HELP Anchorage to Talkeetna

[ILUVCRUZEN]

Hi, I am trying to find a way to get from Anchorage to Talkeetna without doing a rental car. We want to board the train in Talkeetna (not Anchorage) but the only shuttle I found leaves Anchorage in the afternoon. The train arrives and leaves Talkeetna around 11:25am. Can anyway please suggest some ideas on how I could get to Talkeetna from Anchorage and be there in time to get on the 11:25am train. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[mapleleaves]

That's one of the problems with the train ... one departure a day is very restrictive.

Did you look at the Park Connection Bus? It has a morning and an afternoon departure during peak period in the summer, so you'll need to check on your specific travel date. And also check where they drop off in Talkeetna ... it might not be at the train station. http://alaskacoach.com/

[Glaciers]

I don't know anything about this company but it looks like their schedule would work for you.

http://www.alaskabusguy.com/

[ILUVCRUZEN]

I don't know anything about this company but it looks like their schedule would work for you.

http://www.alaskabusguy.com/

 

Thanks I will check it out

[ILUVCRUZEN]

I don't know anything about this company but it looks like their schedule would work for you.

http://www.alaskabusguy.com/

 

I just called and spoke with a gentleman that sounded elderly and he stated that it would be $300 :eek: I was hoping for something a little less expensive :) but at least it is an option. Thank you Glaciers.

[mapleleaves]

check my previous reply ... the morning departure is 7am.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

check my previous reply ... the morning departure is 7am.

It's operating schedule is June - August Thanks for the help though. If you can think of anything else any help is greatly appreciated.

[mapleleaves]

It's operating schedule is June - August Thanks for the help though. If you can think of anything else any help is greatly appreciated.

 

it might help if you provided the travel date ....

[mapleleaves]

Check the town web sites for Talkeetna and for Anchorage to get a list of transportation vendors. ( Google talkeetna visitor information and Anchorage visitor information).

BTW, a rental car isn't an option as there are no major vendors in Talkeetna for you to drop off the car when you're done.

[Glaciers]

I just called and spoke with a gentleman that sounded elderly and he stated that it would be $300 :eek: I was hoping for something a little less expensive :) but at least it is an option. Thank you Glaciers.

 

Wow! Their website says it's $67pp one way. Maybe he just woke up. :)

[ILUVCRUZEN]

Wow! Their website says it's $67pp one way. Maybe he just woke up. :)

Well that is per person and there are 3 of us. So actually I guess he is only asking $33 more per person. I didnt realize I had not put my date I needed travel. We will be needing to go to Talkeetna this Saturday March 9th.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

it might help if you provided the travel date ....

 

This Saturday March 9th

[Chenega]

Well, there's the problem. There is no regularly scheduled bus service between Anchorage and Talkeetna during the off season, i.e. now. What you would basically be doing now is chartering your own bus/van for the day

 

The Alaska Railroad only makes one weekly run at this time - north from Anchorage to Fairbanks on Saturday and south from Fairbanks on Sunday.

 

Any reason you can't just catch the train in Anchorage this Saturday?

[ILUVCRUZEN]

 

Any reason you can't just catch the train in Anchorage this Saturday?

It is booked up (no seats) from Anchorage but has seats from Talkeetna.

[Budget Queen]

I think you are out of luck, unless you want to pay the above fee. A car rental would be far more beneficial IF you happen to be going to Fairbanks- which is essentially the only place to go, and you have an aurora priority. A car is necessary- bottom line.

 

If you are flying out of Fairbanks- there is a drop fee, but a few car rentals that do offer the one way.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

Thanks for all the suggestions

[Glaciers]

I know you didn't want to do a rental car but they are very cheap right now. $12-15/day.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

We had a great time in Alaska!!! I ended up using a company called Magic Bus for our trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna. I posted info about it on trip advisor so I wanted to let everyone here know how it went so here goes....

We were arriving in Anchorage on March 8th and were planning to take the train to Fairbanks March 9th because the winter train only runs north on Saturdays. Anyway the train was booked from Anchorage to Talkeetna but had seats available from Talkeetna to Fairbanks. I researched the web & asked questions about my options. One of the suggestions was the Magic Bus company. I called and spoke directly with the owner Tim. He was very helpful in setting up a transfer for us at the last minute (3 days advance) He also called me back and said another gentleman was in the same situation as us (needed to get to Fairbanks but no seats on train between Anchorage/Talkeetna) so the price was divided between the 4 of us which lowered our rate. Tim picked us up personally from our hotel then we went straight to railroad station in Anchorage. We tagged our luggage to Fairbanks then gave it to the handlers then went outside and met up with our driver and the other gentleman. We were transported in a nice SUV for the 2 hour trip to Talkeetna. The driver was very nice & informative along the route. We had a great time and arrived 45 minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. We would have arrived earlier but we stopped for a bathroom break right before getting to Talkeetna.It was a very nice trip.

[Northern Aurora]

ILUVCRUZEN: Thanks so much for the update. I was just wondering how the trip worked for you. So often we don't hear the "rest of the story."

[Budget Queen]

We had a great time in Alaska!!! I ended up using a company called Magic Bus for our trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna. I posted info about it on trip advisor so I wanted to let everyone here know how it went so here goes....

We were arriving in Anchorage on March 8th and were planning to take the train to Fairbanks March 9th because the winter train only runs north on Saturdays. Anyway the train was booked from Anchorage to Talkeetna but had seats available from Talkeetna to Fairbanks. I researched the web & asked questions about my options. One of the suggestions was the Magic Bus company. I called and spoke directly with the owner Tim. He was very helpful in setting up a transfer for us at the last minute (3 days advance) He also called me back and said another gentleman was in the same situation as us (needed to get to Fairbanks but no seats on train between Anchorage/Talkeetna) so the price was divided between the 4 of us which lowered our rate. Tim picked us up personally from our hotel then we went straight to railroad station in Anchorage. We tagged our luggage to Fairbanks then gave it to the handlers then went outside and met up with our driver and the other gentleman. We were transported in a nice SUV for the 2 hour trip to Talkeetna. The driver was very nice & informative along the route. We had a great time and arrived 45 minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. We would have arrived earlier but we stopped for a bathroom break right before getting to Talkeetna.It was a very nice trip.

 

Is the Ice Sculpting Championships still there? Did you see northern lights????? :) :)

[Northern Aurora]

Is the Ice Sculpting Championships still there? Did you see northern lights????? :) :)

 

Budget Queen: The Ice Arts Championship officially closes on March 31st. We had our first +40F day of 2013 just after they opened, so that must have caused some concern for the board of directors. But actually March has been on the cool side, so all turned out well with no premature melting. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner website (http://www.newsminer.com) has some great photos in their images gallery.

 

We also have been having some great auroras. Again, the News-miner website has some fantastic photos of the auroras over St. Patty's weekend. Last night we again had a good aurora.

[Budget Queen]

Budget Queen: The Ice Arts Championship officially closes on March 31st. We had our first +40F day of 2013 just after they opened, so that must have caused some concern for the board of directors. But actually March has been on the cool side, so all turned out well with no premature melting. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner website (http://www.newsminer.com) has some great photos in their images gallery.

 

We also have been having some great auroras. Again, the News-miner website has some fantastic photos of the auroras over St. Patty's weekend. Last night we again had a good aurora.

 

This poster didn't mention they'd see the Ice Sculptures. http://www.icealaska.com A couple years ago, there was talk of some conflict with the property owner of the site, and it might be canceled?

I've seen them twice, and it's just jaw dropping. The ticket used to be a day pass, so I always returned, to see everything lit up. I hope to get there next year. I had plans for this year- but ended up in Rehab. :(

 

 

Edit- I see they did move the location. GREAT they didn't close it. Hopefully, I'll make it next year!!!!!

[Northern Aurora]

TA couple years ago, there was talk of some conflict with the property owner of the site, and it might be canceled?

I've seen them twice, and it's just jaw dropping. The ticket used to be a day pass, so I always returned, to see everything lit up. I hope to get there next year. I had plans for this year- but ended up in Rehab. :(

 

 

Edit- I see they did move the location. GREAT they didn't close it. Hopefully, I'll make it next year!!!!!

 

Budget Queen: Ice Alaska had been leasing property from the Alaska Railroad, which is operated as a quasi-public corporation. While the RR is owned by the state of Alaska they try to at least break-even financially, if not earn a profit. In any event, the Ice Alaska's lease agreement was up for renewal, with the RR wanting to increase the lease amount to be more in line with the current market for commercial properties. The relationship between Ice Alaska and the RR became very contentious. It is a very long story with the Fairbanks North Star Borough mayor intervening between the two parties. I actually had to attend some meetings on this topic, as at one point the FNSB mayor was considering some borough owned property for the event. In any event, Ice Alaska was able to locate piece of privately owned land, which they purchased. So they now have a permanent home. They are still able to harvest the ice from the same pond as their new location is very close physically to the RR property. So all worked out very well for them.

 

And they still do day passes, so that people can easily visit twice during the day. The ice sculptures look so different at night than during the day.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

Is the Ice Sculpting Championships still there? Did you see northern lights????? :) :)

ok 6 months later..... :-) yes we saw the ice sculptures. They were awesome! We also say the aurora's on two seperate nights. We drove outside of Fairbanks about 20 miles where it was really dark & up in the mountains. I cant remember the name of the place but the hotel clerk recommended it and it was so worth the drive. We had a great time in Fairbanks & Anchorage.