We just got back from the 8/4-11/14 trip. I didn't see any recent trip reports here, so hopefully I can provide some useful information. I might try to attach some photos in a later post. Here as some random comments:
1. We are a family of 4 with young teens. The total group had 38 people plus two guides and a bus driver. Our guides told us that all of the 2014 Alaska trips were sold out, so 38 is the normal group size. Everybody was families mostly with younger teens. There were a few pre-teens and older teens. All were well-behaved. By the end of the trip, all the kids and adults were good friends. (If you're on next year's adult-only trip, this will be different.)
2. Our two guides were fantastic -- Korey who is an
ABD pro of trips around the world and Carlene who is a local guide. They organized and ran everything, were incredibly helpful, took time to get to know everybody, and provided a lot of interesting information throughout the trip. Henry was our bus driver, who was local and had a dry sense of humor and got along very well with the kids.
3. We are from the East Coast, as were a lot of people on the tour. Anybody from the East should consider getting to the area early, as the tour hits the ground running on the first day. We spend a couple of days in Seattle, which allowed us to adjust to the time change ahead of the tour.
4. Alaska is big, so you'll spend some time in the "motor coach" as they call it. The trip to and from Denali is about 4 hours, but they break it up each time. The guides provide narration and trivia contests and show movies, Disney of course. This is also a good time to read or just look out the window at the spectacular scenery and look for moose and bears.
5. The accommodations are solid. The Anchorage Marriott is a normal in-city hotel. Anchorage is a small city -- not the most scenic but a good base for the first day and a half. The Grande Denali is a Xanterra property, so the rooms are basic, but the hotel has great view of the park. The Alyeska is a higher end ski-resort hotel, with plenty of amenities and a nice indoor pool.
6. Most of the group dinners had set menus with a couple of choices, so not the full menu from a restaurant. The Bridge on the first night has a great view overlooking fishermen in the creek. Half of the nights provide for dinner on your own, and the guides will give good recommendations. Tripadvisor is also useful. Reservations are recommended for the second night in Anchorage, as they fill up with cruise vacationers. Breakfast is provided each morning, either by buffet at the Marriott, or in the restaurants at the Grande Denali and Alyeska.
7. Clothing is definitely casual and warm. All of the restaurants allow jeans and hiking shoes. A rain jacket is a must. We always were able to leave things on the bus, so it was easy to leave layers of jackets or sweat shirts on the bus.
8. All excursions were top notch, and we had designated guides for most of them. Our favorites:
The train from Girdwood to Seward, which has spectacular scenery of glaciers and the wilderness. I think they're eliminating this next year, but the trade-off will be to replace the Resurrection Bay cruise with the longer Northwest cruise in Kenai. On the Resurrection Bay cruise, we saw lots of sea life including Orcas and humpback whales. It did not pass nearby ocean glaciers, but the Northwest cruise does, so I expect that will be a highlight for the 2015 vacationers.
Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennels. Buser is an Alaskan icon having won 4 Iditarods. He and his son Rohn, also a musher, gave talks. Best of all, there were lots of puppies. We all were allowed to hold the 2-week old litter of puppies.
Denali park. We hiked with a very good guide and we were the only 2014 ABD tour (so far) that got to see Denali (Mt. McKinley). It's usually shrouded in clouds, so don't be disappointed if you don't see it. Only 30% of visitors to Alaska actually see it.
Animal spotting. We saw plenty of moose from the bus, and we were stuck behind a large Caribou at Denali, who was taking his time walking down the road. We did not have any bear sightings in the wilderness. However, you get to see all of these animals at the Wildlife Conservation Center, where they are kept in natural enclosures and not zoo-like pens.
Jet-boat cruise. This takes you through the wilderness outside of Talkeetna, where we saw dozens of bald eagles fishing the river.
9. Some of the people in our group scheduled activities for the free afternoons in Denali and Girdwood. Rafting and Jeep excursions were popular in Denali, and hiking was popular in in Girdwood.
10. Over all, it was a great trip. I have never done a tour before and I generally like to make my own plans. However, there is so much to see in Alaska, and it's great to have somebody else plan the activities. Also, it's nice to sit back and relax in a comfortable motor coach rather than having to deal with driving.
Enjoy!
