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.

Denali National Park Bear spotting in Denali Moose in Denali National Park

  • 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.

Matanuska glacier

  • Day 3 - Hike on Harting Icefield trail. It is a fantastic hike next to a glacier.

Harting Ice Field

  • 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.

Otter in Whittier Blackstone glacier

Few tips

  1. Public transport is almost non-existent. Rent a car right from the airport.
  2. Vegetarian food can be a bit hard to come by, but thankfully, Subways are everywhere.
  3. Carry pepper spray or walk in groups to avoid bears.
  4. Do carry a good jacket since rainfall/snowfall starts arbitrarily.
  5. The tunnel to Whittier is one-way and switches directions every 30 minutes. Do check its schedule.