Denali, Valdez is great too and in Anchorage we ate at a great place called F Street Station. Prices of food in Alaska as a whole are pricey. Cost of flying food in.

We took the Kantishna tour which is a private company and was more like 12 hours long and goes to the end of the road. They are the only ones allowed to do this privately as they own the lodge there. The park service runs the other buses to the best of my knowledge and can be booked in advance on their site. We did both the tundra wilderness tour and the longer one to Kantishna. Long days but we figured why are you in Denali?

Not unless you are a Ranger. The single road in and out would not be passable.

Narrated bus tour was great. Our driver had actually lived in the area for two straight winters and had been leading a tour for 12 years. Guy was the best. If you love the park and wanted more time you could rent a vehicle once you knew where you wanted to go. While we were there, two couples were waiting for a big bull moose to get up from his resting place in a meadow. Tours can’t allow to that type of wait time. And that moose was massive....

Yes! You are allowed to bring food and snacks in your back where ever you go. Just make sure you keep up with the contents because recycling is a huge deal and they want to keep the park clean. The wilderness your provided a snack box and water for the long trip. The place you are staying at should have the ability to make a lunch box but the option is up to you. Ultimately bring in the trip what you need.

Alaska/ Denali has been my summer destination for the last 26 years. There are two types of concessionary buses going into the park. The SHUTTLE bus is the MOST economical! On this bus your are allowed to get off to hike at any point as long as no wildlife has been spotted within 1/2 mile. After the hike, flag down the next shuttle bus going your direction and continue your trip (seats must be available). You can also change buses. If you pass a spot/ animal sighting and you would like to take a longer look...have your driver flag down the next bus going your way and hop on (seats must be available). Your ticket is good for the day. We like to take the shuttle to Eielson as we feel animal sighting past that point are slim. Usually your bus will allow about 30 minutes at Eielson, but you can always catch another bus back and stay longer for a ranger led hike! However; I have been to the end of the road and everyone should make that journey at least once! Tickets to Eielson run about $35.00 a day and you must supply your own food and water. Shuttle buses stop for animal/ landscape shots, but time is limited as the shuttle must stay on schedule. Drivers will NOT let you off to take photos!!!! If you love wildlife and fabulous scenery, the time on the shuttle will pass very quickly!!!! The Tour Bus is the second choice, but can be very pricey! This is over $100.00 a day! You must stay with this driver all day. They do supply you some type of food and drink for the day. Your bus has drop down screens to allow you a closer view of the animals (the driver has a scope/ camera that feeds pictures to the drop screens). This bus only goes to mile 62! Tour busses load first at the hotels and finally make there way to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC) for the final loading. If you catch it at the WAC, you will most likely end up in a back seat! If you choose the tour, I would highly suggest you only consider the Tundra Wilderness Tour!!!!!! I have not heard good thing about the HISTORY tour! Wishing you a fabulous visit to Alaska!

Yes, there were several opportunities to get out besides for bathroom breaks. There was so much to see I do wish they let us out even more though since I take a lot of photos. As far as the comfort of the seats, you need to realize there are two types of buses. The tan ones are used on the more expensive tours and have better seats (and are needed since the trips are longer) than the olive green ones which are used on the shorter trips.

I made the reservation for the bus into Denali at the hotel where I stayed. he busses pick up at many different locations.

From memory, this was two years ago, the legroom on the old school buses isn’t great. But maybe you could get an aisle seat and that would help you to stretch out. Or maybe you could get a seat right down the back so you could stretch your legs out down the aisle of the bus. These tour buses are the only way to see the park though unless you’re lucky enough, like we have been once, to have a friend that lives in Alaska and wind the state lottery and is allowed to drive their own private vehicle around, giving you more leg room. Good luck.

We made our arrangements through the Alaska RR as part of a package. The bus picked us up at our hotel near the park.