Seward Rental Car Question

[luvz2run2000]

Sailing on the Sun next June and would like to book a rental car in Seward when we disembark and drop it off in Anchorage so we can set our own pace and control the stops. All I've found so far is a crazy $999 rate on the Hertz website. Has anyone done this and what rental car company did you use?

[Budget Queen]

Hertz is the only vendor. Probably doesn't have next years rates loaded. Do expect high costs, just not what you are seeing. :) It is very worthwhile to add at least a day in Seward. The Alaska RR is like another excursion for some, and a great transfer as well. Then you can rent from Enterprise which, in the past has had some of the lowest rates for round trip Anchorage.

[pizzalady1]

Are you going to need a car in Anchorage? If so, I would suggest that you rent from Hertz in Seward ( a high priced rental) with a drop off at the Anchorage airport. Then do a new rental (lower priced rental) with a drop back at the airport at the end of your trip.

 

Actually, your 2nd rental can be Hertz and, at the airport drop point, they will end your old contract and start your new contract and you can even keep the same car.

[teachatthebeach]

Try calling the Seward Hertz office directly. That's what I did when I was having trouble booking on line.

[luvz2run2000]

Thanks for the info. We were already planning to do a car swap in Anchorage as we can get a deal on Enterprise. I figured there was no way that was the real price for Hertz.

 

We arrive in Seward on Monday (July 4th) and have to fly home on Saturday. Right now we're in the planning stages and deciding how to divide up the 5 days. Staying a night in Seward is something we have in the mix.

 

Planning a trip with someone who lives 500 miles away is difficult. The next time he's in town we can hopefully sit down and hammer some of this out. I'm the "research girl" who comes up with the options so we can decide. Of course he doesn't see any of the options that I can't live with :rolleyes:

Edited August 6, 2015 by luvz2run2000

[cruisin0218]

You need to be aware that there is a huge 4th of July celebration every year in Seward. There will be a tremendous number of people in Seward with parade, mt marathon race, food & craft vendors. The main street is usually closed at least part of the day which is not too bad since Seward is very walkable unless one has mobility issues. Depending upon what you like this could either be a unique opportunity or if you don't like crowds and street fairs it could mean that you might want to proceed fairly quickly to another area to sightsee.

 

At any other time I might suggest that (unless you are particularly interested in Denali ) you focus your 5 days in the Seward area and any other area in the Kenai that interests you then proceed to Anchorage for a day or 2, but that would depend upon your feelings regarding the festival crowds and activities. Many lodging facilities in and around Seward book for that week as much as 1 year in advance.

[Budget Queen]

Pure speculation- But, since the OP is looking for a 7-4 car rental, that rate could very well be valid. :) They make no mention of having lodging reservations either.

[luvz2run2000]

No lodging reservations yet. Just booked last week and still trying to figure out the land part but will book sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks for the info about the Seward 4th of July. Normally I would be all over something like that but we need to maximize our five days so not sure how my travel buddy will feel about that.

 

My first thought when I ready the word marathon was "What time does it start? Could I make it off the ship in time?" Then I googled the race and there is no way I'm running 26.2 miles up and down a mountain where they recommend safety gear including knee pads. Obviously not a Boston Qualifier :)

[Budget Queen]

No lodging reservations yet. Just booked last week and still trying to figure out the land part but will book sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks for the info about the Seward 4th of July. Normally I would be all over something like that but we need to maximize our five days so not sure how my travel buddy will feel about that.

 

My first thought when I ready the word marathon was "What time does it start? Could I make it off the ship in time?" Then I googled the race and there is no way I'm running 26.2 miles up and down a mountain where they recommend safety gear including knee pads. Obviously not a Boston Qualifier :)

 

I suggest you make lodging reservations- now, and car reservations ASAP, then cancel later if you change your mind. Otherwise, your choice will likely be made for you.

[theloo]

Last July (right around July 6th), we had a 3-day rental OW from Seward to Anchorage. The original price was something like $140 per day. When we got there, they didn't have a compact, so we got a discount for a subcompact down to about $105 per day? Total for 3 days was $350. We could have done a 1-day OW rental, then a 2-day regular rental in Anchorage, but it was too much trouble.

[cruisin0218]

I would call the Seward office and get qoute from them. It appears that they do have vehicles available online at a reasonable rate for rt Seward rentals or for ow from the Anc. Downtown (k street) to Seward. I have found that calling is sometimes better. I would recommend that you go ahead and book both the rental car rt in Seward and lodging right away even if you have to change it later. If you decide that you would like to spend 3 days or so in the Kenai & then proceed to Anchorage, You could book one of the hotels in Seward for 3 nights and and rental car in Seward for 3 days which would at any rate assure that you have a space and transportation for the Kenai. Some of the hotels require a 3 night minimum reservation for that week. Then if you are unable to get a better rate you could take the train from Seward to Anc. Not what I would normally recommend but it might work you would need to check the total cost for that. I think you can also do a post cruise boat tour combo with the train to Anc if you decide you want to see a little of the brauty around Seward but avoid the crowds. Then you could just pick up your rental car in Anc. Again if you can't decide quite yet I'd at least make the lodging and car rental reservation because there is no deposit on either and you can cancel if you don't want them.

 

We booked the Best Western in Seward for their 3 night minium and a rental car through Hertz but later canceled because we decided to stay at Redfish Lodge in Sterling instead and didn't need the car because we made other arrangements. It wad no problem to cancel both the car and Best Western.

[luvz2run2000]

Thanks again for all the advice.

I'll see if I can get him to nail down at least locations so we can make hotel reservations. Then we can fill in. One super planner and one fly by the seat of your pants traveler make for interesting times. Still trying to get him to understand that most of the travel in Alaska occurs during the summer so we need to jump on it.

[cruisin0218]

My husband is fly by the seat of your pants and I am a planner so I totally understand. On our first trip we ended up renting an RV so he could fly by the seat of his pants and the only reservations we made were for the RV and 3 nights in Riley Creek campground in Denali. However our land tour was at the first of our trip and we flew into Anchorage so we didn't need arrangements to get to the rv pickup. One of the rv places will make arrangements for drop off/pickup in Seward for an extra fee or the train or bus can be taken to the airport in Anc where the rv folks will pick you up.

[luvz2run2000]

Thanks everyone, especially Cruisin 0218 for the info about the 4th of July. I finally was able to nail Mr. Noplans down last night. We at least know how we're getting to Anchorage from Seward.....baby steps. I did warn him that I was going to just start making reservations like crazy and he could tag along or start making his own plans :rolleyes:

 

We're going to take a Kenai Fjords cruise on the 4th after we disembark and then take the Goldstar Train to Anchorage that evening. As predicted couldn't find a hotel for one night and decided to have some fun and ride the train rather than even try to rent a car on the holiday.

 

We'll pick up a rental car on the 5th and then start making our way to Denali.

Edited August 18, 2015 by luvz2run2000