Paid Caravans to Alaska Worth it?

[precioustime]

Saw this offer to rvers for 20 rvs to travel to Alaska, guides included, sites all paid for. Length of trip is around 30 days for $10,000 per rv with 2 people only. They worry about all the planning and tours. Anyone done this.? Is it worth it.

[Veebyes]

By my math the cost is over $300 per day.

CGs on your own will be $35-$45 per day, all commercial CGs, not state rec.areas or Canadian provincial parks which are much nicer IMO. Some excursions are included. Prices vary greatly with excursion. Some dinners are included, most likely limited choice menu. Of course all other travel expenses are on you. You get to meet everyone in the group. Some you will like. Others, not so much. You have the security of a leader & a mop up guy in case you break down. If you like the hand holding, fine, but Alaska is not the wild & wooly north with bears & wolves running all over the place. The roads are not the roads you see in old films of the Alcan with bulldozers & army trucks slip sliding all over.

Contrary to reports, mostly from people who have never been there, the North is a very civilised place. The roads are for the most part, good. Those flags marking frost heaves in certain areas are there for a reason. There are long stretches of no cell service. People survived without phones anywhere before. There is no need to have a northern trip planned out to the last day.

If you like somewhere, stay awhile. If somebody gives you a pointer on what to go see off the beaten path or an attraction, do it. If the weather is not great, stay put. There is no reason or pressure to be somewhere.

Done it four times. The itch is growing to do it a fifth time.

[qtla9111]

In 2014 we left Mexico for the western U.S. then up to Vancouver Island and across Canada, down through the Great Lakes, back into Canada to Ottawa. We flew from there to Nova Scotia for a week, then traveled back down through the U.S.

Gas prices were high (Langley, BC $5.75 a gallon). We covered 10,000 miles in four months. Who needs a guide? Everything is in English, you have GPS, cellphones, we boondocked, took advantage of Passport America parks when we could, forest service, etc.

Had a blast. Why spend so much money for someone to take you places you may not want to go and then pay for most of your expenses anyway. We spent a total of $5500, most of it on fuel.

Sorry, I'm a free bird.

[stickdog]

We've made couple trips to AK from Texas in '15' and '18' no way did it cost us $10,000. We did a mix of state campgrounds, Homer spit and private campgrounds.

We have shared campgrounds with caravans seemed like the wagonmaster was the first to arrive and setup some sort of welcome area for his travelers and help them find their assigned space. In the morning there was coffee and donuts I not sure if it was the wagonmaster or the tailgunner that handled that.

Since we were on our own time if we liked a place we stayed an extra day or two. We were in Fairbanks and spent several days there, did the discovery paddlewheeler, did the museum of the north, went to Chena hotsprings and had our Appletini in the Ice Museum. DW wanted to do the restaurants from one of those TV food shows. So we ate at the Silver Gulch Brewery and restaurant and they were going to have brew tasting the following Saturday or Sunday so we added a couple days on our stay. Turned out a front moved in and it rained for three days. The DW did get another chance to try a featured dish from the TV show and I got to taste the Alaskan brewmasters best.

The biggest expence was Halibut fishing charter, the license, processing and shipping frozen on to Florida. We learned, saved on the '18' trip we added a 3cu.ft. freezer to the 5er for the Halibut and Salmon.

While I was out fishing DW was doing her favorite kayaking in the tidepools.

Would I pay for a spot on a caravan to Alaska? No. DW thinks we should signup to work on one even if it only covered our camp fees and a few meals and some attractions.

[Grit_dog]

Edited, no I would not find the value in that.

[junmy3]

We have some friends that took a caravan to Alaska and enjoyed it. A couple years later they went back on their own.

DW and I went to Alaska the year I retired in 2012. The whole trip was 114 days and the cost was just about $10,000. Gas was the biggest expense, but the price of gas is lower than when we went. We still keep in touch with a few of the folks we met on the trip. For us the cost of going with a caravan is not worth it, but we know there are people that enjoy going with others.

Have fun whatever you decide.

[bob_nestor]

I've made the trip multiple times by myself or "leading" someone else up and back. When I've done it I kept track of all my expenses (fuel, meals, camp fees, extras, etc) and I can typically do a round trip spending most of the summer in Alaska for a little over %5000. (I have to admit that my camping fees while in Alaska are nothing though as I camp in a friend's backyard.)

I've talked to a couple of people who have done the caravans and the $10,000 price is pretty typical. What I found interesting is that at the stops they make they have one or two pre-arranged side trips you can make to "see the sights". While that sounds nice I was amazed at what the organizers has selected for some of these side trips. Certainly not the ones I would have taken and many of the better sights didn't seem to be on their list of approved/pre-paid sites. So while traveling in a caravan may offer some peace of mind (at a price) it also might be very limiting on what you can see and do.

As for finding camping spots along the way, that's never been a problem for me and I don't make reservations ahead of time. Now once you're in Alaska it could be totally different, especially if you want a spot to stay on the Kenai during the summer fishing season.

And, there's a lot of traffic on the Alaska Highway in the summer months. If you get in trouble and need some help someone will always stop and offer assistance.

[valhalla360]

What else is included?

20 rigs at $10,000 = $200,000

30 days at say $50/night: campgrounds could maybe justify $1500 per rig (and is probably a high estimate).

Say 2 wranglers getting $10k each is only $20k ($1000 per rig)

With $10k, I can cover the campground costs or save some by boondocking where it makes sense. I can pay for a $200 tour every 3rd day and still have $7k to call for service if I break down (For anything major, you are still going to pay for service if you break down on the paid caravan).

I suppose there may be some camaraderie but I've been on enough tours that I know it's really hit or miss if I want to be around a random group of people.

[schlep1967]

Is it expensive? I did a google search, Alaska Caravan, and checked it out. The price I saw was just over $9,000 and the trip was 60 days and 5,000 miles. If you and your spouse do an Alaska Cruise and land tour you are looking at $10,000+ and not seeing half as much and done in less than 20 days.
Can everybody afford it? Nope. But for those that can, it looks like it is probably one of the best ways to see Alaska.
Of course you don't have to put fuel in the Cruise ship. And they feed you three to six (or 10) meals a day.

[Acdii]

I can see a caravan for traveling through Alaska, some roads get pretty rough, and having buddies along in case of a breakdown is a plus, but $10,000? That seems pretty steep.

[MDKMDK]

These are some examples of the guided tours, duration, cost, and amenities. I haven't done any, but some do look interesting. You could "shadow" one of the Alaska tours (there are 2 annually) and just pay your own way, if you were so inclined. The link is a subset of the WITclub.com website for Winnebago Owners, and has listed some prior tours. FYI.
https://wgoadventures.com/archive/
EDIT: Just noticed the prices are gone as the events are over. Sorry. Some of the ones we looked at a few years back, were in line with those mentioned.

[GordonThree]

Phew good for them that people pay that price. Do they include a driver, or at least chef for breakfast and dinner?

[PA12DRVR]

One would need to see how the numbers add up and what one gets for the $10,000. Does that include park fees? Excursion fees? , etc, etc?

In full disclosure, I've never done an RV caravan, nor have I driven from Miami to Alaska. I have made the drive a couple of times from Port St. Joe to Seattle and Alaska...and have driven from points south (Dallas, Houston, Denver, Great Falls, Seattle, Idaho Falls, Alamagordo, Durango) to Alaska over 25 times.

Yes, it would be great for someone else to do the planning and reservations, but then you're locked in to that itinerary and schedule. Strictly for me, unless the $10,000 was a UUGE bargain (i.e. park fees, that sort of thing), I wouldn't do it.

For the price of a couple hours searching this forum, you can probably build a pretty good list of where to go and what to see on the route from the NW, through Canada, and in Alaska.....assuming the travel restrictions are eventually lifted.