The glacier landing flight out of Talkeetna is quite a bit cheaper than from Anchorage. K2 in Talkeetna is basically the same company as Rusts in Anchorage. Other options are Talkeetna Air Taxi, Talkeetna Aero and Sheldon Air Service.

Not sure it is really worth the extra 4 hour roundtrip drive for the savings. Plus the tour is shorter.

For people in the know, if you have a choice of the Crowne Plaza - Midtown or Holiday Inn Express, which would you choose and why? Looking to redeem points for our Anchorage hotel stay.

Thanks for starting the this thread, wharvey. Lots of interesting feedback here.

My wife, myself, and my 11yo daughter may get one 24 day's layover at ANC, starting 1pm on on Saturday July 18th. I've booked a night using points at the Sheraton, using SPG points (referenced above as the place with the best views).

I hope you won't mind, OP, if I "butt in" to ask the folks here how best spend one ridiculously short visit with family on July 18? It hardly seems worth creating a new thread running concurrently with this one. Thanks!

Highly recommend Rust's. we had an excellent flightseeing trip with them in March.

Glad to hear... everyone seems to love them!

Well, Rust's went down to me.... just got an email that they confirmed our trip "in error" a few weeks ago and can now not accommodate us on our final day flightseeing trip. SIGH

So, now going to do a K2 tour the final morning in Talkaneeta before driving back to Anchorage.

So, final questions for the experts.

We are now driving up towards Denali on August 27th and will do a full day shuttle bus tour on August 28th. We will then drive down to Talkaneeta at the end of the day and stay overnight before our flightseeing tour the morning of August 29th.

So, hopefully the final questions:

1. Any inexpensive hotel recommendations in Denali or Talkaneeta? Or in neighboring towns? I do not believe there are any Hiltons, Marriotts or IHG properties, so point stays are out unfortunately.

2. Should we book the shuttle bus in advance? Is that even possible?

Oh you betcha. http://www.reservedenali.com/

Bummer about Rust's flaking on you.

You're probably facing slim pickings for Talkeetna lodging on this short notice. You might look for B&Bs as bigger places are likely to be packed with cruisetour people.

All the flightseeing companies have tour minimums (usually 4 people) so apparently no one else was confirmed so they canceled you.

I also definitely recommend pre-booking the shuttle bus. Late August is prime fall color season and the buses will be quite full. I suggest booking to Eielson (8 hours or so round trip).

I also suggest trying to schedule the flightseeing from Talkeetna for the day you travel from Anchorage to Denali. That way if it gets canceled (more likely due to weather from Talkeetna than tour minimums) you have the chance to reschedule it for the return trip.

Crow's Nest Cabins are close to the park entrance and recently renovated. Not sure about price. McKinley Creekside Cabins are about 15 miles south of the park entrance and fairly reasonably priced with a good restaurant attached. Totem Inn, Motel Nordhaven and White Moose Lodge, all in Healy (10 miles north of the park entrance) are less expensive than many places and are all clean.

Not sure about Talkeetna. I would check their town website for options. The Talkeetna Roadhouse has private rooms if you don't mind a family style shared bathroom (shared with others, but only one person uses it at a time).

Actually, they told us they were "overbooked". I have a feeling a larger group wanted our time.... so we got bumped.

Question.... any idea if we should try to do a morning or evening flightseeing trip?

Planning to do the Grand Tour option with Glacier Landing.

https://flyk2.worldsecuresystems.com...rand-tour.html

Wow that is too bad. Overbooked but no compensation?

The Denali Grand Tour should be great. I took a similar one from the Denali area in late May.

I don't think it really matters too much morning or evening. However by late August there is a significant amount of darkness - sunrise is about 6.30am and sunset about 9.30pm. Just so long you are within those parameters, which I am sure they would be.

If you want a true Alaskan experience, you should stay at Trapper John's Cabin (owned by the Talkeetna Roadhouse).

Outsiders may say that it is old and rundown, but here in Alaska we say it is rustic and has character.

https://www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com/cabins.html

Have you considered a bear fly out tour from Anchorage?

If the mountain is out, definitely check in at K2 in Talkeetna on the way up. If they have empty seats you may get a good deal on a walk up price.

In Anchorage the Cultural Center is very well done if you enjoy museums/cultural info

http://www.alaskanative.net/

Outside Anchorage we always enjoy Hatcher Pass for some good scenery or a day trip out to Matanuska Glacier is always possible.
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/ha...atcherpass.htm
https://micaguides.com/

Silver salmon fishing on the Deshka River should be in full run (in Willow =>90 minutes from Anchorage)
http://www.akfishermanschoice.com/Ta...itna-River.php

Ah, how lucky to find this thread. I just reserved a week-long cruise for next July, from Vancouver up through the inside passage with about 7 port stops, ending in Seward, Alaska. From there I intend to take a train (not sure which route) to Anchorage. I'll fly into Vancouver, and home from Anchorage.

I'm thinking of devoting 2.5 weeks to the trip, possibly 3. I've never been to Alaska, and have only spent about 4 hours in Vancouver. So, I could spend a few days in/around each of Vancouver, Seward, Anchorage. Or perhaps less in one or 2 of these places, and more in the others. There are some great recommendations in this thread about what to do/see from Anchorage. Any other suggestions for Seward? One of the things I'll need to figure out is how much time to spend in/around each of these 3 cities. Thx tls

I would not spend too much time in/around Anchorage. Lots more to do/see outside of Anchorage. Have you considered Denali or Homer in addition to Seward in southcentral AK?