Bus from Whittier to Anchorage

[TMW67]

When taking the bus from the Whittier cruise port to Anchorage, which side will be best to sit on for the best views & more chance seeing of wildlife?🐻🦌

[DaKa2002]

Personally, we's pick the right side of the north-bound bus.  That is based upon our experience on the southbound train.

[masterdrago]

2 hours ago, TMW67 said:

When taking the bus from the Whittier cruise port to Anchorage, which side will be best to sit on for the best views & more chance seeing of wildlife?🐻🦌

Whittier to Anchorage on the drivers side would have the view of Turnagain Arm and the mountains to the south.

[Glaciers]

The view is much better sitting on the left which gives you some spectacular scenery along Turnagain Arm. There’s not much wildlife to see except for occasional Dall sheep along the cliffs, particularly near Windy Point. If the bus driver is worth their weight, and the sheep are visible, they may pull over for a very short time.  You may see beluga whales in the Arm by sitting on the left as well although they can be elusive and look a lot like white caps.

[AKStafford]

17 hours ago, Glaciers said:

 If the bus driver is worth their weight, and the sheep are visible, they may pull over for a very short time. 

Not true... I spent two summers driving for Holland America/Westours/Grayline. Our safety department had defined places we pre-approved to stop. We couldn't just pull over because someone wanted to look at something.

And if you stop, everyone wants off. It took about 10 - 15 minutes to unload 45 people. A few minutes to look and then 15 - 20 minutes to try and get everyone back on the coach and figure out where one or two of them wandered off to. And then 5 -10 minutes to pull back out into traffic. And now that person with the tight flight connection has missed their plane...

That's why the best side of the coach to sit on is the outside. In your rental car.

[TMW67]

Thanks everyone! 😊

[Glaciers]

29 minutes ago, AKStafford said:

Not true... I spent two summers driving for Holland America/Westours/Grayline. Our safety department had defined places we pre-approved to stop. We couldn't just pull over because someone wanted to look at something.

Thank you for clarifying. I have been down that way quite often photographing the sheep and have seen them pull over twice. No one got off the buses, though.  Apparently they weren’t supposed to but they did. I won’t mention it again if it is generally not the case.   I’ve also seen the train come to a stop along there as well when sheep were low on the cliffs.

I also agree a rental is the best option to maximize the journey along Turnagain Arm.