Caravan's and Tour Groups

Wife & I just did the Rose Parade package with Fantasy RV Tours. We stayed in one place and had a wonderful, wonderful experience. Was thinking about The Albuquerque Balloon Festival, but it is already booked up.

Check here for Fantasy RV Tours-Alaska
They have three Alaska Tours to consider.
Contact them for more details.
Pat

Since we are fulltimers, we are used to traveling solo. We did go up to Alaska from Indiana with one other couple, friends of ours. I particularly enjoyed the company and since we travel with DH's complicated heart problems, I felt much better traveling through the wilderness with another couple. Both the guys know their way around mechanics, etc., so it gave me an extra feeling of comfort, although I wasn't worried about safety. As it was, the other couple left when we got to Valdez, canceling their ferry reservations and the rest of the trip. We continued on with our itinerary and enjoyed the rest of the trip. As it was, the remaining trip was in areas more populated and roads that were as well (Canada 16). So I didn't have the same concerns coming back through Canada on the return. We spent more time with friends in Juneau than we would have probably. He was in cancer treatment in Houston at the same time as DH, so it was super great to spend time with them.

A wonderful trip. I can't believe we've been there and back.

Dale

Thanks for the input so far. I'm all for solo, as I don't want to be tied to a planned trip. Also, although we can afford it, as some of you have said, for what is charged I could do the trip several times, gas and food included, where their fees only cover campgrounds.
I think that when the wife realizes that, she'll want to go solo, also.
We're planning on 3 months on the road, cutting down from Alaska and taking the PCH down to Northern Calif, and than cutting east back to Va. Just in the planning stages now, but it is gonna happen!!!
Grumpy

If you're experienced RVers, you likely won't have any extra worries travelling here in the North.

A grand advantage of going solo is you can follow the good weather, stay longer when you find a sweet spot, or move on in a different direction if the rain is going to interfere.

You'll likely not feel like you're going solo either. Most RVers discover that they meet the same folks in various spots along the way. We usually recognize people by their dogs, others by their RVs.

Another advantage of not caravanning is you do meet lots of people. I easily strike up conversations with people in campgrounds, but others times I like being a hermit. Being on your own, it's easy to choose when you want to do either.

There's nothing too foreboding up here. And us locals don't hesitate to stop and help out if there's a problem.

The one's I've seen are way too expensive. For the cost of a single caravan planned trip, I can do the route 4 times by myself. The few times we've camped with friends, or traveled together, we really did not like it.

I hate the caravans. Way too much "lets all hold hands and sing" mentality for me. While I am friendly and a gentleman, it is over the top with social activities. I am on the trip to see the sights and do local events, not entertain a fellow traveler.

bobjogone wrote:
We signed up for a SMART (military camping group) Caravan - there weren't enough for an official group but the Caravan Leader offered to take the group. We started with 13 but 3 left due to communication issues. There were times we wished we were on our own to decide to stay somewhere a few extra days or not to stay at a certain campground. However, there were 3 rigs that ended up with problems that were greatly helped by having someone else to help solve the issues.

We also had a good time with potlucks and having fun with trips to breweries and wineries and touring and fishing with friends.

We left from Great Falls, Montana and returned to Washington State.
It was a once in a lifetime trip for us and we think the Caravan was best for helping us to enjoy it. Get a Milepost Book (used is fine) to start planning.

We were on the SMART caravan to AK in 2013. Pretty much agree with this poster but just had one more thing to add: parking assignments were an issue for our group. The wagon master always put the fifth wheels in the pull through spots because, as he said, everyone knows they can't drive. But the pull throughs were the spots with 50 amps, and he was putting 50 amp class A RVs in a 30 amp back in spot to give a 50 amp pull through to a 30 amp trailer. No common sense! This didn't affect us, we were in our class C, but our friends with a new Tiffin were mad the whole trip.

In my opinion, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages of a caravan.

Sorta depends...if you're a planner and like things your way, solo is the best route. New things begin an adventure. Going into the unknown can be scary at times.

That said, if you'd rather let someone else plan your trip, do the homework and all that, then take the tour route. That's what you're paying for. Your comfort zone is secure because you're traveling in numbers and if something breaks, you'll be secure in knowing someone's around to give you a hand.

All in all, it's your decision, your comfort zone and how you can get the most out of your trip. Lots to see and do up there, and lots of side trips, etc. We don't like interstates and prefer backroads and off touristy sites. If you're like us, you probably won't like the caravans.....Dennis

We signed up for a SMART (military camping group) Caravan - there weren't enough for an official group but the Caravan Leader offered to take the group. We started with 13 but 3 left due to communication issues. There were times we wished we were on our own to decide to stay somewhere a few extra days or not to stay at a certain campground. However, there were 3 rigs that ended up with problems that were greatly helped by having someone else to help solve the issues.

We also had a good time with potlucks and having fun with trips to breweries and wineries and touring and fishing with friends.

We left from Great Falls, Montana and returned to Washington State.
It was a once in a lifetime trip for us and we think the Caravan was best for helping us to enjoy it. Get a Milepost Book (used is fine) to start planning.

Personally, We prefer solo so we don't have to sick on any particular schedule other than our own. We want to stop and look, we do so and leave when we want. JMHO