bokill

we are going with our 3 kids, 4,8,10 and will be there from aug 17th till Aug 30..The only thing booked now is the flightg to Anchorage.

Based on your experience, do you think we should omit a 2 day trip to Juneau/Glacier bay that we were planning to book from Anchorage and leave some extra days as rain days.

We were planning on staying in ANC and making day trips to Whittier for Glacier viewing trip and Seward for Kenai Fjords trip and doing these based on the weather prediction. My question is can you get a place on these tours without advance reservations ( using tourbook coupons).

Another day trip to Talkeetna for fliteseeing ( again using tourbook without advance reservations to ensure good weather)

Then visit Denali for 2 days and Homer/Katmai for 2 days..

What do you think of this itenary and can we get seats on the attractions mentioned using tourbook coupon and no advance reservations?

Also is there anything to do in Girdwood or is this where you take the Prince William sound cruise?

Are there any places that I missed that are worth seeing in this itenary?

If anyone can illuminate on this it would be greatly appreciated..thx

BudgetQueen

Frankly, I do not suggest you base yourself out of Anchorage and consider "day trips" to Seward and Talkeetna, especially Seward- it is not a day trip.

You definately need toursaver reservations in advance, there will not likely be any walk up space for Talkeetna flights and Renown is a first time operator, but they aren't going to fill their boat will excessive toursaver coupon users either. They use the smallest boats of the three companies that operate the boat tours. This especially is not a day trip from Anchorage.

You need to make your plans and be prepared for the weather, rather than worrying about it. The weather rarely impacts on Alaska activities you have listed, that would go out in foul weather. They would be canceled by the operator.

I would suggest you also consider if your 4 year old will be able to tolerate Denali Park?? At the very least be certain to have games, DVD player and twice the batteries you think you will need if you are taking the shuttle bus into the park. Wildlife is mostly way off and binoculars are necessary- at least 10 power is my recommendation. There is no "out" except being let off the bus on the side of the road.


As for Juneau and Glacier Bay, you need more than 2 days if this includes the travel days?? I would skip it since you have the opportunity for excellent glacier viewing out of Whittier- not Girdwood as you have listed.

Your places of interest are great- Homer, Seward, Talkeetna, Denali Park, Anchorage, all have plenty to offer and enjoy. I would suggest you plan many stops along the way and be certain to have a copy of THE MILEPOST, a necessary book for Alaska travel, order after 3-06 for the newest copy. Request visitor guides and go with your interests. It's endless in Alaska.

dfrostnh

I don't think you have enough time for a Juneau trip. You will not want to spend much time in Whittier except for the boat trip. The old military buildings aren't picturesque. I would suggest taking the tram ride up Alyeska in Girdwood in the morning and then the trip out of Whittier if you can do both in the same day ... but remember that you have to go thru a one way toll tunnel to get to Whittier so it is only open certain times of the day. From Whittier I would head to Homer. We spent one night in Whittier before the new hotel opened which I expect is a lot nicer. You'll need to spend the night somewhere since the drive to Homer is maybe 4-5 hours. There are a lot of stores and restaurants in Soldotna but after that it's mostly scenery until you get to Homer. Then visit Seward on the way back so you don't have two boat rides in two days. Homer to Seward is about a 3 hour drive. We did not use coupons for our Kenai Fjords trip so we were able to make reservations the afternoon before when we knew the weather was going to be perfect. If you have already seen glaciers on the Whittier trip, I would not recommend the long Kenai Fjords trip. The kids and a lot of adults get bored on the long ride back. This is a great trip to see seals, sea lions, orcas, and lots of birds.
However you split your trip up, you are going to do a lot of driving. Homer is 5 hours south of Anchorage and Denali is 237 miles north of Anchorage. Talkeetna is on the way to Denali. I think the kids can pan for gold at Independence Mine which would be a good stop on the way to Talkeetna.
Keep the car stocked with snacks, water and juices. We hardly ever ate at regular times and tended to eat supper much later in the evening than usual. Hope you have a great trip!

repete

You've got a lot of good advice here.

Day trips from Anchorage arent't a great idea -- especially with kids. If you want to mininize moving the tribe, add Seward to the Homer trip and talkeetna on the way up or back from Denali.

Don't try to squeeze in Juneau/GB on this one. You'll see much of the same on the Whittier PWS glacier cruise and as a town, there's not all that much to Juneau. To make up for a Mendenhall Glacier trip, you can book a trip at Matanuska Glacier or an Exit Glacier trip might be enough. Don't spend much time in Whittier as noted.

An excellent family trip is the Anchorage-Valdez-Whittier drive/ferry trip. Mix in the right stops -- Worthingon Glacier and Blueberry Lake -- and you'll have a trip with just the right breaks for a young crew.

Girdwood has the tram up Mt. Alyeska and gold panning at Crow Creek Mine -- both great for kids. It -- and the Whittier trip -- are easy days trips from Anchorage.

Pat2003

Great suggestions so far.
I agree about Juneau on this trip. You don't have enough time. Besides there is so mauch to do from Anchorage. But stay at least for two or three nights in each Anchorage, Seward, Homer, Denali (with one night in Talkeetna).
I wouldn't even think about taking 4 year old to Denali on a bus but maybe this is just me.
My question is, what activities do you have in mind on your two nights/one full day in Homer? Anything specific? I may have some ideas for you but don't know what you want from Homer.

bokill

You guys are awesome..really great tips so this is what it looks like:

2 nights in Anchorage initially - day trips to Girdwood and Whittier for Cable Car, PWS trip, panning for gold etc.

drive to Homer- 1/2 ?? nights -- dont know what to do here!! something for the kids but all bear watching trips are so expensive!! - any suggestions? on something that is $200pp or less

Drive back to Seward - 1/2 ?? nights - Kenai fjords short trip and Exit glacier.

Drive to Talkeetna - 1 night..mine and fliteseeing

Back to Anchorage -1 night - Portage

skip Denali- too much for 4 year old
what do you think?

Pat2003

Bokill, please, please don't skip Denali, it is an amazing place. Denali, IMHO, is like no other place. Is it possible that one parent agree to go on a bus with two older kids and the other one can drive a short distance to only a place where you cannot drive any further and do other things with your 4 year old? Too bad your older kids would miss Denali.

Stay in Homer at least two nights. Bear watching would be a great activity for 8 and 11 year old but your youngest one is too young. You have to remind quiet for an extended period of time, stay with a group, follow directions, stand or sit often without any movements, pee in a designated spot.

Homer is full of activities for kids. Do you have Milepost? If not borrow it from your library and get many ideas what would suit your family. If you want to get your own Milepost wait until March for the newest edition.

I think that the Wynn'e Nature Center in Homer is a wonderful spot for a walk and lunch.

The Pratt Museum has nice exhibits for you and older kids. Your youngest one will find something there too. There is a nice short nature trail on the back of museum with interesting, although a little peculiar, sculptures,

take a walk on beach and look for rounded stones,
on a beach find a spot where cliff swallows nest and feed their young,
watch ducks swimming (check out a little boardwalk on a back of MacDonald),
take a walk on a beach in a low tide and ask your kids to to lift one of those huge boulders when you or your husband takes an unforgettable photo,
with binoculars look for a moose from the observation deck accross from the airport,
from the same deck try to locate swans on Beluga Lake,
go fishing in the Fishing Hole on a Spit,
take a trip to Halibut Cove,
go on a nature walk with a ranger across the bay,
look for bald eagles on the Spit,
take a taxi boat across the bay and walk to a glacier,
take many pictures of wildflowers,
if you go to Katmai National Park and Preserve tundra should have some beautiful fall colors already,
go to the library and check what activities they have for kids and this is a great place to meet local children.

Pat2003

You can do Portage Glacier and Visitor Center on the way to/from Seward or when you go to Girdwood.

BudgetQueen

For clairfication, don't even bother with a Kenai Fjords trip of less than 6 hours on the water- clearly not even worth the trip there. Orcas are not a given and in fact rare. Varied wildlife is the key here, not a whale watch. My whale sightings have only run about 50% of the many trips I have taken and most always humpbacks.

Request the Homer visitor guide http://akms.com/htguide/
Plenty to see and do.

The split up suggestion at Denali Park is a good one, you may want to consider it? Add the sled dog demo for the 4 year old. But also depending on the kids the 8 year old most likely will be bored too?? Again, be certain, if you go, to take twice the amount of batteries and games with you. It will mostly be all adults on the bus and with wildlife needing silence when spotted- won't be tolerant of disruptive kids. Just take a long hard look at the situation perhaps.

BayouGal

Maybe we had a rare trip on the Northwestern Fjords boat tour last summer, but there were MANY kids on board--about 1/2 the total occupancy--but we did go on Memorial Day weekend. I wouldn't want my 4 yo with me because of the risk of seasickness. The boat wasn't full because our trip was one of the first of the season, so that helped a lot. The kids had the mini nintendos, game boys, etc., for entertainment, plus we saw LOTS of wildlife that kept them occupied. I suggest you phone and talk to them about their boat tours if you really want to try this. I totally agree with BQ--anything less than 6 hrs isn't enough. And no, I wouldn't do anything that there is a toursaver coupon for without advance reservations.