Reviewing our itinerary. Active DINKs
Just got back from our first Alaska trip (June 20- 26). Here’s my humble opinion of the itinerary we put together. For reference we’re an active/fit, child free couple in our mid thirties {with high expectations}. We’re from CO and try to go out of our way to avoid tourist traps:
Day 0: Anchorage to Seward Drive- 5 Stars
Landed in Anchorage around 9:30 pm. Took the shuttle to pick up a Turo- this took a little longer than expected, but easy enough process.
As everyone else has noted, this drive is INCREDIBLE. Due to the crazy summer sun hours, we made it to Seward before it was “dark” and ended up driving this stretch during golden hour with super limited traffic.
Day 1: Exploring Seward- 3.5/5
All I can say is you better have a great rain jacket. From my understanding the wet/cold/cloudy weather we had is the norm. Mountain views are impaired by the clouds, with the occasional magnificent break where a peak popping out will remind you why you’re putting up with all the cruise people. *If you weren’t aware, Seward recently started allowing cruise ships to dock and the small town can absolutely NOT accommodate this volume of people.
**We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel. That was a mistake. We absolutely should have booked an Airbnb around Bear Creek.
We started the day by grabbing coffee and exploring town. We got out first serving of lox at Rowdy Radish. It was good not spectacular.
We mistimed the tides which prevented us from doing Caines Head hike, which was a bummer because the Tonsina Trail we ended up doing was busier than we prefer. For anyone in shape, this is a very easy hike but it was very beautiful. Once we made it to the beach we went off trail and explored the river which made for a very nice afternoon.
*on the way to the trailhead we saw the pregnant Fin whale that was struck and killed by the cruise ship. Heartbreaking.
We had dinner at Rays. It was good not great, we’ve had way better seafood on other adventures. We ordered the chowder, ahi, halibut, and seafood pasta. Note, if you’re not cool with waiting 1+ hours for a table anywhere, you better make a reservation. We were told 2 hours at Rays, got in after 90 mins.
Day 2- Northern Latitude Adventures (Ultimate adventure tour) - 5/5 stars
We paid extra to do the small boat tour (6 people + captain max) and it was AMAZING. Captain Abby is a badass local elementary teacher & she was an absolute fantastic tour guide. We saw a pod of orcas, lots of humpbacks, and even a fin whale in addition to all the other wildlife. While it was WET and FREEZING I cannot recommend splurging and opting for this trip. https://northernlatitudeadventures.com/seward-boat-tours/ We saw some of the bigger tour ships out there- they were packed.
We ended the day by eating at the Seward Brewery. Pizza was fine, and the stout they had on tap was tasty.
Day 3- Seward to Soldotna
On our way out of Seward we stopped at Bear Creek Weir, a very cool stop (brief) stop. We then did Bear Lake Trail- south side, which was perfectly quiet and very cool- I would highly recommend this trail if you’re cool with some obstacles. 4.5/5
On our way to our Airbnb outside of Soldotna, we took the Skilak Lake Road and tried a hike down to the lake, however the mosquitos were so INTENSE we immediately turned around… didn’t matter how many mosquito patches we had on, these guys were monsters that swarmed the car the second we parked. So rather than hike, we just enjoyed the views from our car. The road deserves 4 stars, mosquitos-100.
We ended with dinner at Addie Camp. It was fine. The only thing I remember were the scallops which were tasty.
Day 5- Salmon fishing on the Kasilof River & Homer - 6/5 stars
Best day of our trip, and we’re not even fishing people! Matt, our guide with https://kenaikingpin.com/ was the best. In a boat of 5 people, we all caught the max limit of sockeye salmon. Two of us (myself included!) caught a king salmon.
Fishing among a hundred eagles was really incredible. This was the most unique and memorable day of our trip.
We then drove to Homer and had dinner at the Harbor Cafe in the spit. Best meal of our trip! I would run it back again & again if I could: Chowder, Halibut fish & chips, seafood risotto. Everything was EXCELLENT.
We finished with a night cap at the Salty Dog- they had a cool fermented pineapple beer/drink, it was a great vibe to end a great day.
Day 6- Homer/ Kachemak Bay
We grabbed a hearty breakfast at River Cafe and then took the water ferry across the bay.
We started with the trailhead that took us to the tram that crosses the river, then back tracked and took alpine & saddle. Mosquitoes were heavy in the wooded areas, but nearly as bad as Skilak. This was also busier than we like, but that was expected given the limited time that people have. The glacier was cool, but we’ve done better alpine lake hikes.
We regretted hiking and not kayaking around the bay- especially given the price for the water taxi.
3.5/5
We had oysters (I forget where) and ended with a DELICIOUS pizza from Finn’s. 4.5/5
Day 7- Homer & Red Eye out of anchorage
Started the day with breakfast at The Bagel Shop. It ain’t New York, but better than 95% of bagels out there and they were generous with the lox! My maple latte was fantastic. 4.5/5
Knowing that we were going to be flying home without showering, we opted for an easy hike and did a bunch of different trails around the Wynn Nature Center. Not too many people, wildflowers everywhere and no mosquitoes making it one of my favorite stops. 4.5/5
If we would have drove straight to Anchorage it would have taken us about 4.5 hours. But we gave ourselves lots of time to take Skilak back plus a few pull offs, making the drive about 6 hours.
✨TLDR:
-We preferred Homer to Seward
-Splurge for experiences that have less people
-Fishing is a must, even for nonfishers
-Must bring: more rain layers, mosquito repellent, binoculars
-We can’t wait to come back but will be specifically avoiding any cruise destinations
Animals
Humpbacks
Fin
Orca
Harbor seal
Sea lions
Sea otters
Eagles
Moose
Mountain goats
Snowshoe hare
Starfish
Wildflowers & Mushrooms
Lupine
Chocolate Lillies
Forget me nots
Wild geraniums
Cows parsnip
Chiming bells/bluebells
Canadian mayflower/bayberry
Wildrose
Shooting Star
Luis blue flax
Hoary primrose
Bears head
The Gypsy
Red belted polypore