Air is booked

Just used my ff miles today and booked the air for 7/7-7/20. Now that my number one problem is solved. Now I need some suggestions. We are flying in and out of Ancorage. We want to see glaciers, wildlife, of course Denili. And can anyone reccommend a some places to stay. How much time should we stay in Ancorage Seward and Denili? and should we go to Seward first?. We arrive at 8:30pm. We will rent a car.

All info would be greatly appreciated

Susie

Air is booked

Hey Susie, great on getting the #1 problem done! I can%26#39;t answer any of your questions, but I will say that by studying these boards you will learn alot! You can also look under the search feature and learn alot.

We are looking at a GRAND trip....I feel DH has way over done this 10 day trip...but looking at a short Denali trip, Cordova, Homer and many places in between!

I do have a question for you...What kind of airline prices were you seeing when you first started looking? We have no FF miles and are planning to go the week after you. Out of Atlanta we are looking at around $650.00 (round-trip). We flew to Vancouver 4 years ago to take a cruise to the inside passage and paid $495.00 (round-trip). Just wondering if you had studied the prices or just did it!

Prices have fallen some in the last few weeks that I have been following it.....gas has gone down too. I guess I am just wanting to get the #1 problem out of the way and get down to all the details!

Thanks and anyone else who has some insight on airline tickets and when to book I would appreciate it so much!

Look forward to hearing from you and seeing where our planning goes!

Courtney

Air is booked

Hi! You%26#39;ve chosen a usually great time to come up for decent weather! Let%26#39;s see - you are arriving late so I would suggest that you plan to stay overnight in Anchorage, go to the Sunday market downtown the next day and get your jet lag stuff resolved as well as some pleasant wandering around downtown. Then head out for Seward on Monday (the traffic on that highway will be much less on a Monday and a lot of the road is two lane so the trip will be easier with less traffic) and points on the Kenai Peninsula. Assuming you want to go on one of the glacier/wildlife cruises, see the Sea Life aquarium,etc., plan on being at least two full days in Seward area. That puts you heading back north on Thursday. Stop at Girdwood on your way down or back and ride the tram if you have clear weather - the view is gorgeous. On the other way, stop at the Portage Glacier. If you want to take a side trip going down or back, to over to Whittier - really beautiful - and stay overnight. Then head back north and head up to Denali for two full days at least - Coalminer will help you out with Denali - LOTS of real knowledge. Head on up to Fairbanks for a day or two and then back to Anchorage - by the other route if you like. If you can, plan on another day in Anchorage and go to the Native Heritage Center - really interesting displays, exhibits and shows. That should get you everywhere you have in mind without rushing and having a chance to enjoy a restful vacation! Hope this helps to get you started.

What kind of lodging are you looking at - hotels, B%26amp;B%26#39;s, cabins?? Lots to choose from up here . . . not just in Denali/Healy, but all over the state. I usually recommend B%26amp;B%26#39;s, esp. if it%26#39;s just a couple, because they are often cheaper than hotels, you get breakfast, which is very cost savings and you learn a bit more about Alaska via your hosts. Here is the website I most often recommend for those staying in the Denali area: www.denalichamber.com Check some of these out and then I would be happy to give you some recommendations, if you need them. Also, you will want to check out www.nps.gov/dena for Park info. Best of luck! :)

Gatorgirl, I am so happy for you. Can you tell us what time is your flight scheduled to depart from ANC on 7/27?

Do you like active vacations? Do you want to go fishing, rafting, hiking, see waterfalls, cruise Kenai Fjords, be close to whales, watch bears for a day, see bald eagles? We know you want to see wildlife. Are you interested in learning about native Alaskans, their cultures and history? If we know your interests it would be easier to make recommendations.

I agree you should stay a couple nights in Anchorage. This wonderful town has so much to offer. I suggest visiting Museum of History and Art at 121 7th Avenue and Native Heritage Center just off Glenn Highway and Muldoon Road. In the summer these two places have a free shuttle between them and if you decide to visit both then you get a special price. Once in the Museum of History and Art plan on having a fabulous lunch there.

In July it won%26#39;t make a difference whether you go to Denali or Seward first. Unless you want to include bear watching trip from Homer then I would go to Seward and Homer in the end of your trip.

I think for my first visit to Alaska I would want to stay in Anchorage for 2 nights, then go to Denali for 3 nights, Fairbanks 2, Valdez 2, Seward 2 and/or Homer 3.

Coalminer asked you a very important questions before making any suggestions, what type of accommodations are you interested in? I know many visitors enjoy staying in B%26amp;B, my husband and I prefer staying in chalets or cabins if they are available.

After many trips to Alaska we concluded that Denali and Homer are the best places for wildlife. And don%26#39;t worry about making choices where to go and for how long, most of us start planing another trip to Alaska before our first one is over.

We stayed at both the Mangy Moose B%26amp;B and Aurora Winds in Anchorage several years ago. Mangy Moose was clean, spacious. Aurora Winds was the best B%26amp;B I have stayed in anywhere and we didn%26#39;t even get to have breakfast there.

Old Town B%26amp;B in Homer was older, steep stairs and small but they were over a bakery that had the best pecan rolls I have ever had.

Whereever you go, what ever you do, you will love Alaska.

Awesome advice from other posts - but couple of places you wont want to miss is Ninilchick tiny coastal town by Homer, not to stay at but do stop on way to Homer-cool native burial ground, (very old) you cant go wrong with the view from all arond, Seward ,Valdez Homer- Do check out the Glacier visitors ctrs- portage is great-right by Girdwood-(alyeska mtn) and Matanuska glacier- you can walk right on it ! Also right in Portage is The Big game wildlife refuge! Great oppertunity to see Bears , Moose Elk Sheep and the drive from Anch to Girdwood is the best! Mtn one side turnagain arm(ocean) on the other . Look up as you may very well see Dahl sheep right above you on the cliffs-also stop at Mcugh Creek on same road- Very beautiful lots of traills waterfalls, we%26#39;ve seen grizzlies so dont go to far off the path by youselfs! Check out the anch zoo yeah corny but great animals! Even though it is July bring Layers, wind and rain can be very chilly! Alyeska Hotel is beautiful 20 mins from anch but very pricey that time of year and the food leves alot to be desired, but the town of Girdwood is very groovy if you like the offbeat hippie flavor us alaskans cherish! Residence inn, is very affordable, and right in anch- Cptn%26#39; Cook is great also pricy- check into b%26amp;B%26#39;s also. Denali only stay 1 or 2 nites depending on how much outside activity you want-there isnt much else to do there but soak in the views(unbelieveable) rafting, hiking,horse back riding bus tours into the Natl Park(very long and bumpy,but soo pretty) even if you cant see the Mtn while there (which happends far to often due to weather)it is worth it! Seward very cool little fishing town with a drinking problem(Just kiddng) or am I??;) deep sea fishing trips pricey but worth it if you catch something and don%26#39;t get sick ! Again beautiful sceanery!! same goes for Homer- The homer spit is cool mabye a little stange but for sure something to see!!The other posts on the site are great just wanted to add a liitle !!! Have so much fun! Oh yeah Simon and Seaforts, Double Musky, Glacier Brewhouse just a few of our great places to eat, any more???%26#39;s Ill try to help!