Alaska vacation ideas ?

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TerryMiller

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And, to add to what I've already posted. Make sure you have a good camera with plenty of memory for photos. I am a prolific taker of photos, so in addition to having my laptop to download to every day, I also had a camera attachment that would let me use AA rechargeable batteries, along with the two standard rechargeable batteries. Even then, I got caught once without well charged batteries and still had to buy some regular AA batteries to get me through the day.
 

fishfurlife

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We visited Alaska for two weeks last year. I think the highlight of our trip was Cordova. Staying at the Orca Lodge. Followed by Homer. We stayed at Denali as well and oddly enough, it probably ranked at the bottom of my favorite places in Alaska. I enjoyed it. Just not as much as other pats of AK.
 

yukonjack

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I'm assuming you'll be renting a car. Check on car rental prices and one way drop fees. If it's in your price range then fly into Fairbanks and pickup your rental. From there head south to Denali. All kinds of different lodging is available in that area. From a Princess Lodge to cabin rentals. Take the NPS shuttle bus that goes all the way to Kantishna at the end of the road. This is an all day, 12 hour round trip. That will maximize your chances for wildlife viewing. There are also tour companies that run tour buses in the park but they don't always for wildlife viewing as frequently as the shuttles buses. The tour buses tend to be filled up with old people wearing name tags offa the cruise ship tours.

Be warned though that actual sightings of Mt. McKinley aren't guaranteed. The mountain creates its own weather and is often fogged in. After leaving Denali you'll continue on south on the Parks Highway. On the way south a side trip into Talkeetna is usually worthwhile. Weather permitting this would be a good place to take a flightseeing trip over Mt McKinley. Some operators can also do glacier landings.

After your next stop would be in the Wasilla/Palmer area, home to Sarah Palin and lots of other neat Alaskana. Palmer is also where you could head up the Glenn Highway to visit the Matanuska Glacier. It's the longest glacier in Alaska that can be reached by car. I've taken a lot of nice photos back there. Well worth the drive.

From there you'll head south towards Anchorage. Since this is where you'll most likely return your rental car I'd actually skip it and head straight on south to the Kenai peninsula. To get the most out of your time I'd recommend staying in Homer. It's a lot more scenic then the Kenai/Soldotna area. All kinds of excursions and sightseeing could be had from here.

After your stay there then you'll make your way back towards Anchorage. Lots of stops you could make along the way. You could make a short side trip to Whittier and then also stop in Girdwood. Some of the best Dall sheep viewing around can be had at the Windy Corner viewing area. That's at mile 106 on the Seward highway between Girdwood & Anchorage. Often the sheep are in the rocks right above the road or right alongside the road.

Pay attention to traffic when you're driving along the Seward highway between Anchorage & Girdwood. Nothing wrong with the road itself but the drivers can be a different story. People always drive too fast and can get into too much of a hurry.

Let me know if you wanna know more about the Anchorage area. Lots of stuff to do there outside of the tourist area downtown. Some of my best moose photographs have come from an area just south of the airport.
 

7stw

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I'm assuming you'll be renting a car. Check on car rental prices and one way drop fees. If it's in your price range then fly into Fairbanks and pickup your rental. From there head south to Denali. All kinds of different lodging is available in that area. From a Princess Lodge to cabin rentals. Take the NPS shuttle bus that goes all the way to Kantishna at the end of the road. This is an all day, 12 hour round trip. That will maximize your chances for wildlife viewing. There are also tour companies that run tour buses in the park but they don't always for wildlife viewing as frequently as the shuttles buses. The tour buses tend to be filled up with old people wearing name tags offa the cruise ship tours.

Be warned though that actual sightings of Mt. McKinley aren't guaranteed. The mountain creates its own weather and is often fogged in. After leaving Denali you'll continue on south on the Parks Highway. On the way south a side trip into Talkeetna is usually worthwhile. Weather permitting this would be a good place to take a flightseeing trip over Mt McKinley. Some operators can also do glacier landings.

After your next stop would be in the Wasilla/Palmer area, home to Sarah Palin and lots of other neat Alaskana. Palmer is also where you could head up the Glenn Highway to visit the Matanuska Glacier. It's the longest glacier in Alaska that can be reached by car. I've taken a lot of nice photos back there. Well worth the drive.

From there you'll head south towards Anchorage. Since this is where you'll most likely return your rental car I'd actually skip it and head straight on south to the Kenai peninsula. To get the most out of your time I'd recommend staying in Homer. It's a lot more scenic then the Kenai/Soldotna area. All kinds of excursions and sightseeing could be had from here.

After your stay there then you'll make your way back towards Anchorage. Lots of stops you could make along the way. You could make a short side trip to Whittier and then also stop in Girdwood. Some of the best Dall sheep viewing around can be had at the Windy Corner viewing area. That's at mile 106 on the Seward highway between Girdwood & Anchorage. Often the sheep are in the rocks right above the road or right alongside the road.

Pay attention to traffic when you're driving along the Seward highway between Anchorage & Girdwood. Nothing wrong with the road itself but the drivers can be a different story. People always drive too fast and can get into too much of a hurry.

Let me know if you wanna know more about the Anchorage area. Lots of stuff to do there outside of the tourist area downtown. Some of my best moose photographs have come from an area just south of the airport.

Thank you ! Lots of good advice. We actually thought about taking the "camper bus" through Denali np supposedly it goes farther in than any others. A friend also mentioned the area around girdwood for sheep viewing. What's one place you'd recommend for a unique "Alaskan dining" experience ?


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undeg01

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You said your not interested in a cruise, but you might want to consider a land/sea deal with a one way trip on a cruise ship.
Fly into Anchorage explore Denali, and the areas mentioned above.

Always pick a one way cruise from Alaska to Victoria, or a one way from Victoria to Seward. Reason is that the ship docks in the early morning and leaves late at night, so your in port to explore all day long vs a trip from Seattle that returns to Seattle. You get 4-6 hours on shore.

Book your land tour at least a year in advance for best savings. We tried to book 4 months ahead to the best parts of the Denali and other places and they were full. This was about three weeks ago so be prepared to pay premium prices for hotels. $200 a night minimum is all we could find recently.

+1 for this. My wife and I did this for our honeymoon 15 years ago. We have always said that is the one trip we would go back on a moments notice if given the opportunity.

Best thing about this type of cruise is that you spend most of the cruising time at night, while you are sleeping. When you get up the next day, you are in a different Alaskan city and can spend the day on scheduled excursions or doing your own thing. The extra time spent at Denali is worth it.
 

7stw

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We booked our flights got a smoking deal (just a few bucks over a grand round trip) flying into/out of anchorage so that's the plan. Already have a car reserved as well. Looking at spending two days in and around anchorage then heading towards Denali park. From there going on into Fairbanks then taking another route (east hwy) from Fairbanks back into anchorage. Yukonjack or anyone else see anything wrong with this plan lol ?


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DavidMcmillan

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Two years ago, we did the trip TerryMiller just described, but we went from Fairbanks south. If we were to go back to one location, it would be in the Talkeetna area. Close to Denali, and many other things you mentioned, plus Talkeetna is just a neat little town, with many unique citizens!

We did the same in 2014, and it was worth every dollar. Talkeetna was my favorite place. Centrally located to so many of the things you are wanting to see and do.
 

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