bqkali

Your trip seems to be much busier in the first half than the second half. Is it possible for you to rearrange a little bit to make it more balanced? Since you are not taking the ferry between Whittier & Valdez, you will be driving right by the Matanuska Glacier on the drive from Anchorage to Copper Center/Valdez. Could you put the MICA ice hike at this point rather than detouring back to MatSu on the drive south from Denali?
i.e.
18 May - Arrival into ANC, overnight in Anchorage
19 May - Day trip for glacier cruise, overnight in Anchorage
20 May - Drive to MatSu for ice hike, then continue to overnight Copper Center
21 May - Day trip to Valdez & Worthington Glacier, overnight Copper Center
22 May - Copper Center to Fairbanks to Denali, overnight Denali
23 May - Denali shuttle, overnight Denali
24 May - Denali hike/rafting, overnight Denali
25 May - Drive from Denali to Anchorage, including Talkeetna stopover, overnight Anchorage
26 May - Anchorage hike, overnight Anchorage
27 May - Departure

I apologize if you had a reason for the order you had already suggested - just seemed silly to spend time backtracking on the roads when your time is already busy as it is.

Xformers

Thanks for the suggestion bqkali. Yes, this was the other itinerary I had in my mind but I couldnt do it for some reason..I dont remember it exactly but maybe its because Mica Guides are supposed to open on 20th for the season and they didnt have an ice fall hike reservation available on that day (or something like that).

Yes I know the first half is busier than the second half and probably I will try to move some things around. Why would you suggest a complete day for Valdez and Worthington Glacier - is there a lot to do?

Thanks,
Xformers

bqkali

I'm in the process of planning for Valdez for my own 2012 trip, so can't speak from experience yet, just my own research/reading. You could definitely spend a day (or more) in Valdez - there are glacier cruises through Prince William Sound, kayaking, hiking, fishing, etc. It depends on your interests on whether Valdez warrants a quick look or a longer stay Regardless, it's a 4-hour round-trip from Copper Center, not including stops or sightseeing (you mentioned Worthington), so allocating the day doesn't seem unreasonable to me. It makes it easy to stay in the same hotel in Copper Center two nights in a row, also.

I haven't driven between Valdez & Fairbanks, so I don't know if it's possible to find lodging along that route where it might make sense for you to continue on from Valdez instead of stopping for the night in Copper Center. I think it would be far to go all the way to Fairbanks on the same day you visit Valdez, but not out of the realm of possibility to try and head partway.

The one thing I've learned about Alaska on my past trips is that it's easy to get mesmerized. You never know when you're going to see moose on the side of the road and want to just sit and watch for a half hour or when a trail on the side of the road is going to call your name so you can get that perfect photograph...these things aren't possible when you still have 200 miles to cover that night. I have to tell myself to "slow down" while planning on my own trips as well, so I know how hard this can be! But, the flipside of that is you don't get to see as much of the state. Quality vs. Quantity, a very tough decision. I've done both, and enjoyed both. I chose quality for 2012, but who knows - I might be back to quantity in 2013!!

fti

After a couple dozen trips to AK myself, I am also an advocate for quality over quantity. Like you said, there are so many "unexpected" things that come up, especially for someone like me with a keen interest in wildlife and photography. Plus, one accident or road construction site and you sit, sometimes for hours at a time. Two-lane roads, no interstate highways, no "detours."

Reversing the order from Anchorage and going first to Denali then the Richardson Hwy to Copper Center/Valdez/ice hiking would be one way to avoid the backtracking. But my guess is that the itinerary is far enough along that it is probably going to be tough to change (flightseeing booked, etc).

Thanks for the info on the flightseeing discount. If we end up doing that, we will do it from Cantwell with a small operator who will end up being more personal and less expensive. But at this point we are not planning on flightseeing - will only happen if we can book once we get there. Flightseeing is great, but at basically full price I don't book that in advance anymore. With a 2-for-1 coupon, I can live with less than spectacular weather.

The dates for my trip have changed once again. Long story but two travel companions canceled so we pushed the dates back a bit in order to get further into Denali NP. My pretty firm itinerary will probably be:

May 23 arrive ANC, drive to Girdwood, overnight
May 24 PWS cruise, drive to Seward
May 25/26 Seward
May 27 to Homer
May 28/29 Homer
May 30 to Eagle River, overnight
May 31 to Denali
Jun 1/2 shuttle bus to Eielson
Jun 3 to Anchorage, evening flight home

Even with 3 nights in each of three places I have to make hard choices as to what activities to do.