Just Returned - Will Try to Answer Questions!

[denmanja]

Just trying to "pay it forward" and answer any questions for people still planning their Alaska vacations. We had an amazing adventure, spending 1 week on land in Anchorage, Denali, and Seward, then the Radiance southbound. I'm going to paste in my itinerary below, hopefully this will work and you can see what we did. I'll try to come back later and post specific comments, but please ask any questions and I'll do my best to help!

 

Jennifer

 

 

Saturday, August 16th

Flight # Departure City Departure Time Arrival City Arrival Time

AA 1799 RDU 12:00 pm DFW 1:45 pm

AA 278 DFW 3:45 pm ANC 7:25 pm

 

Alamo Rental Car

 

Comfort Inn Ship Creek

111 Ship Creek Avenue, Anchorage

(907) 277-6887

 

Sunday, August 17th

Motel Nord Haven

Located at Mile 249.5 Parks Highway, Healy

(907) 683-4500 or 800-683-4501

www.motelnordhaven.com

 

Monday, August 18th

5:30 am

Denali National Park

Tundra Wilderness Tour

www.reservedenali.com

 

Tuesday, August 19th

9:00 am

McKinley Summit Tour

Talkeetna Aero/Fly Denali

 

Comfort Inn Ship Creek

111 Ship Creek Avenue, Anchorage

(907) 277-6887

 

Wednesday, August 20th

6:45 am – 11:05 am

 

Alaska Railroad

www.akrr.com

 

Hertz Rental Car

600 Port Avenue, Seward

 

Holiday Inn Express

1412 4th Avenue, Seward

907-224-2550

 

Thursday, August 21st

8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Kenai Fjords Tours

www.kenaifjords.com

National Park Tour

1304 4th Avenue, Seward

 

Friday, August 22nd

9:00 pm

Royal Caribbean International

600 Port Avenue, Seward

www.royalcaribbean.com

Radiance of the Seas

Cabin #3634 and 3628

 

Saturday, August 23rd

Hubbard Glacier

 

Sunday, August 24th

Juneau

8:00 am – 9:00 pm

 

Rent A Wreck

2450C Industrial Blvd, Juneau

907-789-4111

 

Monday, August 25th

Skagway

7:00 am – 8:30 pm

 

Avis

3rd and Spring St., Skagway

907-983-2247

 

Tuesday, August 26th

Icy Strait Point

7:00 am – 4:00 pm

 

10:15 am

ZipRider zipline

 

Wednesday, August 27th

Ketchikan

9:00 am – 6:00 pm

 

11:15 am

Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show

 

Thursday, August 28th

Inside Passage

 

Friday, August 29th

Vancouver

7:00 am

 

Flight # Departure City Departure Time Arrival City Arrival Time

AA 330 YVR 2:00 pm DFW 8:05 pm

AA 1702 DFW 8:45 pm RDU 12:20 am

[sha88]

Glad to hear you had an amazing adventure. We are looking forward to leaving soon. How was the zipline ride and did you have good weather in Icy Strait and Juneau? What did you do in Skagway? Thanks for any info!

[denmanja]

The zipline was fantastic. I was hesitant at first about the price, but the tour on the way up was informative and the ride down was amazing! The weather was typical when we were there (cloudy, intermittent rain), but the zipline dropped off the mountain below the fog and it was beautiful. Everybody in my group loved it and wanted to go again!

 

The weather in Juneau was about the same - cloudy, with more rain. I highly recommend spending $20 or so on a raincoat, and I already had waterproof duck boots, but I didn't need anything more than those and an extra pair of jeans.

 

In Skagway, we rented a car and followed Murray's Guide up to Emerald Lake. It was a beautiful drive and we had a great time enjoying the different scenery. We left about 9:30 am and were back in town about 4 pm - I think this is longer than the typical trip, but we spent a while chatting at the Cinnamon Cache over lunch.

 

Hope this helps!

Jennifer

[sha88]

The zipline was fantastic. I was hesitant at first about the price, but the tour on the way up was informative and the ride down was amazing! The weather was typical when we were there (cloudy, intermittent rain), but the zipline dropped off the mountain below the fog and it was beautiful. Everybody in my group loved it and wanted to go again!

 

The weather in Juneau was about the same - cloudy, with more rain. I highly recommend spending $20 or so on a raincoat, and I already had waterproof duck boots, but I didn't need anything more than those and an extra pair of jeans.

 

In Skagway, we rented a car and followed Murray's Guide up to Emerald Lake. It was a beautiful drive and we had a great time enjoying the different scenery. We left about 9:30 am and were back in town about 4 pm - I think this is longer than the typical trip, but we spent a while chatting at the Cinnamon Cache over lunch.

 

Hope this helps!

Jennifer

 

Wow, thanks so much! My husband is doing the zipline in ISP. I cannot get myself to book, very scared of heights! But, I will wait for him at the bottom. After the zipline, we are doing the ATV tour together. In Skaygway we are doing the 6 hour train and bus tour.

 

It is so wonderful to hear that you had such a wonderful trip. So, do you think you will go back one day?

 

Juneau - we are doing the Harv and Marv whale watch boat tour.

[brunolvr]

In Skagway, we rented a car and followed Murray's Guide up to Emerald Lake. It was a beautiful drive and we had a great time enjoying the different scenery. We left about 9:30 am and were back in town about 4 pm - I think this is longer than the typical trip, but we spent a while chatting at the Cinnamon Cache over lunch.

 

Hope this helps!

Jennifer

Hi, Jennifer! Glad to hear you had a great time and didn't let the weather in any of the ports "dampen" your spirits!:) How was lunch at the Cinnamon Cache? any recommendations?

[denmanja]

Sha88 - I can't say I'd recommend it if you're afraid of heights! You may get there and change your mind watching everyone else come on down, but no harm in that :) I heard many good things about the whale watching, but I tend to get seasick, and I knew I'd struggle to survive the Kenai Fjords trip as it was (but I managed!) I would love to go back, but it may be a long time. I love to travel and too many other new unknown adventures to explore!

 

brunolvr - We didn't have great weather on the cruise (except for the glacier day - it was fantastic), but overall it was better than I was expecting. We also enjoyed phenomenal weather on the land portion. The summit flight was on the best day of the season according to our pilot, so no complaints on that front :) As for Cinnamon Cache, lunch was delicious homemade food. I think it varies daily, but we tried just about everything between the 4 of us - soup (served with bread), 2 different sandwiches, cookies, and of course, the cinnamon buns. Everything was yummy, and the owner was very nice.

[mnbruce]

Sounds like a wonderful vacation! We are renting a Rent a Wreck next week in Juneau, do you have a highlight of that day? I've had some great advice from this board, but thought I would ask.

[Choozin Croozin]

Since you were there within a week of when I will be next year, I need your opinion of Denali. We are going on the Radiance also only the opposite way. We are going to spend the day in Seward after our cruise, rent a car and then work our way towards Denali. We only have 3.75 days and wonder if it is worth driving all that way or not. There are so many things we could do in the Kenai and around Anchorage. Did you you see a lot of wildlife and how was the scenery. Anything you can tell me would be great.

 

One other thing. When did you book your car in Skagway? I have tried for next year and it won't let me.

[allentownahoy]

How was the Motel Nordhaven? I am thinking of staying there next year?

Ruth

[CaliforniaDreamer]

How was the lumberjack show?

[denmanja]

mnbruce - RentaWreck was great. We drove to the Shrine of St. Therese (great views), then continued on to the end of the road (not really worth it). We drove back to Mendenhall Glacier - this was beautiful scenery, and we would have definitely spent more time here except it was pouring rain. We went to the gold mine museum but it was closed (strange hours - make sure you check if this is your primary interest), but really enjoyed the beautiful waterfalls. We went to the State Museum (interesting). The highlight of the day for me (given the weather) was definitely the Brewery. Loads of free beer and very funny commentary/tours. We had the shuttle drop us off back downtown for shopping, then walked back to the ship.

 

choozin' cruzin' - I am certainly not the expert on this, I can only tell you that for us it was absolutely worth it to make the trip to Denali. It was overcast and chilly on the day of our bus trip into the park, but we saw probably 12 - 15 grizzly bears and cubs, moose, caribou, sheep, and fox. Fantastic wildlife sightings, but probably only 20% of the mountain out for viewing. However, the next morning we did the McKinley summit flight and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was such a clear morning even our pilot seemed to enjoy every second of the flight and we got extra passes around the mountain. As for Avis in Skagway, we actually booked really late, probably about a month ago, so I don't think that will help you.

 

allentownahoy - I thought Motel Nord Haven was great for anyone with their own transportation. The rooms are large and very clean. Breakfast is good and everyone was very friendly. I would say the only thing that didn't work for us was that breakfast wasn't available before we had to leave for our Denali tour, but we survived.

 

CaliforniaDreamer - The lumberjack show is cheesy, but a lot of fun and a good show. It was the worst weather on our whole trip in Ketchikan, so we enjoyed having a dry, warm seat for a while.

 

Hope all this helps!

Jennifer

[Choozin Croozin]

Jennifer-Thanks for your reply on Denali. I know that it's hard to speak for other people, but you are definitely in the majority with your opinion.:D I just can't imagine what is so great about Denali :rolleyes: and I love wildlife and scenery so go figure. You were the final convincing push.....I'm sure I will love it. Thanks again.

 

One other question, did you feel that it was worth renting a car in Juneau? We are going to do the whale watch, but wondered if there was a pro to renting a car?

[denmanja]

choozin' cruzin' - I'll admit I wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending half a day on a school bus looking for wildlife... but I had a total blast on our TWT. The driver was very entertaining, and we saw tons of wildlife like I said, all fairly evenly spaced so that was never really any downtime. It went by much faster than I realized, and I was sad to get off the bus.

 

In Juneau, we rented a car for cheap transportation for 4 of us ($70 total) and ability to set our own schedule. If you are just looking for spending time downtown, it's easy walking distance from the ship. If you just want to go to one place, it may be worth it to just order a taxi. We had no specific plan for the day, just things we wanted to check out. I've heard great things about the whale watching and I'm sure that will be fabulous!

[Choozin Croozin]

choozin' cruzin' - I'll admit I wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending half a day on a school bus looking for wildlife... but I had a total blast on our TWT. The driver was very entertaining, and we saw tons of wildlife like I said, all fairly evenly spaced so that was never really any downtime. It went by much faster than I realized, and I was sad to get off the bus.

 

In Juneau, we rented a car for cheap transportation for 4 of us ($70 total) and ability to set our own schedule. If you are just looking for spending time downtown, it's easy walking distance from the ship. If you just want to go to one place, it may be worth it to just order a taxi. We had no specific plan for the day, just things we wanted to check out. I've heard great things about the whale watching and I'm sure that will be fabulous!

 

Thanks again, so much, for your help!

[mnbruce]

mnbruce - RentaWreck was great. We drove to the Shrine of St. Therese (great views), then continued on to the end of the road (not really worth it). We drove back to Mendenhall Glacier - this was beautiful scenery, and we would have definitely spent more time here except it was pouring rain. We went to the gold mine museum but it was closed (strange hours - make sure you check if this is your primary interest), but really enjoyed the beautiful waterfalls. We went to the State Museum (interesting). The highlight of the day for me (given the weather) was definitely the Brewery. Loads of free beer and very funny commentary/tours. We had the shuttle drop us off back downtown for shopping, then walked back to the ship.

 

 

Thanks for the information. I plan on hitting the glacier,the shrine and the brewery,plus I have a couple of other things in mind. I guess the weather will determine what those other things might be.

[brunolvr]

One other question' date=' did you feel that it was worth renting a car in Juneau? We are going to do the whale watch, but wondered if there was a pro to renting a car?[/quote']

 

After 7 cruises to Alaska, my vote would be for a whale watching excursion in Juneau (either with Captain Larry or Harv&Marv) rather than a car rental.:)

[Choozin Croozin]

After 7 cruises to Alaska, my vote would be for a whale watching excursion in Juneau (either with Captain Larry or Harv&Marv) rather than a car rental.:)

 

Thank you for your advice!:D

[brunolvr]

Thank you for your advice!:D

 

But whatever you choose and whatever you do, I'm sure you'll have a great time and will want to go back again!:D There's just so much to see and do and just not enough port time in one trip!

[Southern Bell]

Can you tell me more about the lodging area outside of Denali? We want to take the Tundra Wilderness tour next year and I am trying to figure out where to stay to get those charters and be ready for 6:00am buses. For your first Denali day you stayed right outside the park? Then you drove down to Talkeetna for the flight and stayed in town? Thanks

[denmanja]

Southern Bell - We stayed at Motel Nord Haven for two nights, which is north of the park in Healy. This is only an option if you have your own transportation (we had a rental car, driving round trip from Anchorage). We did the summit flight out of Healy. I booked really early and this cost only $20 more than flying out of Talkeetna. This worked great for us because of the extra time we got on the mountain and not having to make it south at a specific time.

 

Also, just to pass along information: we showed up about 30 minutes early (no easy feat at 6am!) at the center to ensure good seats on the bus on advice from the girl when we picked up our tickets. When we showed up, the lady suggested we drive down to the hotel where all the other guests were being picked up, and we did since we had plenty of time. It turns out the bus driver had sectioned off the front seats on the left side (the best views) for those that were to be picked up at the center. I don't know if this is typical, but wanted to pass this along.

 

Oh, and the TWT snack boxes include reindeer sausage, cheese, croissant, chips, granola bar, and bottled water. We stopped at the WalMart in Anchorage and packed extra snacks. You also get a nice photo flip book at the end of the tour. I know that the TWT is not recommended on this board, but we really enjoyed the commentary and the driver being able to zoom in the camera to spot the wildlife.

 

Hope this helps!

Jennifer

[Southern Bell]

Jennifer, I have read many endorsement of the Tundra Wilderness tour on this board so it does sound like a great option for us. We also will have rental car out of Anchorage for 4 or 5 days prior to our cruise out of Whittier. I assume you are referrring to the bus starting at the visitor center inside of Denali when you talk about the driver saving seats! I hope you did have good seats anyway.

 

We are not planning a flight around McKinley, but are still trying to figure out where to stay for the 2 nights we are in that region. Talkeetna sounds like a town we would enjoy for an evening so I have not figured out all the logistics.

[travelbuds]

Comfort Inn Ship Creek

111 Ship Creek Avenue, Anchorage

(907) 277-6887

 

Alaska Railroad

www.akrr.com

 

Kenai Fjords Tours

www.kenaifjords.com

National Park Tour

1304 4th Avenue, Seward

 

Icy Strait Point

7:00 am – 4:00 pm

 

10:15 am

ZipRider zipline

 

 

Hi,

Sounds like you had a great trip! Looking forward to ours next June. Curious how you liked the Comfort Inn. We have made reservations there for the night before our cruise. Is it easy walking from there to the AKRR with luggage?

 

How far in advance did you book the Kenai Fjords Tour?

 

Were there afternoon times for the zip rider? Had heard that if the AM trips were full, there would be PM trips made available.

 

Thank you,

Bruce

[Podie]

Thanks for your trip report. I have reserved a car for Juneau in late May that I'm only planning to keep three or four hours. We're in port 14 hours with Carnival so it seems we would have plenty of time for both a whale watching cruise AND the rental. How long did you use the car rental? At only $65 for four people it seems like a bargain to me even if we only use it four hours!

[denmanja]

Southern Bell - yes, thank you, still very good seats, as we were the first ones in line at the hotel :) However, I would definitely suggest that whatever your arrangements end up, make sure you get there early enough to claim a seat on the left side of the bus. We saw much more wildlife going out and the people on the right had a much more difficult time taking pictures. Also, I would check around on the prices for lodging in Glitter Gulch - I found Motel Nord Haven to be significantly cheaper (even with $5/gallon gas!)

 

Bruce - We enjoyed the Comfort Inn. My dad was in the trip for the fishing, and managed to catch an 8 lb salmon in the creek right behind the hotel. We also just missed a moose one morning - saw the wet tracks on the trail. It is an easy walk to the train station, maybe 3 city blocks, all flat (unlike walking to any restaurants or downtown Anchorage, which is up a big hill). As for the Kenai tour, I booked in March for our August tour. We took the early boat and it was probably 2/3 empty, so lots of room to move around and enjoy the scenery. In ISP, I believe they ran the zipline the whole time we were in port. It was so much fun I almost paid to ride it again!

 

Podie - we had the car from 9:30 to 4ish, so it was a great deal for us. Depending on what you want to see, it may be a good idea.

 

When I finish loading pictures, I'll post a link so you can see the adventures.

 

Jennifer

[M&T]

denmanja, what hotel did they send you to? where should we go to get the best seats?