Planning an AK vacation in June....any suggestions

RIDECATS · Feb 18, 2008

I bringing my mom and dad to Alaksa this summer as a treat, none of us has ever been there. We will be up for about 9 days and have a general plan on what we want to do but I was hoping to get some local ideas on things that would be worth seeing. I'm 34 and my mom/dad are just about 60 (...very active still

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We are coming end of June and are flying into Anchorage.

Basic Plan so far:

Day 1 Arrive Anchorage....take a look around
Day 2. Travel to Seward, go to Exit Glacier
Day 3. Boat into Kenia Fjords (...any suggestions??)
Day 4. Sea Kayak / Fish (mom will check out area on foot)
Day 5. Leave For Denali area
Day 6. Denali Park day
Day 7. Whitewater rafting leave back for Anchorage
Day 8. Misc Day....
Day 9. Fly back to MN.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

dragoon13 · Feb 18, 2008

fish for kings!

akmclean · Feb 18, 2008

My parents own halibut charter business in Ninilchik, which is about 2.5 hours from seward and 3.5 from anchorage. Here is the website if you would like to check us out: http://www.cookinletcharters.com. I will be running a boat for them this year so if you have any questions just ask.

Now that i have that out of the way I'll give you a couple of my opinions on what ive seen and done.

Personally i would not spend much of your time in anchorage. It just like any other town and if your coming to alaska for the scenery and fishing and such, then there are better places to spend your time. Seward and Homer are cool little towns with tons to do. In seward Kenai Fjord Tours does a cool tour of Prince William Sound. If you choose to fish there i would do a multi-species trip for rockfish and such. A salmon shark trip would be cool too, but they are spendy and im not sure on when the season is for that. Halibut fishing can be o.k. out of Seward, but Ninilchik is probably a more consistent place to catch halibut. Seward also has a really cool sealife center.

Both Homer and Seward do kayak trips, although I have never done it. I've heard good things about the homer ones though.

The trip up to Denali will be a long one, but the scenery is great.

Overall you just want to book your boat trips and such in advance because that getting close to the most busy time of the year. Like with most tourist types of things there are companies that advertise super low deals, but to be realistic companies with prices in the middle range are probably going to give you a better time and will be worth it. A good company will have lots of return business and wont need to have cheap "deals." I dont want to sound like im pushing our business. There are plenty of quality charters in Seward, Home, and Ninilchik.

Enjoy your trip! Just hollar if you have any questions.

AKSNOWRIDER · Feb 18, 2008

well on your way to homer hit portage glacier and the wildlife habitat right at the turnoff to portage, alyeska ski resort for lunch at girdwood, valdez is an ok trip..but if you have time old macarthy town..is an awesome visit for mining, as is independence mine in hatcher pass....denali/mt. mckinley is a great sight seeing trip..and chena hot springs in fairbanks is a good time as well...

AkSummit · Feb 18, 2008

better idea-- come in march and go ride !!!!

AkHockey10 · Feb 18, 2008

If you get a chance and/or have time, try and take the train down to seward from anchorage or from seward to anchorage. I think you and your folks would enjoy it! just a thought...

akpolaris · Feb 19, 2008

Here is an excellent charter boat out of Seward. marvscharters@alaska.com. Marv will work hard all day to get you your fish. After you return to the dock he will clean the catch and it is adjacent to a packager / shipper who will freeze and ship your catch. He usually fishes a "combo" trip. This can include halibut, bass & salmon. If it is after July 1 toss in some ling cod as well. This will all come at a cost but if you are in AK you can expect to be spendin $$$. If you try to hard to "sharpen you pencil" you will miss out. If you are in Seward for the 4th of July there is a big party for the Mount Marathon race. Gotta see it.

All of the citys you are looking at should have some sort of web site lising the major activities

I suggest renting a small motorhome rather than hotels. That way you can get food from the stores and cook it yourself rather than spending a fortune in restaurants and fast food joints.

Make sure that you get reservation well in advance because the touristy places book up a year in advance

RIDECATS · Feb 27, 2008

Thanks for the comments.

Any other suggestions?

Any reccommended lodging?

omernikski · Feb 27, 2008

Is there a place where you can snowmachine on a glacier in june? I will be in AK at the end of june for 14 days and I'd do anything not to come home!

AKHark · Feb 27, 2008

Yes there actually is snowmachining in the summer up here. Doesnt look like you'll be getting into much powder up there though.

http://www.summersnowmobile.com/summer.html

omernikski · Feb 28, 2008

Thanks for the link, I 'm sure the pow will be nill but since I can't bring mine any type of riding will do.

Clayton · Feb 28, 2008

I'd take one of your free days and drive over Hatchers Pass. A good portion of it is rickety mountain road that the rental car companies probably say you aren't supposed to take their cars over, but the scenery is great and it's a good way to spend an afternoon that's not too far from Anchorage. You can either start in Palmer and end up in Willow or vise versa. Either way figure 4-6 hours if you are taking your time and stopping to smell the roses.

Another good day excursion would be to go into Talkeetna. It's a nice little side stop on the way to Denali that would probably have some lodging you could stay at to help break up the drive. Anchorage to Denali is like 200+ miles one way, I think.

alaskaboy · Mar 6, 2008

its a nice drive down to seward, its a long trip from there to Denali though, hopefully there isnt any forest fires during that time, Mckinley is tough to see with all the smoke. you can drive through the tunnel to prince william sound which is before portage glacier.

cliff

Hockref333 · Mar 6, 2008

Trip

Try the Seward sea life center.

AKS800M · Apr 8, 2008

Salmon fishing on the peninsula

The king fishing should be some what good on the kenai and kasilof rivers. You can do those by power boat or drift boat. Early run reds should be doing ok by then also on the upper kenai out of cooper landing that is some fun fishing up on that part of the river. Its Alaska the sky is the limit. Have fun and enjoy your trip I have a lodge on the peninsula if you are looking for some nights while you are here. www.soldotnasalmonlodge.com. We are south of seward and anchorage and just before homer. Great time to be on the peninsula. The others are right dont wast any time in anchorage it is just another city.

Nikolai · Apr 8, 2008

Whittier also has Kayak drop offs and personally I think it's prettier than Seward and alot less people. Portage Glacier(what's left of it) is right on the way too.

Roadtrip · Apr 14, 2008

Anchorage is just another big, loud, city. You seen one, you seen em all. Everywhere else in Alaska is awesome. Go to Homer for a halibut charter or Fairbanks and pan for some gold. I've been here for 40 years, the last ten as a commercial pilot and I still haven't seen everything.

RIDECATS · Apr 28, 2008

Holy Sh!t....rental car in Alaska are $$$$....$1500 buck for a week at Avis. I could make a montly payment on a nice truck for someone at this price

My folks are getting pretty excited (and so am I about our trip up your way) Our trip is going to be in June and looks to be coming together finally:

21st = arrive at noon check our around Anchorage
22nd = Seward
23rd = Kenai Fjords long tour (mom's request)
24th = Sea Kayak am / head to Talketna
25th = Jet boat fishing
26/27th = Denali Park
28th = River Rafting am / head towards Anc
28th = Fly back to MN at noon

Winter Project · Apr 28, 2008

If your looking for some good alaskan food in Anchorage, check out at least one of the following:

Moose's Tooth Pizza www.moosestooth.net (my favorite, good beer/pizza)

Humpys Alaskan Ale House www.humpys.com/

Glacier Brewhouse www.glacierbrewhouse.com

Can't go wrong with any of the choices. All are easy to find.

Good luck, enjoy alaska.

aksnomachinechic · Apr 28, 2008

Lodging at the University of Alaska Anchorage

If you want to save a bunch of money on your car insurance..

ahem...I mean if you want to save money on your overnight accommodations try the University of Alaska Anchorage. They operate like a hotel in the summer time and if you don't mind sleeping on a single (twin) bed you and your folks could have a 4 bedroom unit for $115 per night.

Go to www.uaa.alaska.edu/ccs

And check out the summer guest housing page. There you will find a reservation form and more info on what the University provides.

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