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Our 7 Day Alaska Trip Itinerary

My husband Kory and I traveled to Alaska for our 10 year wedding anniversary the first week of September 2025! Our kids stayed in Colorado with Kory's brother and his family (Thank you, Colorado Barretts!!) — It was our first time spending more than a night away from our kids since they were born... and they're almost 5 years old. We needed that time to reconnect as a couple. (I know my fellow parents of young kids get it!)



I actually (mostly) planned this trip myself, which is not the norm because usually Kory is our travel agent. But I think I did pretty ok! I'll let the itinerary speak for itself, but we were in Alaska during nearly-peak fall foliage, temperatures were in the 50-60 F range (perfect for us), and the length of the day was pretty close to what it is in Kansas this time of year (7 AM - 9 PM).


I had hopes of seeing whales and the Aurora Borealis, neither of which happened—womp, womp—but that was because of a lack of luck during our day cruise and cloudy conditions at night. Aside from that, I think we checked all of our boxes: Leaf peeping driving the scenic routes, seeing glaciers, flightseeing tour to see Denali, day cruise in the Prince William Sound, and lots of good food and drinks. It was a nice mix of cozy & adventurous, perfect for a couple like us, looking to spend quality time together and see as much of Alaska as possible in 7 short days. Here's our 7 Day Alaska trip itinerary!


Copyright, Morgan Barrett Photography
Copyright, Morgan Barrett Creative, LLC

Anchorage — Girdwood — Talkeetna — Denali




Day 1: Anchorage - Girdwood


Morning:

  • Depart from home airport

Afternoon:

  • Arrive in Anchorage! 

  • Pick up rental car & take the scenic route to Girdwood along the Turnagain Arm (1 hour drive).

  • Arrive at the Alyeska Nordic Spa & spend the afternoon & evening rotating through the pools & saunas

  • Late lunch at the Two Trees Bistro inside the Spa. Stay comfy in your robes, then hop back in the pools when you’re done eating!

Evening:



Day 2: Girdwood & Whittier


Morning:

Afternoon:

  • Cruise the Prince William Sound as the captain narrates the trip. See 26 glaciers, sea otters. Stellar seals, birds, and hopefully a whale!

Evening:



Day 3: Girdwood - Talkeetna


Morning:

  • Begin drive to Talkeetna (3 hour drive)

Afternoon:

  • Arrive in Talkeetna and grab a late lunch at the Denali Brewpub then spend the afternoon exploring the shops in town and walking the river view trail (spot Denali on a clear day!)

  • Check into your AirBnb cabin (11 minute drive from Talkeetna)

Evening:


Day 4: Talkeetna


Morning:

  • Grab coffee and breakfast at one of the coffee shops in Talkeetna, then have a slow (hopefully rainy) morning at the cabin

Afternoon:

  • Go to Nagley’s General Store to meet the mayor (Stubbs the cat!)

  • Check out the Talkeetna Historical Society Museum & buy a book by a local author

  • Grab lunch on the Fairview Inn’s covered patio — if it’s chilly out, they have blankets to cozy up under by the fire!

Evening:

  • Get takeout from Mountain High Pizza Pie & have a cozy night in at the cabin, watching one of their VHS tapes from the 90s. (We watched Tommy Boy!)



Day 5: Talkeetna


Morning:

  • Grab coffee and breakfast at Flying Squirred Bakery & Cafe

  • Drive to Denali National Park (3 hours north of Talkeetna). Do you have a disability? Your admission is free! Ask at the Visitor’s Center desk.

Afternoon:

Evening:



Day 6: Talkeetna - Anchorage


Morning:

  • Check out of your AirBnb & load up the rental car, heading to Talkeetna Air Taxi

  • Southside Explorer + glacier landing flightseeing tour with Talkeetna Air Taxi at 11 AM (90 minutes)

Afternoon:

  • Grab one more lunch at the Denalie Brewpub. Sit by the firepit on the deck and try their elderflower mead - so good!

  • Take your time enjoying the fire, then head south back toward Anchorage

Evening:

  • Check into the Wingate by Wyndham Anchorage Downtown - Ship Creek hotel. (Not the fanciest, but clean, close to good dinner spots, cheaper than other area hotels, and has a free airport shuttle.)

  • Cap off your trip with dinner & drinks at 49th State Brewing. I highly recommend the signature margarita!



Day 7: Anchorage

Morning:

  • Take the airport shuttle to the airport to fly home



Download this itinerary as a PDF (below) or view it in Canva




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