Taking family vacation to Alaska this year! This is a family vacation, not a guys cast and blast (one day but not this summer).

Will be there June 4-12, 2016. Probably split time between Seward/Homer and Denali National Park. Wife, kids 16 yr boy, 14 yr girl and 10 yr boy. We are typically very energetic and outdoors people but do appreciate nice accommodations. Looking for accommodations in the level of three star or better range (preferably better).


Here are some of the things we are looking to do. Any advice on outfitters, hotels/resorts ect. would be appreciated.
1. Glaciers;
2. Wildlife viewing, bears/moose/caribou/otters/sea lions/eagles ect.;
3. Fishing out of Seward, one day two/at most, would like to do a combo halibut/king salmon trip;
4. Whitewater rafting; and
5. Hiking.

Is it better to rent a car/SUV or take the trains?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Too bad you are limited to just eight days. There's so much to see that you will be on the move most of the time. You might want to consider doing just those attractions south of Anchorage on this trip. Then come back again to do Denali on your next trip, scheduled later in the summer.

Rent a car for sure. That's the best way to do the things that you say you want to do. The train is an experience by itself but not the best for an eight-day family vacation.

There are a couple of museums in Anchorage that are worth visiting. Visit Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Sunrise. Both are on the way between Anchorage and Seward/Homer. Spend a night in Sunrise for some great hiking. Take a day cruise of Prince William Sound. Combine your day cruise in Kenai Fiords with a fishing trip.

Denali is an absolute must. The Kantishna Road House is spectacular if you can get reservations. I was thinking about suggesting that you charter a sightseeing flight with one of the bush pilots in Talkeetna. But June is not a good time for that because they will be busy ferrying climbers on and off of Denali. There's some super hiking that can be accessed off of the Petersville Road, which is on the way to Denali. Of course there is great hiking all over in Denali N.P.

KC

Take the train out of Anchorage to Denali and stay at the Denali Princess hotel and definitely rent a car to see the rest of Alaska. We've done the train to Denali and had an fantastic time.

my advice


have a blast.


what makes one guy happy disappoints the next guy.


you'll see the most game animals in Denali.


also it will cover the whitewater rafting by doing the canyon trip.

8 days is pretty short, you're gonna be busy.


make lots of memories and have a blast, thanks for coming to see the place we call home.

Denali for sure.
Anchorage zoo is small but very nice.
I did several day cruises and I thought the one out of Valdez was by far the best.
Did a sightseeing plane ride near Denali.....awesome. Landed on a glacier. Pricey but well worth it.
Most hotels are not fancy outside of Denali and anchorage, but are very clean and friendly service.
Did tour of Marty Buser's dog kennels. Worth seeing.

I suspect there are some nice hotels around.

We run so hard while there, a motel is a motel is a motel, we sleep and shower there...

You'll find AK to be large and hence the issue of covering it all is tough.

We fly into Anchorage by choice, to visit with friends and borrow their truck but we drive up past denali to be with other friends nad hunt and fish too, htats an 8 hour drive no matter how you cut it.

As Randy said, its so immense its cool, but what one likes the next doesn't.

Go with an open schedule is my opinion. Stop where you want to, stay as long as you want. It works out best that way.

We did a fixed schedule on our B/B honeymoon years ago... I'd never do fixed again...

Major Marine has a pretty good cruise out of Seward, you can also hike Mt marathon (don't plan on trying to summit with the family but easy hike to get above treeline and a nice view of seward)

if you havn't already booked the tickets TRY to get a few extra days, also the sooner you book for some things like fishing & cruise the better.

accommodations only help I can give there is the Inlet Tower in Anchorage was good price ($75/night?) we sttayed on a higher floor which seemed to have less complaints on trip adviser not sure why but just seemed to be the way it worked out. rest of the time I was in alaska a few years ago was spent in a tent

Do the loop ...in a rental/ your early enongh to still being able to grab a rv/craigslist= your potabale room , you can park it darn near anywhere to boot ! From:>>Anchorage ,the park then fbks,boat& museum down to delta towards/to Valdez then back up and over to Anchorage your will see 90% of the road system / damm near everything on your list ! Room & a car rental will cost u this time of the year.…

Pro-Fish-n-Sea for fishing out of Seward.....Kenai Fjords Tour is also nice.

My niece once told me that her and kids were coming for a long weekend to see Alaska. I advised them to spend their funds on a geography class.

I agree with atvalaska, get a motor home. Go to Denali and see what you want to see there, fly out of Talkeetna for a tour, Take the ride into the park, see the wildlife and take a white water raft trip.

Then drive down to Seward, take the glacier tour, fish, hike, and do some viewing. You are talking a full days drive between the two.

Pick up a MILEPOST book and study it and it will help you figure out where to go, what you want to see, and the details of each trip.

Head to Jim creek watch those zany valley kids do crazy stuff, then head up to sutton and watch folks shoot up,old cars and burn tires. Head to the Hub in glennallen and see what Alaskans deal with. Then head to delta jct if it's a Friday you get .10 cents off gas hell yeah.. Then shoot on over to Tok nothing their to really see but it's Tok..

There is some pretty stuff to see between all those mentioned above...

Not so much in the towns though.

1. Glaciers
On such a short trip I wouldn't take a dedicated glacier tour, fishing out of Seward you'll see pretty much the same stuff you will on a glacier tour. I would suggest adding a 1/2 day in Girdwood to do some hiking and you'll get to see some glaciers. Taking the tram up will give some spectacular view.

2. Wildlife viewing, bears/moose/caribou/otters/sea lions/eagles ect.
Keep your eyes peeled the entire trip. I can't think of a dedicated place to see wildlife, it's one of those things that just happens while traveling through the state.



3. Fishing out of Seward, one day two/at most, would like to do a combo halibut/king salmon trip;
As mentioned above, sell it to the family as your glacier, whale and otter seeing trip. I don't know if last year was an anomaly but in June we saw an amazing number of whales fishing out of Seward, one trip I wouldn't be surprised if we saw three dozen whales and nearly 100 Dall porpoises.

4. Whitewater rafting;
Never done it up here but there are places near Denali National Park and also an outfit or two South of Anchorage around Hope.

5. Hiking.
Ton's of great trails right of the Seward Highway. I can suggest quite a few depending on if you're looking for a couple hours, 1/2 day, full day and mostly flat or serious elevation gain.



Is it better to rent a car/SUV or take the trains?

With a car you're on your schedule and can stop where and when you want. The downside is the driver gets to see the road and the idiots on the road while everyone else gets to ooh and aah. You could split it up and say drive five days and take the train for three. I'd suggest driving South from Anchorage and taking the train North to Denali.

Not much to add but you could also do a float trip on the Kasilof. Should have a pretty good chance at landing a few kings around that time.

When in Seward see the marine wildlife exhibit. Hike up to exit glacier. For sure to do the all day Major Marine Tour.

I like Homer for halibut fishing. Get a cold one at the Salty Dawg.

To see bear there is a flight out Kenai that goes to Wolverine creek to see brown & black bears.

Hike up the Russian Falls and see salmon jump up the falls. I do this when the reds are running--late july.

You can see moose, caribou around Kenai, Sheep at Coopers Landing.

To be honest you can have a great vacation and never leave the Kenai Pennisula

good advice colorado bob,


Kenai Penn is great, I'd stay at ironbender's house till the beer ran out and then move on.

If you are in Seward try these guys for a combination whale watching fishing trip. We have used them in the past and have been pleased.

http://www.alaskasaltwaterlodge.com/alaska_whale_watching.htm#combo

Bird Ridge, near Indian AK, is a good trail for an 1/2 day hike. it is only 2.5 miles each way but the elevation gain is around 3500 feet. Great views of Turnagain Arm and surrounding mountains. You can continue along the spine of the mountain of you want more.


If you want to make a small detour travelling from Seward to Denali go to the Matanuska Glacier. Nova River Runners operate rafting trips in class three rapids. It is enough to be exciting but not dangerous. You can also walk the glacier. It is worth getting a guide from Nova for the glacier hike. We really enjoyed it. While there we stayed in the nicest cabin I have ever used I AK. It even had a washer and drier. http://www.homesteadcabinsak.com/

The bus ride in Denali was far better than I expected. We saw wolf, grizzly, dall sheep, moose, caribou, lots of different birds, and we actually saw the peaks of Denali. IIRC the tour we did was around 8 hours.

It is my preference to drive. We also had our 12 YO granddaughter with us for the rafting, glacier hike, and Denali tour.

Since a few people posted pictures I will do so also.





From Denali park

Whatever you do it will be the best vacation you have had.

I liked the SeaLife Center in Seward, also there used to be an 83 inch spread moose head mount in one of the downtown hotels, I think it is still there. pretty cool..

when I started visiting there years ago, I always found cool things that I did not plan on like Child's Glacier out of Cordova. Enjoy your trip! Don't forget to sleep some, it was always hard for me to sleep in the summer, and I lived in Kodiak for 6 years!

Millenium Hotel in Anchorage has some impressive taxidermy, and not a bad place to grab a meal on the way in our out of town. Their Sunday brunch spread is pretty good.

I'm loving this thread. My family is taking a 2 month vacation up there in 2017. I've been planning this trip since 2009. Finally pulling the trigger in 13 months.

thanks for the advice, folks.

I'd pick just one area to concentrate on, that way you have time to really enjoy yourself. If you stay in the Seward/Kenai area you might want to check out a Sled Dog tour at Seavey's IdidaRide.

Just watch out for the lock-back knives.

Missed this bit'o BS.

It don't run out.

That's not what I hear...

I've seen it run out on boots.

WELL played!

The gift that keeps giving.

Never before realized how badly cheap scotch works as a nasal irrigant...

Another classic!!!

Thank you for your many suggestions.

We are going to Seward for three days and then to Denali for three days. I know we will be missing some of each place but no telling when or if we will ever be back, not that we wouldn't want to but from a cost standpoint it just won't be in the budget for a while.

Will let you guys know what we think of things generally and the fishing outfitter we went with, I always like to see what people think rather than just the propaganda on the webpages.

Anyway, thanks again.

If you want to get up close and personal with a glacier, Matanuska Glacier here in the valley is available. There's a private individual that will allow you down their property for a small fee, gets you right to the glacier. You can then go for a hike on it if you please.