Advice: Iceland or Alaska?

DCPhotoGal

Photographer and Mom to 2 Princesses
Joined
Mar 4, 2011
We are just back from Wyoming and loved the trip so much we are excited to try more trips "out west". We have Australia planned for this December and then reserved Iceland for next summer. But now we're looking again at the US adventures, and I'm thinking about switching out Iceland reservation to Alaska. On one hand I've been excited to go to Iceland, but the Iceland dates are all Saturday-Saturday, which is not a great schedule for my swimmers, since they have summer meets on Saturdays. We usually prefer to just miss one weekend with our summer travel. Alaska would be better schedule-wise, but at this point I've missed out on the sale pricing (which I had locked in for Iceland).

Any thoughts on one trip vs. the other? My girls will be 13 and 14 years old next summer. The 14-year-old really loves dogs, so I think the dog sledding in Alaska would be a highlight. We have done rafting on our last 3 trips, so that's not as interesting to us.
 
Having traveled to both our locations I would travel back to Alaska in a minute. Iceland was nice to see but just the sheer beauty of Alaska wins my heart. Denali is one of the beautiful unspoiled parks in the world so IMO it is a " must " for any traveler. For young teens l suspect Alaska would offer more fun things to do.
 
I have to agree with @carpenta. Iceland is beautiful, and I'm going back there next summer. But Alaska is in a class of it's own. The Alaska ABD is one of the few I've ever considered doing a second time. Most people are stunned when they see my photos, they think that Alaska is all snow and ice. But there is SO MUCH more to Alaska! But definitely do the ABD, not a cruise. The cruises only graze the southernmost edge of Alaska. You need to go inland, to Denali, to the Kenai Peninsula, and the spaces in between. And the visit to Happy Trails kennel is really fun (but know that the sledding is on a wheeled sled, not on ice & snow!) I'm sure you'll have a magnificent time on either trip, but there is a special something about Alaska!

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Three votes for Alaska. We had a great time in Iceland, but Alaska is one of our all time favorites. If you can manage it, you should add a wildlife cruise on Resurrection Bay. It was part of the ABD itinerary for years, but they have eliminated it for some reason. It was hands down our favorite part of the trip. Glacier National Park/Banff/Jasper is an awesome location to visit too, if you're open to any other options. I didn't do the ABD tour, but I combined the ABD and Tauck itineraries and we did all of the activities (and them some) on our own. The area between Banff and Jasper is just breathtakingly beautiful.
 


Three votes for Alaska. We had a great time in Iceland, but Alaska is one of our all time favorites. If you can manage it, you should add a wildlife cruise on Resurrection Bay. It was part of the ABD itinerary for years, but they have eliminated it for some reason. It was hands down our favorite part of the trip. Glacier National Park/Banff/Jasper is an awesome location to visit too, if you're open to any other options. I didn't do the ABD tour, but I combined the ABD and Tauck itineraries and we did all of the activities (and them some) on our own. The area between Banff and Jasper is just breathtakingly beautiful.

Thanks for the tips! I think if we switch I will want to add on the Resurection Bay tour. What city does that depart from? I am trying to figure out how we would be able to fit that in, either during the free time or pre/post day.
 
Thanks for the tips! I think if we switch I will want to add on the Resurection Bay tour. What city does that depart from? I am trying to figure out how we would be able to fit that in, either during the free time or pre/post day.
It departs from Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. I agree with @Bobo912, it was the highlight of the tour, and well worth doing!

Looking at the itinerary, if you wanted to do it during the trip, your best bet is probably early afternoon on day 7 after the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. You have lunch and the afternoon off that day.

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Thanks for the tips! I think if we switch I will want to add on the Resurection Bay tour. What city does that depart from? I am trying to figure out how we would be able to fit that in, either during the free time or pre/post day.

It departs from Seward. It was during the part of the trip when we were staying in Girdwood at the Hotel Alyeska, but it was not nearby. The cruise was around 6 hours or longer, as I recall. You'll probably need to add an extra day to do it, but it's worth it. I don't know if we were just lucky or it is always like this, but it was just nearly constant Humpbacks and Orcas breaching near the boat. Porpoises swimming alongside. Adorable otters and sea lions everywhere. Glaciers calving - which was awesome. I have been on whale watching cruises on Fundy Bay in Nova Scotia and San Juan Islands in Washington, which are supposed to be really good areas to see whales, but they pale in comparison.
 
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I'm in love with Iceland, but it's easy to do on your own. I've been twice, and am trying to figure out how to get there again soon (well, after my total knee heals. grrr.) There are many good companies that do 1-7 day tours, or longer. No, you won't get the ABD magic, but Iceland's pretty magical on it's own.

Just throwing that out.
 
You are on our Iceland trip I think, so would love to have you on that and meet you, but I will say we LOVED Alaska and I think the tweaked itinerary looks even better.
 
If you want to add Resurrection Bay, I would add a post day and think about spending the night on Fox Island. That's something I really wanted to do after seeing it.

I was on the old itinerary so there may be some more free time but our version was extremely packed and I would worry about trying to squeeze anything else in! People who had made plans were constantly readjusting as we tended to get back late from many activities. The travel to Seward is not terribly short and I am not sure of the boat's schedules. A post day would be more enjoyable!

As for Iceland vs. Alaska, you are going to get a great trip either way. I will say airfare to Alaska was easy and inexpensive for us. It was also an easier trip for us to squeeze into a busy summer.
 
We booked an Icelandair package that included air fare, hotel, and a northern lights tour. It was very reasonably priced. They have flash sales every so often and you'll get notification if you sign up on their website. We did a free walking tour in Reykjavik and then explored the city on our own. And I booked a couple of day tours. It was easy to manage without an escorted tour. Had a great time, but I would still recommend Alaska as my first choice. :)
 
We booked an Icelandair package that included air fare, hotel, and a northern lights tour. It was very reasonably priced. They have flash sales every so often and you'll get notification if you sign up on their website. We did a free walking tour in Reykjavik and then explored the city on our own. And I booked a couple of day tours. It was easy to manage without an escorted tour. Had a great time, but I would still recommend Alaska as my first choice. :)
Do you remember who the walking tour of Reykjavik was with? I'd like to do that on my pre-day. And did you see the Northern Lights???? If so, when were you there, and who was that booked with?

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Do you remember who the walking tour of Reykjavik was with? I'd like to do that on my pre-day. And did you see the Northern Lights???? If so, when were you there, and who was that booked with?

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The tour we did was with CityWalk Reykjavik. Our guide was Marteinn, who is the founder of the company (if you can call it that). He's added some additional guides to keep up with demand, so you might get somebody else. He's an entertaining, outspoken young man with an interesting sense of humor. We enjoyed the tour and it really helped with just getting our bearings in a new city. We were there in mid-March and we did see the Northern Lights. Since the tour was part of the Iceland Air package I don't know what company provided the tour. It also included a visit to a hot spring and a dinner buffet, which I believe was the worst meal I have ever experienced. I give them kudos though for their efforts to make sure we saw the Northern Lights. It was cloudy that night and they drove us around for quite a while searching for a spot where we could see them and they eventually succeeded.
 
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The tour we did was with CityWalk Reykjavik. Our guide was Marteinn, who is the founder of the company (if you can call it that). He's added some additional guides to keep up with demand, so you might get somebody else. He's an entertaining, outspoken young man with an interesting sense of humor. We enjoyed the tour and it really helped with just getting our bearings in a new city. We were there in mid-March and we did see the Northern Lights. Since the tour was part of the Iceland Air package I don't know what company provided the tour. It also included a visit to a hot spring and a dinner buffet, which I believe was the worst meal I have ever experienced. I give them kudos though for their efforts to make sure we saw the Northern Lights. It was cloudy that night and they drove us around for quite a while searching for a spot where we could see them and they eventually succeeded.
March? Wow. Was it cold then? That's great that they worked so hard to get you to the Northern Lights! It's so on the top of my bucket list! I'll check out that walking tour, too.

We did a super fun food walking tour of Rey. http://www.thereykjavikfoodwalk.com

You got some history, local culture, and lots of food. The guide, Egil (sp?) was very nice and enthusiastic about his country and it's food.
Ooo! That sounds interesting, too! I'll check it out. Thanks!

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I may be mistaken, but I thought the best time to see the Northern Lights was September - March (sometimes April). I hate cold, but we're looking at going next October to have the best opportunity to get a glimpse.

I have a co-worker who has done the Alaska ABD and she still ranks it as a top trip of theirs, so, Alaska may definitely be the one you want to switch to, especially if it fits in your schedule better.
 
I may be mistaken, but I thought the best time to see the Northern Lights was September - March (sometimes April). I hate cold, but we're looking at going next October to have the best opportunity to get a glimpse.
I'm going the very beginning of September. A girl can hope!!

Sayhello
 
Reykjavik is very easy to "do on your own". Everything is within walking distance from the hotel. I was told Iceland does not get that cold in winter along the shoreline because of the Atlantic ocean flow. But then again I live in Vermont and we get -10 to -20 degrees in winter so everything is relative I guess.
 

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