Alaska Plans

Our basic itinerary is as follows, for late August-early September:

Day 1: MPLS to ANC to Homer (Travel Day / Relax)

Leave MPLS at 7:50am and fly into ANC at 10am, get rental car from Budget, drive to Homer and stay 4 nights (Ocean House B&B)
Relax, no big plans, just get there and relax. Find some supper.

Day 2: Homer (Halibut Charter, Explore Homer Spit)

Half day Halibut charter with Homer Ocean Charters at 1pm.

Day 3: Homer (Homer Spit / Relax / Kachemak Bay)

Grab lunch on Homer Spit somewhere
Explore Homer Spit
Perhaps rent a kayak and explore Kachemak Bay

Day 4: Homer (Unplanned Day)

No big plans for the day - decide on a whim what we want to do - take a tour, rest at the hotel - whatever sounds good!

Day 5: Homer to Seward (Travel Day)

Check out of Ocean House B&B and drive to Seward and check in for 4 nights at Best Western Edgewood Seward.
Rest, relax and check out the town.
Find dinner, take a relaxing walk or whatever.

Day 6: Seward (Kenai Fjords 6 hour cruise)

Take Dramamine right before lunch!!
Grab a light lunch before the cruise
Kenai Fjords cruise leaves at 11:30am and returns at 5pm.

Day 7: Seward (Hike Mt. Marathon, Alaska SeaLife Center)

Grab breakfast, then take a hike up Mt. Marathon.
Head back to Seward for lunch.
Rest, then hit up the Alaska SeaLife Center for the afternoon.

Day 8: Seward (Exit Glacier)

Grab breakfast, then head to Exit Glacier
Hike the glacier as long as it takes
Explore Seward the rest of the day

Day 9: Seward to Talkeetna (Travel Day)

Check out of Best Western Edgewater in Seward.
Lunch in Anchorage, or maybe even Girdwood.
Drive to Talkeetna and stay 1 night (Meandering Moose Lodging)
Head back into Talkeetna and find some dinner, relax.

Day 10: Talkeetna to Denali (Travel Day)

Sleep in a bit if necessary, then drive to Denali and stay 2 nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge

Day 11: Denali (11 hour bus tour)

Leave EARLY for 11 hour bus tour. Needs to be booked still!!

Day 12: Denali (ATV tour?)

ATV tour at ::time needed:

Day 13: Denali (Switch hotels / Flightseeing / Dinner Theatre)

Check out of hotel, load up belongings OR see if we can drop them at Denali Bluffs early.
Hopefully catch a flightseeing tour around 10:30am (not yet booked)
Check in at Denali Bluffs Hotel for 2 nights.
Alaskan Dinner Theatre at 8:30pm.

Day 14: Denali to Anchorage (Travel Day)

Drive to Anchorage and stay 2 nights (International Coastal Inn)

Day 15: Anchorage (Return rental car / Cab to downtown / Explore)

Drop off rental car at Budget at 10am and get airport shuttle back to hotel.
Take a cab downtown, explore, shop, find lunch, explore more, maybe rent bikes.
Dinner at Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria.

Day 16: Anchorage to Minneapolis (Travel Day)

Check out of hotel
Take airport shuttle to airport.
Flight leaves ANC at ::time needed::

Planning a Trip

I have planned a number of trips - big and small - and while at first it might seem daunting, I've come to a basic methodology that works well for me! I'll admit - even after multiple vacations - it still is a bit overwhelming at first, but if you follow these steps, it will come together.

First (General Ideas)

you need to decide where you want to go in a general sense. For example, in the general sense, you might decide "somewhere warm", or "somewhere exotic". You might also narrow it down by deciding if you want to travel within the U.S. or Internationally. Decide how far away you want to travel, and if you want to fly. For all of our trips, we've had a basic destination in mind: "Ireland" or "Hawaii" or "Alaska".

Second (Narrrowing it Down)

you need to pick out specific area within the destination. After reading some travel blogs and travel internet forums, we narrowed it down to "Southern Ireland", "Oahu, Kaua'i, and The Big Island of Hawaii", and "SE Alaska".

Third (Specifics)

you need to pick out the specific citie(s) you plan to stay in. Again, based on information you can gather from the internet (i.e. use a search engine such as google or msn), travel books, forums and reviews, you can determine which cities sound the most appealing to you. For instance, if you're a big city person, in Ireland you would want to look at Dublin, Galway, Cork and Belfast. If you're more interested in the small town countryside, you would want to look at the smaller towns in between. In Hawaii, if you're a lay on the beach and party type, Oahu is your island. However, if you're into rugged hiking and magestic views, you might consider Kaua'i and The Big Island. If you are dying to see volcanoes, your only option is The Big Island.

Fourth (Lodging, Dining and Activities)

you need to pick out lodging, dining and activities for each part of your trip. Granted, if you're a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of person, this might not seem nearly as important as actually finding the place.

Fifth (Booking)

Once you have a good idea of where you want to go and what you want to see, start booking! I tend to want to wait a little longer than others, perhaps, but it seems the second I start booking a trip, something comes up, so I try not to actually book anything until 2-3 months out, stalking the prices beforehand to know what the deals are. I generally use websites like www.travelocity.com, www.hotels.com, www.hotwire.com or www.1800flyeurope.com to get some great deals. However, sometimes the deals are better if you go directly to the accommodations' websites or call them directly.

Good luck with planning your next trip! If you have any questions, I can try to help :)

Alaska Tips

Seward

Fjord Tour

$164 Adults / $82.00 Children (2-11), plus tax and fees

"they are kinda pricey..but SOOOOOO worth it. Especially the all day tour with the lunch at fox island." - Melissa Dilling

10:00 am Departure (Fox Island)
Cruise Kenai Fjords National Park with a one-of-a-kind stop at Fox Island for an all you can eat grilled wild Alaska salmon and prime rib dinner. Enjoy a National Park Ranger presentation at Fox Island.

•May 28 thru August 28, 2011
•8.5-hour cruise (10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.)
•Healthy chicken caesar wrap for lunch
•Step ashore at our private Fox Island Lodge
•All you can eat wild Alaska salmon and prime rib for dinner
•Add half a pound of Alaska king crab for only $8
•National Park Ranger presentation
•Wildlife guide

http://www.kenaifjords.com/

Seward was just named the #1 US Destination for 2010 in TripAdvisor.com's annual survey.

Mel's insights:
She lived in Seward from May -Aug.
If we get a car, she recommends just driving and hitting up little fishing villages. And plan on hiking...ALOT!