Alaska is vast, in a 4-day trip, one can either do the northern Arctic part or the southern part. We did the latter. Here is the itinerary we followed.
- Day 0 – Land in Anchorage, and drive four hours to Denali national park.
- Day 1 – Take the Kantishna bus tour of Denali national park. Driving inside the park is not allowed.
- Day 2 – Hike to Mt. Healy. Hike on Matanuska Glacier. If you have never walked on ice before, I would highly recommend hiking on the glacier.
- Day 3 – Hike on Harting Icefield trail. It is a fantastic hike next to a glacier.
- Day 4 – Take a day cruise at Whittier to Blackstone Bay. Do check the weather, when we did it snowed heavily, and that spoiled the sail a bit. It is unquestionably overpriced compared to other cruises I have done in the United States.
Few tips
- Public transport is almost non-existent. Rent a car right from the airport.
- Vegetarian food can be a bit hard to come by, but thankfully, Subways are everywhere.
- Carry pepper spray or walk in groups to avoid bears.
- Do carry a good jacket since rainfall/snowfall starts arbitrarily.
- The tunnel to Whittier is one-way and switches directions every 30 minutes. Do check its schedule.