Alaska trip Denali portion question

[ngl]

For those of you who did a ABD Alaska trip, wanted to get your thoughts on the Denali portion of the trip. Of course, it's Denali so it must be great! However, we are debating between ABD Alaska or Tauck Alaska and the only real difference between the two is the Denali stay. Tauck stays at the Kenai Princess in Cooper Landing and you do a flight seeing trip at the foothills of Denali but not actually staying in the park.

We will have our then 9 & 7 year olds with us. The Tauck departure date is a bit more conducive to our schedule but could make ABD work. Tauck is about $1200 cheaper PER person (my guess is due to the Denali portion) and that does not even factor in that Tauck includes gratuities whereas ABD does not. However, we really want to experience the best trip we can.

Before we make our final decision, I wanted to get some thoughts on the experience. We are coming from FL so a big change for us to go to Alaska so all insight is appreciated!

 

[carpenta]

Nobody stays in the park for the hotels are located outside the park. Only rustic cabins and camping sites in th e park. We went with ABD to Alaska about ten years ago with a little different itinerary. We left the group and signed up for a tour group bus ride into Denali park for the day and LOVED IT. I strongly recommend you do this for it is the best way to see the park deep into the remarkable scenery. We love Tauck family trips (4) so far and recommend them as high as ABD. And the lesser price does not reflect any less quality in trips. The tips thing also adds up to quite a savings. We are traveling with Tauck to Costa Rica with Tauck in Dec. so love them as much.

 

[sayhello]

The Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge at Cooper Landing is *nowhere* near Denali. You can't actually be doing any trips into the park from there. If you're doing a flight seeing trip there, I can't imagine you'll be spending much time actually in the park. (ETA: I think I found your itinerary, and it says "soar over the Denali foothills in a small plane (weather permitting) for a breathtaking bird's-eye view of towering Mt. Denali, the tallest mountain in North America." So you wouldn't have any time actually in Denali park, or the option of doing anything in the park on your own unless you somehow transported yourself quite a distance away. There *is* a Princess Lodge just outside of Denali, but that's the Kenai Princess Denali Lodge. I stayed there on my cruisetour, and it was nice. The Kenai Peninsula is a gorgeous area, staying there is pretty wonderful, too.

The ABD stays at the Grande Denali Lodge, which, as @carpenta says, is also not inside Denali Park. It is, however, just outside the park. It's an OK Lodge, but the real appeal is the magnificent view it has of the surrounding area (it's perched up on the side of a mountain). The new Alaska ABD itinerary *does* include the Denali Natural History Tour, which is probably the shorter version of the tour that carpenta took. I did the Natural History Tour on my cruisetour, and loved it. You don't go as far into the park as the all-day tour does, but we saw a lot, including beautiful sights an lots of wildlife. If you do either the Natural History tour *or* the all-day tour, you'll miss the river rafting. However, that afternoon & dinner is on your own, so you wouldn't be missing anything in the afternoon/evening.

I think it depends on if you're OK with flying over Denali, or want to actually go into the park.

Sayhello

 

[DCPhotoGal]

I can't comment on the difference between the two, but in case you hadn't seen this thread, I got a lot of good advice about the Alaska trip when I asked last month. We ended up booking the ABD Alaska. I didn't look into any other operators because we're been very happy with ABD and my teens are just so "sold" on anything ABD, it's worth it to me to stick with the brand for their buy-in. They just trust that anything ABD offers will be fun, and that makes a big difference. https://www.disboards.com/threads/advice-iceland-or-alaska.3627362/

 

[ngl]

The Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge at Cooper Landing is *nowhere* near Denali. You can't actually be doing any trips into the park from there. If you're doing a flight seeing trip there, I can't imagine you'll be spending much time actually in the park. (ETA: I think I found your itinerary, and it says "soar over the Denali foothills in a small plane (weather permitting) for a breathtaking bird's-eye view of towering Mt. Denali, the tallest mountain in North America." So you wouldn't have any time actually in Denali park, or the option of doing anything in the park on your own unless you somehow transported yourself quite a distance away. There *is* a Princess Lodge just outside of Denali, but that's the Kenai Princess Denali Lodge. I stayed there on my cruisetour, and it was nice. The Kenai Peninsula is a gorgeous area, staying there is pretty wonderful, too.

The ABD stays at the Grande Denali Lodge, which, as @carpenta says, is also not inside Denali Park. It is, however, just outside the park. It's an OK Lodge, but the real appeal is the magnificent view it has of the surrounding area (it's perched up on the side of a mountain). The new Alaska ABD itinerary *does* include the Denali Natural History Tour, which is probably the shorter version of the tour that carpenta took. I did the Natural History Tour on my cruisetour, and loved it. You don't go as far into the park as the all-day tour does, but we saw a lot, including beautiful sights an lots of wildlife. If you do either the Natural History tour *or* the all-day tour, you'll miss the river rafting. However, that afternoon & dinner is on your own, so you wouldn't be missing anything in the afternoon/evening.

I think it depends on if you're OK with flying over Denali, or want to actually go into the park.

Sayhello

Thanks for the reply. Yes, we know Tauck would not take us into Denali at all so that is why I was curious as to what people thought of the Denali portion of ABD as we would not get it in Tauck (and would not do a day trip or anything). Wanted to get basic impressions on Denali and if it was the highlight of the trip, etc. Thanks!

 

[carpenta]

IMO Denali is the crown jewel of Alaska. If you are going to Alaska you can't miss seeing the National Park and mountain. BUT remember the summit is usually not visible more than half the time. We only saw the top of the mountain from our plane we took going to Fairbanks where the trip had started in the past. Sayhello was one of the lucky ones to view the mountain from the park if I remember correctly and I am still jealous after all this time.

 

[acndis]

The old itinerary has a 1/2 day hike in Denali and the rafting trip. I think the new itinerary has increased the time. Alaska is really beautiful and I think you would have a great time on either Tauck or ABD. For me, I really loved the rafting trip and the Kenai Peninsula. The hike in Denali was beautiful and we saw moose but the other activities stood out to me more. In other words, there is so much beauty, I don't think we would have missed the hike terribly and the flyover may see many of the same sites, too.

 

[ngl]

Thank you carpenta and acndis! Appreciate the perspective. We are probably leaning towards Tauck based on the departure date as it works better with our work schedules than ABD does and sounds like even without the up close and personal of Denali it will still be great. And gives us an excuse to go back to Alaska at some point to see Denali I guess!

 

[sayhello]

IMO Denali is the crown jewel of Alaska. If you are going to Alaska you can't miss seeing the National Park and mountain. BUT remember the summit is usually not visible more than half the time. We only saw the top of the mountain from our plane we took going to Fairbanks where the trip had started in the past. Sayhello was one of the lucky ones to view the mountain from the park if I remember correctly and I am still jealous after all this time.

Yes, that was me. Although, technically, I saw it as we were leaving the park, just driving down alongside the Park, heading down to Anchorage. Only 10% of the people who go to see Denali ever actually see it this clearly (and only 30% see it at all). I know how very lucky I am to have seen it crystal clear like this!

Thank you carpenta and acndis! Appreciate the perspective. We are probably leaning towards Tauck based on the departure date as it works better with our work schedules than ABD does and sounds like even without the up close and personal of Denali it will still be great. And gives us an excuse to go back to Alaska at some point to see Denali I guess!

I agree with acndis. While Denali is gorgeous and spectacular, if I had to pick a highlight of the ABD (besides seeing Mt. Denali, above) it would be the Kenai Peninsula. (Although neither trip does the boat ride on Resurrection Bay, which was the true highlight of the trip). Both Denali and Kenai are gorgeous, and at least you *are* seeing (hopefully!) Denali from above. I believe it was @Bobo912 who got a spectacular view of Denali from the air.

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

Yes, that was me. Although, technically, I saw it as we were leaving the park, just heading down to Anchorage. Only 10% of the people who go to see Denali ever actually see it this clearly (and only 30% see it at all). I know how very lucky I am to have seen it crystal clear like this!

View attachment 267302

I agree with acndis. While Denali is gorgeous and spectacular, if I had to pick a highlight of the ABD (besides seeing Mt. Denali, above) it would be the Kenai Peninsula. (Although neither trip does the boat ride on Resurrection Bay, which was the true highlight of the trip). Both Denali and Kenai are gorgeous, and at least you *are* seeing (hopefully!) Denali from above. I believe it was @Bobo912 who got a spectacular view of Denali from the air.

Sayhello

Yes, that was me. We saw it on the flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks (back when the ABD started in Fairbanks). The pilot circled and tipped the wings so we got a fantastic view. It was a 737 and there were maybe 6 people on the flight. Alaska Air pilots are awesome!

Seeing the mountain is great, but you don't have to actually be in the park to see it. I would pick the itinerary I liked best and fits my schedule. There is wilderness and wildlife all over Alaska, not just in the park. It looks like the Tauck trip includes a cruise similar to the Resurrection Bay cruise and I would probably choose Tauck just for that, since ABD no longer does the cruise.

 

[ngl]

Thank you all for your help. Exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated!

 

[White Rose]

We did Denali as part of a cruise tour, and stayed at the princess lodge. (It was a princess cruisetour with train travel between the lodges) It was a good hotel, outside enterances, but lovely/mildly rustic. The furniture was very Alaska, lots of rough woods.


I would suggest going for the upgraded Denali tour, even if you do not get a good view of Denali/mt McKinley!

We paid for the upgraded Denali park visit and it was fantastic. We did not see the mountain clearly that day, but the next day we stayed at the Mount McKinley princes lodge and had an extremely amazing few for a few hours. (My husband is very friendly and wound up taking about 40-50 pictures for others...people thought he worked for the lodge and got a bit annoyed when I wanted to take him away from his "job"...we got our picture just as the fog was rolling back in. I had to say..."um..guys..can I get a picture with my husband, um...please?"

Because it is so rare to see the mountain, it can take some people several trips to get the experience...the extended Denali tour is more about animal sightings and see the tundra which is amazing! We saw bears wolves, sheep, and lots of other stuff I can't think of right now. Lol. It is so worth it. Bring food with you if you are a picky eater...the snack was quite odd if I remember....was reindeer sausage, I think.

 

[sayhello]

We did Denali as part of a cruise tour, and stayed at the princess lodge. (It was a princess cruisetour with train travel between the lodges) It was a good hotel, outside enterances, but lovely/mildly rustic. The furniture was very Alaska, lots of rough woods.

I think you probably stayed at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, and not the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge at Cooper Landing where the Tauck tour stays. I stayed at the Denali Lodge also during my Alaska cruisetour, and it *was* very nice.

Sayhello