Slightly different Alaska trip

[jrs1871]

We would like to go to Alaska next spring but hubby absolutely refuses to take our RV up there. So we are looking at flying into Fairbanks, renting an RV for a week of look see in that area. Dropping the RV at Anchorage and taking the inland passage cruise back to Vancouver or Seattle. The cruise packages we are leaning toward include the train ride and a couple of days in Denali park.
I have checked both RV rental sites (Great Alaskan) and cruise sites but wondered if there is a single site that we could use to plan and book all of it.

[Long_Roads]

Take the RV, and enjoy.

[Tee_Jay]

In summer the cost of the RV plus mileage is usually less then the combined cost of the hotel/motel and rental car. In Soldotna the cost of a room goes from about $70 in winter to around $160 in summer, and they are often full.

[jrs1871]

Thanks for the replies. You have definitely brought up things I hadn't considered. The Jeep - motel approach would probably the way to go. As for driving the RV up there, hubby absolutely refuses to even consider it. And after 50+ years, I know when to throw in the towel and go to plan B. It looks like we need to allow a little more time for sure. The cruise package we were looking at was 11 days including the train ride and 2 days in Denali. I believe there was seven stops on the way back south.
Explorenorth thanks for the offer of more information. I will be contacting you by PM.

[2gypsies1]

Another one here thinking your trip is too short for the expense.

Also, I'd recommend not flying into Fairbanks but instead, fly into Anchorage as there's much more to see in the area of the Kenai Peninsula. Also, there are more rentals out of Anchorage.

The best though would be to drive your RV up there. Millions have done it and many go back for more. Hubby might be hearing tales of years ago. Nowadays the roads are paved. However, there will be areas of construction going on as there are in the lower 48, also. You just drive slow and you'll be just fine. 2-3 months is the usual time for the driving trip. There is so much to see before you even get to Alaska. We didn't get any damage on our motorhome or our car on the drive.

[PA12DRVR]

As I understand it, your plan is to "RV" for a week and then begin a return rail/cruise combination?

If you're going to be in AK (on the ground) for a week, follow the earlier post: rent a Jeep or a pickup and just motel it for that period. Not enough time to justify the cost of an RV rental and/or the limitations on where you can take a rented RV.

If the "Inside Passage" is the AMHS, you will see some very neat sights, but again as noted above, you won't have a lot of time in any one spot unless you make several individual leg reservations and stay for some time in the SE cities....which is the way I'd suggest doing it.

[CA_Traveler]

DougE wrote:
I thought long and hard about flying up and renting an RV. Finally decided I wanted someone else to worry about where I'd spend the night and where I'd eat. I took a tour/cruise option - fly into Anchorage, train up to Denali, bus to Seward, boat to Vancouver. Water, trees, a few animals. There's really not much to see without taking the local tours that are easy to arrange on a cruise. Worth the trip and now I'm satisfied I know what Alaska is like. For the future, there's just as good scenery and animals in the Rockies and much closer.

Our plan was a once in a lifetime trip and cross it off of our bucket list.

Before we got to Fairbanks we knew that the trip had become an ADVENTURE and we're planning to return in 2016.

We saw many cruise line tour buses and drove past their lodges. And we saw many of the cruisers in the Juneau and Skagway Caribbean jewelry stores as we continued enjoying the locals...

Hopefully someday we'll get to see more of SE Alaska via water. But I do wonder how much the cruisers saw being in port for the day and cruising at night.

[DougE]

I thought long and hard about flying up and renting an RV. Finally decided I wanted someone else to worry about where I'd spend the night and where I'd eat. I took a tour/cruise option - fly into Anchorage, train up to Denali, bus to Seward, boat to Vancouver. Water, trees, a few animals. There's really not much to see without taking the local tours that are easy to arrange on a cruise. Worth the trip and now I'm satisfied I know what Alaska is like. For the future, there's just as good scenery and animals in the Rockies and much closer.

[explorenorth]

You really don't want to book a cruisetour through anybody but a travel agent who specializes in that. They can give you the best prices and get you onto the right ship and tour combination, not just the one that pays them the best commission. Feel free to PM me - after 13 Alaska cruises and 3 years as one of those specialist agents (I'm not anymore), I may be able to give you some tips as well.

[tonymull]

You really don't want to hit Fairbanks before mid June. May is Break-up! You don't want to see or drive in that. June can be good for wildlife viewing because the trees are mostly still bare, but it's still frosty early in the month with snows many years. Yeah they only last 2-3 days, but if you are there those 2-3 days...well, it's like winter down here. Try to hit solstice, you'll never forget it.

Maybe better to see the Kenai in June than Fairbanks, much more hospitable weather. Even mid May would be possible on the Kenai.

[GordonThree]

Only a week? 😞 ... rent a Jeep, stay in motels, that short of time period won't break the bank.

IMHO you need at least a week to ten days just to wait out bad weather. On my visit, I used up my one-week bad weather buffer and had to leave before seeing Denali NP. Wildfire and choking smoke when I arrived, followed by ten days of rain and thick clouds.

Had a great time still, most of it in Canada were the weather was beautiful.

[3oaks]

A week in Alaska with or without an RV is waaaaaaay to short.

So much to see and do and then to get off the beaten path and really explore Alaska while taking time to relax along the way. 😉

But I am sure you will enjoy whatever time you spend in Alaska. 🙂

[scrubjaysnest]

Some friends of ours did the rental RV thing; don't know if they still do but our friends were limited to paved roads only by the rental outfit. That may limit where you go. Having been there with our camper and planning another trip we see no reason not to take the RV. Just slow down at the rough spots and you'll be fine.

[garyhaupt]

Google is your friend. This took me all of 30 seconds.


https://www.travelalaska.com/package%20tours.aspx


Gary Haupt