Beautiful scenery, wonderful lodges—and a lot more buses, stairs and early mornings than I expected.

At 5 a.m. in Whittier, Alaska, daylight was already spilling through the windows.

After seven days aboard our Princess cruise, my mom and I were beginning the land portion of our Alaska journey. I pictured the next few days as a slower immersion into the wilderness—mountains, wildlife, rustic lodges and long stretches of spectacular scenery.

I was right about the wilderness.

I was very wrong about the slower part.

Over the next several days, we traveled by train, bus, shuttle and riverboat; moved through three different lodges; packed and repacked; put luggage outside our door by 7 a.m.; and somehow squeezed Denali, wildlife, wonderful dinners and hundreds of miles of Alaska into the spaces between.

It was beautiful. I’m very glad we did it.

But if I planned this trip again, there’s one big thing I would do differently.

Leaving the Ship: The Land Adventure Begins

Our morning started early. By about 6:30, passengers continuing onto Princess land tours were gathering in the ship’s lobby, bundled in hats, gloves and hiking boots.

Outside, Whittier was cold and windy.

After waiting roughly half an hour, we made our way off the ship and down a series of long metal ramps beneath covered walkways leading toward the train.

It wasn’t an exceptionally long walk, but carrying backpacks and the things we’d need for the day made it more physical than simply stepping onto a tour bus—something I noticed more because I was traveling with my mom.

Our larger luggage was being transported separately, so we’d been instructed to keep medications and anything we might need during the train and bus journey with us.

Wander Buddah Tip: If you’re taking an Alaska cruise-tour, pack your day bag thoughtfully. Keep medications, glasses, chargers, a warm layer and other essentials with you. You may not see your checked luggage again until you reach your lodge.

Riding Into Alaska Beneath a Glass Dome

Our train seats had been preassigned, and one detail caught me by surprise.

Mom and I shared a fairly compact booth with two other travelers—and our assigned seats faced backward.

With everyone’s outdoor gear and limited storage beneath the benches, things felt cozy quickly.

But once we started moving, the reason for taking the train became obvious.

The glass-domed windows opened the landscape around us as we traveled through increasingly remote Alaska. We spotted eagles and ducks, watched small settlements disappear behind us and saw miles of country that felt largely untouched.

Crew members narrated portions of the journey, and a server came through with coffee, tea, cocktails and a limited food menu. Mom and I had a surprisingly good chef’s salad and a cocktail, played cards and watched Alaska roll past the windows.

Other passengers read, worked on puzzles, talked—or simply slept.

It was comfortable and scenic. It was also only the first leg of a very long travel day.

Train, Bus, Another Bus…and Finally the Lodge

Near Talkeetna, the choreography of an organized land tour really became apparent.

Outside the train waited rows of buses identified by combinations of letters and numbers. Travelers separated according to their tour packets—some headed to excursions, some to different hotels and others, like us, continuing farther inland.

Our luggage continued separately.

Our backpacks continued with us.

We boarded one bus, rode into town, got off again and waited for the next hotel bus. It was raining, and there wasn’t much covered space while we waited.

Eventually we were aboard again for another approximately 2½-hour journey.

By the time we reached Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge around 4:30 that afternoon, we’d been traveling since early morning.

And suddenly, there it was: the Alaska I’d imagined.

Rustic lodge buildings. Trails. Mountains. A firepit.

And our luggage waiting for us.

A Little Stillness at Mt. McKinley

The property consists of a main lodge and smaller buildings containing guest rooms. We were fortunate that our room was in a building close to the main lodge and one of the restaurants.

We had just enough time for a quick walk toward the property’s famous treehouse, change for dinner and make our 6 p.m. reservation at North Fork.

After such a long day, dinner felt wonderfully civilized.

We had a lovely corner table with a mountain view, glasses of wine, scallops, salmon with asparagus and a delicious berry cheesecake for dessert.

For a couple of hours, the schedule disappeared.

Sitting beside the window with dinner and the mountains beyond it, the long day felt completely worth it.

And Then Came Another Early Morning

Our luggage needed to be repacked and outside our room by 7 a.m.

After breakfast at Base Camp, we were back aboard another bus around 9:30 for the roughly two-hour journey toward Denali.

This is something I hadn’t fully appreciated when booking a cruise-tour.

You aren’t simply traveling from lodge to lodge.

You’re repeatedly getting on and off buses, navigating stairs, carrying your day gear, waiting for transportation, finding your assigned vehicle and preparing luggage for the next transfer.

None of those things individually is particularly difficult.

Stack them together for several consecutive days, however, and they require energy—especially when you’re traveling with an older parent or anyone with mobility limitations.

Denali Was Worth the Journey

And then we reached Denali.

Our lodge was only about a mile from the park entrance, and we had a bus excursion and walking tour planned for our arrival day.

May was still holding onto winter.

Snow remained on the ground, temperatures were cold and the landscape hadn’t yet transformed into the lush green Alaska often pictured in summer travel photographs.

I actually loved seeing it this way.

The wilderness felt raw and enormous.

We saw eagles and moose and traveled through landscapes where mountains seemed to continue indefinitely.

After a long Alaska winter, wildlife was only beginning to become more active. Traveling later in the season might have produced different sightings and greener scenery, but there was something extraordinary about watching Alaska wake up from winter.

Another Lodge, Another Adventure

After sightseeing, we returned to the Denali-area lodge and discovered our room was farther uphill from the main building—perhaps a 10- to 12-minute walk.

Thankfully, lodge shuttles circulated between the buildings approximately every 15 minutes.

That mattered.

By this point, we’d accumulated plenty of bus stairs and walking, and it was cold outside.

After freshening up, we headed back down for dinner at King Salmon, where the wait was around 90 minutes.

Dinner, however, was excellent: prime rib, halibut and a glass of wine in a rustic but elevated Alaska lodge atmosphere.

Then it was back to our room—and time to prepare the luggage for another 7 a.m. pickup.

One More Journey: Denali to Fairbanks

The following morning, we boarded yet another bus around 9:30 for the roughly two-hour drive toward Fairbanks.

We made a few stops along the way, including one at a quirky local general store—the kind of unexpected little place I love finding while traveling.

In Fairbanks, we continued to our Riverboat Discovery excursion before finally reaching our third and final hotel, Pike’s Waterfront Lodge.

Pike’s had its own personality: rustic, slightly kitschy and wonderfully Alaskan, with a riverfront setting, reading nook, firepit, small theater and plenty of character.

After dinner nearby and a little exploring, we finally went to bed knowing something glorious awaited us the next morning:

We could sleep in.

Eventually, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport for our long journey home through Seattle and Tampa.

Would I Do an Alaska Land Tour Again?

Absolutely.

But I’d do it differently.

The land portion allowed us to see an entirely different Alaska from the one we’d experienced aboard the ship. We traveled farther into the interior, saw extraordinary wilderness and wildlife and stayed in places I wouldn’t have wanted to miss.

But seeing a lot and experiencing something slowly aren’t always the same thing.

Traveling with my mom made me particularly conscious of that distinction.

Every additional bus step, backpack, early luggage pickup and hotel change costs a little energy. And when days are scheduled tightly, there isn’t always much time left to simply sit outside with a cup of coffee and watch Alaska happen.

Sometimes the luxury we need most while traveling isn’t a better room or a more expensive dinner.

It’s time.

Time to sit beside the fire.

Time to watch the mountains.

Time to linger over breakfast.

Time to let the place we’re visiting catch up with us.

If I planned this particular Alaska journey again, I would make one major change:

I’d do the land portion first.

I’d explore the interior, ride the buses, climb the stairs, change hotels and have the adventures.

And then?

I’d board that cruise ship, unpack my suitcase once, sleep in…

…and head straight for the spa. 😊