• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Alaska

B

BostonDeac

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2011
Messages
4,896
Reaction score
128
Location
North of Boston
Thinking about going in early September for a honeymoon. If we were going for a week, what places would you recommend staying at or must do activities?
 
What do you like to do? Denali is great but imo somewhat overrated. I'm not a backpacker though, and it's more of a backpacking park. You can take a scenic flight that lands on a glacier--that looked amazing but we were cancelled by bad weather.

Seward is a lot of fun with the surrounding parks. Alaska has a great beer culture, and obviously the outdoors stuff is what you're there for.
 
We like to hike but are by no means expert or even advanced hikers, more like going on walks that are somewhat uphill. We just would love the scenery and seeing the wildlife. So just if we had a week and are first timers, what would be the must do's.
 
i absolutely loved homer. i really don't think you can go wrong, though. do things off the beaten path. there are so many awesome hikes where you can go miles and miles never seeing another person. it's awesome. liked the glacier tours out of seward, but it isnt the same as just being out in beautiful country in quiet solitude.
 
Don't go to Bethel. They do not have a Taco Bell.
 
Toogs said:
What do you like to do? Denali is great but imo somewhat overrated. I'm not a backpacker though, and it's more of a backpacking park. You can take a scenic flight that lands on a glacier--that looked amazing but we were cancelled by bad weather.

Seward is a lot of fun with the surrounding parks. Alaska has a great beer culture, and obviously the outdoors stuff is what you're there for.
Click to expand...

This is one of the dumbest things ever posted on this board.
 
We stayed at Denali Touch of Wilderness Bed and Breakfast in Healy, AK, just outside of the park in August of 08. It was reasonably priced and had a good breakfast. I would recommend it. Also take an air tour and pray for good weather.
 
BostonDeac said:
We like to hike but are by no means expert or even advanced hikers, more like going on walks that are somewhat uphill. We just would love the scenery and seeing the wildlife. So just if we had a week and are first timers, what would be the must do's.
Click to expand...

Could you be more specific? Alaska is a big state (the biggest) with a lot of different things to do, but it's not easy to just hop from one place to the next. If you want the sampler, take an Alaskan cruise. We did that for part of our honeymoon and really enjoyed it.

There are probably travel agents that specialize in Alaskan vacations who could help you make the most of a week or two up there.
 
PhDeac said:
Could you be more specific? Alaska is a big state (the biggest) with a lot of different things to do, but it's not easy to just hop from one place to the next.
Click to expand...

This is the best advice so far. Focus on either the Southeast or South Central. I lived in South Central for about a year, so I can speak extensively about Homer, Seward, Kenai, Anchorage, and Denali, but I'm not much help the rest of the state. It really is an enormous state so you have to pick what's most important to you. All of Alaska is gorgeous, though, and from my experience you can't really go wrong.

Is early September the definite timing? If it's the first week or two you'll probably still be fine for weather, but the middle to end of September can get pretty cold/snowy in the Denali area.
 
After a day of research, very tentative, so tell me what works/wouldnt work. But fly into Anchorage, have heard that there are better places to see, so either head to Denali when we get in or maybe spend the night there or somewhere on the way to Denali. Go to Denali for 2 days, one of which would be the bus tour deep into the park. After that we would drive down to Seward, heard the route down is one the best. Stay there for two days, one of which we would do an all day boat tour. Then we would head to Homer for a night or two before our trip back. Lot of driving but hopefully the drives would be beautiful to help pass the time. This seem like a decent layout? Any recommendations for places to stay or definite things to do/places to eat?
 
I have an uncle who used to live in Alaska. Former Air Force pilot who turned wildlife and fisheries state trooper after flying AC-130 gunships 'nam. He flew float planes into remote areas to stake out and arrest poachers. Pretty badass bro. Spent about a month with him one summer in highschool. Long time ago but if I had to list my most awesome activities while there they would be, in no order:

1. Fish for salmon in a stream. I think it will still be Salmon season while you are there. Licenses are expensive, but this is an awesome activity.
2. Denali. We rented a Cessna and flew through the park, and also took some bus tour. The flight was effing dope, like we swooped down and made a heard of moose run, like in a NatGeo video. Sounds like you can charter planes. Denali is way to big to really take in in a day or two, so flying though it is the way to go.
3. Go check out a glacier and whales on a short cruise. I think we did this out of Anchorage. 3 hour cruise or so, and we saw humpback whales breaching and watched city bus sized chunks of ice fall into the ocean from a glacier. Pretty sweet.

That's my list.
 
Last edited:
BostonDeac said:
After a day of research, very tentative, so tell me what works/wouldnt work. But fly into Anchorage, have heard that there are better places to see, so either head to Denali when we get in or maybe spend the night there or somewhere on the way to Denali. Go to Denali for 2 days, one of which would be the bus tour deep into the park. After that we would drive down to Seward, heard the route down is one the best. Stay there for two days, one of which we would do an all day boat tour. Then we would head to Homer for a night or two before our trip back. Lot of driving but hopefully the drives would be beautiful to help pass the time. This seem like a decent layout? Any recommendations for places to stay or definite things to do/places to eat?
Click to expand...

That is a lot of driving. I would recommend doing the air tour and fly in to Kantishna (the end of the road in Denali), and taking the bus out.
 
if you go to homer, then do a tidal tour. so cool. alaskan coastal studies is a great group that does them and you can even do an overnight with them on the other side of the bay on peninsula island (it's a peninsula at high tide and island at low). the tidal zone is like 20-30 foot drop. shit's cray. there's a bakery/inn in homer that's pretty awesome (i think it's called like 2 sisters).

i didn't so denali, so i cant speak to that, but it does seem like trying to squeeze too much in one trip.
 
BostonDeac said:
After a day of research, very tentative, so tell me what works/wouldnt work. But fly into Anchorage, have heard that there are better places to see, so either head to Denali when we get in or maybe spend the night there or somewhere on the way to Denali. Go to Denali for 2 days, one of which would be the bus tour deep into the park. After that we would drive down to Seward, heard the route down is one the best. Stay there for two days, one of which we would do an all day boat tour. Then we would head to Homer for a night or two before our trip back. Lot of driving but hopefully the drives would be beautiful to help pass the time. This seem like a decent layout? Any recommendations for places to stay or definite things to do/places to eat?
Click to expand...

Assuming you are in Boston, flying to Anchorage and driving that day to Denali is hell. I did it from DC. Highly recommend the fly one-way to Kantishna and bus out. That's what we did (we actually stayed in Kantishna for 2 or 3 nights)
 
BostonDeac said:
After a day of research, very tentative, so tell me what works/wouldnt work. But fly into Anchorage, have heard that there are better places to see, so either head to Denali when we get in or maybe spend the night there or somewhere on the way to Denali. Go to Denali for 2 days, one of which would be the bus tour deep into the park. After that we would drive down to Seward, heard the route down is one the best. Stay there for two days, one of which we would do an all day boat tour. Then we would head to Homer for a night or two before our trip back. Lot of driving but hopefully the drives would be beautiful to help pass the time. This seem like a decent layout? Any recommendations for places to stay or definite things to do/places to eat?
Click to expand...

I'll respond more later, but yes that drive from Anchorage to Seward and then across the Peninsula to Homer is breathtaking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top