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Travel
practicalities and general advice
Question: Best
arrangements for a quick overnight in Anchorage
Question: How should we
manage Anchorage transportation?
Question:
Recommendations for traveling with a large party
Question: Is the
Toursaver coupon book a good deal?
Question: Best
arrangements for a quick overnight in Anchorage
1. Are
there any
decent restaurants near the airport? We are flying to Anchorage to stay
overnight
only to take the train to Denali the next
day (we may
be taking a West Canada Tour that includes a couple of nights in Denali). My
husband isn't
keen on driving, so we try to use local transportation, taxis and
trains when
possible.
2. In taking such a tour by train, is it better in your opinion to stay
in town
for quicker access to the train station and more restaurants?
3. I can't find the location of the train station on any map I have.
Just out
of curiosity, where exactly is it in
Anchorage; that
is, the street
address? Any comments you might offer on taking a tour such as I
describe would
be helpful. Your book makes me want to spend several months or more in
Alaska!
Answer:
There are
plenty of
decent restaurants at the airport. There is one in the Millenium Hotel
on Spenard
Road, and,
for a down-home
place, Gwennie's on Spenard
Road is very
popular.
Why not stay downtown? You will have to go there to catch the train
anyway. The
train leaves early in the morning, too.
The depot is on
1st Avenue, just
north of the
downtown area.
Question:
How should we manage Anchorage
transportation?
In June,
we will fly
into Anchorage on
Thursday and
arrive about noon. We will
pick up a rental car at the
airport for two days and drop it off on Saturday morning. We will then
take the
train from Anchorage to
Seward on Saturday
morning -- the train departs at 6:15 am.
My question is what kind of transportation we should use to go from the
airport
to the train station on Saturday at 5:30 in the
morning. How
far is the train station from the airport? Are there shuttle buses? or
taxi cabs
?
We have 6 people in the group -- 3 adults, 2 teenagers and a
3-year-old. We
will be staying at a B&B close to the airport by the Holiday Inn
Express
and Gwennies Old Alaska restaurant. We need to go one-way from
Anchorage to
Seward, since we
will be doing a one-week southbound Princess cruise from Seward to Vancouver the
following Monday.
Basically, we will have 4 days on land before the cruise. I was looking
into
doing a one-way rental from Anchorage to
Seward with Hertz,
but it's too pricey. There is a minimum requirement for 3 days at $309
per day
-- hence, the train trip to Seward.
Answer:
The
railroad station
is downtown, on First Ave. I think your best plan would be to take a
cab or two
cabs. With the size of your group, you would save money over a shuttle
and it
would be more convenient. You can request a mini-van, although you
still might
need two cabs if you have a lot of luggage. Allow plenty of time, as
cabs can
take 15 minutes to arrive. The ride to the railroad station at that
hour will be
10 to 15 minutes.
Question:
Recommendations for traveling with a large party
I plan to
travel to Alaska this
summer on a
cruise. We have three children 5, 8, and 11. We’ll also be traveling
with my
mother-in-law (mid 60's) and brother-in-law (40). My wife and I are
early 40's.
We plan to travel in
Alaska for one
week before the
cruise. There will be seven to eight people including kids. Any
recommendations
on traveling with this many? Although I love to camp at least half of
the adults
wouldn't think of it.
Answer:
It sounds
like your
week before the cruise will be independent (not on an escorted or
package
tour). In my book, you will find hotels in most cities that have
apartment
units that accommodate larger parties and allow you to eat some meals,
at least
breakfast, in the room (although you will obviously need more than one
unit in
any case). In my experience, you save money by getting suites and
larger rooms
rather than getting more rooms. Also, taking a huge group to
restaurants for
all your meals is a headache, so it is nice if at least some of you can
eat in.
In
Anchorage,
consider the Parkview Inn and the
Residence Inn. In Seward, the Harborview Inn has a nice, waterfront
duplex with
two two-bedroom units and other large suites. In
Fairbanks, The
Wedgewood has
big apartment units. With the size of your group, B&Bs are a good
choice,
because you can rent the entire place and be very relaxed about the
children
making noise.
We are in a very similar family situation as you and have tried trips
with large
groups. I think everyone is happiest when they have some independence,
do what
interests them, and regroup at certain times rather than trying to stay
together constantly. With this is mind, you could rent an RV and have
the kids
and some adults travel that way while the other adults have a large car
or
mini-van and stay in hotels. On the road you could convoy. That would
be
expensive. The least expensive option would be to rent a large van.
Question:
Is the Toursaver coupon book a good deal?
In
looking at websites
I came across a site that talked about "The Great Alaskan Toursaver
Coupon
Book." Can you provide us with any information on this book? If what it
says is really true it is a good deal especially if one wants to do
some of the
very expensive things such as heli-hike.
Answer:
Yes, the
Toursaver coupon book is a terrific
deal, especially for couples, as many of the offers are two-for-one. To
really
save money with it, get the book and then make the reservations rather
than the
other way around (that way you'll know where you can save the most).
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