10 Day Alaska Itinerary: 3 Ways to Plan an Epic Alaska Road Trip

There are many ways to plan your “perfect Alaska itinerary,” depending on your interests. Cruise the fjords, go glacier hiking or ice climbing, soar over the snow-capped mountains on a flightseeing tour, see Denali in all her glory, watch brown bears feeding on salmon, and drive through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the USA.

If it is your first time planning a trip to Alaska, it can feel overwhelming. Alaska is enormous with a very long list of things to do.

We want to make that easier for you.

In this guide, we list three different ways to spend 10 days in Alaska. These are great starting points for planning your trip, and they can be easily modified if you have more or less time.

About these Itineraries

Each of these itineraries are done as a road trip. And they each include at least two of Alaska’s national parks. You won’t see Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk or Glacier Bay National Parks in this guide, since they are either very remote or best seen on a cruise.

For each of these itineraries, you will need to rent a car. A standard vehicle is fine, unless you plan to do Alaska itinerary #2, which includes Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. With a 4×4, you can drive to McCarthy, which is the gateway into Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. Alternatively, you can also fly into McCarthy, but this increases the price of your trip. More on this later in this guide.

The best time to do these itineraries is from May through September. That’s a short window of time, but for most of the year, the national parks are snow covered and inaccessible. Even May is a bit early, and some tours won’t start operating until June or even July.

PRO TRAVEL TIP: Before setting your travel dates, confirm that tours are operating for the time that you plan to visit Alaska.

If you plan to visit Katmai, the best time to go is July. If you want to do more than just a day trip, you will need to apply for the Brooks Lodge lottery, which occurs in December a year and a half before your trip (for example, the December 2024 lottery awards tickets for summer 2026). If you don’t get a spot in the lottery, you can keep checking for cancellations. More on this later (or learn more in our Katmai Guide).

Finally, Alaska can be an expensive place to visit, especially once you start adding on flightseeing trips and day trips to remote places. I give you a rough estimate about how much things cost, but prices do fluctuate, so I recommend getting updated prices from the official websites, so you don’t have any unfortunate surprises.

IMPORTANT: Denali Park Road is closed beyond mile 43. This road closure could last through 2026 or longer, as a bridge is constructed around a landslide. You can still visit Denali National Park, but in my opinion, you will be missing out on the best areas of the park (those that lie beyond mile 43). You can either do the itinerary that does not include Denali (Alaska itinerary #2), or visit Denali now and also plan a return visit in the future, if you want to go beyond mile 43. To learn more about what you can do in Denali right now, read our post What to Do in Denali while Denali Road is Closed.

Alaska Itinerary #1: Kenai Fjords, Denali & Anchorage

This is our “classic” Alaska itinerary, where you visit two of Alaska’s most popular national parks, Kenai Fjords and Denali.

On this itinerary, you will fly in and out of Anchorage. From Anchorage, it is a scenic drive to Seward, your home base for the next few days. Visit Kenai Fjords National Park, where you can hike or ice climb on glaciers, go hiking, and cruise the fjords. Then, travel through Anchorage to Denali and spend several days here.

On this itinerary, you have 3 days in Denali National Park, which might sound like a lot, but there is a statistic that only 30% of people get to see Denali, because it is frequently hidden behind the clouds. With several days here, you have a good chance to see this mighty mountain.

IMPORTANT: As mentioned earlier, Denali Park Road is closed beyond mile 43. It closed in August 2021 because the road is “slumping” at a rate that can no longer be safely managed. A proposed bridge will bypass this portion of the road, but it will take several years for construction.

In the meantime, you can still visit Denali National Park, just be aware that you will be missing out on a lot. In my opinion, the very best experiences are beyond mile 43 (Eielson is a spectacular place to visit). So, if you want to see the best of Denali, I recommend saving this itinerary for 2026 or later.

Stony Hill Overlook (mile 62 on Denali Park Road) | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage

If your flight arrives in the afternoon or evening, have dinner and get a good night’s sleep. If you arrive in the morning, you have the option to do something in the afternoon.

Here are few things to do:

• Visit Eklutna Lake, where you can go hiking or kayaking
• The Reindeer Farm (feed reindeer, kiss a moose, pet an alpaca, and more)
• Tour the Musk Ox Farm

Eklutna Lake | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

For dinner, we recommend the Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria. They don’t take reservations and there is always a long line waiting for a table, but this was our favorite dinner spot in Anchorage. We also really like 49th State Brewing.

As far as where to stay, in Anchorage we stayed at the Hyatt Place, the Residence Inn by Marriott, the Staybridge Suites Anchorage. These are centrally located in town, and it is either a short drive or a longer walk to shops and restaurants.

PRO TRAVEL TIP: If you plan to go hiking while in Kenai Fjords or Denali, pick up some bear spray at the REI in Anchorage.

Day 2: Scenic Drive to Seward

From Anchorage, it takes just over two hours to drive to Seward. However, you have the option to stop at a lot of different places on the drive, turning this into a full day experience.

Take in the view as you drive along Turnagain Arm, look for whales at Beluga Point, hike to the Virgin Creek waterfalls, ride the Alyeska Aerial Tram for scenic views, and visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. You also have the option to visit Whittier along the drive.

View from the Alyeska Aerial Tram | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

For full details on how to do this, read our Guide to Seward Highway.

In Seward, get checked into your hotel and have dinner. We stayed at the Seward Windsong Lodge. 

Days 3 & 4: Kenai Fjords National Park

Kenai Fjords National Park is where you will find the Harding Icefield, its outflow glaciers, and fjords. It is a beautiful park that can be visited on foot, on a cruise, and even by helicopter.

On the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

With two days here, I recommend spending one day on land and one day on the water.

On land, you can hike the trails at the base of the Exit Glacier, hike the Harding Icefield Trail, or go glacier hiking or ice climbing with a guide. We went ice climbing with Exit Glacier Guides. 

On water, there are a lot of cruises to choose from. With Kenai Fjords Tours, we took the Northwestern Fjord Cruise, which is a full day cruise to one of the most remote fjords in Kenai Fjords National Park.

With Liquid Adventures, we took the Aialik Glacier Wildlife Cruise and Kayaking Tour. Kayaking in front of the Aialik Glacier and watch it calving was awesome!

For a full list of things to do, read our guide 9 Amazing Things to Do in Kenai Fjords National Park.

Kayaking in front of Aialik Glacier

PRO TRAVEL TIP: Kenai Fjords Tours is part of the Alaska Collection. This company offers lodging in several national parks as well as tours, such as the fjord cruises in Kenai Fjords National Park. When we did this, we booked our lodging in Denali (Denali Cabins and Denali Backcountry Lodge) and Seward (the Windsong Lodge) with them as well as the Northwestern Fjord Cruise. By bundling together our lodging and the cruise, we were able to get a discount.

Day 5: Drive to Anchorage

From Seward, it takes just over 2 hours to drive to Anchorage. Spend the afternoon in and around Anchorage. Take you pick from the list above (from day #1), either visiting Eklutna Lake, the Reindeer Farm, or the Musk Ox Farm. The Reed Lakes Trail also came highly recommended to us from prior visitors to Alaska.

Day 6: Drive to Denali

Today you will drive north to Denali. Time your drive to be in Talkeetna for lunch. This very small town has several great restaurants. The spinach bread at Talkeetna Spinach Bread is awesome, and one of our favorite meals in Alaska. Plus, it’s super cheap.

This afternoon, you have the option to take a flightseeing tour of Denali. K2 Aviation is in Talkeetna and runs a variety of different flightseeing tours.

Flightseeing in Denali National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

We did this and loved it, even though we had to do a modified tour. Originally, we booked a flight with a glacier landing. Conditions in the mountains weren’t clear enough for a landing, so instead, we took a standard flightseeing tour over the Denali range. It was still a great experience, but the glacier landing tour really looks spectacular.

If you plan to do a flightseeing tour, book your tickets in advance, because they do sell out.

From Talkeetna, continue the drive north towards Denali. On the drive, there are two great viewpoints where you can get your first view of Denali, as long as the clouds are cooperating. These are at Denali Viewpoint South and Denali Viewpoint North (we all thought the South Viewpoint was better than the North Viewpoint).

Denali Viewpoint South | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Once you get to Denali, check into your hotel. We stayed at the Denali Cabins but the Denali Tri-Valley Cabins, and the Denali Park Hotel get good reviews.

Days 7, 8 & 9: Denali National Park

With three days in Denali, there are several things to choose from. Go hiking in the front country (Horseshoe Lake, Mount Healy, the Triple Lakes Trail, and the Savage Alpine Trail are all great options) and ride the park shuttle on Denali Road to mile 42 of Denali Park Road. There are two shuttle options: the Tundra Wilderness Tour ($128 per person) and the Natural History Tour ($104 per person).

For more information about things to do and how to plan your time, read our article 16 Best Things to Do in Denali National Park.

Horseshoe Lake | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Hiking in Eielson, Denali | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Visit our Denali Travel Guide, where you can see all our articles about Denali National Park.

Day 10: Fly Home

You can fly home from Anchorage or Fairbanks. If your flight is in the morning, drive to the airport the evening of day 9. Otherwise, you can get up early and drive to the airport today, just give yourself plenty of time, so you do not miss your flight.

Alaska Itinerary #2: Wrangell-St. Elias, Kenai Fjords & Valdez

This is a great 10-day road trip in Alaska. Wrangell-St. Elias is one of the most underrated national parks in the USA. This massive park is home to some of the highest peaks in North America. The hiking is great, you can go glacier hiking or ice climbing, and the flightseeing is spectacular (better than Denali, in my opinion).

In Valdez, go kayaking in front of one of the most active glaciers in the world. Then cruise to the Kenai Peninsula and spend several days in Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park before heading home.

If you want to visit Alaska and save Denali for a future visit because of the road closure, I recommend following this itinerary.

This map shows the driving route for this itinerary. You will also take a ferry from Valdez to Whittier.

Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage

Arrive in Anchorage and get settled into your hotel. For ideas on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay, take a look at Day 1 of our classic Alaska itinerary.

Day 2: Drive to Wrangell-St. Elias

What an awesome introduction to Alaska!

This is how we spent our first full day in Alaska, and it was one of the best one-day road trips we have done. Once you get out beyond Anchorage, it looks like you are driving through a national park. But nope, this is just beautiful Alaska (and just wait until you get to Wrangell-St. Elias!).

There is a lot to do along this drive. Visit Eklutna Lake, feed a reindeer at the Reindeer Farm, take a tour of the Matanuska Glacier, and enjoy the views of the Wrangell Mountains.

Kara feeding a reindeer at the Reindeer Farm, located just outside of Anchorage

Matanuska Glacier | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Views of the Wrangell Mountains | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

For a full list of things to do along this drive, read our guide on how to drive from Anchorage to Valdez. You will do most of this drive today, and later in this itinerary, finish the drive to Valdez after visiting Wrangell-St. Elias.

McCarthy and Kennicott are two tiny towns that sit side by side in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

You can get to McCarthy by car or by airplane. We drove to McCarthy. To do this, you need to rent a 4×4 vehicle and get permission from your rental car company to drive McCarthy Road. It’s a beautiful drive and the road conditions have improved a lot in recent years. Learn more about the drive here.

If you don’t want to rent a 4×4 or don’t feel comfortable driving McCarthy Road, you can either fly into McCarthy from Chitina or take a shuttle from Chitina.

Stay in either McCarthy or Kennicott for 3 nights. We stayed at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge.

Kennicott Glacier Lodge | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

McCarthy, Alaska | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Days 3 & 4: Wrangell – St. Elias National Park

You have two full days in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park.

If it fits in your budget, consider taking a flightseeing tour. This national park is huge (it’s six times the size of Yellowstone) and filled with more mountain peaks than you can count. The best way to see it is from the sky.

Mount St. Elias on a flightseeing tour of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park

Flightseeing in Wrangell St. Elias National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

You can take a short flight over the heart of the park or a longer flight that goes out towards the coast and flies over the Bagley Icefield, one of the largest icefields in the world. Learn more in our Guide to Flightseeing Tours of Wrangell – St. Elias.

Another great thing to do here is to go hiking on the Root Glacier. You can also add on ice climbing or a visit to an ice cave.

Root Glacier | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

If you are looking for something free to do and like hiking, the hike to Bonanza Mine is challenging but you’ll get similar views from a flightseeing tour, without the big cost.

Hiking the Bonanza Mine Trail | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

You can also tour the historic Kennecott Mine and Mill.

Kennecott Mill | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

LEARN MORE: 10 Best Things to Do in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park

Day 5: Drive to Valdez

Drive, fly, or take the shuttle to Chitina. From Chitina, drive to Valdez. It takes about 2 hours to drive the Richardson Highway to Valdez, a little longer with stops.

See the Worthington Glacier, Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls, and Old Valdez. We have more information about this drive in our Guide to Driving from Anchorage to Valdez.

Once in Valdez, get settled into your hotel. If you have time this afternoon, you can visit the Valdez Museum.

Valdez, Alaska | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

We stayed at the Best Western Valdez Harbor Inn, which is mediocre (it’s old and dated and in need of a renovation). For dinner, I recommend The Potato, The Fat Mermaid, and Nat Shack (the Nat Shack Crunchwrap is awesome!).

Day 6: Columbia Glacier

The Columbia Glacier is one of the most active glaciers in the world. With roughly 13 million tons of ice breaking off the Columbia Glacier every day, there is a good chance that you will be able to watch a calving event take place.

There are several different ways to see the Columbia Glacier: by boat cruise, kayaking tour, and by helicopter.

We took a cruise + kayaking tour combo. It’s a great experience although we did not have the best weather.

LEARN MORE: Complete Guide to the Columbia Glacier Kayaking Tour

Columbia Glacier | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Day 7: Cruise to the Kenai Peninsula

Today, cruise through the Prince William Sound to the Kenai Peninsula. We did not do this, but spoke to multiple groups of people who did, and they all had wonderful things to say about this experience.

The Alaska Marine Highway is the only marine route that is designated as a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road. It spans 3,500 miles, running from the Inside Passage of Alaska and British Columbia out to the Aleutian Islands. Today’s short cruise is a tiny part of this “highway.”

To get from Valdez to Whittier, you will take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. The ferry leaves at 7 am and arrives in Whittier 6 hours later. As an estimate, for 2 people and one vehicle, the cost is roughly $300. For updated pricing for your dates of travel and vehicle type, visit the official website.

If you don’t want to take the ferry, you can drive from Valdez to Seward. This drive is 425 miles long and takes 7.5 hours without stops.

Once in Whittier, spend some time exploring the harbor and then drive to Seward.

Whittier, Alaska | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

To exit Whittier, you will drive through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel is 2.5 miles long, is only wide enough for one way traffic, and has railroad tracks running down the middle. Since it is a one lane tunnel, motor vehicle traffic and train traffic in each direction is coordinated.

In the summer, the tunnel opens to motor vehicle traffic heading towards Whittier at the bottom of the hour and it opens to motor vehicle traffic departing Whittier at the top of the hour.

Click here for more details on operating hours, tolls for various vehicle types and trailers, size restrictions, etc. 

In Seward, get checked into your hotel and have dinner. We stayed at the Seward Windsong Lodge. 

Days 8 & 9: Kenai Fjords National Park

Spend two full days in Kenai Fjords National Park. For information on what to do, read days 3 & 4 of the classic itinerary.

Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Ice climbing on the Exit Glacier | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Day 10: Fly Home

Today, fly home, or continue to your next destination. If you have an early morning flight, return to Anchorage the night of day 9. Otherwise, you can drive to Anchorage in the morning and take an afternoon or evening flight.

Alaska Itinerary #3: Denali, Katmai & Kenai Fjords

This itinerary is similar to the classic itinerary (#1), with a few changes. The big difference is that we added Katmai National Park. On this itinerary, you will move faster through Denali, in order to give yourself enough time to visit Katmai. This itinerary is also done point-to-point, starting in Fairbanks and ending in Anchorage.

Katmai is my favorite national park in Alaska. And getting here takes advance planning and a bit of luck.

Brooks Lodge, which is in Katmai National Park, is the spot to see brown bears feasting on salmon. To get a room at the Brooks Lodge, you will have to enter the lottery.

The lottery takes place each December, 18 months in advance of the summer season (if you want to visit Katmai in July 2026, the lottery is December 2024…if you want to visit Katmai in 2025, the lottery has already occurred). It’s also possible to get a room at Brooks Lodge if someone cancels (that’s how we got our spot on our first visit to Katmai). Learn more about how all this works later in this itinerary.

Visiting Brooks Lodge isn’t cheap. You will be paying for two flights plus expensive lodging, which makes this itinerary rather expensive. Alternatively, you can day trip to Katmai from Anchorage, which is easier to plan, easier to get tickets for, and cheaper. However, cancellations are more common with day trips, so you are taking a bigger risk you won’t get to Katmai.

This map shows the driving routes in Alaska. In addition to the road trip, you will also fly to and from King Salmon/Brooks Camp when you visit Katmai National Park.

Day 1: Arrive in Fairbanks

If your flight arrives in the afternoon or evening, simply have dinner and get a good night’s sleep. If you arrive in the morning, spend time exploring Fairbanks or drive out to see North Pole, Alaska.

Day 2: Drive to Denali, afternoon in Denali

On this Alaska itinerary, you have very limited time in Denali. Right now, while Denali Park Road is closed beyond mile 43, the Denali to-do list is a lot shorter, so having limited time isn’t a big deal.

To get to Denali, it takes just over 2 hours. If you leave early, you will have most of the day to explore the front section of the park. And since you will be doing this during the summer, the days are very long.

You can do several short hikes around the Visitor Center, visit the sled dog kennels, and visit the Savage River area. If skies are clear and you like hiking, you will get your best view of Denali from the Savage Alpine Trail.

Savage Alpine Trail | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

In the afternoon or evening, check into your hotel. We stayed at the Denali Cabins but the Denali Tri-Valley Cabins, and the Denali Park Hotel get good reviews.

Day 3: Morning in Denali, drive to Anchorage

You have two options on how to spend your time in Denali today. You can either go hiking in the front of the park, take one of the Denali Park shuttle tours, or check out of your hotel early, drive to Talkeetna and take a midday sightseeing flight of Denali National Park.

In the afternoon, drive to Anchorage, check into your hotel, and have dinner.

Day 4: Fly to Katmai National Park

Today, fly to Katmai National Park. To get to Katmai from Anchorage, you will first fly to King Salmon and then you will take a float plane to Brooks Lodge. Brooks Lodge can set up your flights for you when you make your Brooks Lodge reservation.

Depending on how your flights work out, this takes about 4 to 5 hours of the day. Ideally, schedule a morning flight, so you have all afternoon to watch the bears from the Brooks Falls viewing platforms.

Brooks Falls | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Getting a Reservation at Brooks Lodge

Reservations for Brooks Lodge are only offered by lottery. This lottery takes place in December, a year and a half in advance of the summer season (for summer 2026, you will enter the lottery in December 2024). 

The lucky lottery winners are notified by early February.

If you are not one of the lucky lottery winners, you still have a chance of getting a reservation. As people cancel their reservations, spaces will open. You will just have to be flexible with your dates.

This is what we did on our first visit to Katmai. In April 2021, we called Brooks Lodge and they had an opening for early July. We were able to get a 3-day, 2-night stay at Brooks Lodge in July of 2021. Once we made this reservation, we planned our entire Alaska itinerary around these dates.

With that being said, I don’t recommend waiting that late to plan a trip to Alaska. We got lucky, since COVID still kept travel light in Alaska at this point. We were able to make hotel reservations, flight reservations, and a rental car reservation 3 months in advance of our trip but that is not the case anymore, now that travel is back to normal.

We liked the experience at Katmai so much that in December 2021 we entered the lottery for 2023. We were #52 on the waitlist but by the end of January 2022, got a spot at Brooks Camp. Tim and I returned to Katmai for 3 days in July 2023.

Rooms at Brooks Lodge can accommodate up to four people and cost roughly $1125 per night. The dining room at Brooks Lodge also serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and this has an additional fee. 

Once you arrive at Brooks Camp, spend the afternoon and evening at the Brooks Falls Viewing Platforms. It’s one of the best US national park experiences for wildlife viewing.

LEARN MORE: Best Things to Do in Katmai National Park and The Complete Guide to the Brooks Falls Viewing Platforms.

Day 5: Katmai National Park

You have two choices today: spend your time at the viewing platforms or take the day tour to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is the site of one of the world’s largest volcanic eruptions. It is located 23 miles from Brooks Lodge. On a full day trip, you will drive out to the Valley and spend several hours hiking and exploring the area.

Giant wall of ash in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

Worth it? We thought so, for two reasons.

For one thing, how often do you get to see a landscape that was dramatically altered by one of the world’s largest volcanic eruptions?

Plus, this tour occurs midday, when the Brooks Falls viewing platforms are packed with day trippers. Once we arrived back at Brooks Camp (at 4 pm), the day trippers left, and we still had the afternoon and evening to watch the bears.

LEARN MORE: The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Tour

Day 6: Fly to Anchorage

Today, fly back to Anchorage. If you book an afternoon flight, you will have a good chunk of the day to visit the viewing platforms, so you’ll make the most of the money that you spent to visit Katmai National Park.

Alternatively, if you want more time on the Kenai Peninsula, you can schedule an early morning flight to Anchorage and, in the afternoon, drive from Anchorage to Seward. And here’s one more option: you can also fly from Brooks Camp to Homer, which is on the Kenai Peninsula. Spend the afternoon and evening in Homer and tomorrow drive to Seward.

Day 7: Scenic Drive to Seward

From Anchorage, it takes just over two hours to drive to Seward. However, you have the option to stop at a lot of different places on the drive, turning this into a full day experience.

Take in the view as you drive along Turnagain Arm, look for whales at Beluga Point, hike to the Virgin Creek waterfalls, ride the Alyeska Aerial Tram for scenic views, and visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. You also have the option to visit Whittier along the drive.

For full details on how to do this, read our Guide to Seward Highway.

In Seward, get checked into your hotel and have dinner. We stayed at the Seward Windsong Lodge. 

Seward, Alaska | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Days 8 & 9: Kenai Fjords National Park

Kenai Fjords National Park is where you will find the Harding Icefield, its outflow glaciers, and fjords. It is a beautiful park that can be visited on foot, on a cruise, and even by helicopter.

With two days here, I recommend spending one day on land and one day on the water.

On land, you can hike the trails at the base of the Exit Glacier, hike the Harding Icefield Trail, or go glacier hiking or ice climbing with a guide. We went ice climbing with Exit Glacier Guides. 

On water, there are a lot of cruises to choose from. With Kenai Fjords Tours, we took the Northwestern Fjord Cruise, which is a full day cruise to one of the most remote fjords in Kenai Fjords National Park. 

With Liquid Adventures, we took the Aialik Glacier Wildlife Cruise and Kayaking Tour. Kayaking in front of the Aialik Glacier and watch it calving was awesome! 

Cruising Kenai Fjords National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

In Kenai Fjords, you can see lots of wildlife from the cruises, like these orcas. 

Scenery on the Northwestern Fjord Cruise | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

PRO TRAVEL TIP: Kenai Fjords Tours is part of the Alaska Collection. This company offers lodging in several national parks as well as tours, such as the fjord cruises in Kenai Fjords National Park. When we did this, we booked our lodging in Denali (Denali Cabins and Denali Backcountry Lodge) and Seward (the Windsong Lodge) with them as well as the Northwestern Fjord Cruise. By bundling together our lodging and the cruise, we were able to get a discount.

Day 10: Fly home

From Seward, it takes just over 2 hours to drive to Anchorage. If you have an early flight today, return to Anchorage the evening of day 9. But if your flight is late in the day, you can drive to Anchorage in the morning and fly home in the evening.

Adding More Time to this Alaska Itinerary

If you have more than 10 days in Alaska, here are some things you can do with the extra time.

Add on More Time to the National Parks

In these national parks, rainy days can impact flightseeing trips, hiking, and cruises. It rains frequently along the coast in Alaska during the summer months, so having an extra day in the parks makes it more likely that you will have clear skies for part of your visit. This also gives you an extra day if you need to reschedule a flightseeing tour.

Day Trip to Katmai National Park or Lake Clark National Park

Both Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks can be visited on a day trip from Anchorage or Homer. These start at $1000 per person and need to be booked in advance.

Lake Clark National Park | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Visit Homer, Alaska

Homer is a small town that proudly proclaims to be the halibut fishing capital of the world. It sits on the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula and it is a very pretty spot to visit. To do so, add on one day to the above itineraries, visiting Homer before or after Seward.

While in Homer, go for a walk on the beach, visit the shops and restaurants on the Homer Spit, take the ferry to Seldovia, and explore Kachemak Bay State Park.

The beach in Homer, Alaska | 10 Day Alaska Itinerary

Shops and restaurants on the Homer Spit.

Additional Costs for this Alaska Itinerary

Rental Car: For this, I can’t give an estimate. Your rental car cost will depend on the length of your visit, the type of vehicle you plan to rent, and if your pick-up location will be the same as your drop-off location. Because rental car fees vary a lot from month to month and year to year, I can’t give an accurate estimate to what this will cost (it can range from $75 to $200 per day). When we rent a car, Tim checks the prices on the official websites and chooses the cheapest option.

Hotels: For double occupancy for a mid-range hotel, prices can range from $150 to $300 per night.

Food: For breakfast and lunch, we either ate the hotel breakfast or ate food that we purchased from the grocery store. For dinner, prices are typical for other places in the US, averaging about $10 to $18 per plate.

If you have any questions about planning your Alaska itinerary, or making modifications to these itineraries, let us know in the comment section below.

More Information about Alaska

We have a lot more information about Alaska in our Alaska Travel Guide. This guide has links to all of our articles on Alaska, including Seward, Valdez, Denali, Kenai Fjords, Wrangell St. Elias, Katmai, and Lake Clark National Park.

If you are on a mission to explore all of the US National Parks, check out our US National Parks guide.

The Ultimate Alaska Travel Guide

Plan your trip to Alaska. Get road trip itineraries, learn how to visit the national parks, find out the best things to do in Alaska, and get important travel planning advice.

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There is only one road that leads into Denali National Park and that would be Denali Park Road. Stretching 92 miles, this road leads to stunning viewpoints, scenic lakes, and numerous hiking trails and campsites. Along the drive, you have the chance to spot all of Alaska’s Big 5, not to mention big views of […]

10 Epic Things to Do in Lake Clark National Park

Lake Clark National Park is a wild, rugged expanse of land that is home to two active volcanoes, icy glaciers, rocky, jagged mountains, several of the largest lakes in Alaska, and an abundance of wildlife. Located in Alaska, this national park is one of the least visited in the USA. There are no roads in […]

16 Best Things to Do in Denali National Park

Denali National Park, one of the largest national parks in the USA, is home to millions of acres of remote, rugged wilderness. It is named for Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, and catching a view of this mountain peak is one of the best things to do in Denali National Park. There are […]

Northwestern Fjord Cruise in Kenai Fjords: Photos, Map & Is It Worth It?

The Northwestern Fjord Cruise is one of the best ways to experience Kenai Fjords National Park. You will venture further into Kenai Fjords National Park than any other cruise. By doing so you will maximize your chances of seeing a variety of marine and other wildlife, witness the allure and power of glaciers, and observe […]

Complete Guide to Brooks Falls Trail & Viewing Platforms | Katmai National Park

Brooks Falls is one of the best places in Katmai National Park to view brown bears. Every July, when the salmon make their annual run, this part of the Brooks River is packed with bears, making it one of the best wildlife viewing experiences in the US national parks. In this guide, learn how to […]

Ultimate US National Parks List for 2024 (+ Printable Checklist)

The US national parks are one of this country’s best ideas…land set aside for the preservation of the natural world and the enjoyment of the people. Every few years, another park gets added and the US national parks list grows a little longer. Over the past 150 years, 63 national parks have been created in […]