Alaska- Caravan vs. going Solo?? Advise wanted!!

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skapocsi

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Planning to travel to Alaska in 2014 and looking for advise on whether to join a carvan or go it solo. Any advise would be helpful.
 
    We did it solo in 2000 and we noticed that people in the caravans seemed to be on their own between each night stop or a specific arranged event.  I prefer solo unless you are traveling with a few friends.

 
Have done the trip twice now, both times solo.
Gives you time to do what you want when you want.
Not as remote as it use to be, so dont worry about finding gas station or services.
But do slow down for the frost heaves.

Have a great trip

Cheers
 
We did Alaska just this past summer and did it solo.  You can plan your own stops, change your schedule and stay or leave as you wish.

The thing I heard about caravans is that often you feel pushed and rushed; not something we want to do.

Marsha~
 
We also did it solo this past summer. Didn't see any benefit of someone doing the same thing that we could do on our own. Also, we set the pace and spent time where and when we liked. We'll be doing it again and it will be solo or with friends.
 
Several of us have participated in Caravans and the social life of the trip was a great part of the adventure. In our case the trip was to Mexico and we were more comfortable in a group.

Our trips to Alaska and Newfoundland were solo and we usually enjoy traveling at our own pace. You will find plenty of info to plan your own itinerary.
 
Caravans offer built in friendships and pre planning of  destinations, events, activities.  They tend to  know and offer the finest of tourist destinations and activities.  On our 2 caravans to Mexico the only choices I had to make  were fish or chicken for the meals. That said,  the down side was a schedule a that did not allow for  " staying longer" at a destination we enjoyed. 

Figure out if you are social beings  or not.  Social beings love the friendships and camaraderie , while those who are not,  enjoy the independence of  doing your own thing solo.  It really boils down to your  style. 

We have LIFE LONG friends from our caravan days! So no help here for your decision!
 
We just returned from a 22 rig caravan to Alaska ...71 days w/36 total in Alaska. Caravan travel has pluses (route planning; reservations for campgrounds; reservations/arrangements for tours etc you likely would not do on your own; social opportunities; support group; etc) and it's minuses (group schedule, personalities, etc). Most caravans provide some opportunity for independence along the way, but people who "don't play well with others" likely won't like a caravan.  We enjoyed the caravan and know that we saw things we would not have seen on our own. On the one hand we would liked to have spent more time in some places, but on the other hand that would require that we spend more time or skip other places.  Like I said ...pluses and minuses ...a caravan can be a great way to see new places, but solo travel can also be rewarding ...take your pick, and enjoy your choice.
 
We too are planning a trip to Alaska in the near future...if my DH retires it will be Summer 2014, if not...it will be the year he does! :mad:  I have debated the Solo vs Caravan and have decided that we will glean what we can from the blogs here on the forum and then I also plan to print out a couple of the itineraries from Caravans and plan from there.  I'm still trying to find out as much as I can about the ferry's (that you put your RV on with you) costs, and destinations, etc.  But, I have 9 months to plan if we're going this year!!  I think going solo will allow us to do the things like fishing and animal sighting that we both enjoy.  We also would enjoy the camaraderie of the group settings of a caravan, but since I think this will probably be a once in a lifetime thing, I prefer to go at our own pace.  Sounds like from the blogs here on the forum that even the solo folks are meeting people and socializing too!!

Mikie
 
We too are planning a RV trip through the Canadian Rockies to Alaska next summer.  I looked at several caravan sites more to get an idea of how far they go each day.  The Milepost book is an excellent source of information on what to see along the way.  We will be going solo as I would like to be able to stop and take in the scenery as I see fit.
 
Our caravan guidance for wagonmasrers is no more than 300mi per day. In our case, 270 or so was a very long day a couple of times ...most were shorter than that.
 
I run caravans down into Mexico (caravanas de mexico). The reason people take caravans is to have all the hassles taken care of for them. In the case of Mexico its a language and safety concern as well. Some people enjoy having the company and people to sit around a campfire with and so on. Caravans are not for everyone. You have to look at the cost. Most include all your camping, some tours and meals, so estimate that and subtract it from the price and decide it its a good deal ot not. In summer the caravan companies may have prebooked RV parks you may not be able to get into on your own. A caravan is only as good as its wagon master.
 
You've received good advice so far.  It's very much a personality thing - yours!  We happen to prefer traveling solo (Alaska, Newfoundland, Maritimes, etc.) but did take a caravan in Mexico (Copper Canyon train when it was running) and enjoyed it immensely.  We too made life-long friends on that trip.  On the other hand we know a couple who want everything planned for them so they trade the flexibility we enjoy for the more structured life in a caravan. It will be interesting to learn what you eventually decide and why.  Your reasoning may help others decide the same thing in the future.

ArdraF
 
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