Originally Posted by desi101
Thanks everyone for your input.
From the experts' advice on this forum, I have made some changes to my itenary. First is 11 days trip instead of 10 days. We figured, if we are investing this much time and money - might as well one extra day may help us to cover little more.
Well, I'll put the Stamp of Approval on your itinerary. You'll be glad you spent the extra day and you'll definitely leave having had the time of your life.
Gotta run to work now, so give me a couple to think of anything else I'd suggest. As far as whether or not the drive to the Arctic Circle is worth it, I would say yes--the scenery is stunning (and perhaps slightly haunting--I remember it being barren and rocky). I also like going to these geographical locations (other ones I've been to include the Four Corners, the geographical center of the continental U.S. in South Dakota, the geographical center of North America in North Dakota, and other places like that), but if you don't care much about that, there may not be as much of a reason to go. Perhaps others who have done the drive more recently than I will fill in some info here.
Also, you say in Day 6 that you'll take the 12:15 ferry and be to Whittier by 3pm. Unless they're using the new catamaran (which I think is being used in Southeast or is out of service pending repairs), I remember the ferry ride lasting about 7 hours. If that's right, you'll arrive in Whittier more like 7pm, which should still be fine for getting to Cooper Landing by a reasonable check-in time (9pm or so, perhaps). Make sure to verify the arrival time and the tunnel schedule, just in case--I know they close the tunnel at night, but I'm sure they keep it open at least that late so that the ferry traffic can leave Whittier.
Have fun! Gotta run...