Anchorage to Seward

[rhsjr]

Hertz will not rent cars one way to Seward:mad: , thus I am looking for other transportation from the airport to Seward. Bus & train are options:rolleyes: , anything else to get to Seward quickly?

[dbh62ark]

We went by train, and I recommend that even if it takes you longer because it's quite a treat (scenery and the experience of riding the train).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[fti]

Hertz will not rent cars one way to Seward:mad: , thus I am looking for other transportation from the airport to Seward. Bus & train are options:rolleyes: , anything else to get to Seward quickly?

 

I think you meant to say "Hertz will not rent cars one way to Seward for the date I am looking for." They have and will rent them one way but there is a supply and demand issue. If you are looking for this summer 2007 cruise season, you are unfortunately quite late. If you are looking for July 2008 for the cruise in your signature, I think you might just be too early to be booking. Did you try on their website? Call? Both? I would try both.

 

Besides bus and train, the cruise line's transfer service and a taxi are the only other choices I can think of.

[fonquen326]

Donna,

Can I have a little more information about your trip from Anchorage to Seward? Did you go directly from the airport after your flight arrived or did

stay in Anchorage overnight and then leave in the morning? Is there a train station at the Airport?

 

We will be flying into Anchorage from NY. I don't know if I want to take a 3 hr train ride directly after the flight.

 

I did find this company that would meet me at the airport and drive to Seward. A Alaska Transportation Group http://www.alaskatransportation.net

Has anyone used this company for a pickup at Anchorage Airport?

 

Thanks for your input.

[Elcruzer]

Hertz will not rent cars one way to Seward:mad: , thus I am looking for other transportation from the airport to Seward. Bus & train are options:rolleyes: , anything else to get to Seward quickly?

 

We have a car reserved with Hertz for this weekend for pickup in Anchorage and drop off in Seward a week later. Were you making reservations for next year? Maybe previous poster was correct that it's too far in advance or perhaps they don't rent for short term. In any event I would call again and double check.

[Boo's Mom]

It is not too early to book for the summer of 08.

 

In July 07, I booked a one way rental car to Seward, .... for June 08.

 

About a week ago, I checked on booking for someone I am traveling with, and the cars are all sold out.

 

I understand that Hertz is the only rental company that will rent a one way rental from Anhorage to Seward.

 

The fleet cannot be that big, and with the thousands of cruise ship passengers coming through Seward, you can see the potential for unavailability.

 

The train is nice. We already did the train on a prior trip, so we wanted to do something a little different (rent a car & drive ourselves).

[Boo's Mom]

Donna,

Can I have a little more information about your trip from Anchorage to Seward? Did you go directly from the airport after your flight arrived or did

stay in Anchorage overnight and then leave in the morning? Is there a train station at the Airport?

 

We will be flying into Anchorage from NY. I don't know if I want to take a 3 hr train ride directly after the flight.

 

I did find this company that would meet me at the airport and drive to Seward. A Alaska Transportation Group http://www.alaskatransportation.net

Has anyone used this company for a pickup at Anchorage Airport?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

The train to Seward leaves Anchorage @ 6:45 am. You would need to fly in to Anchorage the day before, in order to make the train.

 

Here is the website for the Alaska Railroad: http://www.akrr.com

[Boo's Mom]

Getting all the way up to Anchorage, Alaska is a huge trip by itself.

 

I recommend getting to Anchorage at least one day early. There is a time change of several hours....

and it will be daylight for most of the day.

All of the energy of "getting out of town"...

all of this is hard on the traveler.

 

Plus, so many flights to Anchorage get into Anchorage in the evening, or late at night.

 

Spend the second day.... traveling from Anchorage to Seward.

Enjoy it !

It's all part of your vacation ! :)

[Boo's Mom]

I just got off of the phone with Hertz.... @ the Anchorage Airport.

 

I asked them about one way rentals for next June.

RE: I have a confirmed reservation for June 08, Anchorage to Seward.

 

Hertz confirmed that they are not sold out of cars....

but that they have stopped (for a reason unknown to the reservation clerk) allowing one way reservations from Anchorage to Seward.

 

She was able to confirm my reservation, though....

which is a good thing.

[fti]

About a week ago' date=' I checked on booking for someone I am traveling with, and the cars are all sold out. [/font']

 

I understand that Hertz is the only rental company that will rent a one way rental from Anhorage to Seward.

 

The fleet cannot be that big, and with the thousands of cruise ship passengers coming through Seward, you can see the potential for unavailability.

 

I just got off of the phone with Hertz.... @ the Anchorage Airport.

 

I asked them about one way rentals for next June.

RE: I have a confirmed reservation for June 08' date=' Anchorage to Seward.

 

Hertz confirmed that they are not sold out of cars....

but that they have stopped (for a reason unknown to the reservation clerk) allowing one way reservations from Anchorage to Seward.

 

She was able to confirm my reservation, though....

which is a good thing.[/quote']

 

I can easily see why they might stop accepting one-way reservations. They need roughly the same number of one-way rentals FROM Seward to Anchorage so as to not have all of their Anchorage fleet underutilized in Seward. So they probably stopped taking Anchorage to Seward one-way reservations until they can book some more Seward to Anchorage one-way rentals (from NB cruisers most likely). Another reason to book early!

 

John

[sarahruth23]

We booked all our travel through RCCI, and flew into Anchorage the night before. We were not on the 6:45 am train, but one that left around 1:00. We had to get from the airport to the hotel, and then they took care of everything else.

 

I was ticked at first about not being on the early train b/c I missed any time in Seward, but I ended up being glad about not getting up so early :) I don't know if they are the same trains or not, but I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying the train ride. Somehow I thought I was getting on a "lesser" train, but it was absolutely wonderful. It was comfortable, we had a dome car, there was informative but not invasive narration, and of course the scenery was amazing.

 

If you've never done it,take the train!

[Budget Queen]

We booked all our travel through RCCI, and flew into Anchorage the night before. We were not on the 6:45 am train, but one that left around 1:00. We had to get from the airport to the hotel, and then they took care of everything else.

 

I was ticked at first about not being on the early train b/c I missed any time in Seward, but I ended up being glad about not getting up so early :) I don't know if they are the same trains or not, but I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying the train ride. Somehow I thought I was getting on a "lesser" train, but it was absolutely wonderful. It was comfortable, we had a dome car, there was informative but not invasive narration, and of course the scenery was amazing.

 

If you've never done it,take the train!

 

There is only ONE train route. The same no matter if on the regular Alaska RR run or any of the contracted trains. However, my opinion only, this isn't the place to put sleep a priority. :)

 

I can NOT stress enough how much of an opportunity it is to get into Seward early and get out on a Kenai Fjords boat tour. It is your absolute BEST opportunity for varied wildlife and close up glaicer viewing. WAY superior to anything later from your cruise ship. I just can not see missing this, if of interest. You are all the way there, consider taking advantage of it.

[fonquen326]

Thanks Sararuth23. Where did you stay in Seward?

[dbh62ark]

Donna,

Can I have a little more information about your trip from Anchorage to Seward? Did you go directly from the airport after your flight arrived or did

stay in Anchorage overnight and then leave in the morning? Is there a train station at the Airport?

I'm sorry--I just saw this note. Our cruise ended in Seward. I like the Northbound routes better because passengers don't cruise into Vancouver in the dark. We sailed out of Vancouver and into Seward.

 

When we cruised, we were on the trains for three legs. We went from Seward to Anchorage, from Anchorage to Denali, and from Denali to Fairbanks. We cruised Alaska on Princess but had a hard time deciding which train service to use because they all had advantages. Alaska Railroad has some car sections where you can actually go outside to view the scenery, and Princess did not (although that may have changed in the last three years). We found that Holland and Princess sold train tickets in their cars seperately, so we rode in both of their cars too. When we were on Alaska Railroad, we were advised that passengers needed to take turns in the upper sections of the car where the tops were glass for scenic viewing, but we had no issues going up as long as we wanted to in high season (July). It was great fun riding the trains, and I highly recommend. I know that I've read that sometimes there is more than one train a day, so I'm leaving this information for you so that you can check all your options. And I hope that if there is some updated information that will be of use to you, other board members will leave that for your use too.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna