Originally Posted by
l'etoile
I will be in Anchorage for basically two days. One of those days I'm contemplating either a flightseeing/float plane tour or the 26 Glaciers cruise.
It seems I'd see more on the flightseeing tour in less time, I wouldn't have the drive to catch the cruise and, well, I've never been in a float plane so that's appealing.
Curious if posters to this forum have experienced both and which they would recommend. I realize the flight would be considerably more expensive, but the upsides seem worth it to me, unless the cruise is truly a much better experience.
Advice?
Another question ...should I rent an SUV for mid-May or will a regular car be OK? Will only be driving around ANC and probably to Whittier for cruise. (Leaning toward doing cruise and flightseeing.)
I've never done an official flightseeing flight, but I have done the 26 Glacier Cruise. I have, however, piloted a small aircraft between Anchorage and Talkeetna (though I never did finish it up and get my actual private pilot license) and have seen McKinley from the air on a clear day. No contest, I think: do the flightseeing trip--if it's a clear day. (On a cloudy day, however, the 26 Glacier Cruise is a great fallback.)
Although we had a surprise 22 inches of snow fall last weekend, the ground should be completely snow- and ice-free by the time you get up here and a regular car will get around just fine.
I'll be out of town May 13-20 and again May 25-28, but if you're in town outside of those dates, PM me and we'd love to host a dinner or something for you! (Actually, even if you're here when I'm gone, the rest of the ANC FT crew would, I'm sure, be happy to meet up with you!)