Table of Contents
Welcome to my first ever blog post! Please subscribe to the newsletter to receive notifications!
If you need help with deciding the dates/trip duration/what items to carry, I have tried my best to address these questions in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page. Feel free to ask anything in the comments section below!
If you quickly need an itinerary to help plan your trip, downloadable itineraries are e-mailed straight to your inbox upon subscription to the newsletter!
But if you want to read through my detailed Alaska travel story, here you go….
Ever since the winter in New England gave way to Spring in 2019, my husband and I started making plans for Summer. Having been to Hawaii and Puerto Rico earlier that year, we figured it would be a great idea to take a trip to another place that is out of mainland USA.
The biggest challenge was to pick which part of Alaska to visit and when. I watched many videos on YouTube, read through a bunch of blog posts, but they helped only to a certain extent and a lot of them were focused on cruises. So I went to my town library and borrowed a copy of Frommer’s Alaska. I loved that guidebook so much that I finished reading it in a week. If you have the time and access, I highly recommend reading it.
We listed down our priorities: No fishing, Not a cruise vacation, National Parks, 7-day plan. If your priorities match this list, then this blog post is for you!
After deciding to visit the National parks in the South-central Alaska region, we had to decide which summer month to visit. The long weekend in July was perfect for us as it allowed us to take fewer vacation days at work.
I started looking for flight tickets from Boston to Anchorage. Having picked the busiest tourist week, the flight prices when I first checked were in the range of 800$. Looking at that price, we began to re-consider traveling during that weekend. I kept monitoring the prices on various websites and one day I found a deal on Hopper for 630$ (On other weekends, you could find deals for ~500$). It included a 9-hour layover in Phoenix, but figured we could roam around the city and try out good food. Also, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to find a better deal for our dates, so I booked them right away.
Travel Tip: Check as many websites (especially Hopper and Skyscanner) as possible before you buy the ticket. Don’t punt on the long-layover options.
We ended up in Alaska when there was a heatwave (90F in Alaska!) and when there was a huge wildfire spreading in the Kenai Peninsula area. It affected our itinerary a bit.
Our initial plan was to visit Denali and then Seward for Kenai Fjords National Park. But, came to know that a lot of people attend the Mt.Marathon race/fireworks at Seward for the 4th of July. For this reason, the accommodation options I could find were very limited. So I flipped my itinerary around and decided to visit Seward first.
Money-saving Tip: To save money on activities/entry tickets, I bought the Alaska Toursaver book. And, it really was a tour saver. Though we used only 5 coupons from the book, we saved over 200$ (excluding the cost of the book). If you have kids, this would be a huge money-saver! Plan early for this as it takes time for them to ship it to your address. The price for this book keeps falling as Summer progresses. If you are going in the late-summer, you will end up spending even less to buy this coupon book.
Day 0: Arrive at Anchorage airport
Depending on where you fly from, you would most probably take at-least half a day getting into Alaska. I recommend you to take that into consideration while planning your itinerary. We arrived in Anchorage at around midnight.
Day 1: Drive to Seward from Anchorage
Snow-capped mountains. Rivers. Lakes. Glaciers. Wildlife. That is the drive from Anchorage to Seward, just beautiful! You can spend half a day to one full day exploring the places along the way.
Stop 1: Potter Marsh wildlife viewing area
This is a bird sanctuary with a boardwalk that makes it easier to walk around the marsh. What impressed me was that they even had wheelchair accessible binoculars mounted onto the boardwalk. We spotted a Golden Eagle! We also spotted a lot of salmon resting in the streams. And the view of the Turnagain arm is incredible from here.
Stop 2: Beluga Point
This is the first spot where the bore-tide arrives. To track the bore-tide timings for any day you can check this website. From the parking lot, you can get an incredible view of the mountains, water and the train track. We waited there for an hour waiting for the tide, but it never arrived. We weren’t sure if the heat wave/wildfires had anything to do with it. So, we moved on with the drive. I read that you could even spot beluga whales at times, so I would say this place is definitely worth checking out, just make sure to check the tide timings.
Stop 3: Bird Point
This is another spot from where you can spot the bore-tide. But we went here to check-out the view points. Though the mountains were hazy from all the wildfire-smoke, the views were still breathtaking.
Stop 4: Chugach National Forest Sign
I noticed that a lot of people weren’t really stopping here for a picture, but this is definitely a Insta-worthy spot.
Stop 5: Begich Boggs Visitor Center - Portage Glacier
We spent over an hour at this visitor center. This is probably one of the very few places with flushable restrooms along the drive. I stamped my National Parks passport and passed through the hallway that led to the glass-viewing area of the Portage glacier. It was surprising to realize the rate at which the glacier receded in just a couple of decades. There is a cruise that takes you closer to the Portage glacier, but if you are planning to do the Kenai Fjords cruise while you are in Seward, you could totally skip this.
This visitor center has a very interesting wildlife checklist. I didn’t find it in any of the other visitor centers in Denali/Kenai Fjords, but found it only here. It was such a fun thing to get a certificate from it.
You could also print the checklist from this website.
Stop 6: Kenai Peninsula Sign
As you keep driving towards Seward, you will notice this sign on your right. Again, I didn’t notice a lot of people stopping here, but this stop is definitely worth it. I also noticed that this place has a lot of wildflowers.
We couldn’t find an accommodation at Seward, so we stayed back in Cooper Landing. We wanted to spend some time at the Kenai Lake, but we ended up experiencing something really different and sad. We felt helpless to realize that the trees are burning down to ashes just 100 miles away from us.
Our Airbnb for the second day was a lovely ranch, but the whole region was filled with smoke from the wildfire. The smoke was so dense that the mighty sun seemed like a dim light bulb in the sky. The last season of Game of Thrones was still fresh in our heads and my husband mentioned that it felt like being in Kings Landing and I couldn’t agree more. Ash was literally falling from the sky. We wanted to take a stroll around the area, but it was just too hard to breathe in the smoky-air.
Day 2: Kayaking at Millers Landing and Harding Icefield Trail
We had a kayaking experience planned at 6AM in Millers Landing. Because of the wildfire smoke and the winds, our kayaking activity at Millers Landing got cancelled. Instead, the company offered us to take us to Thumb Cove but at 9AM. We got onto a water-taxi and our kayaks were loaded onto the boat. The ride was beautiful! We ended up in a remote cove and kayaked there for about an hour. We spotted river otters, dalls’ purpoise. It ended up being a serene experience.
Travel Tip: If you have more time in Seward, you could add Caines Head reservation. There is a trail along the coast through Tonsina beach and a fort. The interesting thing I heard about this place is, there is a stretch you can access only during a low tide. There are options to do a one-way hike and take a water-taxi .
Harding Icefield Hike (must-do): Equipped with bear spray and bear bell, we started the Harding Icefield hike. I am scared of wild animals, so I had been shaking the bell quite vigorously. I don’t know if that really alerts the bears enough, but I made my efforts, haha. After we reached the first point, we were very satisfied with the views. We didn’t carry enough water and the sun was quite harsh even at 6:30PM. We continued for a mile more and ended up with these incredible views. Thankfully, we didn’t have a bear encounter, but spotted a few mountain goats grazing. The section of the hike through the icefield was closed that day and there were way too many mosquitoes, so we turned back. It was an amazing way to see the glaciers, felt like another world! Undoubtedly, this qualifies as a must-do experience in Kenai Fjords. For this hike, carry at least 1.5L of water, a hat and definitely a mosquito repellent.
Travel Tip: Bear spray rental – On our way to the Exit glacier, there was a convenient rental store called Adventure60 for bear spray rental. They had options for daily/weekly rentals.
Day 3: Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise to Aialik & Holgate Glaciers
I was very much looking forward to this cruise. We booked one with Major Marine tours because they have a national park ranger on board.
Book this cruise as soon as possible, we wanted to do the 5 hour cruise, but had to book the 7.5hour one because of availability issues. I used my Toursaver coupon and saved 30$ per person. Also, you will feel hungry and a little bored at times sitting all day in the cruise. Don’t forget to pack snacks/books/games. If you prefer a hot and fresh lunch, the on-board one was pretty decent, but you will have to book in advance.
The entire boarding experience seemed very organized. We explored all the levels of the decks, sat indoors and outdoors, had a lot of fun enjoying the perfect sunny weather. If you enjoy wildlife, this is a great way to do that. We spotted golden eagle, bald eagle, sea otters, harbor seals, orca, humpback whales, puffers, kittiwakes, murres all from this cruise! Apart from the wildlife, you also witness a lot of glaciers. This turned out to be my favorite National Park.
If you are lucky, you get to experience the calving of the glaciers, check out the video below! Glaciers are very much alive and are constantly moving forward. At the terminus of the glacier, ice breaks in chunks and form icebergs. This calving process often is accompanied with a loud thud. The whole experience definitely lives up to the hype.
Travel Tip: If you are sea-sick, I highly recommend taking medication or putting a band on. I have seen a bunch of people who seemed troubled after 5 hours on the cruise. Do not under estimate how tiring the cruise experience could be, even though you just sit the whole day.
Day 4: Drive to Denali National Park and Savage River Loop Trail
Next morning we started driving towards Denali National Park. I didn’t find the drive to Denali as scenic as the one from Anchorage-Seward.
It took us 4 hours to reach the Denali visitor center. We spent around 30 mins exploring the exhibits and talking to the rangers. We took the free shuttle to Savage River, the views along the way were very good. It set a benchmark to how vast Denali National Park really is.
Travel Tip: There are not many stores in Denali, though you get all the essentials and food. We stocked up in Palmer on water, microwaveable food, fruits, juice packs and snacks.
Eco-tip: Carry some microwave-safe boxes and steel spoons to heat up the microwaveable food. You can buy a liquid soap for cleaning.
Savage River Loop trail: This is a perfect hike to enjoy wildlife and views if you don’t want to exhaust yourself. The elevation gain is almost negligible and seems more like a casual walk around the river. We spotted a Caribou sitting on the bank of the river. We finished the hike in time for our shuttle back to the visitor center. You could also drive here.
Day 5: Denali National Park - Wonder Lake Shuttle
The only way you could explore the National Park is through the shuttle. In addition to the transit shuttles that take you from point A to point B, there are tour experience shuttles available as well. These tour tickets are expensive compared to the transit shuttle tickets. We decided to go till the Wonder Lake as I wanted to look at the reflection of Denali in the lake. I was lucky as the weather was really good that day. The weather is highly unpredictable here and sorry to break this to you, but the probability of viewing Denali peak is <30%. So if you don’t want to spend 11 hours in the shuttle, I suggest you to book the Eielson Visitor Center shuttle instead. You could easily spend half hour at the Visitor Center and you have really good views from here.
Website to book your shuttle: https://www.reservedenali.com
Our shuttle was at 6:30 AM, we reached half-hour earlier and got into the queue. Everyone on the bus was excited about spotting wildlife, they had their binoculars on. But it ended up being a long wait. Because of the heatwave, the animals seemed to be resting in the shade and wet areas. We were not lucky enough to spot a lot of wildlife. We only spotted caribous, snow hares, moose. So the ride ended up being pretty long. My husband and I played some book puzzles on the way. But, because it was so sunny, we got an unobstructed view of Denali mountain. We took some pictures at the stops and got till the Wonder Lake stop. We did a short hike to get a view of the lake and Denali and it seemed worth the effort for the view. We had to brush through a lot of shrubs, don’t forget to carry a bear spray and mosquito repellent. We switched to the next shuttle and spotted a black bear during the last 30 minutes of our journey! Everybody on the bus ended the day on a high note.
Day 6: Exploring Talkeetna and hiking Matanushka glacier
On the morning of Day 6 of our first trip in Alaska, we headed to the town of Talkeetna. I absolutely love quaint towns. I jumped around in joy exploring the cafes, boutiques, hand-made jewelry stores. I would recommend spending at least half a day here. Also, this is known as the back-door to Denali. There are a ton of activities to explore. Many air-taxis and scenic flight tours start from Talkeetna. Taking a scenic flight trip to the Denali Mountain Range was something we were considering, but decided to drop it due to lack of time/budget.
Our next stop was Matanuska Glacier, a 1.5hour ride from Palmer. We had a tour booked at 3 PM and reached just on time. Our guide told us that because of the heatwave, the glaciers melted faster and made the rivers overflow. They had to get a temporary bridge constructed in a day to enable access to the Matanuska glacier. We chose to go with a guided tour company, MICA guides, as it was our first time walking over a glacier and didn’t want to take any risk. The guide was very informative, it was fun to realize that the glacial mud works as a great facial because of its high mineral content. It was also fun to drink the melted water from the glacier. I would rate this is as a must-do. If you are not up for a guided trek, you could also go around on your own, but with a lot of caution. Crampons help and please obey the warning signboards that are put up. Also, there is a 30$ fee per person to enter the glacier as this is privately-owned. We headed back to Anchorage to spend the last day there.
Day 7: Alaska Native Heritage Center and Anchorage Downtown
On our last day in Alaska, we decided to spend a couple of hours at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It was the best way to soak in the Native Alaskan culture. They have a lot of informative exhibits, there was also a music and dance show in which the performers explained the origin and mood behind the song. There were also a lot of vendors in the hallway selling handmade jewelry. Something very interesting I noticed was, there was a necklace made from mammoth ivory! I talked to the vendor and she mentioned that they found the ivory as the permafrost started to thaw! If you are looking for handmade souvenirs, this is the place.
We went souvenir shopping in Anchorage downtown, had a quick lunch and left to the airport. Overall, it was an amazing trip. After one week of midnight sun, we were thrilled to see complete darkness after we came back to Boston.
Foodventures in Alaska
Who doesn’t love food? I believe that every destination has delicious food to offer, it is just a matter of figuring out where. Below are some places where we were happy with the food we tried!
Moose's Tooth Pizzeria, Anchorage
Where did I have one of the tastiest pizzas ever? Here. This place stood on top on Yelp and we decided to give it a try. It is extremely popular, so you might end up waiting for a while, but in my opinion, it is totally worth it. What’s unique about their pizzas is their toppings! Who knew that carrot and coleslaw over a pizza would be yummy!
Ginger, Anchorage
This is an upscale Thai restaurant in downtown Anchorage. The food was quite delicious and the plating is really impressive.
Le Barn Appetit Inn & Creperie, Seward
On the Exit Glacier road, there is an adorable little cafe which serves crepes. This cafe is managed by an old couple, who greet you so well and make you feel like home. This is not a place where you can expect fast service. But the crepes are really tasty and live up to its ratings on Yelp.
FAQs
I would say its a personal preference. It totally depends on the kind of activities you want to do. That being said, the popular season is Summer (June-August). The shoulder seasons in Spring (late-April to May) and Fall (September) are also decent times to travel, you might end up spending less. But be aware of the national park closures, the shuttle buses in Denali operations don’t start until June, the road to Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords may be closed in snowy conditions. Also the cruise in Kenai Fjords doesn’t run in bad weather conditions.
Again, this would vary from person to person. If you have the privilege to take a longer vacation from work, that will allow you to do more things. But from most of the places in USA, it is quite a long flight to Alaska and it is not cheap, so make sure you get to check off the things you wanted to. In my opinion, you should plan for at least 5 days (Only for South-central Alaska).
Apart from the usual stuff, below are the things that you would want to pack
- Clothes for both warm/cold weather. You may end up in unexpected weather conditions, so be prepared. Dressing in layers is the key
- It gets really windy and cold on the Kenai Fjords cruise, so make sure to carry a windproof jacket/cap
- Binoculars are a must! Without this, it gets really hard to have fun on the Denali shuttle
- Wrist bands/medication for sea-sickness
- A powerful zoom lens if you are interested in capturing wildlife
- Puzzle books/downloaded music to keep yourself entertained in the national parks
As it is just the two of us, we preferred to stay in Airbnbs during this trip.
You can browse through my Airbnb Alaska collection here: https://abnb.me/e/JJE1KXCj44
There are a bunch of souvenir stores in Anchorage downtown. We visited Moose Creek Trading Post. I personally don’t prefer to buy a lot of souvenirs, we got a fridge magnet. We made it a tradition to buy something to eat after going back home. So we bought a couple of fruit jellies made from the infamous Alaskan wild berries.
Thank you for reading through my post. Stay tuned as there are more travel stories coming up!