We are just beginning to think about a trip in the beginning of August 2007 to Alaska. We are moderately active educators from New York in our mid to late 50s.
Originally I was thinking of some form of Cruise %26amp; land Tour (either before or after the cruise). Any thoughts, recommendations or advice would be appreciated.
Should we do a combo Cruisetour %26amp; if so which one would you recommend?
Are we better off renting a car and driving or booking trains %26amp; buses %26amp; hotels ourselves?
Any thoughts about flying into Seattle vs Vancouver to take an Inside Passage Cruise?
How about using a travel agent to make all the arrangements?
Thanks for your insights %26amp; help
Marty
Planning Trip to Alaska August 2007
';Are we better off renting a car and driving or booking trains %26amp; buses %26amp; hotels ourselves?';
Yes!!! You鈥檒l never see an Alaska resident telling you to take a cruise to Alaska. I am not an Alaska resident, and I鈥檒l back up the locals on this one. Why? The ships don鈥檛 really give you enough time to sit down and savour/enjoy Alaska, from my recent Med. Cruise experience I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 a lot like cattle herding. Plus, many times ports can become crowded with tourists (heaven forbid two cruiseships in port at once).
When I went I went for two and a half weeks, seeing Denali National Park, Seward, and Homer. It was amazing. I saw more wildlife that I saw before in my life put together, and I can鈥檛 even start to say how beautiful it was. I would say, though that my most memorable experiences in Alaska I couldn鈥檛 have ever done on a cruise or cruise tour. And that鈥檚 just the way it is.
As for travel agents, you won鈥檛 need one if you鈥檙e going on your own and I normally find that cruises are hard to coordinate on your own.
Blue
Planning Trip to Alaska August 2007
Hi neighbor,
I just returned from a 2 week venture in Alaska, one week cruising, and the second touring inland. As you, I had many questions. You%26#39;re smart to plan a year in advance.
First of all, August is the rainy month for Alaska, so be prepared. Some of your tours may be delayed, or even cancelled. But Alaska is still a beautiful place...even with overcast skies.
I took the Celebrity Summit from Vancouver into Seward. Since i am not much of a cruise person, I would have liked to have skipped it and saved money. The cruise was very nice however, if you like that type of thing. I tried to make reservations on the Marine Hwy Ferry. These ferries depart from Prince Rupert, Canada, or Bellingham, Washington, and go the same route as the fancy cruise ships...but without the flare. Unfortunately, I didn%26#39;t begin my search until January of this year, and believe it or not, the popular choices were all booked.
However, if you like the idea of cruising, go for it. You may wish to check the cruisecritic.com website for cruise reviews. I think most people prefer to depart from Vancouver. You will hit the popular coastal ports of Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan...and those inbetween.
The inside passage is beautiful, therefore I%26#39;m glad I had an opportunity to experience it.
Hind sight is everything. If I had known the driving was so easy (much easier than NY, believe me), I would have rented a car following the cruise and toured leisurely on my own. I did tour on my own (not with a cruisetrour), but I made my arrangements with the railroad on my own. But come to think of it, the rairoad in Alaska is unique, so again, I%26#39;m glad I experienced it.
There are several regions in Alaska, so I recommend contacting Alaska tourism and reading up on the various regions, and what activities you may enjoy. Do you enjoy fishing, hiking, rafting, cycling, animal viewing, sealife viewing...it%26#39;s all there in Alaska.
Best of luck with your planning. (if you are interested in reading my trip report, click on my name, then go to the ';Back from Alaska'; post). Also, read the other trip reviews on this forum. They will be very helpful.
';I tried to make reservations on the Marine Hwy Ferry. These ferries depart from Prince Rupert, Canada, or Bellingham, Washington, and go the same route as the fancy cruise ships...but without the flare.';
Plus you get to decide where you want to go and for how long. And as a major plus, your on your own, so no herding! :)
Martylup, if you must cruise, I would reccomend what Aquablue did, doign the cruise then doing the land portion on your own.
You will not find many Alaskans telling you to take a cruise. The way to see our beautiful state is on your own and with our help of course :) After my brother%26#39;s cruise last year he commented that he didn%26#39;t plan on buying the boat. Translation: he had to spend ALOT of extra money on excursions (2K) in addition to the already expensive cruise. After the cruise was over , he stayed with us for an additional week. He commented that he enjoyed that part the best. The reason was that he could take the time to really experience the adventure without interference of a schedule.
Here in Southcentral AK, near Anchorage, August is our rainy time. If you do come up on your own, I would encourage you to come very early in the month or wait until the end of August. Happy planning!
OK Based upon the responses to my original post I may be re-thinking the Cruise %26amp; Cruise Tour options.
While a cruise is nice I%26#39;m not sure I need to go to Alaska to take a cruise. The reason I want to go to Alaska in the first place is to see the sights, wildlife, nature, glaciers etc... I thought that a cruise or cruisetour was the best way to do this but I%26#39;m willing to listen to other options.
Is there an easy way to see all those things without a cruise?
I%26#39;m now thinking about the last week of July though the first week of August. How would the weather be than?
If I was to still take a cruise and either before or after explore on our own, what would be a recommended itinerary? Where would we cruise out of and to. What would we than do on land for a week or so?
If we didn%26#39;t cruise can anyone suggest an alternative trip? I%26#39;m not into camping and/or roughing it and I%26#39;m not looking for cheap options. I%26#39;m willing to spend what it would take for a memorial exp and basic comforts.
Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
thanks
Marty
Marty, without a cruise to see wildlife include in your itinerary
1. 9.5 hours cruise from Seward to Kenai Fjords
2. Fly-in day tour from Homer to watch brown bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve
3. Denali National Park and Preserve deserves at least a few days. It is a vast open space with many animals and the tallest mountain if the North America. Mount McKinley is over 20,000 ft high.
Just keep in mind in all these places animals are in their own own environment and roam around large open spaces so it is never guarantee you will see specified number of them or that you%26#39;ll see each species at all. Wherever you go in Alaska always carry your binoculars with you and don%26#39;t drive too fast, look around so you can see animals on the side of the roads while other drivers speed up without noticing huge moose or sheep.
For glaciers take 26 glaciers tour from Whittier
For breathtaking views drive anywhere in Alaska and include in your itinerary Anchorage, Denali, Valdez, Worthington Glacier, Glenn Highway, Homer, Kachemak Bay, Seward, Girdwood.
I suggest you read all posts on the above places to get many great ideas.
Marty, how many people are going to be in your party? Any kids? What are their ages?
There are many options for accommodations in Alaska and you don%26#39;t need to camp if you don%26#39;t want to. Many people rent RV and are very happy with it. For us renting a car and staying in chalets, cabins, lodges or hotels is the way we enjoy Alaska every time. There are many visitors who stay usually in B%26amp;Bs and are very happy with this type of accommodations. It really has to be your decision. What type of accommodation do you think would work for you?
You do not need any travel agent to make your arrangements. Do some searching here on this forum , then post your detailed questions and many helpful posters are always willing to give you their input. Just ask
It would be me and my wife both in our mid-late 50s . We would most likely enjoy staying in lodges, resorts or nice hotels. While I like to drive my wife doesn%26#39;t want to spend hours in a car. Is there a better way for us to get around other than a tour?
Marty
We did our own ';Land Package'; in August. You can read our brief trip report listed under our name (tremblant). Let me know if you can%26#39;t find it.
We did a combination of van service from city to city, train and finally rental car. We were very happy with the combination which gave us some time to relax on the ride and enjoy the scenery and talk to people as well as some time in the car where we could keep our own schedule. We stayed in pretty nice hotels and lodges and enjoyed the combination of our outdoor activities and coming home to a nice room, beautiful view and a glass of wine. We also did a wilderness camping trip for a few days so it was a great balance (we were there celebratiing 60!) If you want specific hotels and car services just let me know. What cities are you going to go to and how long will you stay? We are deffitenly not cruise people so there was no decission there for us.
Hi there! Well, I think it would be easy to plan your own trip to fit your needs without using a travel agent. If you still wanted to cruise, I might do that after the land tour, as I think that would be the ultimate of relaxation. As far as the land portion, I think you could chose a variety of transportation if you didn%26#39;t want to drive the entire time. The train is a lovely and relaxing way to see the state - you could do that for many portions of your trip. The main train legs - Fairbanks,
Denali, Anchorage, Whittier and Seward. One thing I would recommend in seeing Denali would be to stay in one of the lodges in the in Wonder Lake Kantishna area, such as Camp Denali/North Face Lodge; very nice with the emphasis on outdoor education. Not cheap, but a very unique opportunity.
Plenty of good hotels, if you know where to look, as well as some nice B%26amp;B%26#39;s. As you get further in planning where you want to stay, we can help you with recommendations for your lodging as well.
Best of luck! :)
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