Alaska short 1week trip - Suggestions Please!

<p>We just bought air tickets SFO-ANC and back for a week's trip. We are a group of 2 couples (one of the ladies is 5months pregnant). I need some advice and suggestions on what we can see and do. Our primary interests are wildlife watching, photography and light hiking to see scenic spots like glaciers, lakes etc. I understand that the daylight hours are going to plentiful and a few friends suggested getting a small RV to get around comfortably. The only thing on my mind is Denali, but am open to other suggestions. We understand Alaska is a "big" state and don't plan or aim to cover a wide area. This is going to be our 1st trip, but certainly not going to be the last. Please let me know about possible itineraries that we can do. I want to get started on the booking to at least guarantee accommodation/tour space.</p>

Based on those factors, three suggestions:

 

1) Kenai Peninsula

2) Kenai Peninsula

3) Kenai Peninsula

 

Easy Bonus: Points on the way there from Anchorage such as spots along Turnagain Arm, Portage Pass area ect.

<p>something you may consider is touring Kenai for couple of days and then taking the Marine Ferry from Whittier to Valdez which is a pretty nice, leisurely day on the water. Spend the night in Valdez and in the morning set out early for a spectacular drive back toward anchorage. You are expand that route a bit depending on how you allocate your time. TripAdvisor's Alaska forum is another good place to ask this question. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html</p>

<p>With one week to spend, you need to choose between going north (Talkeetna, Denali State Park, Denali Nat'l Park, Fairbanks) and going south (Turnagain Arm, Serward, Kenai, Homer, etc). You don't have time to do both, but that's OK if you intend to go back.<br>

North - Talkeetna is a cool little town (where Northern Exposure was filmed) and is the main place to get airplane rides around Mt McKinley. Denali State Park is small, but offers some spectacular views if the mountain is out. From the south side of the range you can see the mountain from its base at 400 feet to its summit at 20,400 feet.<br>

Look for small glacial ponds along the road going north - moose love them.<br>

Denali Nat'l Park - the Kantishna shuttle is the best viewing IMHO, but it's a school bus ride 12 hours long and might not be viewed with such praise by those among you who are pregnant. If a shorter trip is in order, look into the tours - they are a few hours in duration and much more limited in subject and how far they go in the park. Look on line for specifics.<br>

Fairbanks - North Pole is the name of a suburb on the south side of Fairbanks, and it is decorated year-round. There's a really large Christmas store there that some in your group may like. My wife loved it.<br>

South -watch for beluga whales along Turnagain Arm. If it's low tide, do not be tempted to walk out onto the flats. It's soft mud, you'll get stuck, and the tide will be back shortly. Around the eastern end of the Arm there a wildlife conservancy with a small admission where you can see up close the kinds of animals you can see at a distance in the wild.<br>

Seward has Exit Glacier, small by Alaska standards, but you can walk right up to it and touch the ice. Not easy to do that anywhere else I know of.<br>

There are great day tours from Seward to the Kenai Fjord, but motion sickness should be considered. Catamarans are easier on this than single hull boats. Lots of wildlife, glaciers, scenery is all Alaska - well worth it if there won't be a comfort problem.<br>

Depending on when you are going, there's likely to be a salmon run on one or more rivers, which means those rivers will be crowded with fishermen. The drive on Kalifornsky Beach Rd is really nice, the town of Ninilchik is photo-ready. Homer has great views from the bay's edge north of town looking over to the Kenai Mtns, and eagles everywhere when the fishing boats come into port. Best halibut I've ever found is at Land's End at the end of the Homer Spit.</p>

<p>Renting an RV to get around won't work until you're just hanging out in only one location. You didn't say "when" you were going so I assume it's sometime this summer.<br>

1. Juneau: likely to be touristy at times with cruise ships coming in. But especially with one member of the party pregnant and you're looking for light hiking, it's a good option. There's the old town, Mendenhall Glacier, the Shrine of St. Therese (which is both beautiful and offers a ton of great photographic options), St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (onion domes, etc.), salmon spawning farm, and the Jensen-Olsen arboretum. So it offers a diverse mix of options, especially if you're only want light hiking and it's a subtropical rain forest with mountains jutting right off the edge of town. Most of it you can do without a car--just rent a guide with a van for the Mendenhall Glacier, the Salmon spawning farm and St. Therese.<br>

2. Anchorage: lots of good options there. It's the most cosmopolitan of Alaskan cities and most diverse from an urban sense. I found Prince William Sound to be spectacular. Got some magnificent sunsets shot from downtown Anchorage. One morning I got shots of a moose in the hotel parking lot. Two places you might visit if your group isn't in to serious hiking and doesn't make it up to Denali would be the Alaska Botanical Garden, and the Alaska Zoo. There is a lot to see outside of Anchorage surrounding the city, it's just a question of what transportation you have and how much driving you want to do.<br>

3. Fairbanks: frankly, I was very unimpressed. Even locals described Fairbanks as someplace that was in-between every place people would want to go (Denali, the hot springs and some other good vistas). The Riverboat Discovery might be an option to consider. But basically, if you go to Fairbanks, don't plan on spending much time there--just get yourself to Denali (or one of the other locations).</p>

<p>"You don't have time to do both"<br /><br />Not true. People constantly do both. It just means lesser time in the different regions with some light photography and relaxed poking around. Taking a tour rather than immersion. If doing that, then I would skip going to Homer down south. Talkeetna is the obligatory tourist trap with a handful of shops and restaurants and. The paved portion of Denali that you can drive your own vehicle is popular. The driving time between north and south has to be accounted for but it can be done without a bunch of rushing around. Daylight is long after all. </p>

<p>The south offers the most in a more compact area however which is why I recommend it.</p>

<p>While a week is a very short time to visit Alaska, a quick tour (since you say you plan to return) might be best. You'll see a lot and have a better idea of what "you" want to concentrate on for your next trip. One point of clarification. Northern Exposure was NOT filmed anywhere in Alaska. All outdoor scenes were shot in Roslyn Washington. A interesting old coal mining town on the east slopes of the Cascade mountains in central Washington. Production and studio scenes were all done in Redmond a suburb of Seattle. </p>

<p>While a week is a very short time to visit Alaska, a quick tour (since you say you plan to return) might be best. You'll see a lot and have a better idea of what "you" want to concentrate on for your next trip. One point of clarification. Northern Exposure was NOT filmed anywhere in Alaska. All outdoor scenes were shot in Roslyn Washington. A interesting old coal mining town on the east slopes of the Cascade mountains in central Washington. Production and studio scenes were all done in Redmond a suburb of Seattle. </p>

<p>While a week is a very short time to visit Alaska, a quick tour (since you say you plan to return) might be best. You'll see a lot and have a better idea of what "you" want to concentrate on for your next trip. One point of clarification. Northern Exposure was NOT filmed anywhere in Alaska. All outdoor scenes were shot in Roslyn Washington. A interesting old coal mining town on the east slopes of the Cascade mountains in central Washington. Production and studio scenes were all done in Redmond a suburb of Seattle. </p>

<p>Turnagain Arm offers cool views. Normally you can spot Dall Sheep and occasional eagle (near Alyeska). If you are ultra lucky you my see beluga whales in a group (incredible). If you see lots of cars pull over, most likely folks spotted some sort of animal/s.<br>

<br />Check out Portage Lake...or even take boat cruise to the glacier. You can see couple of glaciers (on the right side) before you get there. There is a Natl PK office and they usually play films on AK...and you can ask bunch of questions on what interests you, as well.</p>

<p>Check out Homer, Seward and Kenai. If you want to take a wilderness tour of Denali, you should be near it since it starts at v. early hour (6AM ?). On the way there you should have a real nice view of Mt McKinley from Eureka Pass. Also, there is a rd pull over and you can spot glacier river. You can stick around for an additional day. If you can afford it, do take a flight (from near park HQ) to Mt McKinley....the bird-view of the snow/ice covered mountains/valleys is too stunning for words. On one of my flights I caught several climbers going up the mountain....they appeared as ants...and I never saw them till I looked at the slide, when I got home.</p>

<p>Keep camera accessible at all times.....you may encounter wild animals when you least expect it. I was in the middle of nowhere w/Wrangell-St Elias looming 60-80 miles ahead....suddenly out of the woods came out 1/2 dozen of caribou and were crossing the road....my camera was next to me & ready...and I got the shot.</p>

<p>In Valdez there is a real nice boat cruise that also starts relatively early (9AM ?) that takes you on Prince William Sound. Most often you see seals, otters, eagles.....you have a lunch on this island....and continue to the base of the glacier.....often dodging small icebergs. It's a beautiful and relaxing ride, and it give you an appreciation for PWS and AK. </p>

<p>You might want to check out Wrangell-St Elias PK if you have enough time....or leave it for the next time :>).</p>

<p>I suggest that you figure out miles and give yourself 1-2 extra hours for unscheduled stops. If you like a place... stay there longer. By all means enjoy the vastness of the "last frontier".</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>Funny thing about Talkeetna - people there tell us tourists that Northern Exposure was filmed there. Sorry for my inaccuracy - I really did relay unsubstantiated info.</p>

<p>As for one week for both north and south of Anchorage, of course, it can be done in a single week, but I'd never recommend it to anyone. I put a trip like that in the same category as people who visit Yellowstone and see everything through the car window, never shutting off the engine or getting out of the car. I think trying see all of that in too little time will yield a dissatisfying vacation.</p>

Bob may not be able to do accomplish much in that amount of time (in his opinion) but I spent even less time in those two areas and have spectacular results without being confined. Others I spoke to did one week tours snd covered a lot as well. Favorable weather helped. My original reccomendation of doing one direction stands but a pressure free tour under the circumstances described is feasible if one does not go on long excursions. If you want to move slow and linger a lot in addition to relaxed then both may be too much.

<p>KENAI -- anywhere on the peninsula. I would suggest not trying to see it all, but see two or three places well. It really doesn't matter which ones. I love the Homer area and have spent lots of happy times there. Be sure to meet the people.</p>

<p>Kenai is great, but the west coast and up the Yukon river is amazing. See if you can get a plane up to the north coast and see a wilderness, bar none. The only place on earth that rivals it is Patagonia or the Kamchatka peninsular over the water.</p>

<p>OK, one more suggestion. You might be able to get a private guide for a day (or several hours) to give you the ins and outs of Anchorage. Also, Eklutna cemetery is quite interesting visually - the only one I know that has a gift shop attached to it :>).<br>

Les</p>

 

<p>Lots of great advice. I have been twice and wish to return a third time. I will keep my advice short: 1) get the magazine Milepost (http://www.milepost.com) which is incredibly detailed (mine is from 2006 and still very useful) and 2) include an Anchorage-Seward return - an easy day trip for some very beautiful scenery. My trips were done early in September.</p>

<p>PS Milepost will describe many 'mile posts' and very typically say "you can pull over here and get a great photo of ..." Here is the 2006 milepost 37.8 mile description from Anchorage to Seward: "Virgin creek bridge. View of 3 hanging Glaciers to east".<br>

Amazon.com had it cheaper than the company Milepost.</p>

<p>Have Fun - you will need to return (*_*).</p>

<p>I'm not sure if Francisco's advice of isolated rugged wilderness served only by small aircraft is a great idea for someone 5 months pregnant as is the case here.</p>

<p>Having done a 6 week "blur tour" in a pickup camper, the best advice I've seen yet is from Bob Flood. Concentrate on one small region and expect to be overwhelmed by the great scenery and photo ops.<br>

You have about a 20% chance of actually seeing Denali on any given trip. We spent a week in the park, and the mountain came out on the eighth day while we were on the road to Anchorage. Needless to say, it delayed our arrival by a few hours. Well, overnight actually. This is not to say the other days were a bust. We went into the park on a couple of days and got great photos in both overcast and broken clouds. There's a lot of interesting side trips in the area.<br>

If you choose to go the Kenai route, be sure to stop and check out the "combat fishing" on the Russian River. Saturdays it's nuts when the salmon are running. Google "combat fishing in Alaska".<br>

As suggested, <em>Milepost</em> is a great resource.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi James, <br>

I just put together a blog post on a trip I did to Alaska with some of the photo locations I enjoyed the most and route info for RV travelling. For a one week stay I would definitely recommend, as others have, Kenai peninsula and Denali. <br>

Here's the link to the post. I hope you find some useful information.<br>

<a href="http://www.jairophoto.com/blog/photography-guide-to-alaska/">http://www.jairophoto.com/blog/photography-guide-to-alaska/</a><br>

cheers, <br>

Jairo</p>

<p>Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions!<br>

I'm leaving in a few days and the advice was very useful for planning my trip. I just got the milepost 2013 edition.<br>

My current plan is this: Pick-up RV in Anchorage - Seward - Kenai - Whittier - Ferry to Valdez - Glenn Highway back to Anchorage. There is a strong itch to try and visit either Wrangell St. Elias or Denali, but am unsure. Also, can you guys give some insights into locations for twilight photography? Sunrise/Sunset locations? Also, should I book the flight-seeing trips in advance or just play it by the ear (and plan for the weather).<br>

<br />Marvelous photos and blog Jairo, Bravo!<br>

Thanks & Big Cheers!</p>

<p>i have been to Alaska on a <a href="http://www.barizaholidays.com/">adventure tour</a> so many time if you have time on your way back to Anchorage, the tidal bore in Cook Inlet can be interesting if you've never experienced one. If you're really lucky, you might also see some beluga whales.</p>