<p>Piggle’s mom posting </p>
<p>We plan to go to alaska in August for 7-10 days vacation. We plan to fly . For those who visited alaska can you recommend “the must see sites” ?
We plan to take escorted tours if possible & ride the rail, if necessary .</p>
<p>Have you considered flying into Seattle or Vancouver BC and taking a cruise to Alaska?</p>
<p>Wow! We did this vacation five years ago and I have to say that it was our most memorable. Not our best vacation (that was Banff), but our most memorable. The thing that made the Alaska vacation different from all others was the experience. You will really begin to understand why it is and always will be the last frontier.</p>
<p>I believe that it would be difficult to have a real Alaska experience on a cruise ship or crusie ship run train, but that’s me! What really made the experience was talking to the people who live there. Everyone who lives there loves to share their stories about why they moved there. And it is the friendliest place we have ever visited!</p>
<p>Be prepared. It is expensive! An economy hotel at the airport in Anchorage was $265 at that time. We camped much of the two weeks that we were there, landing at the Anchorage airport and stopping by Walmart to buy a tent, etc. You will find that there are not a lot of hotels as you drive along. The hotels and shops at Denali are all owned and operated by the cruise lines!</p>
<p>Tourists all seem to visit the same areas because those are the areas that are accessable due to the terrain. In fact, we met and ran into the same tourists in one area and met them again hundreds of miles away! </p>
<p>We loved the Kenai **<strong><em>ula along the coast and Denali. You will want to take a whale watching cruise on the Kenai *</em></strong>*ula and hopefully there will still be an area that has salmon running in August so that you can go salmon fishing with a guide. The Talkeetna area is interesting for a day. There you can learn about the staging that takes place before individuals climb Denali. Everywhere we went we tried to take in national park programs that were offered.</p>
<p>I suggest you check with Trip Advisor.com, where you will find tons of suggestions.</p>
<p>One last suggestion: be sure to take mosquito repellant and lots of it. Have fun!</p>
<p>We did this a few years ago and had a fantastic time. We started in Anchorage where we rented a van. We drove down the Kenai Peninsula staying in Homer and in Seward. In Seward, we took the Kenai Fjords boat trip, which was absolutely fantastic seeing lots of wildlife and glaciers. Seward also has a very nice aquarium downtown. </p>
<p>From there we went to Denali National Park. Also fantastic wildlife viewing. And we did a great circle route going to Fairbanks, then over to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and down to Valdez. </p>
<p>I’d say that the Prince William Sound boat trip was the highlight of our trip, and was better than the boat trip out of Seward, primarily because of the weather. In Valdez we had a crystal clear day and the glaciers were a clear blue, there were lots of whales, seals, otters and dolphins. </p>
<p>Alaska is easily driveable. With a little planning you will easily find wonderful restaurants, great hotels and plenty of gas stations. </p>
<p>I’d book reservations now. When we went some places were already booked in February for July. Take a warm jacket, gloves and a knit hat. It can be cold, especially on the boat trips. </p>
<p>Hope you have a great time.</p>
<p>We did a cruise before ( not to alaska )- H & Piggle do not want that. We plan to fly from seattle (have lots of freq. miles ). </p>
<p>I will check out trip advisor. We were waiting for this trip for long time , & want to do as much as possible. </p>
<p>Foodwise- are there any veget. options available ( Piggle & dad are vegetarians )</p>
<p>Yes. There will be plenty of vegetarian options. Every restaurant had at least one. And lots of salmon, if that’s something they’ll eat. </p>
<p>As the other poster said, in Anchorage, hotels are very expensive for what you get. A Super 8 was over $200. Oddly enough our nicest stays were also the cheapest. We stayed at the Princess Hotel in Copper River. I don’t remember exactly the price but it was a bargain. The Mt. McKinley Princess was also nice and less expensive than what you’d think. I think the secret is to book on a night when the tour buses aren’t there and they have lots of rooms to spare. </p>
<p>We also booked the boat tours out of Seward and Valdez and the national park bus in Denali months ahead.</p>
<p>We did a cruise from Vancouver up the Inside Passage on Regent. Absolutely loved it … and while you don’t meet a lot of locals, you are off the ship every day. You could also tack on a week on the Anchorage end and tour yourself. </p>
<p>I did not get to go to the Earthquake museum in Anchorage – but I remember seeing the National Geographic photos from 1964 and given the current earthquake situation in Japan, I would think that seeing the Alaskan version from almost 50 years ago would be fascinating.</p>
<p>Our favorite was Glacier Bay NP.</p>
<p>For 7-10 days, you need to choose either the “mainland” by flying into anchorage, or the southeast, which would mean flying to Juneau, Sitka or one of those places. For 7-10 days and a first trip, I’d recommend flying to Anchorage. From there, drive south and spend 4-5 days on the Kenai Penninsula. You could take a boat trip on Prince William Sound out of Whittier, and there is lot’s to do and see in Seward and Homer. Then, drive north to Denali and spend a day on the shuttle bus in the park, either to Wonder Lake or the Eilson vistor center. For Denali, I’d recommend staying in Healy, about 15 minutes to the north and much less touristy. </p>
<p>It’s fairly expense, but plan some splurges. A flight seeing trip around Mt. Denali (out of Talkeetna), with our without glacier landing, is worth every penny. Even more expensive would be flying to one of the special bear viewing places. At least do a flight seeing trip somewhere. </p>
<p>If you are the outdoors type, a day of kayaking is also spectacular. You don’t need any experience.</p>
<p>Thanks. We were saving for this trip for quite some time & are willing to splurge.
The itinearary you gave sounds great. One of the best experience in USA ( at least for me ) is visiting national parks- we hope to do that in alaska
The only other concern for me is accessibility of medical facilties - anyone familair with hospitals / other medical facilities ??
My youngest has some medical issues.</p>
<p>I’d second the Healy suggestion. We stayed in Motel Nord Haven there three years ago. Reasonably priced and quiet. Away from Denali’s glitter gulch and all the tour buses.</p>
<p>One option for housing in Anchorage is at the university:</p>
<p>[Summer</a> Guest Housing](<a href=“Events & Conferences | Event Services | University of Alaska Anchorage”>Events & Conferences | Event Services | University of Alaska Anchorage)</p>
<p>The rooms setup is nicer than your standard dorm with a semi-private bathroom. I’m not sure if the university in Fairbanks offer room rentals, but most there are more dorm style.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for this thread. On my bucket list!</p>
<p>My sister lives in Alaska so we visit fairly often and have done the touristy things in the past.</p>
<p>We did enjoy the glacier cruise in Seward and were able to see a whale close up. We also went to the aquarium. If you have visited other aquariums it’s probably something you can skip.</p>
<p>The Homer spit is something to see and say you’ve been there.</p>
<p>A few of the things we did when my son was younger (and I enjoyed too) were the reindeer farm, the musk ox farm and wolf country. All are near Palmer about 45 miles from Anchorage.</p>
<p>[Reindeer</a> Farm](<a href=“http://www.reindeerfarm.com/]Reindeer”>http://www.reindeerfarm.com/)
[Front</a> Page](<a href=“http://www.muskoxfarm.org/]Front”>http://www.muskoxfarm.org/)
[Untitled</a> 3](<a href=“http://www.wolfcountryusa.com/]Untitled”>http://www.wolfcountryusa.com/)</p>
<p>Denali is something you should plan on doing. My mother was a nervous wreck when the bus was going up the mountain road but it was worth it.</p>
<p>My son loved going out charter fishing for halibut. I think the guide we used was out of Anchor Point. He also enjoys salmon fishing when he gets a chance to go. It’s fun to watch the commercial fisherman clean the fish when they come into the docks.</p>
<p>He also really enjoyed the ATV / 4 wheel drive tour my sister took him on in one of the national parks. I’d have to check with her which one as he made that trip up there himself. Another favorite was hiking on a glacier.</p>
<p>According to my son Club Paris had THE BEST burger and fries anywhere. They are located in downtown Anchorage. I agree with him that the food is good. He’d eat there every meal if he could.</p>
<p>[Club</a> Paris: Alaska’s Premier Steakhouse](<a href=“http://www.clubparisrestaurant.com/index.html]Club”>http://www.clubparisrestaurant.com/index.html)</p>
<p>Someone previously mentioned the earthquake museum,. It’s OK but pricey and very touristy. </p>
<p>Just an FYI most places including hotels do not have air conditioning. Generally, it’s not needed. </p>
<p>We find the best time to go is June before the bugs get bad and when the days are long. It surprised me how many businesses stay open really late and/or are open on Sundays</p>
<p>I live in Anchorage. Do not miss the Alaska Native Cultural Center. It’s one of our best. A day of sea kayaking is also wonderful. You can do it out of Seward or Whittier or Homer. Take the Alaska Marine Highway somewhere. Lot’s of wildlife to be seen. <a href=“http://www”>www</a>. ferryAlaska.com</p>
<p>My H made a bucket list of places to visit in US when we moved from UK .
Alaska was on the top. Due to financial reasons , we could not do it for some time. this is the year we plan to do it.
Thanks for the tip on alaska native center - we usually try to visit cultural center wherever we go.</p>
<p>Yes, don’t miss the cultural center. I went to Anchorage 20 years ago and that is what I remember most.</p>