My friends and I are planning a trip to Alaska in the first week of Sept.

Its our first visit to Alaska but we've worked out a tentative itinerary thanks to all invaluable posts on this forum.


Would greatly appreciate any feedback on our proposed itinerary:

Day1: Land early evening in Anchorage & drive to Seward (3.5 hrs drive)

Day2: Day Cruise + Exit Glacier

Day3: Alaska Sea Life center + Seward to Homer (4 hrs drive) + Homer to Cooper Landing (2.5 hrs)

Day4: Cooper Landing to Denali via Alyeska (6.5 hrs drive)

Day5: Denali Tour + Denali to Fairbanks (2 hrs drive)

Day6: Fairbanks to Valdez (8 hrs drive)

Day7: Valdez to Anchorage (6.5 hrs drive) + Late night departure



Here are some questions that we are wrestling with and could use some inputs.

-- Feasibility of overall itinerary? Too much driving?

-- Quality of cell phone coverage (Sprint & Verizon)

-- Typical weather & driving conditions in first week of September

-- Any must see spots along these roads that we absolutely need to cover?

-- Other than Denali & Seward we don't intend to do advance booking in Cooper Landing, Fairbanks & Valdez). Hoping it will give us maximum flexibility if weather conditions force a change in plans. Is it feasible given its the shoulder season?

-- Day3: Worth going to Homer just to enjoy the drive? Instead of driving to Homer is there anything else we can do in Seward for the day?

-- Day4: Detour to Talkeetna worth it?

-- Day6: Is Fairbanks to Valdez doable in a day? Especially with all the scenic spots along the way


I understand the questions are too numerous but any insights on any specific parts will also be much appreciated.

Thanks!

If you want to see the roads of Alaska, your itinerary is fine. If you want to see Alaska, I think you are nuts

You didn't mention much of what you are doing in the places. Seward to Homer to Cooper Landing. Why in the world are you going to Homer? I assume just "for the drive." If you don't get out on the water for a tour or go hiking or fishing, I see no reason to do that. And who is "we"? Two active adults? Seniors? Family with kids? If kids, what ages?

And Anchorage to Denali can easily be 5 hours without stops (traffic, road closures, construction, slow RV's etc). Then if Mt. McKinley is "out" you will be stopping to take photos, etc. From Cooper Landing I would leave at least 8 hours. The Seward Highway is known to be closed for hours due to an accident. Two-lane road and no other way to "bypass" in case of problems. And if you add Alyeska, you are adding another hour or two. Plus you need to stop in Anchorage or Wasilla on your way to Denali to pick up supplies for your trip into the park.

Be sure in Seward to take a day cruise that is at least 6 hours - no less! Anything less and you don't get out of the bay.

You mentioned "Denali tour" which I assume you mean Tundra Wilderness Tour? I would take the shuttle BUS (not tour). Costs 1/3 of the price and get you much further into the park. The fall colors should be incredible that time of year. And with the shuttle, you can hop off and on at will to hike, etc. Bring all your own food and water (water is refillable at Eielson but no food in the park). Even on the Tundra Tour where they give you a small box lunch, many people take their own food along.

Another issue is Fairbanks and Valdez. You take an 8 hour or longer shuttle bus in Denali, 2 hours to Fairbanks. The next morning you drive from Fairbanks to Valdez. But you missed Fairbanks - the pipeline exhibit, the excellent Museum of the North, the Large Animal Research Center, the gold mine, the Public Lands Information Center and more. Same with Valdez. A highlight in Valdez is a glacier tour into Prince William Sound (different from the Seward tours that emphasize marine wildlife). I can't imagine driving through Fairbanks and Valdez and seeing basically nothing!!

>>-- Feasibility of overall itinerary? Too much driving?

Way too much driving. I will give my proposed itinerary below

>>-- Quality of cell phone coverage (Sprint & Verizon)

I use T Mobile and now get coverage on most of the main roads in Alaska but it is spotty between Talkeetna and Denali.

>>-- Typical weather & driving conditions in first week of September

No "typical" weather really. Whenever I go to Alaska from May to September I pack for warm sunshine as well as cold and rain. Layers is the key, with the outer layer being rainproof. Bring hat and gloves for the Kenai Fjords day cruise from Seward. It will get cold at the glacier.

>>-- Any must see spots along these roads that we absolutely need to cover?

Honestly you don't have time for stops with all that driving

>>-- Other than Denali & Seward we don't intend to do advance booking in Cooper Landing, Fairbanks & Valdez). Hoping it will give us maximum flexibility if weather conditions force a change in plans. Is it feasible given its the shoulder season?

Well, shoulder season really is not until mid September. And with Labor Day weekend thrown in there, you WILL be smack in the middle of high season.

>>-- Day3: Worth going to Homer just to enjoy the drive? Instead of driving to Homer is there anything else we can do in Seward for the day?

See below

>>-- Day4: Detour to Talkeetna worth it?

I like Talkeetna for a lunch stop.

>>-- Day6: Is Fairbanks to Valdez doable in a day? Especially with all the scenic spots along the way

Doable to drive there but not to drive there Day 6 and depart Day 7. When I drive to a place, I also want to DO something there!

How about something like this?

Day 1 land early evening. You won't get your luggage and car until about 1 hour later. Then you will want to stop for food. The drive from Anchorage to Seward is incredibly scenic. By leaving at say 8pm you will miss much of the scenery (sunset is before 9pm in early September). I would overnight in Anchorage or Girdwood. Girdwood is nice due to your mention of Alyeska.

Day 2 do Alyeska today (lift, hike, hand tram?), drive to Seward. Could stop at Exit Glacier or Sealife Center today depending on your arrival time. The Portage Glacier Visitor Center or Wildlife Conservaton Center are worth stops too, either today or Day 3/4.

Day 3 day cruise and Exit Glacier. If you took the 8am cruise, you could even drive to Girdwood or Anchorage this evening after visiting the Sealife Center and Exit Glacier.

Day 4 Girdwood or Anchorage to Denali. Stop in Talkeetna for lunch. Maybe flightseeing if you want - great flightseeing trips from here to Denali.

Day 5 shuttle bus to Wonder Lake or Eielson. I would book to Wonder Lake and if the Mountain is not "out" get off at Eielson and catch another bus back to the entrance. If you get a 7.30am bus, you are back at the entrance by 7pm at the latest if you go to Wonder Lake, drive to Fairbanks, arrive by 10pm.

Day 6 some of the things mentioned above depending on your interest.

Day 7 long drive back to Anchorage (I would allow 8-9 hours and check in at the airport 2 hours before departure unless you have elite status then you can reduce that by at least 1/2 hour.

Honestly, if it were *me* I would skip Fairbanks altogether. Then I would overnight Day 5 in Denali again. Day 6 drive back toward Anchorage to the Matsu Valley. Wasilla, Palmer, Independence Mine, Matanuska Glacier. A neat activity is to hike on the glacier with Mica or Nova guides. Day 6 overnight can be somewhere in this area. Day 7 drive back to Anchorage for your flight. Some things to do on the way depending on what your interests are. Also, lots to do in Anchorage too (Native Heritage Center is excellent, coastal trail for walking or bicycling, museums, hiking trails, etc).

John

John - Thanks for your insightful feedback. Have to say your inputs saved us from embarking on a too-ambitious-to-be-feasible plan.

It took me a while to respond as we (4 opinionated adults!) debated and worked out another schedule incorporating your inputs. With hindsight the schedule we had planned earlier was nuts and you were right to call us out on it :-)

Two things are clear to us:

--- We do realize 6 days only leaves enough time to enjoy Denali & Seward. Nevertheless we included Valdez hoping just the drive on the Richardson Highway & the ferry ride itself will be worth the extra effort.

-- Drive times can vary considerably as shown say on Google Maps due to traffic conditions, plenty of sight seeing spots etc. Will keep enough buffer to cover eventualities.


Here is what the schedule now looks like (with drive times as per Google Maps indicated):


Day1: Land early evening in Anchorage. Overnight in Anchorage.

Day2: Anchorage to Seward via Alyeska (3.5 hrs drive). Stop at Exit Glacier. Overnight in Seward.

Day3: Cruise in Seward. Alaska Sea Life Center. Overnight in Seward.

Day4: Seward to Whittier (3 hrs drive) for 12:45pm ferry reaching 3:30pm to Valdez. No glacier tour needed as the ferry ride should cover it. Onward to Copper Center (3 hrs drive). Overnight in Copper Center.

Day5: Copper Center to Denali (7 hrs drive). Overnight in Healy.

Day6: Denali shuttle bus tour. Overnight in Healy.

Day7: Healy to Anchorage via Talkeetna (6 hrs drive). Late night departure

You did provide some excellent options on things to do which we need to figure out on incorporating in the schedule. Any additional thoughts/insights will be most welcome.

Thanks again for allowing us novices to benefit from your expertise.

I think your revised schedule is quite doable.

I wouldn't worry about a glacier cruise in Whittier if you're doing the ferry. The ferry won't take you up to the glaciers like the day cruise will, but they do get within sighting distance of Columbia Glacier (and if you have a nice captain, he may take you a bit closer to Columbia Glacier than you would normally go), and you'll likely have seen glaciers on your day cruise in Seward. That said, don't expect to see tons of glaciers on the ferry ride.

Also, Google Maps suggests equal driving times from Copper Center to Healy via the Denali Highway (Paxson to Cantwell) as the Glenn Highway to the Parks Highway (via Palmer/Wasilla). Don't be fooled, though: the Denali Highway is a LONG drive through a VERY desolate region. You're not likely to pass more than a few cars going the opposite way through the entire stretch. It's also on the restricted list of roads from every major rental company, since it's not paved and the chance of damage is far likelier (and you're in for a VERY expensive tow bill if something happens--that is, if you can even get ahold of a towing company, since there is NO civilization and NO cell phone coverage on the entire stretch of the Denali Highway). Due to this, I'd definitely plan on going a lot slower than Google Maps suggests, making the Glenn/Parks a much speedier and safer alternative. That said, it is a beautiful drive through a desolate moonscape and is an awesome introduction to the raw wilderness of Alaska. Just be prepared--know how to change tires, bring a can of gas, and have blankets and emergency supplies in case you do get stuck.

Oh, and yes, I think the short detour to Talkeetna is worth it, if just for the kitschy factor and the chance to see a real Alaskan mountaineering town in action. (Watch for the numerous flights taking off with people bound for glaciers and base camps and all that!)