Transportation from Anchorage to Whitter

[propwash]

We are going on a HAL Yukon/Alaska Land/Cruise in August 2022. I'm trying to find what the transportation is from Anchorage to Whitter is. I understand that this is the 1st year for cruise ships or at least HAL to sail from Whitter.

Thanks for the help.

Danny

[donaldsc]

Bus.  Train.  Car.  Check out the options on Google.

 

DON

[Coral]

Princess has being using Whittier for years.

 

I would probably use the cruise line transfers. Whittier is very small. 

 

There is great glacier cruises from there: https://phillipscruises.com. You could probably arrange transfer for that through them, do the glacier cruise and then get on the ship. 

 

One way car rentals are expensive.

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I am taking a Princess cruise that ends in Whittier and I am probably going to use Salmonberry Tours to get to Anchorage;  they also have the reverse trip.  I know I am not allowed to recommend a tour I haven't been on, but if you look at my thread on this Alaska forum, from Oct 12, called "Things to do in Anchorage with 1.5 - 2 days" p. 2 you'll see many people recommending them for this.

[Crew News]

11 hours ago, propwash said:

We are going on a HAL Yukon/Alaska Land/Cruise in August 2022. I'm trying to find what the transportation is from Anchorage to Whitter is. I understand that this is the 1st year for cruise ships or at least HAL to sail from Whitter.

Thanks for the help.

Danny

Be especially careful when choosing transportation to/from Whittier.  The one-way tunnel into Whittier is only open on the half hour and for only 15 minutes.  If you miss the window, be prepared to wait for nearly an hour for the next opening.

 

The tunnel out of Whittier opens at the top of the hour for 15 minutes.  If you miss the window, be prepared to wait for nearly an hour for the next opening.

[GTJ]

Whittier has long been used by the Alaska Marine Highway and Princess Cruises. The latter's sister company, Holland-America Line (both being operating subsidiaries of Carnival Corp. & plc), had been using Seward, but it makes more economic sense for it to be consolidated with Princess Cruises at Whittier, especially since so much of their ground operations, both rail and bus, are combined.

 

For getting from Anchorage to Whittier, beyond the transfers offered by HAL, reliable independent motorcoach transfer services are offered by both Alaska Cruise Transportation and Park Connection, the former departing earlier from various hotels in Anchorage (Sheraton 12:00 noon, Hilton 12:15 p.m., Marriott 12:20 p.m., Captain Cook 12:30 p.m.) and the airport at 1:00 p.m., arriving at Whittier around 2:45 p.m.; the latter departing later from the Dena'ina Civic Center at 3:00 p.m. and arriving in Whittier around 5:00 p.m. In addition, Alaska Cruise Transportation offers a departure three hours earlier, that includes a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, at a higher cost. There are also several mini-bus operators competing along this route. By railroad, the Alaska Railroad has a morning train, "Glacier Discovery," that departs its downtown Anchorage station at 9:45 a.m. It operates direct to Whittier, arriving at 12:05 p.m. The train then continues on a 6-hour excursion route, offering two distinct sightseeing options in the remote but scenic areas further south, then returning to Whittier at 6:05 p.m. Details of these and other bus, railroad, ferry, and cruise line timetables are published in the bi-monthly Canada and Alaska Timetable, the November 2021 issue to be released later this month.