Alaska in May?
 

Thinking way ahead, my wife and I are thinking of going to Alaska for a week in May. We'd arrive on a Saturday afternoon and depart the following Sunday morning. I'm thinking of flying to ANC and visiting Denali for two days and Seward and Kenai Fjords for a day. Is this doable, or too ambitious?

Also, does the bus trip into Denali happen during May? We're thinking of the 13th to 21st or the 20th to 28th.

Any other must-sees on a 7 day trip centering around ANC?

Alternatively, what would your ultimate 7 day itinerary be in Alaska, flying into ANC, FAI, KTN, or JNU? I'm having a hard time deciding if ANC is even the best place to start/end the trip.

[edited to add: I am aware that Alaska is far too big to see in a week. I just want to figure out the best slice to sample for a week. I plan on returning eventually. :D ]

Alaska in May
 

May can be a gorgeous month up here; in fact, May and June usually contain our best weather vs. the normally rainier month of August.

Denali usually doesn't kick into gear for tourism until right around the Memorial Day weekend. Park concessionaire shuttle busses and tours usually run around then with major park hotels opening about a week before. If you have a car, you can stay north of the park headquarters in Healy which has several nice low-key lodges and bed and breakfasts.

The boat trips into Prince William Sound (Whittier departure) and Kenai Fjords (Seward) do start going earlier in the month. One operator out of Seward runs year round (usually confined to Resurrection Bay trips) while another starts outstanding whale watch excursions in April.

If you only have a week, Anchorage is an excellent base. Hotel rates will be on shoulder season as should rental cars. One of the best drives is down the Seward Highway to Seward (a national scenic highway) with stops at the Alyeska Resort/Girdwood and the Begich-Boggs visitor center at Portage Lake/Glacier (probably only open on weekends until later in May). Continue to Seward and visit the Sealife Center and Exit Glacier (probably spend the night in Seward - small town and easy to get around).

Afterwards, continue down the Sterling Highway to the town of Homer, one of the prettiest places in Alaska. Plenty of accommodations as well. You might want to take a day trip over to Seldovia.

As far as Anchorage, we have the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Anchorage Museum, both of which can consume several hours. Further north is is agricultural community of Palmer in the Matanuska valley as well as rapidly growing Wasilla where you can visit the Iditarod museum. Further north on the Parks highway (under 2 hours) is the spur road to Talkeetna, where planes leave taking climbers to Denali. If ever there was an inspiration for the Northern Exposure tv show, this is it.

The scenic Alaska Railroad runs trips on weekends until mid-May when they go into full operation. Trips are then offered to Denali, Seward, and Whittier (the latter destinations the source of small boat cruises).

An extra bonus is that airfares can be significantly cheaper before the tour season arrives although flight options are usually a bit more limited until the airlines add extra flights for the summer.

I hope this information helps. If you need to know more, a good source is the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.anchorage.net

Thanks for the advice!

We visited Alaska few years ago in mid-May and took a Southbound nine day cruise from Seeward to Vancouver.
Flew in Anchorage and took the bus-tour to Denali with a stop in Talkeena on the way up.
Are sure you want to drive? Though the scenery is beautiful the drive itself could be a bit boring and rest stops/restaurants are pretty far between.
When we got to Denali the park etc was just being opened for the first Spring visitors.
The Denali Park/Mt Mckinley tour run by the Park Service was great and I also recommend the visit to the Jeff King ( multiple Iditerod winner) kennels.
You also can take the train there and on to Fairbanks and back or alternately the bus and train each one way.

As far as other tours the Alaskan Scenic train from Skagway to Prince Rupert is must ( saw bears from the train) and the Wildlife Boat tour from Juneau was the highlight of the trip. Saw lots grey whales, tons of eagles ( about 15 sitting in one tree) and about 15 to 20 killer whales, some which came up about 5 feet from the boat.

Note also it snowed just about the entire way from Anchorage to Seward.

mike

Due to several factors, we've settled for sure on the week of May 20-28 (returning home the day before Memorial Day). That week, should I be certain to have hotels booked well in advance? Or will it be possible to leave some (most?) days open and look for lodging wherever we happen to end up?

Skagway-Prince Rupert Has No Train
 

It would be nice if there were a Skagway to Prince Rupert train, but alas, there is none. So, presumably, no bears were seen from the non-train.

In truth, snow on the Seward Highway in May is rare. Stop at the Double Muskey in Girdwood for a wonderfu meal en route -- perhaps after a glass of wine at the top of the ski lift at Alyeska.

Sorry about that bet on a horse in the UK (which won) named Prince Rupert and we passed Prince Rupert on the voyage south so I obviously had a mental block :D

The bears were there, even if I was on the wrong train :D

Take the train to WHITEHORSE you can do the return trip by bus.

mike