ethan

Hi All

I will be traveling to ANC with my 5 year old daughter in Mid September.

My planned itinerary includes a day-trip rail ride from ANC to Seward (and back) and a half-day cruise with Kenai Fjords cruises (as suggested in other threads). The option seems to be between the Kenai Fjords National Park Tour and the Resurrection Bay Wildlife Tour - with Fox Island. What are the main differences between the two? Also, is it better to book the rail & tour package through the rail or tour company?

I was thinking of hiring a bike from alaska-bike-rentals for a few hours in ANC (one with a "trailer" for my daughter) Any recommendations for scenic bike trails that could be done in 3 hours easily (including stops)?

Does anyone offer 'all-inclusive cabins' accessible from ANC or Seward? The kind of place you can just turn up without having to worry about sleeping bags, stoves, etc.

Also, neither of us have been fishing before/ don't have any equipment. Again, is there anywhere in ANC or Seward that would 'show us the ropes' and/or cater for children?

Finally, is there anywhere near ANC or Seward where we could see Huskies?

Thanks

jackal

Hi ethan,

Glad you decided to come to Alaska!

I'm not personally familiar with the Seward day cruises, so I'll have to lave that for someone else to answer. I've only done one cruise out of Whittier. I've heard excellent things about the ones out of Seward, and I know people who have been on both of the ones you mention, but I don't know which is better. (One thing I have heard: the Fox Island one comes with an all-you-can-eat seafood lunch; the quality is fairly good, although you can get better fish at some of the nicer restaurants in Anchorage.)

I'm also not sure whether it's better to book the package through the railroad or the tour company. I'd say price it out both ways (including also maybe booking them separately) and see what comes out cheaper.

I have heard of some "all-inclusive" cabins, but unfortunately I don't know any specifics. Again, I'll have to leave that for someone else who has more experience with those.

Seward is home to many good fishing charters who are completely equipped to take people out who have never been fishing before. I don't personally know which ones are the best ones to use, but I do know that probably dozens of thousands of people who have never fished in their lives go out on these charters and have a blast. You'll be a bit late for the peak of the halibut season, but it might still be worth going out. Try Googling "seward fishing charters." I don't have a specific recommendation on a particular charter to use, but maybe someone here knows a good one.

Last, I think there is a sled dog demonstration in Seward run by one of the Iditarod regulars. I don't know how much time you'll have because you'll be doing the day cruise, but I've heard good things about it. I know that he came to Anchorage this year and did some shows in Anchorage, but I don't know if he'll still be in Anchorage that late in the tourist season or if he'll have retreated back to Seward. If I run across the name of the guy or his show, I'll post it here. Otherwise, try Googling "sled dog show Anchorage" and "sled dog show Seward" to see if anything comes up.

Happy travels and best of luck--I'll be down in your neck of the woods while you're up here!

Gardyloo

Have a look at Mitch Seavey's Ididaride operation at http://www.ididaride.com/. Not only will all your canine encounter needs be met, but they also offer some okay looking cabins (cheap) that might fill the bill.

I personally would hire a car and drive to Seward rather than taking the train. It's an easy (and amazingly scenic) couple of hours, and having a car in Seward will increase your flexibility considerably; e.g. for shopping for grub for the cabin.

jackal

Yup, that's the one I was thinking of.

It's a hard call between the train and a car. The train is quite an experience in and of itself, and the section between Portage and Moose Pass (where it leaves the road alignment and goes off into the wilderness) is very scenic.

However, Gardyloo is right that a car would leave you with much better flexibility and more time to see the things in Seward than you'd have with the train.

My suggestion: stay in Alaska an extra two days and do both!

drat19

This one's a no-brainer and I can speak to it from personal experience last month: Do all or part of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Trust me on this.

See this link (includes photos); click all the links of course, but the pertinent ones are the ones labeled "Coastal North" and "Coastal South". Definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

http://www.trailsofanchorage.com/

beckoa

The Fox Island cruise is aboard a nice vessel, stops at several rookeries, and of course the 'all you can eat' meal too... They actually offer an overnight on the Island which some FT'ers have done recently, that might be inclusive... not sure- I also saw some humpback whales, sea otters & sea lions.

Glaciers are spotted from a distance on the aforementioned voyage

Most others focus on seeing glaciers & marine wildlife


As for the train to SWD... its a little long, but is very scenic, and easy to see wildlife from. I'd say if you like to drive, drive it, otherwise the train works well- and the Alaska Railroad has been running lots of promotions all summer. The train does take a different pass to SWD which makes it interesting, for even the most seasoned Alaskan... but unless they started to offer a bunch of AGR points or AS miles, I'll stick to driving for now on...

And I did successfully bring a king rod to/from ANC-SWD on the train, and no one questioned it a bit (but no success in my fishing though)

fti

The Resurrection Bay cruise does not get out of the bay - so you have calmer waters, but you miss a lot of the wildlife and the glacier viewing. I would suggest the 6 hour Kenai Fjords NP tour. I have taken it twice and it is excellent. If you are prone to seasickness though, I would take precautions. Both trips had people who were sick. The last trip was early in the season (May 2008) and we hit some rough seas. I would say half the boat was feeling it. Fortunately I did OK, even without medications.

The Tony Knowles trail (also known as the coastal trail) in Anchorage is excellent, as was said. You don't need to bike the entire trail. I did about 10 miles each way, so not quite the entire trail. If a clear day and you get lucky, you can even see Mt. McKinley from the trail.

John

faithng

Our family did that this summer. Kids had a blast. The dogs are not all huskies, they use all different kinds. We started out with the sled ride, and then got to meet some of the puppies that will be trained when they get older. There is also a demonstration of the cold gear that the trainers and the dogs wear when they are on the race. That was definitely one of my kids' highlights of the trip.

BTW, we ate at Chinooks, and thought it was way, way overpriced for the quality of the food. My son ordered hot wings, and it was just a few strips of chicken strips doused in some horrifying sauce, which was inedible. Yet, no questions from the waiter as to why the food was left untouched after a few bites. View was amazing, though.

OPFlyer

If we plan to stay in ANC only, do you recommend renting a car or can you explore the down by walking/taxi? If it helps, we are currently booked at the Sheraton.

jackal

It is possible to explore the downtown area on foot, but that's worth, IMHO, a half a day at most. There's so much to see outside of Anchorage (even just a few miles away) that you're not really doing the area justice by staying in town only.

The only touristy thing really worth seeing in Anchorage outside of the downtown area is the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and I'd bet they probably run shuttles between there and downtown.

Djlawman

The Kenai Fjords NP tour is fantastic -- definitely one of the real highlights of our 2 weeks in Alaska. That said -- it might get a little rough for a 5 year old. You'll have to be the judge of that. Resurrection bay will be a lot calmer, although you won't see as much.

OPFlyer

Thanks!

fti

I have taken the Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour twice and am planning on the 9 hour one next June. Just excellent. As I said before, I always see some people sick on these tours, so not only for 5 year old, you need to be prepared if you are prone to seasickness.

Note - there are buy one, get one free coupons in Toursaver ($99) and Northern Lights ($50) coupon books. The savings for just this tour alone more than pays for either book.

John