Trip to AK, Need Help (Anchorage, Homer: rental car, coupon, rental)

[wmrn43a]

2 of us plan on a trip to AK next year. I have read materials on the various cruise's. I am not much on taking a cruise I want to see the various sights in AK.

Can I take a cruise one way, do our thing for 2-3 weeks and fly back?

Any help on the following would be helpful.

Best time to go?

We want to see the following:
Denali & and stay inside the park at the lodge for 2-3 nights.
Fly and land on Denali.
See other National Parks if worth it.
Glacier's and transportation to take us fairly close.
Bears - Grizzely, black, polar.
Other Wildlife - moose, whales, seals etc.
Take guided hikes for wildlife and vistas. We want to try and take it all in.
Would like to travel much of the state as we can.
No camping.

Trying to do this myself instead of going through a travel agent etc.

Thanks in advance.

[stiffnecked]

Why couldn't you do all those things?? Good luck and have fun.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[bongo]

You can arrange the land portion all on your own. Get a rental car. Secure a good price early then you can always get a better price. Great help for arranging it all is at:

Alaska Forum, Travel Discussion for Alaska - TripAdvisor

Locals will recommend B&Bs, hikes, Denali reservations, suggest itineraries, etc.

Just be sure to get a shuttle bus into Denali, not a tour bus. The tours cost 3 times more & don't go far enough into the park.

[ysr_racer]

Sure, I do it every year:

Alaska 2006

Alaska 2007

Alaska 2008

[trlhiker]

Do what we did on our Alaskan vacation. We flew to Anchorage and rented a car and drove all over taking various day cruises and such. I recommend visiting Seward, Talkeetna, Denali, and if you can the McCarthy/Kennicott area. I used tripadvisor.com to plan where I stayed. I don't recommend Whittier, not much to do there nor Homer because its a long drive unless you plan on a fishing charter. Get yourself a copy of the Northern Light coupon book for next year too, will save you lot of money. Time of year, I recommend either late may/early june or August/early september.

[AKStafford]

If you are road tripping it, pick up The MILEPOST: Alaska Travel Guide and Trip Planner.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by trlhiker

Do what we did on our Alaskan vacation. We flew to Anchorage and rented a car and drove all over taking various day cruises and such. I recommend visiting Seward, Talkeetna, Denali, and if you can the McCarthy/Kennicott area. I used tripadvisor.com to plan where I stayed. I don't recommend Whittier, not much to do there nor Homer because its a long drive unless you plan on a fishing charter. Get yourself a copy of the Northern Light coupon book for next year too, will save you lot of money. Time of year, I recommend either late may/early june or August/early september.

Yup, that's the way we did it, or, there is a group (Rainbow Mountain Adventures) that can arrange all sorts of stuff using this travel plan, we used them for a lot of our trip, it's kinda nice to know that, after you leave one place, someone is expecting you within a vague time frame in another place. As I have heard several times, "lost in Alaska often means dead."

[wmrn43a]

Thanks so far for the info.

For what I have indicated I would like to do does anyone have a ballpark figure what it may cost?

[GuidesinAlaska]

I personally think end of August-September is the best time in Alaska. There seems to be less bugs out. But the best part of all is the colors on the mountains. Especially in September. August/September is also a good time for bear viewing. They're pretty active munching on fish and getting fat for winter. There's also a slightly magical feeling as the snow moves it's way down the mountain and you know winter is on it's way. Though cruises end in Sept. But you can always take the ferry's up. The have cabins to sleep in and there are deals for walk-on's where you can stop at 3-5 places as long as you want and you don't have to buy a new ticket every time so it keeps the cost low.

[trlhiker]

We spent about 7 grand including airfare, B&B's, car rental, dinner out every night, activities, and T-shirts.