RSWH01 Highlights of Kenai Fjords & Denali

RSWH01 Highlights of Kenai Fjords & Denali (Pre- or Post Cruise Land Tour) 

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This 6 day rail’n drive tour combines Alaska’s two most popular and accessible National Park - Kenai Fjords and Denali National Park. You’ll begin this self drive tour in Whittier where you’ll pick up your rental car. Whittier is most visited as the embarkation/debarkation point for one-way cruises between Anchorage to Vancouver by Princess and other cruise lines and an important port for the ferries on the Alaska Marine Highway. Follow the Seward Highway to the port town Seward, the gateway for cruises into Kenai Fjords National Park. Board the catamaran for a full day wildlife and glacier cruise, arguably one of the most scenic places in Alaska to see spectacular coastal scenery, marine wildlife and calving tidewater glaciers. Return to Anchorage where the driving portion of your vacation ends. Now it is time to explore Alaska’s backcountry on board the Alaska Railroad. Choose between the “Adventure Class” seating in the single-storey railway car or the “Deluxe Dome Railcar” on board the Alaska Railroad or with one of the privately operated trains. All train cars feature large panorama windows ensuring unobstructed views around every bend of the majestic beauty of the glaciers, mountains and Alaskan wildlife. Enjoy the comfortable ride as the train takes you via the Matanuska Valley towards the Alaska Range and Mt. Denali. Denali National Park is one of Alaska’s most popular attraction and natural habitat for many types of wildlife including caribou, moose, wolves, Dall sheep, bald eagles, and the mighty grizzly bears. It is most likely you will spot some of them while taking the full day Denali Transit Bus to Eielson Center, Wonder Lake or Kantishna Roadhouse. Your final destination is Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city and filled with lot of adventures along with metropolitan amenities. Please read our itinerary to have more detailed day-to-day experience. On request, this trip can be customized and can be organized in reverse order

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Whittier – Seward | Start Self Drive Tour ( Overnight: Seward )

Arrive in Whittier and pick up your rental car. Take the Whittier Tunnel to Portage Valley where you will catch the sight of Portage Glacier. The glacier is in retreat and not visible from the Begich Boggs Visitor Center, but it is still an interesting stop thanks to exhibits that let visitors walk through a simulated ice cave, view live ice worms or touch an iceberg. To get up close to the glacier, take an hour-long sightseeing boat cruise or hike on one of a number of foot trails that lead to the glacier. Continue your road trip to Seward, a small fishing town at the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. Spend some time to visit Exit Glacier. Short trails lead to the edge of the glacier where you can take a good photo in front of glacier ice.

Seward ( Overnight: Seward )

This morning board the stable catamaran for a spectacular cruise deep into Kenai Fjords National Park with actively "calving" glaciers and magnificent scenery. Covering 110-miles, the trip is narrated by a National Park Ranger, who is highly adept at spotting wildlife and pointing out the many sights. Kenai Fjords showcase the best of Alaska’s marine world in a compact package. Kittiwakes, puffins and other seabirds nest along cliff faces just above the swells. Sea otters float belly-up eating mussels while Harbor seals haul out on icebergs off Aialik Glacier. Look out for Steller sea lions on Chiswell Island as well as Humpback and killer whales. After reaching the tidewater glacier, guests witness "glacier calving" a process by which glaciers shed giant slabs of ancient ice.Included: Kenai Fjords Glacier Cruise

Seward – Anchorage | End of Self Drive Tour ( Overnight: Anchorage )

Spend some time in the morning at the Alaska SeaLife Center – the world's largest and first cold water marine search institute with wildlife rehabilitation and public education facilities, try some outstanding halibut or salmon fishing within Resurrection Bay, book a half day kayak tour from Lowell Point to Holgate Glacier or hike the scenic Exit Glacier Trail - the choice is yours ! Take the Seward Highway north towards Anchorage. Feel free to take a break at the designated photo stops to enjoy the panoramic views over Cook Inlet. Arrive in Anchorage later in the day and drop off your rental car.

Anchorage – Denali National Park | Rail Tour ( Overnight: Denali Village )

Morning transfer to the railroad station where you'll board the train to Denali National Park. Choose between the standard rail car or the glass-dome compartments with large panorama windows ensuring unobstructed views of snowcapped mountain ranges, pristine scenery and abundant wildlife. Enjoy the comfortable ride as the train takes you via the Matanuska Valley towards the Alaska Range and Mt. Denali. Onboard services feature a restaurant, gift shop and snack bar. Arrive at Denali Village late afternoon. Transfer to your hotel and check into your room. Once you settled take a stroll through Denali Village, join a flightseeing tour, wildwater rafting trip or visit Jeff King’s Husky Homestead Kennel for a personal tour with four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King and his sled dogs.

Denali National Park ( Overnight: Denali Village )

Denali National Park offers excellent wildlife viewing and spectacular sceneries. Pick up your tickets, board the bus and watch out for grizzly bears, moose, caribou, wolf and fox moving along the ridges and river beds. Your driver informs about the history of Denali National Park, its diverse wildlife and flora. Once an animal has been spotted the bus will stop that everyone can watch and take pictures. The bus turns around at Eielson Visitor Center - 66 miles one way/8 hours round trip. You can get off the bus anytime to go for a hike. Return to the Denali Park entrance anytime during the day. Optional: We can extend the transit bus tour to Wonder Lake or exchange to the Tundra Wilderness Tour, Kantishna Wilderness Trails or Backcountry Lodge Tour. Included: Denali Transit Bus to Eielson

Denali National Park – Anchorage | Rail Tour

Board the Alaska Railroad and relax in your comfortable reclining seats, have a delicious lunch onboard or listen to the commentaries from an onboard interpreter. Just south of Denali National Park you will be passing the small community of Cantwell and then enter Broad Pass, offering majestic views of the Alaska Range in all directions. Your rail tour continues via Wasilla - home of the Alaska Iditarod Sled Dog Race - and crosses the Knik River with the Chugach Mountains as a backdrop before arriving in Anchorage. The tour ends with the arrival at the Anchorage Train Station. Please contact us for an additional overnight in Anchorage or extending the tour.