Alaska Caravan Tours

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4ducksrus

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Nov 17, 2010
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We are interested in doing an Alaskan Caravan Tour and have looked into a couple of them.  Have any of you gone on any of these and if so, what's your opinion?  Are any of you planning on going on one this year?  I think they seem expensive, but again then maybe having it all planned out is worth it?
 
We did one with Adventure Treks in 07 for 35 days. The two main reasons for us was we were traveling alone, and we were concerned about seeing as much as possible within this time period.  Yes they are more expensive than if you do them on your own, however this worked for us.  All the caravans pretty much see and do the same things. We selected Adventure because it was a smaller group (20+ rv's) and we were able to travel independently and stop and see things along the way as we wanted. This was the first caravan we ever took with the RV.  They have good and bad points. The good are: get to see attractions we may have missed on our own, campgrounds selected and all we did was arrive and had a spot. Had a wagonmaster & tailgunner if a problem occured.  Bad: very regimented as far as time /schedule went. I'm sure others will add their comments.  In closing, having gone there and now knowing what to expect if we go again, I would go on my own.
 
We have gone on 2 Adventure Caravan trips.  One this year, called the Grand Circle.  It was in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.  The other one was last year and it was to the Canadian Maritimes.  Both lasted approximately 1 month.  They were fantastic trips.  It's nice having everything arranged for you.  And it's so nice to have the day trips all arranged.  When you go somewhere new, you don't always know the best places to visit and they set all that up.  We met wonderful people who we have kept in touch with.  The leaders were great.  I know several of the people we met had been on the Alaska one and they raved about it constantly and kept telling us we should book it.  We will certainly book another Adventure trip in the near future.
We found on both trips that they allowed us ample free time to do things on our own. 
 
We did Alaska on our own but used Adventure for a 42 day trip to Mexico in 2006. The best part of the trip for us were all the friends we made that we still see on a regular basis. Several are now working for Adventure and really beleive in what they are doing for RVers.

Our trips to Alaska and Newfoundland were done alone (or with friends for a few days at a time) but we still used Adventure's itinerary as a guide to make sure we saw all the highlights.
 
We've been on 2 Adventure Caravans. The first was to the Canadian Maritime provinces, just a great experience. The second was the east coast of Mexico, forgettable. The difference was the wagonmasters on the two trips. The first group really made sure everything went well, got everyone mixing and threw in a few extras. The second group couldn't care less and we missed some things we would have liked. Based on our experience with the first group, we were happy to go on our second caravan with Adventure, but after the second trip, no more.

We did Alaska both with a group and alone on the same trip. We were led by a resident of our development who had been the chief of police of Fairbanks at one time. They knew the territory very well but used the Adventure brochure to plan our tour. We had to fly back home for a funeral in the middle of the trip so lost contact with the group, but followed the group itinerary for the most part for the balance of our trip there. Our wagonmasters' familiarity and connections helped make the tour better, but we preferred the freedom to spend our time as we wished, we were able to boondock a couple of times and gave less time to those places we weren't too thrilled with.

Many of us have posted detailed itineraries and tips in the Library section of the forum. See of going solo would agree with you or if you prefer everything laid ou for you. If we go again, it would be solo.

 
Look at Alaska Discovery RV Tours.  They provide a radio for communication to all rigs, give you info along the way, let you opt out of sightseeing (and get your $ back) and seem to have an outstanding reputation.  Also, locals own and run it and go with you.  Have fun, we are going solo up there this year.
 
We went with Alaskan Discovery RV Tours -- http://www.rvalaskatours.com/ last summer. we went on the 2nd tour and had the trip of a lifetime. we chose this caravan for numerous reasons... the wagonmaster is an Alaskan with a vast knowledge of Alaska, its history and culture, which he shares with the group over handheld 2-way radios as you travel along.This tour has an RV mechanic that travels with the group. (in Alaska, it's a long way between repair shops and breakdowns are not uncommon.) Also, this tour is very pet friendly with dog walkers on the staff to look after your dogs while you go on day trips... The tour does not end in the same place it started, so after the group splits up, you're free to go back and spend more ime in places that caught your interest.  All in all, I would highly recommend, yes, expensive, but the whole itinerary is planned you. And it gave us a sense of security being in a group with an Alaskan guide traveling through the Last Frontier. Just remember gas and diesel are very expensive in Alaska  and the Yukon, so don't forget to budget for it.
 
We went on 43 day Tracks to Adventure tour in 2008. Fabulous trip. Nice to have all reservations including ferries arranged for you. We would have liked to stay longer in some places which was a small disadvantage of a tour. On the other hand, went to many places which we wouldn't have even known about without the group.
Ted and Brenda
 
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