Recommended Method of Transportation for Land Touring?

[mtnhappy]

We will probably not do a cruisetour and are wanting to do our own land stuff for about a week before our cruise. What is the best method (cheapest, easiest, etc.) of transportation (car, train, RV)?

 

We are interested in traveling by train but are concerned about what we do with our baggage and the hassle of having to carry it around before check-in time at the hotels.

 

We are thinking an RV would be a nice option (travel at our own pace and save on food/lodging) but that would seem more like camping. We are seriously considering renting a car at this point, but we would love some recommendations/ideas.

 

Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

Well, I've done all three modes interior Alaska. Each has it's pluses. Overall, I'll take a car any day there, just offers me much more of what I want. Using the train only, requires at least an extra day, in my opinion, it is much slower and you are best making a stop in Talkeetna for 24 hours to break it up on the Anchorage/Denali portion. This segment also just about parallels the Parks Highway and has way too many trees and more trees views. :) By far the most scenic portion of the Alaska RR is Anchorage/Seward. This works out perfectly with a Seward cruise- RCI, HAL, Celebrity. Scenery is superior to the Seward Highway, but I also always drive back and forth the Arm, several times on my trips.

 

The RV is easy and works out excellent for Alaska travel. Don't expect big savings over modest lodging, however. I found it too isolating, but very convenient. But, I also have met and repeatively stay and eat at the same places where I know the people. I enjoy the interactions. I'm not one to do a lot of my own meals, as I just about, daily, have to have some Alaskan fish. :)

 

So, continue to do your homework, determine, where you want to go, route them out and figure out what you want to do.

[cjnky]

When we go back, we'll again rent an RV. I don't believe you'll save much money this way - especially if, like us, you eat out once on most days - but the freedom to move around at our own pace without advance reservations (EXCEPT Denali) made it our choice.

[vbmom87]

We travelled by car and felt it was the best way to go for us. Although we have a pop-up camper at home and love camping, we were not comfortable with the idea of driving an RV. We did some pricing and found out an RV was not going to save us money. That made up our mind very quickly as we were trying to cut costs. As already mentioned, if you are cruising out of Seward, you can still take the train from Anchorage to Seward and experience an absolutely beautiful train ride. Happy Planning!!!

[Yukon]

For a short trip like a week, my choice is a car. For 2 weeks or more, the RV wins, but in a week you'll probably be putting a lot of miles on, and RVs are pigs on fuel.

[mtnhappy]

Thanks for the input. We are highly considering car rental now and the Anchorage/Seward train trip sounds great!

 

Another question:

 

I did some searching with car rental places and am finding that most will not let you do a one-way car rental (pick up in Fairbanks and drop off in Anchorage). For those of you that rented cars, did you do one-way or roundtrip car rentals? Denali is on our list of destinations, so we were thinking it'd be better to fly into Fairbanks and do a one-way car rental to Anchorage since Denali is like 3/4 of the way to Fairbanks from Anchorage, right? The car rental is more though to go one way rather than renting from Anchorage roundtrip. Has anyone rented a car from Anchorage and driven to Denali and back? Is that recommended?

[Budget Queen]

Thanks for the input. We are highly considering car rental now and the Anchorage/Seward train trip sounds great!

 

Another question:

 

I did some searching with car rental places and am finding that most will not let you do a one-way car rental (pick up in Fairbanks and drop off in Anchorage). For those of you that rented cars, did you do one-way or roundtrip car rentals? Denali is on our list of destinations, so we were thinking it'd be better to fly into Fairbanks and do a one-way car rental to Anchorage since Denali is like 3/4 of the way to Fairbanks from Anchorage, right? The car rental is more though to go one way rather than renting from Anchorage roundtrip. Has anyone rented a car from Anchorage and driven to Denali and back? Is that recommended?

 

 

One way Fairbanks/Anchorage car rentals are very limited and costly. If you aren't going to spend a couple days in Fairbanks, I really see no reason to fly into there. Flights are also limited compared to Anchorage. I've rented round trip Anchorage cars many times, and always go to Denali Park. Allow 6 hours for the drive with stops. Plenty to see and do along the way, and actually the scenery is different depending on the direction. Allow at least 2 nights at Denali Park, and consider another in Talkeetna, if flightseeing is a priority, at least consider making a meal stop here, interesting town.