Personal opinions, of course, so bear that in mind...

Aside from the quality of accommodations and the number and quality of meals, these are all pretty similar in my view. The third one (the second National Geographic tour) goes south-to-north and doesn't include Fairbanks, but otherwise covers pretty much the same territory as the other two. The Fairbanks - Denali - Anchorage - Seward corridor is VERY heavily visited; the itineraries you listed are quite similar to those offered by cruise lines for their land touring add-ons.

When the internal road in Denali National Park was closed at about the halfway point due to landslides a couple of years ago, there was speculation that the reduced access to the national park - some of the best views and a big part of the area where wildlife spotting was common - might result in a drop of visitor numbers to the park. But this doesn't sit well with the tour companies and cruise line tour people - all those hotel and lodge rooms at Denali still have to make their mortgage payments, so the tours just kept the standard two-night (sometimes 3) commitments to staying near Denali. But with access to the interior of the park limited, what to do with all the hours that would have been spent riding on the park bus (no private cars) to places like the Eielson Visitor Center or Wonder Lake, both now off limits? So they laid on more short tours - wildlife or tundra tours, etc. to soak up the hours (and the dollars.)

Now these can be terrific, but my hunch is most people want to see the mountain at a closer range, want to see more wildlife deeper into the park, all that. But they can't, at least for a couple more years until the road reopens (now 2027?) But meanwhile they'll be housed in accommodations near the park, possibly with more time on their hands than they'd like. Maybe that's okay for you, maybe not. But I'd argue that with a 7 or 8 day tour, having 3 of them dedicated to getting to Denali and staying there, then getting south to Anchorage or to Seward with a stop in (IMO rather touristy) Talkeetna en route, along with umpteen other tour buses... well...

Like I say, personal opinion and possibly not widely shared. But at the prices quoted (ouch) I'd question value for money.

If this trip is next year, you have plenty of time to do some thought experiments. Try this: one week's car rental, and independent travel focused on Anchorage, Seward, and the Kenai Peninsula - Homer, Kachemak Bay etc. Include a glacier cruise in Whittier, a Kenai Fjords cruise in Seward, and maybe visits to Anchorage-area sights like Girdwood, Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center... things like that. My hunch is that you could put together a pretty rewarding trip.

(Too late to edit...)

I was also going to suggest that you investigate focusing on Southeast Alaska rather than Southcentral and Interior parts of the state. The priorities you state - mountains, wildlife, glaciers etc. - are all readily available with bases like Sitka, Juneau, Haines or Skagway. You can fly between these places or take the state ferry through beautiful "inside passage" scenery, and while there will be cruise ships present during the days, they'll all sail away in the afternoon or evening, leaving room in restaurants, on local trails, whatever. Do some googling.

Nat. Geographic - I'm not impressed. I couldn't believe this. Had to read the itinerary twice because I thought I must have missed it...but no, one of them doesn't include a bus ride into Denali to view scenery and look for wildlife. Now, you do have time at Denali to purchase a tour and do it on your own. But for $8400 I would expect more.... Also looks like you get just a 6 hr. Kenai Fjords cruise, though they don't come out and say that. The other does include the East Fork Shuttle to mile 43 where the road is closed. Costs about $33 if you have to buy it on your own. (The Tundra Wilderness Tour is way more expensive--$144--but it does pick up at the hotels. However, you don't get to choose your own departure time and are not told what time you've been *assigned* until 48 hours in advance, and that can really mess with your other plans.)

Globus does include the Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali, but apparently doesn't think clients should know how long their Kenai Fjords cruise is. Might be just a 6 hr. cruise, might be a longer one. For $3900 pp it shouldn't be so difficult for them to provide such pertinent details.

Question: is it important to you to have a tour director escorting you everywhere, or would it be enough that a tour company books all the lodging/tours/transportation for you but at each location you're on your own? If the latter would be acceptable, the company I have in mind also allows you to customize their tours so you can include what interests YOU. For example: in Seward it includes the 6 hr. Kenai Fjords cruise BUT you can opt to upgrade to the Northwestern Fjord cruise (further into Kenai Fjords NP, more time to view glaciers and look for marine wildlife). Have a look at this to see what you think: https://www.alaskatravel.com/tours/640/#tab-what-s-included

You also might want to hang around Anchorage an extra day or two before/after the tour, rent a car, and do activities within an easy 1 or 2 hr. drive. For example:

1. the easy guided hike on Matanuska Glacier is really popular--a 2+ hrs. scenic drive from ANC. If driving 4.5 hrs. in one day is too long, you could overnight near Matanuska before returning to ANC. Sheep Mt. Lodge is good for that, and also offers several excursions including the least expensive flightseeing with glacier landing that I've seen).

2. drive just 1 hr south of ANC (2 hr. round trip), IMO the most scenic stretch of all, utilizing the several turn-outs to enjoy the views, stopping at Potter Marsh if you like birds, Indian Valley Mine for easy gold panning, Girdwood to go up Alyeska Tram if the weather is clear, and visit Wildlife Conservation Center (check website for programs that might be of interest).

3. this popular day train trip to Spencer Glacier, with add-on rafting near icebergs then scenic raft down the river: https://www.alaskatravel.com/things-to-do/train-day-trips/ Or booking it directly on your own: https://alaskanrafting.com/product/spencer-glacier-placer-river-float/ , which includes a detailed itinerary. Note that you can board the train in Anchorage, Girdwood, or Portage if you don't want such a long day...and Portage does save some money. You'd need your own car for that. You could spend the morning doing most of the things I mentioned in #2 and board the train at Portage at 1:25 pm to head to Spencer.

4. depending on which month you're going, a bear-viewing tour. Expensive ($1000 and up) but incredibly memorable. If this would be of interest, check Rust's for more info. Note that if DS and spouse are with you, they could either pay for that on their own, or fly home a day early. Or they could do something else that day if they want to fly home with you.

Just some ideas to kick around.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the AT&T tour I linked to concludes in Seward, so you'd have to add on either the train or bus back to ANC to fly home.

As independent travelers, I would encourage you to continue that! If you start now, we have a few people on the forum that are especially good at itineraries! I am not one of them but I really think you could better plan your own, spend less and enjoy it way more!!

So start your research now, start booking this fall and you will be all set! :)

Wow --incredible insights! Thank you all so much for taking the time to look at these itineraries and share your opinions and expertise, as well as listing experiences that you think might be particularly worthwhile. Super interesting too that the main road in Denali is closed. I had no idea. Doing it on our own sounds like we could get some better experiences and have extra monies in the budget too for some cool glacier calving and possibly a bear watching add on.

I usually love trip planning (sometimes even more than taking the trip). You've given me some great ideas about where to start too. I think I might just need a short break from planning, so doing a tour just sounded so easy and mindless. It's probably that I made major plans for 10 out of town relatives coming into town for my son's wedding this year (five-night stay for most of the guests -- the wedding was in May). It all went great, but it was a lot to plan. Plus, I just finished planning a seven-night trip in Glacier National Park / Waterton Lakes (got all my in-park reservations that I wanted for next year by going online at midnight mountain time July 1). That kind of forced me to plan everything out - where we wanted to be each day - put together a tentative itinerary for everything). I think I'm just a little burned out on that. I may give myself a month or two off and think based on your advice then look into what an independent trip that would be appealing to our group might look like. I could always too after that evaluation go back to a tour if I wanted.

I so appreciate your frank and honest opinions!

.

"Or maybe talk us out of doing a tour altogether."

I read your post a couple times, and I want to talk you out of a tour; and instead plan a DIY land based trip. Following are some notes that you may (or may not) find helpful:

- AK's full of wonderful communities/areas where you can be exposed to some really cool AK experiences. Here's a list of some of these areas and in parenthesis I've listed my suggestion for minimum number of nights in each. It is important to research an area to make sure it has sites/activities that are of interest to you:

Denali (3)

Seward (2)

Fairbanks (1-2)

Homer(2)

Valdez (2)

Girdwood/Portage/Whittier (1-2)

Matanuska Glacier (1)

Talkeetna (0.5-1)

AK's big, and a traveler cannot do it all. A typical 7 day AK trip usually involves flying in/out of Anchorage; traveling as far south as Seward, north to Denali, and hitting a few spots in between. As you add nights, then you can add new areas to visit. Anchorage is great, but the rest of AK is even better.

AK roads:

- https://goo.gl/maps/PzwTz

For 2025 I'd want to have my dates firm by November, so that I could book a rental vehicle (book as soon as you know dates remembering it's cancelable/changeable if prices go down.

7-8 day long trips (short) usually consist of north as far as Denali, south to Seward, and a couple points in between (Girdwood/Portage/Whittier area and/or the Matanuska Glacier area)

As/if you develop wants/not-wants, duration, specific time of year, etc.; come back here with more questions.

The main road into Denali National park is only partially closed. It is open to about 45 miles. Still lots to see and enjoy! :)

Ah, Trip Planning Fatigue. Yes, the best thing to do is give your poor brain a rest, confident that your subconscious mind will be in the background sorting through options. When it starts hopping up and down because you're ignoring it, come back to this thread and we'll be happy to give more ideas.

You might not want to read the rest of my post until you do return, lol. Don't push things past the point of frustration! You have lots of time to make plans.

For each city, check its website or Chamber of Commerce for ideas on what to do and see. For example, do you even *want* to go to Fairbanks? Cruisetours include that because it's the only international airport north of ANC. Some people enjoy Fairbanks--I do!--but others don't, or just would rather visit other places with their limited time. None of us can see or do everything in one trip, we all have to pick and choose.

To save you a bit of time, here are the links to the main cities:

SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA

Anchorage: https://www.anchorage.net/

Girdwood: https://www.visitgirdwood.com/stay

Seward: https://www.seward.com/

Homer: https://www.homeralaska.org/

Glacier View/Matanuska: https://glacierview-alaska.com/

Matsu/Palmer/Wasilla: https://www.alaskavisit.com/lodging/

Talkeetna: https://www.talkeetnachamber.org/

There are also Valdez, McCarthy, etc., but those are a long way to drive if you have only 8 or so days.

Denali is your best *chance* to see a variety of wildlife, even with the road closed half-way. Seward is your best *chance* to see a variety of marine wildlife. No guarantees, though, at either place. I've personally seen a little, and a lot, at both locations. Matter of luck.

* * *

INTERIOR ALASKA

Fairbanks: https://www.explorefairbanks.com/

Denali : https://www.discoverdenali.org/

* * *

SE ALASKA (Inside Passage) ports of call

Ketchikan - https://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

Juneau - https://www.traveljuneau.com/

Skagway - https://www.skagway.com/

Haines - https://www.visithaines.com/

Sitka - https://visitsitka.org/

Gustavus - https://www.gustavusak.com/

Icy Strait Point - https://icystraitpoint.com/

Though it sounds like you’ve already decided on Interior/S. Central. No right or wrong choice here, just personal preference. If this is your only trip to Alaska, just be sure that activities/places that are most important to *you* get included.

Enjoy your summer, and hopefully we’ll see you later!

You guys are great! I will bookmark this thread and be back when I am ready to do some travel planning. You're given me great ideas to start and so many helpful ideas and links. Thank you!