In getting ready for our trip, we had a lot of questions about what the bus tour would look like. I hope this helps you get more excited about your visit to Denali.

You'll be going in a bus so I would recommend being prepared. Wear layers because the temperature changes. 

The bus meeting place is at the McKinley Hotel. Handicapped people have reserved seating up front. You don't have to worry about getting motion sick because the bus can't go very fast. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour. But the bus doesn't always get even that fast.

Entrance fee is covered for the day and for the rest of your visit when you purchase the Tundra Tour. You pass the guard shack after you pass the Visitor’s Center.

I sat on the left side of the bus as you get on. It was not a good spot to sit. You see all of the goats on the left side, and you see the other animals on the right side. I could cross over and sit with my brother or my parents when there was something other than goats to see. 

We got on the bus at 11 o'clock in the morning. The original schedule posted by Holland America told us it would be 9, but when we arrived at the hotel, there was a different time in our welcome packets. Each bus holds about 40 people. I think there might have been a few extra seats because there was one by Aunt Jan, but I didn't look at the whole bus.

They wanted to spread out the buses, and we didn't see too many along the way.

It was an old school bus, and you had to get air conditioning by rolling down the windows. I forgot how to roll down the windows though. You had to pull a few triggers and pull them down and pull them up.

We read lots of opinions on how long the trip would take. We had to be back to the hotel at 4:00 because some people had something else to do. Because the sun sets so late, you can do multiple activities in a day if you don't want to sleep. So 11-4 is 5 hours. We felt a little rushed on the way back, but we didn't complain because we had had such a wonderful day. 


They will provide a lunch, but I would recommend bringing your own lunch because it's more of a snack. It's actually labeled a snack on your itinerary. There were brownie crisps, cheese puffs, a turkey jerky, dried fruit and nut mix, and a granola bar. It is on your seat when you get on the bus; so don't sit on it! You can eat when you want. Bottled water was provided up on the rack over the seats near the front.

There's only two bathroom stops–one on the way there, one on the way back. There are no bathrooms on the bus. It's quite rustic. 

The animals are real and wild. You should stay on the bus. The driver showed us a brand new sign that a bear attacked. It might have been trying to scratch its back. 

Take binoculars. And take a camera with a good zoom. But you also have to be ready at all times with the camera. 

The driver had binoculars and a super magnified camera connected to the tvs. He was very good at spotting animals as he drove. Everyone has to work together to spot animals. Look out the window. Not every bus driver is great at spotting animals.

Cloudy skies keep you from seeing Mount McKinley, which they now call Denali cause that's the native name for it. 

But rainy weather makes the animals come out more. 

It wouldn't have been the best spot to see Mount McKinley anyway. We had to turn around at mile marker 42 because of the landslide and road closure.

Our driver said you don't have to see moose on a tundra tour because you can see them anywhere else in Alaska quite easily, which was good because we didn't see a moose on the tundra tour. But we know people who went to Alaska and didn't see a moose. So keep an eye out anyway. 


We saw a few moose plus a baby the next day on the Horseshoe Lake hike. Sorry to brag about that.

Dall sheep are normally at the top of the mountain. One of them goes up to the top while the others go over and play. And if he sees a wolf, he warns them and they all run away. They look like white spots on the gray mountains. Sometimes you’re really seeing snow, but snow doesn’t move.

You will see a lot of animals. Here's something that you should expect: ground squirrels. We saw a grizzly bear, and the driver said it had been about 2 weeks since he'd seen one. There were some caribou. I don't know the difference between caribou and moose. We also saw Ravens or blackbirds we’re not sure which. They were nesting under the bridge, and there were babies.

Our bus had drop down TVs so you can see things closer. 

The bus returns you to the lodge, but we asked our driver if he could drop us at the Visitors Center, and he did after he dropped the first group at the lodge. 

Driving the bus is a popular summer activity. Drivers have to have education in science. They haven't had to hire new drivers in 9 years because people like it so much.

After you go, you'll know why.