Which Itinery?

We have had a go at making up a couple of itineries - would appreciate feedback %26amp; advice re which would be best in the time we have %26amp; any changes we should make

Itinery 1 - arrive 9.00am 1st June, pick up rental car %26amp; drive to Denali.

2nd June - day at Denali hopefully to Eilson visitor Centre then drive to Trapper Creek/Talkeena area to stay the night

3rd June - finish journey to Anchorage, hopefully arriving early. Carry on to Girdwood/Alyska tram, then onto Portage %26amp; back to Anchorage for night (?would it be possible to include going as far as Coopers Landing in this trip?). If time cycle Tony Knowles Trail.

4th June - train to Seward %26amp; Kenai Penisular boat trip

5th June - Exit glacier (? could go as far as Coopers Landing as well?)

Itinery 2 is to replace the Denali trip with 2 nights at Homer/exploring the Kenai Peninsular returning to Anchorage on 3rd June. The last 2 days would be the same as above.

Many thans, we will consider all suggestions!

Which Itinery?

Hi mischief0

Is there something particular you need to be in Anchorage for on 3rd June? I ask because it seems a little awkward to go from Talkeetna through Anchorage to Girdwood, back to Anchorage and then back to Seward and Itinerary 2 would also seem laborious to go from Homer to Anchorage to Seward.

As for whether to do Denali over Homer, it depends on your interests. Homer would open the possibility of doing a days bear viewing flight over to Katmai (roughly $500-600 per person, but an amazing trip. Coopers Landing is a good base for fishing, hiking, river rafting, river floats (no whitewater).

If you are doing Exit Glacier, I would skip Portage and I don%26#39;t know that I would prioritise Girdwood and the Tram with a special drive down there within such a short trip.

If you don%26#39;t have to be in Anchorage for June 3rd, let us know and we can suggest some itineraries that may flow a bit better. Also you don%26#39;t mention if you need to be back in Anchorage to fly out on the 5th or if you are leaving on a cruise from Seward?

Which Itinery?

That%26#39;s a really crazy trip I will just say - lots packed in- but I%26#39;ve also done that mad-house raging around with family in town for 3 or 4 days - so here goes:

Denali is awesome - long drive - plan a good 4 hours with stops. If you go - make sure to see the dog sled team and at least drive into Savage River (about 13 miles). It will be a haul to Talkeetna - but do-able b/c it%26#39;s light so late at that time of yr.

The drive to Denali and to Talkeetna: IMO - Talkeetna drive has very few (if any) scenic outlooks until you get there. I am just telling you b/c I%26#39;m not sure what you are looking for. It%26#39;s nearly solid trees on either side of the road the whole way. If going to Talkeetna- what about an air or some other tour to take adv. of the trip? Drive to Denali has several scenic stop-off%26#39;s if the weather is good and the mountain is visible. Plus the excitement of driving to Denali is pretty great. Crazy 2 lane drive. Tour buses, RV%26#39;s, semi traffic, commuters - don%26#39;t pass unless absolutely sure of visibility. Fatalities every year b/c people not paying attention. Yes - moose do also run out in front of people. Must be alert. Not to scare you - just making sure you are prepared. We drive it all the time.

Train to Seward is VERY scenic. Watch for whales. Beluga%26#39;s are back with more sightings this past summer.

Exit glacier - nice little hike. Do you mean on 4th of June you will only go one-way and then stay in Seward? Usually the train is down and back same day. How will you get back to Exit glacier I am wondering? How are you getting back to Anc? Just confused on that part. You say come up to Cooper Landing. Do you mean as a destination or to pass thru? Cooper Landing is on the way back up to Anchorage by driving.

If you stayed in Homer/Peninsula - it would be probably not as much driving. Lots of hiking trails down there.

What is your goal? See bear, see glaciers? Hike? Drive and see mtn? Go on a flightseeing tour? Air boat tour? Any children coming along and their ages?

I haven%26#39;t spent much time in Homer - but it is quaint and artsy with lots of shops. Much larger than Talkeetna. Talkeetna is unto itself! Walking on the smooth rock beach is nice at Land%26#39;s End in Homer. Saw a humback traveling by the spit there this past June (no joke - I could have thrown one of the rocks and hit it). There is a ferry that is supposed to be THE thing to do. I just haven%26#39;t been down there long enough, but it%26#39;s on my list...

Hope some of this helps...

Thanks for all the info. There will be no kids with us, our main aim is to see wildlife %26amp; glaciers. We also enjoy walking/hiking, but not into fishing. We don%26#39;t have the biggest budget so unfortunately the bear viewing flight is out for us, but if we could see bears elsewhere at the beginning of June, that would be awesome!The only reason we were thinking of driving down the Seward Highway was it sounds so scenic and would have great photo oppotunities. We were only going back to Anchorage to return the car. The other alternative would be to pay the extra for a one way rental to Seward - any opinions on whether the train trip or by road is the better/more scenic/more photo opportunities way to go between Seward %26amp; Anchorage? (NomadicKiwi - we are sailing out of Seward 9.00pm June 5th) For some reason I am not too bothered about seeing Mt McKinley - if we go to Denali %26amp; saw it, it would be a huge bonus but we would basically be going in the hope of seeing wildlife. I haven%26#39;t looked at the cost of the flight seeing tours from Talkteena but would assume they would work out a bit expensive for us. Any further input will be much appreciated

The train to Seward is nice and very scenic.

Driving down towards Girdwood if you don%26#39;t want to drive down again to Seward affords a nice drive to look for wildlife and you can pull off the turnouts and look for black bear on the mountains next to the Inlet.

If you want to see wildlife on this trip - bring good binocs - 10x50%26#39;s is what I carry and I can see black bears, sheep and the goats up high on the mountains. Stop at other scenic and hiking stops along the way like Beluga Point.

I have seen bears in Denali (15-20 miles inside the park from the road), and also 1 bear down the Peninsula beside the road on the way to Seward.

The thing about wildlife viewing is to be patient, look for changes in coloration on the hillsides - just keep looking. You will see so much in June!

I really recommend walking or biking the Tony Knowles trail - it%26#39;s such a nice way to spend some time! In Anchorage there is also a nice hike/climb called Flat Top.

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