One-way car rental Anchorage to Whittier

[puppymama1]

Planning our June 2020 Alaska trip... Our original plan was flying into Anchorage, renting a car from Avis, driving to Denali, then back to Anchorage and returning the car the night before the cruise.  We are going to do the 26 Glaciers cruise before boarding the ship, so we were planning to purchase the combo train ticket/26 glaciers ticket.  Now that I know there is an Avis location in Whittier, we were wondering if it would be better/cheaper to just return the rental car to Whittier and drive ourselves down there instead of taking the train.  The only issue with that is we would still have our luggage instead of being able to hand it off to the Princess tent at the train station.  But we could store it at the 26 glaciers office... The Avis website won't let me price that out to see how much more expensive that one-way rental would be, since the Whittier location is only open seasonally and the website shows it will be closed next June, since it shows it's only open until September, 2019.  There will be 2 couples traveling together, so that would be 4 train tickets we wouldn't have to pay for.... ($103 each = $412 total).  I can't believe the difference for a one-way rental would be that much or more....  OR is it really worth the extra cost to take the train?  Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated... thanks!

[GettingMyShipTogether]

i priced out something similar for our anchorage car rental and the upcharge for a one way rental was something astronomical like $700 more. maybe there is a way to get the upcharge waived or maybe more searching could have yielded a better result, but we ended up booking a shuttle and not investigating further (~$40pp). a lot of people seem to really love the train ride though, the scenery on that drive is gorgeous. 

[LeesaB]

Yeah, when I priced out an Anchorage to Seward car rental I immediately went NO THANK YOU and am planning on doing the train.

 

There are Alaska coupon books that I've heard of that apparently regularly include 2-for-1 tickets (adventure class) on the trains.  I think the Northern Lights book for next year should be available in October.  I forget the name of the other major coupon book, but it seemed to have a similar coupon as well.  Might look into them when planning some activities!

[mapleleaves]

did you try calling the US reservations number ?  They should info on all locations, even seasonal offices. 

1-800-633-3469

 

And I recall someone a few yrs ago having success by calling the Anchorage office to get a rate for a Whittier pick up or drop off.

[rkacruiser]

Having sailed from Whittier on July 31st, maybe this insight might help you.

 

If you drove, I don't think your concern about having to store your luggage at the 26 Glaciers Office is an issue.  I arrived at the pier, after being driven to Whittier from Anchorage by my Nephew, around 11:30 A. M.  Luggage was being collected at the pier when we arrived.  My Nephew dropped me off at the same time (he wanted to go hiking to a nearby glacier), the easiest and quickest check-in and embarkation then followed.  I was on the ship well before the Bordeaux Dining Room opened for lunch.

 

No doubt that the drive from Anchorage to Whittier is scenic (as long as there is no haze due to wildfires), but I have read that the train ride is just as scenic as well.  Going through the long tunnel to get to the port is an interesting experience just by itself.

 

Have no idea about the cost for doing a rental as you have considered.  But, my rental for the 10 days I was in Alaska was from Avis.  It was the first time that have rented one from them and I am a very satisfied customer.  Avis personnel at ANC were friendly and helpful both at the start and the end of the rental, the car was a Ford Escape with 2000 miles on it!   

[gofish]

We flew in to Anchorage and drove to the harbor a couple years ago. The rates were not unreasonable for the one way rental. Nice drive down there and the road and train tracks run side by side. Nice drive good roads. stopped at a ski area / hotel for breakfast and took chair up for view and snow. Then another stop where you drive thru and there are bears and moose and other animals to see.

In Whitter we drove around to see this hugh military building built in the 50s and abandoned for last 70 years but still looks usable.

The same tunnel is used by the cars and trains . its controlled at both ends so if no trains then cars go one direction then the other. You can get the schedule each way and arrive close to the time. otherwise you will wait your turn, I think we waited about 45 minutes .

We dropped our luggage at the ship and the rental return is down the parking lot . we got a couple bottles of wine from the state liquor store they opened for us. cant remember if it was all in one store or next door. then walk back to ship.

Our only problem is we flew in overnight from Honolulu and our plane was early and the rental agency didn't open till 6am so we had to wait a half hour for them to open.

I would do it again and hope our plane is a little late instead of early.

 

 

 

 

 

V

[puppymama1]

On 9/11/2019 at 4:52 PM, mapleleaves said:

did you try calling the US reservations number ?  They should info on all locations, even seasonal offices. 

1-800-633-3469

 

And I recall someone a few yrs ago having success by calling the Anchorage office to get a rate for a Whittier pick up or drop off.

I just called Avis and they are seeing the same message that the Whittier location will be closed... Her suggestion was to try again in a couple of months and see if it is updated by then.. I will wait awhile and try again, and if I still get the same message, I will call the Anchorage office and see if they can get me the information.. thanks!

[Taters]

On 9/11/2019 at 1:37 PM, gofish said:

 

In Whitter we drove around to see this hugh military building built in the 50s and abandoned for last 70 years but still looks usable.

 

 

 

 

 

V

Actually, that building is still very much in use.  In fact, nearly the whole town lives inside of it.  It even houses the school and post office.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Taters said:

Actually, that building is still very much in use.  In fact, nearly the whole town lives inside of it.  It even houses the school and post office.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers 

 

Whittier is an interesting town that deserves some time to do some exploring.  I'd never have thought so until I accompanied my late Nephew on a late December trip to visit the town.  He enjoyed exploring and photographing unusual "forgotten" venues.  Whittier was on his list.  I gained further appreciation from what I learned and saw for our Alaskan citizens who live in such a unique place.

[SuperCrewBear]

 

On 9/11/2019 at 4:37 PM, gofish said:

 

In Whitter we drove around to see this hugh military building built in the 50s and abandoned for last 70 years but still looks usable.

 

On 9/15/2019 at 5:40 PM, Taters said:

Actually, that building is still very much in use.  In fact, nearly the whole town lives inside of it.  It even houses the school and post office.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers 

 

V

 

I think Gofish was referring to the very abandoned Buckner Building.  The military stopped using it around 1966.  There have been subsequent owners but nothing much has happened there since the military left.

 

 

The other big building, Begich Towers, is the 14 story apartment building where most of the Whittier residence live to this day.  It's a cool looking building to me - interesting colors.

 

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, SuperCrewBear said:

the very abandoned Buckner Building.

 

My late Nephew enjoyed visiting old abandoned buildings and did so when we were in Whittier during the Winter several years ago.  (Probably was trespassing and I sat in the car worrying if he would get hurt or caught.)  He found the place fascinating.  

[donaldsc]

On 9/11/2019 at 2:37 PM, gofish said:

We flew in to Anchorage and drove to the harbor a couple years ago. The rates were not unreasonable for the one way rental. Nice drive down there and the road and train tracks run side by side. Nice drive good roads. stopped at a ski area / hotel for breakfast and took chair up for view and snow. Then another stop where you drive thru and there are bears and moose and other animals to see.

In Whitter we drove around to see this hugh military building built in the 50s and abandoned for last 70 years but still looks usable.

The same tunnel is used by the cars and trains . its controlled at both ends so if no trains then cars go one direction then the other. You can get the schedule each way and arrive close to the time. otherwise you will wait your turn, I think we waited about 45 minutes .

We dropped our luggage at the ship and the rental return is down the parking lot . we got a couple bottles of wine from the state liquor store they opened for us. cant remember if it was all in one store or next door. then walk back to ship.

Our only problem is we flew in overnight from Honolulu and our plane was early and the rental agency didn't open till 6am so we had to wait a half hour for them to open.

I would do it again and hope our plane is a little late instead of early.

 

 

 

 

 

V

 

The Buckner Building is the abandoned building - https://maps.roadtrippers.com/stories/alaskas-largest-abandoned-building-is-a-labyrinth-of-nightmare-fuel.    Also - https://www.rebeccabphotos.com/Travel/Alaska/Buckner-Building-Old-and/.

 

DON

[thegoaliegirl]

Here is my advice- book the round trip Anchorage car right now, as prices will go up. You can always change/cancel it if prices go down or you decide to book the one-way rental. We went in August, with a group of 6, so we needed a minivan. Had the car for 5 days and did a round trip Anchorage rental and then a private transfer to Whittier. It was $1000 more for us to do the one-way rental than our round trip Anchorage rental. We even looked at doing a one day one way rental and we still saved a ton by doing it as a roundtrip with private half day tour. Since there are only 4 of you, you might get lucky and the difference in price might be less. Keep monitoring prices up until you travel, as they varied greatly.

[puppymama1]

On 10/6/2019 at 12:58 PM, thegoaliegirl said:

Here is my advice- book the round trip Anchorage car right now, as prices will go up. You can always change/cancel it if prices go down or you decide to book the one-way rental. We went in August, with a group of 6, so we needed a minivan. Had the car for 5 days and did a round trip Anchorage rental and then a private transfer to Whittier. It was $1000 more for us to do the one-way rental than our round trip Anchorage rental. We even looked at doing a one day one way rental and we still saved a ton by doing it as a roundtrip with private half day tour. Since there are only 4 of you, you might get lucky and the difference in price might be less. Keep monitoring prices up until you travel, as they varied greatly.

We do already have our round trip Anchorage booked... I did that the same day we booked the cruise!  Can you tell me who you used for the private transfer to Whittier?  I will check to see how that rate compares to 4 train or bus fares... thanks!

[thegoaliegirl]

On 10/10/2019 at 10:09 AM, puppymama1 said:

We do already have our round trip Anchorage booked... I did that the same day we booked the cruise!  Can you tell me who you used for the private transfer to Whittier?  I will check to see how that rate compares to 4 train or bus fares... thanks!

We used Bear Paw Transportation (https://www.bearpawtransportation.com/). I had to fill out their form for a quote but they got back to me pretty quick. They were slightly cheaper than other companies and will pick up anywhere in Anchorage.