Alaska advice

[devildog1971]

Has anyone ever went to Alaska by way of a ferry from Washington state, if so where did you board the ferry at, and where did you disembark. Is there any Canadian customs, if you go by way of a ferry? Would like to do the Alcan highway, but leaving in October roads might be unknown condition I know it is late in the year but we are going to support a dear one that is on a military base there. Thanks for your help sincerely

[Grit_dog]

PS it’s summer time already so if you’re going to get a booking North on the AMH, you might want to get after it or may be too late.

[Grit_dog]

devildog1971 wrote:
Has anyone ever went to Alaska by way of a ferry from Washington state, if so where did you board the ferry at, and where did you disembark. Is there any Canadian customs, if you go by way of a ferry? Would like to do the Alcan highway, but leaving in October roads might be unknown condition I know it is late in the year but we are going to support a dear one that is on a military base there. Thanks for your help sincerely

Well, if you can point out where you said you were planning on spending the summer there and “leaving” FOR HOME in October in your original post above, I’ll eat my shorts.

If you wrote what you were thinking, that would be a good start to eliminating the confusion.
Having lived in AK, drove the Alcan in both winter weather and not winter, taken the ferry from PG and camped/worked in AK for a couple years, my “advice” would have been wholly different had you actually asked what you thought you did.

So to your “new” question, lookup the ferry sailing schedule and prices and decide if whatever it is you want to do is possible and in budget.
Peace out!

[devildog1971]

Wish people would read the entire question going up staying through summer we have a loved one whose husband is on a military base and she is ill and needs help. Wanted to know my options people read what they want to into a question. Asked for help from someone who may have done this before, if I were well informed why ask I have answered many questions on this forum. Now I know why many never come back

[Grit_dog]

devildog1971 wrote:
Very few things I am afraid of, My background prepared me for most circumstances. I was looking for information not a blessing. I think I will ask a higher being for that than another truck camper owner.

You said you were concerned about road conditions….But that aside, it will be far more expensive and take far longer than flying up and getting a hotel and a rental car.
Still amazing scenery in the off season, driving up, but could be brown, could be white, and then you get to drive back too. In colder weather than you went up in.

If you’re looking g for a pseudo winter adventure, you can get one.
From my perspective, the weather wouldn’t be “that” bad. It’s not well below zero dead of winter and you’ll still have halfway decent daylight hours. At least on the trip up there.

PS, you didn’t sound very well informed, considering you can look up ferry schedules and costs almost as easy as asking about it online. Thought I might add some insight, but I apologize for that.

[rutzbeck]

I live in Haines, Ak and will be traveling south to Bellingham in a short while. They charge by the foot and my camper is 24 ft and with a room it costs right at $10,000 round trip. The Kennicott is the cross gulf ferry and it only comes down to Bellingham every other week. The winter schedule isn't out yet. The Kennicott with take you across the gulf which is more money. The cost doesn't change whether you put in RV or vehicle, they work on the length only. The Kennicott will run part of the winter most likely but there will be a period where it will go in for routine repairs and so no cross gulf run. There is a second ferry that makes the round trip Bellingham to Skagway and back every week.

[devildog1971]

Very few things I am afraid of, My background prepared me for most circumstances. I was looking for information not a blessing. I think I will ask a higher being for that than another truck camper owner.

[Grit_dog]

Assuming Canadia is still selectively denying Americans access to their country this fall, weather is not your biggest concern driving there.
You're not going to take the ferry in Sept/Oct. Look it up. No ferries to mainland AK after July/Aug. And no sailings out of Bellingham after Sept and only to limited southern AK ports.
If you went in the summer, it would be about $3500 each way to Valdez or Whittier, cheaper to Haines if you're not locked out of Canada.
We took the ferry from Prince Rupert to Haines once. Awesome experience. 36 hours was enough, 3.5 days from Bhm to Haines and another sailing to Valdez or Whittier would have s ucked.

You could barge your truck and camper up and back and fly in. Barging vehicles south is cheap, north is alot more but I haven't shipped anything by barge or steamship since 2014.

But your thought process for the trip makes absolutely no sense anyway. Whether you're going to Anc or Fbks (presuming you're visiting at JBER Wainwright or Eilson, you'll be in a city with hotels. You're afraid of road conditions so not sure how it would be different driving from Anc to Fbks or touring around the state from either location (the reason for the truck and camper, right) in early winter. Plus, there's virtually no tourism , nothing open, no leaves, no fishing, no sightseeing in the Parks etc etc.
Even most hunting seasons are over. I love recreating all seasons in Alaska, but there's nothing to do except scenery and cold weather in the fall and spring.

What's the point of the truck and camper if you're afraid of snow driving and going in an off season?
Flights are cheap in general now and hotels and rental cars are also cheap in the off season.

[h45wt]

Siletzspey wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Actually since the OP is asking on the truck camper section, price might not be too bad. It's for a big RV where the ferry prices get kind of crazy.

Following up on valhalla360's comment...

Do the ferries charge extra for an "RV", and is a truck camper considered an "RV"?

The web-site for the Bellingham WA > Valdez AK ferry among others makes it hard to find the answer and costs 😞

--tg

Fee is all based upon total length and on a very few ferries height. Easier to book a TC as an RV and its length. If you try to do a truck they want to know the year/make/model to get the length and harder to add additional for any camper rear overhang. I book every year as a 25' RV. Since propane is turned off you might have refrigeration issues for multi-day ferry rides.

[S_Davis]

They usually charge by length and on some routes height as well. I am on the Wa state ferries about weekly and I redesigned my work vehicle to be lower, I used to get hit with over height charge as well as over length charge (over 22’) and it would run close to $200.00 to get out to the San Jaun islands.

[Kayteg1]

I've been on BC Ferries several times and they always charge by a foot.
We drove to Alaska in 2019 and driving is part of the experience IMHO.
So when you have time for long vacations - Alaska Highway offers lot of adventures. Suppose the borders are opening right now and even during Covid times, US citizens did find lot of excuses to cross Canadian border.

[Siletzspey]

valhalla360 wrote:
Actually since the OP is asking on the truck camper section, price might not be too bad. It's for a big RV where the ferry prices get kind of crazy.

Following up on valhalla360's comment...

Do the ferries charge extra for an "RV", and is a truck camper considered an "RV"?

The web-site for the Bellingham WA > Valdez AK ferry among others makes it hard to find the answer and costs 😞

--tg

[Z-Peller]

On the motorcycle we got off in Skagway, in the TC we got off in Haines....No customs, they do not stop at a Canadian port...

Getting off the ferry at Haines or Skagway you will still have to drive through Canada to get to central Alaska.

[sd1209]

We did it 2x, once about 9 yrs ago by motorcycle and in 2019 by TC....Both times the Alaska Ferry System, which we boarded in Bellingham....Got a cabin both times...You cannot stay in your RV..On the motorcycle we got off in Skagway, in the TC we got off in Haines....No customs, they do not stop at a Canadian port....Not cheap but was a way to break up the trip and see some sights from the water. I highly highly recommend it.....

[h45wt]

You'll be into the winter schedule in October and the service becomes very spotty. The only way to bypass Canada is to take the cross gulf ferry from Juneau to Whittier or Homer but I don't think it runs on the winter schedule, at least not often. You really don't want to be on the Gulf of AK during a winter storm. I checked earlier this year and a 25' RV with two seniors and a cabin is just shy of $10,000 round trip Bellingham to Juneau. IIRC round trip Juneau to Whittier as another $6,000 or so. Even if you had money to burn the winter schedule will likely not accommodate your travel.

We use the ferry from Juneau to Haines almost every summer since 1987 for a trip to the AK interior. We are able to cross the border in spite of Covid restrictions because we have medical appoints in Anchorage that we cannot get in Juneau.

Until they open the border for vacationers I think you are just out of luck now.

The AK ferry system is hugely under funded and service has gone down the toliet in the last decade or so. Prices have doubled in that time and is no longer viable for long trips. For our 25' RV with us two Juneau to Haines is 90 miles, 4.5 hours and this summer is $750 round trip.

At 25' the price more than doubles the 23' price. There is no logic in that!

[valhalla360]

Actually since the OP is asking on the truck camper section, price might not be too bad. It's for a big RV where the ferry prices get kind of crazy.