Seward or Moose Pass?
 

I am planning to spend 3 days 2 nights in seward doing day cruise, glacier etc. Is it better to stay in seward or is it fine if I stay in moose pass and drive to seward for activities. I will have rental and am driving from ANC. Hotels in seward are either booked or 350+ range, so kind of getting out of my budget.

I think it'd be fine. Obviously your choices for meals and lodgings will be far fewer.

When are you visiting? Be careful with Seward around the 4th of July and/or the Silver Salmon Derby in August - many, many humans.

Thanks for the response. Its gonna be around 4th of July. What kind of issues should I anticipate other than delays/traffic ?

There is a huge Independence Day celebration on July 4th. That is why you are having trouble finding lodging. Expect huge crowds meaning tens of thousands of people. Definitely book any activity that you want long in advance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marathon_Race

Much has already been said, but understand the crowds that we are talking about and the Kenai Peninsula does not have the infrastructure to handle that many people.

There are some options in Moose Pass for lodging, one lodge/motels and a few smaller B&B's. If you have not already booked lodging, do it now. I'm surprised there are still rooms available in Seward. As an alternative, check out the Summit Lake Lodge (http://www.summitlakelodge.com/), it is on the Seward Highway in the middle of the Chugach National Forest and is about a 45 mile drive each way to Seward. They have some cabins that you may be able to get at a more reasonable rate.

By comparison, Moose Pass is about 25 miles from Seward. Be aware that once you get on the Seward Highway from the wye (Milepost 38) into Seward that the drive can be very slow in the summer - two lane road with few passing areas. There are some passing lanes that start about milepost 10, but a lot of RV's and tour buses clog the roads. Patience is required!

Based on the calendar, I am assuming that the chaos will start Friday the 30th and probably let up by the 5th - some people may take the whole week off. A lot of camping, drinking, fishing, etc. to be had in the Seward area.

The day cruises are beautiful by the way - I took some folks out last year into the bay and it was well worth the time and cost.

I don't know what days you are planning on, but try to not leave the Seward area by car on the evening of the 4th. In recent years there have been 10 - 15 miles or more of backed up traffic trying to get through the Seward Hwy. near Moose Pass and the Seward/Sterling wye, taking hours to clear. Stay in Seward until late or find another activity to do off the roads until the masses clear out - a majority headed back up towards Anchorage.

Finally, let us know if you are interested in a meet up, or if you are coming over to my neck of the woods on west side of the Peninsula (Kenai/Soldotna, Homer) let me know!

Having spent over a dozen 4th of Julys in Seward, my recommendation would be to avoid Seward around the 4th of July. I've been there many years on the 4th to run Mt Marathon. However if you're more interested in other Seward activities instead of the race then I'd strongly recommend visiting sometime other than around July 4th. Seward is less crowded and less expensive at other times.