Any comments on our Itinerary?

My husband, his 2 teenage daughters and I will be going on a Northbound cruise to Alaska this June/July. We are adding a few land days on the front end (in Vancouver) and on the back end (in Seward and Anchorage). I%26#39;ve been saving up so we can have a big trip (the girls are 13 %26amp; 14 and we probably only have a few more years of travel with them!). This is my tentative schedule:

June 25 鈥?Fly into Vancouver; arrive around 1:30; get to hotel; check out Gastown

June 26 鈥?Stanley Park %26amp; Aquarium; Granville Island

June 27 鈥?check out of hotel; go to Capilano Suspension Bridge; ship leaves @ 5:30

June 28 鈥?Day at sea

June 29 鈥?Ketchikan (Consider: Island Wings Floatplane; Kayaking)

June 30 鈥?Juneau (Northstar Glacier trek; wander around Juneau)

July 1 鈥?Skagway (rent car 鈥?go to Caribou Crossing %26amp; Emerald Lake)

July 2 鈥?Sitka (Sitka鈥檚 Secrets Boat Tour; wander around Sitka)

July 3 鈥?at sea

July 4 鈥?arrive in Whittier @ 7am; get rental car; drive to Seward; see Exit Glacier?; hang out in town for 4th of July celebration; stay @ Windsong Lodge

July 5 鈥?Boat to Aialik bay for day of kayaking; back to Seward (Windsong Lodge)

July 6 鈥?Visit SeaLife Center; Drive to Anchorage (find hotel in Anchorage)

July 7 鈥?Check out Anchorage (maybe Kincaid park? Something else?)

July 8 鈥?Fly out of Anchorage @ 1:30am

My questions are these:

1 - I%26#39;ve head the floatplanes into Misty Fjords are great. Is the kayaking too duplicative - that is, are we seeing the same stuff so I should pick one or the other?

2 - I%26#39;ve read that July 4th in Seward is very crazy. I%26#39;m not sure if we%26#39;ll have time to get to Exit Glacier or not. Is it close by and how much time do people usually spend there?

3 - My stepdaughters aren%26#39;t thrilled with the idea of a 6-8 hour boat trip into Kenai Fjords. Currently, our compromise is a quick 2 hour boat ride into one of the bays (Aialik Bay) and then spend about 4 hours kayaking around the bay, watching glaciers calve, etc. Then a 2 hour boat ride out. Does anyone have any experience with this?

4 - While I%26#39;ve read and found out a lot about other places, I%26#39;m still really undecided about what to do in Anchorage. We like to do a variety of things - either active or just sightseeing. We may be able to get the girls to a museum for an hour or two, but that generally isn%26#39;t their cup of tea. Any suggestions on Anchorage? Also, do Anchorage hotels fill up quickly so I should book that months in advance too?

Thanks for any help!

Janet

Any comments on our Itinerary?

Hi Janet,

Looking at your itinerary...it looks fantastic. There are always numerous options when it comes to activites in AK, but at some point, you have to settle on someting. Your plans look great. Teenage girls are difficult to please. I agree that 6 hours on the Kenai Fjords boat tour may be too long. Besides, many persons become seasick on these boats.

I took a northbound cruise with my 15 year old daughter this past summer. After disembarking from the ship in Seward, we headed straight for Exit Glacier by rental car...which is about 12 miles outside of Seward. It felt wonderful to be on land and exercise our legs after 7 days on the ship. It is a fairly easy hike, however both of us were rather out of shape. The climb and atmosphere at Exit Glacier was marvelous. We were there for 2 hours.

The SeaLife Center was wonderful...not your typical aquarium. The little Puffins flying through the water will cause anyone to giggle.

There is a wildlife conservation between Seward and Anchorage...outside of Girdwood. That was a neat place to see bears, moose and other animals...since you will not be going into the interior to Denali Park. However, this is not to say you won%26#39;t observe wildlife. Animals can appear anytime.

Honestly, we did not spend much time in Anchorage. I wish we had visited the Native American Heritage Center. We went to the Eartquake simulation exhibit. Don%26#39;t waste your time or your money. Anchorage has a huge indoor mall...however not sure you and your husband would want to spend time there. I%26#39;m sure the girls would love it.

(while in Vancouver, try to take the cable up to Grouse Mountain. magnificient views: - )

Any comments on our Itinerary?

sounds like a great trip! I can only comment on a few things...

First, July 4th is going to be busy anywhere in AK. It is peak travel season. Seward is absolutely beautiful. Exit Glacier is only a short drive from town and well worth the visit. You can literally walk right up to the glacier. I think a few hours (2-3) is plenty of time at Exit Glacier. See my photos of this at www.shellistravel.com/TravelogueViewer.aspx鈥?/a>

Second, we did the Kenai Fjords boat trip for 6-8 hours and it was amazing. We saw so much wildlife! Black bears, Orca whales, puffins, sealions, otters...it was so fun! We were served lunch on board, too. We stayed at the Windsong Lodge (again, you can check out my trip report for photos, etc) which is right up the road from Exit Glacier.

While in Seward, follow the road past the Sealife Center, and out past Miller%26#39;s Landing to Lowell Point as far as the road will take you. Park and go explore the beach. You will be rewarded with the most amazing views! Enjoy!

Sorry, I can%26#39;t help with Anchorage. We didn%26#39;t stick around the city long enough to enjoy it. I was on a mission to find moose! haha! Enjoy your trip!

Aquablue - thanks for the tip about the conservation area to see outside of Girdwood. I hadn%26#39;t even thought about the drive from Seward to Anchorage. I need to do some more investigating to see what%26#39;s in that area. Luckily my husband says that I get almost as much joy out of planning a trip as I get from taking the trip!

I%26#39;ll make sure to pass up the earthquake simulation. I had read about the Native American Heritage Center - that sounds interesting. And you%26#39;re right -- the girls are ALWAYS interested in a mall!!

smnores - thanks for the tip about Lowell Point. I%26#39;ve seen that on the map (one of the kayaking trips from Seward leaves from that area). We%26#39;ll have to make a point of going down there and checking out the beach.

I had wanted to do the 6-8 hour boat tour into Kenai Fjords. However, my 14 year old step daughter is prone to sea sickness and both step-daughters have said that they don%26#39;t want to spend a day boating on a small boat ';just to look for wildlife';. I figure that the kayaking place drops us off in the same area (Aialik Bay) and then we can be active and kayak for several hours. That way I can see my wildlife (and watch glaciers calve) and they are more active (which they like).