Anchorage Post Cruise Tour

Hi

Booked the northbound Coral Princess cruise from Vancouver to Whitter next July, we are a family of 4 inclding 2 teens and we will have only 3-4 days before we go back home either from Anchorage or Fairbanks airport.

We are intersting to do: Denali National Park, Mount McKinley and, Fairbanks.

This will be our first visit to Alaska, propbaly, the last, we would be so grateful if somebody could advice us about the following:

1] Is the post-cruise tour operated via the Princess is worthy or could we do it on our own!

2] For only 3-4 days is this Iterinary is optimum; of course we will not have much time to explore Alaska and do the whole must see and do list and at last;

3] Which is better to depart via Anchorage or fairbanks airport, as this will help us which tour to select.

Thanks for help

Anchorage Post Cruise Tour

';1] Is the post-cruise tour operated via the Princess is worthy or could we do it on our own';

IMHO the 4-day post-cruise tours offered by Princess are a waste of money (well, you asked, lol). Basically all you%26#39;re getting is transportation. The Natural History Tour they give you in Denali is only a couple of miles further into the park than you could go for FREE, and nowhere near the distance a shuttle or even the Tundra Wilderness Tour take you (therefore not much chance to see wildlife, and no chance at all for a good view of McKinley).

Would you be okay with renting a vehicle and driving? Since this is likely your only visit to Alaska, that would be my recommendation. Also, to make the most of your time, I%26#39;d suggest you rent a vehicle in Anchorage and drop off in Fairbanks. Yes, it will be much more expensive to drop it off in another city, but with only 4 days you don%26#39;t have the time to drive it back to Anchorage unless you sacrifice Fairbanks.

Here is a sample itinerary to get you started:

Day 1 – arrive Whittier. Use ship transfer to Anchorage. Pick up rental vehicle (off-airport is usually less expensive, but compare to be sure. I use www.carrentals.com to do that. Be sure to rent a vehicle that will have enough space for your luggage--an SUV or mini-van?)

Get supplies/snacks for Denali, then drive to Talkeetna (3 hrs) for afternoon or evening flightseeing of McKinley. If extra time, maybe a jetboat tour or river float. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 2 – Drive to Denali (3 hrs). I suggest you pre-reserve either the 1 pm or the 2 pm shuttle to Eielson (8 hr roundtrip), which will give you lots of chances to see wildlife plus a great view of McKinley if it’s out. New visitor center at Eielson too. Take food %26amp; drink with you as none is for sale in the park, plus binoculars for everyone since most wildlife is seen at a distance. With shuttles, you can get off almost anywhere to hike, etc, though leaving so late in the day, you wouldn%26#39;t have much time to do that. If you plan to do a bit of hiking, be sure to get a shuttle schedule and make sure you don%26#39;t miss the last bus out of the park. Overnight Healy (15 min. north of the park), much less expensive than the entrance-area hotels.

Day 3 – either whitewater rafting or see the visitor center displays %26amp; film and the 10 a.m. free Ranger sled dog demo (free bus leaves ½ hr before demo, returns by 11 a.m.) Drive to Fairbanks (2+ hrs). In Fairbanks, see U. of A. Museum of the North, maybe Ice Museum or Large Animal Research Center or Creamers Field, then in the evening either Pioneer Park plus Palace Theatre, or Ester Gold Camp plus Malamute Saloon show (I%26#39;m not sure if the latter will be open this year, it was closed last year for renovations). Overnight Fairbanks.

Day 4 – 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 pm: Riverboat Discovery. 1:30 pm or 2:30 Gold Dredge No. 8 tour (includes a bit of goldpanning on your own). On the way there or back, stop 8 miles north of Fairbanks to see the Pipeline %26amp; displays. If extra time, swing by North Pole to see Santa Claus House and mail your postcards from there. Be at airport 2 hr. prior to flight home.

Check Toursaver and Northern Lights coupon books to see if you can make use of their 2 for 1 coupons. Be sure to check for times/dates they are valid, and then phone the outfitter to see if they still have room to take coupons on the day you want to use them. No point in buying the books if you can’t use the coupons.

Hope this gives you a few ideas.

Anchorage Post Cruise Tour

Superb

Definitely we will do the tour by ourselves; only few things need some clarifications:

1] Could we rent our car from whittier instead of Anchorage?

2] Any recommendation for a hotels; our budget will be 200-400 USD room only for 4 of us! And,

3] Local tour agent for our activities.

Many thanks for your help.

';1] Could we rent our car from whittier instead of Anchorage?';

I%26#39;m not sure. Avis is the only outlet in Whittier. I briefly checked one day in July and they had cars when I typed in dropping off back in Whittier, but nothing when I typed in dropping off at Fairbanks. I don%26#39;t know if that means they don%26#39;t allow it, but you can contact them to find out. Or maybe another poster already knows.

';2] Any recommendation for a hotels; our budget will be 200-400 USD room only for 4 of us!';

With that kind of money, you could afford the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. Also an entrance-area hotel at Denali. Not sure I%26#39;d do the latter, however, I suggest you post over in the Denali forum and tell Coalminer what type of lodging you%26#39;re looking for there (maybe a cabin or B%26amp;B?) You could save a bit of money too, as Healy (only 15 min. north) is less expensive than the entrance-area hotels, and not as ';congested';.

';3] Local tour agent for our activities.';

Most of us here arrange our own accomodations/activities, but you can make use of this site: http://www.alaskatravel.com/ . I particularly like that you can find good descriptions of some of the hotels available, plus the days they are already booked.