and know what you are getting, and the time you have available.

 

We did a HAL tour and arrived in Denali at about 12:30 one day and left the next day at 12:00, so would not have been able to do the shuttle even if we had wanted to.

 

Up at 6:00 am in Fairbanks to catch the train to Denali, 3-4 hour train ride, then the TWT was 3:00 until 11:00 and we were beat after the tour, just went straight to bed. Was a really long day.

 

Have a great trip, whatever you decide to do.

[Budget Queen]

The Denali Park multi-veterans here, just about always will only recommend the shuttle buses, with Wonder Lake a great option. And not many would ever consider heading out on any long bus the same day, you have spent hours on the road getting there- another negative of tightly packed cruisetours. And an easy fix with good planning going independent.

 

I never recommend the "tour" buses. I just do not see any significant advantage to paying triple costs for the shortest distances. My min. distance in is always Fish Creek/Eielson, mile 63/66. I have had excellent bear viewings in the 10 miles between there in Toklat, mile 53- where the Tundra Wilderness tour usually turn around.

 

Bottom line- the Natural History tour is a complete waste of time, like heading to Disneyland and never getting out of the parking lot. I see NO good reason to consider this, IF you are coming all the way to Alaska.

[Joanandjoe]

The Denali Park multi-veterans here, just about always will only recommend the shuttle buses, with Wonder Lake a great option.

 

I never recommend the "tour" buses. I just do not see any significant advantage to paying triple costs for the shortest distances. My min. distance in is always Fish Creek/Eielson, mile 63/66. I have had excellent bear viewings in the 10 miles between there in Toklat, mile 53- where the Tundra Wilderness tour usually turn around.

 

Are there any pluses to the tour, such as naturalist narration, guaranteed seat, etc.? There must be SOME reason why the tour costs so much more than the shuttle, and it certainly isn't the inadequate snack that they give you.

 

BTW, do you have specific recommendations for early June, when the trail is open to Fish Creek but no further? Is one better off with the TWT or with the shuttle to Fish Creek? We're in our early sixties, and there's no way we'd be able to stand on a bus, if that's necessary on the shuttle.

 

Also, if the buses have no food, and they leave at around 6 a.m., how does one purchase a lunch that won't spoil during the trip? We're thinking of buying some salmon jerky, but maybe there's a better idea.

[Chenega]

The tours cater primarily to tourists staying on land packages at the main hotels (e.g. McKinley Chalets, Denali Princess, etc). They do have the advantage of leaving directly from the front of these hotels vs. having to take a shuttle or walk to the Wilderness Access Center.

 

However, they have the same trained drivers, follow the same route, and make the same rest-stops. The furthest you will go is Stony Hill while some of the shuttles will take you as far as Wonder Lake. No reserved seats on the shuttles and I doubt they have them on the tours either. They do advertise overhead screens for viewing but who wants to look at those when you can look out the window?

 

I've never understood why people take the tour when the shuttle is available unless many people don't know about the shuttle and feel the higher priced tour is the only way to go. The tour busses also tend to isolate visitors from interacting with other people visiting Alaska vs. going with only those booked on their tour.

 

I've always loved Budget Queen's comments on the Natural History Tour (like going to Disney and never leaving the parking lot). I've heard the narration is good but you only go in 15 miles on a paved road and see the same sights anyone can see from a car. The deeper you go into the park, the more you get. A similar analogy would be taking an Alaska cruise and turning around at Ketchikan.

 

My wife and I always make a Costco/Fred Meyers trip to pack up some munchies for the bus. For a visitor, the Subway sandwich shop in "glitter gulch" across from the hotels really comes in handy. Even handier if your room has a refrigerator in it. For something simpler, apples, cookies, crackers, and a concoction called "gorp" (peanuts, M&Ms, and dried fruit) also is welcome on the bus trip. Don't forget to pack water as well.

[wolfie11]

There is also no guarantee that the narration will be that great on the NHT. The heirarchy among drivers is that first year drivers do the shuttles around glitter gulch and maybe out to Savage River. When you get enough seniority to get off the shuttle, you get the NHT, and from there the TWT. Senior drivers usually opt for the TWT or the longer shuttles (Fish Creek/Wonder Lake).

 

There is no standing on the shuttles - they will only take as many people as they have seats for. This sometimes means that if you are out somewhere, a shuttle won't stop and pick you up because it doesn't have any empty seats.

 

The gas station in glitter gulch also has a deli and carries a lot of snack items.

[agabbymama]

McKinley Chalet Resort snack store also had sandwiches. We bought foot long subs for around $5.00. But we had lunch before boarding the bus, then the snack lunch on the seat was fine for me. My husband ate my sandwich. They do only give you one bottle of water though, and I didn't think about the long time on the bus. I would have bought another couple of bottles of water to take.

 

But the Tundra Wilderness Tour to Toklat (Mile 53) at 8 hours was plenty long enough for me. I was really dragging when we got back to the lodge at 11:00 pm.

[Mailgirl]

Several people have written that the Natural History Tour offered by Princess in Denali is a waste of time. Is the Tundra Wilderness Tour better? Are there other tours of Denali that are recommended? Thanks.

 

I have taken the Natural History Tour (3 Years ago in August) only because I was new to these boards and didn't know any better and it was my first crusie. My friends and family told me to only book my excursions with the ship. (so that I would not miss the boat)

 

Anyway they do this whole narration about Denali and the Alaskan people. While the tour guide was talking I ventured out with some other people to look at the Caribou over in another area and we all got yelled out because we created total havoc. The entire tour saw us going toward the Caribou and they all started to charge towards it. (What a site) The tour guide started yelling everyone STOP STOP Caribou are known to charge. Anyway that and a snowshoe hare was the extent of the wildlife we saw.

 

Don't get me wrong, we still had a great time when you don't know any better you don't know what you have missed. These boards have really educated me and this time I have planned my pre-cruise and excursions on my own. We are doing the 6:00am shuttle bus in Denali only because we like to hike and being able to get on and off the bus works for us.

[thinfool]

But the Tundra Wilderness Tour to Toklat (Mile 53) at 8 hours was plenty long enough for me.

 

 

If the mountain (Denali) is 'out' (not covered with serious clouds), the TWT may go to Stony Hill...I think it is mile 61. Note that our driver told us that it was only the 7th time all summer that he had seen the mountain like that.

 

To give you an idea, here are 3 pics from our trip.

 

The bears were THAT close.

The tan bus is the TWT and the green bus is the shuttle.

The pic of Denali is from Stony Hill....I am having it framed!

 

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0105.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0126.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-StonyHill.JPG

 

May your visit be as sunny as ours!

[agabbymama]

If the mountain (Denali) is 'out' (not covered with serious clouds), the TWT may go to Stony Hill...I think it is mile 61. Note that our driver told us that it was only the 7th time all summer that he had seen the mountain like that.

 

To give you an idea, here are 3 pics from our trip.

 

The bears were THAT close.

The tan bus is the TWT and the green bus is the shuttle.

The pic of Denali is from Stony Hill....I am having it framed!

 

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0105.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0126.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-StonyHill.JPG

 

May your visit be as sunny as ours!

 

Oh yeah, we saw about 10 bear, a moose, and 1 lone caribou followed a little later by a herd of abut 20 caribou, 1 gold eagle, 1 lone prairie dog,

1 wolf, and about 1000 rabbits after it got dark. The wildlife viewing was excellent, but it was still a long ride back.

 

But you saw Mt. McKinley much better than we did. It was rainy and cloudy, and just as the sunset, the clouds opened and we saw the peak, but nothing like your shot. WOW!

[Budget Queen]

If the mountain (Denali) is 'out' (not covered with serious clouds), the TWT may go to Stony Hill...I think it is mile 61. Note that our driver told us that it was only the 7th time all summer that he had seen the mountain like that.

 

To give you an idea, here are 3 pics from our trip.

 

The bears were THAT close.

The tan bus is the TWT and the green bus is the shuttle.

The pic of Denali is from Stony Hill....I am having it framed!

 

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0105.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-0126.jpg

http://www.dreamnsgems.com/Alaska/Denali07-StonyHill.JPG

 

May your visit be as sunny as ours!

 

And think how impressive the Wonder Lake visitor's photos were, too. :)