Trip to Alaska ,,, opinions on how to go ,land or sea

[Dlwfarms52]

Trying to talk myself into driving our class A to Alaska from illinois , kind of a bucket list experience, which in your opinion would be more enjoyable and memorable , driving or ship cruise to Alaska

 

[Tom]

Trying to talk myself into driving our class A to Alaska from illinois , kind of a bucket list experience, which in your opinion would be more enjoyable and memorable , driving or ship cruise to Alaska

For some Alaska RVing experiences posted by forum members, click the Resources button above and select Trip reports. I wanted to make that trip for a number of years, but was put off by reports of bad roads and RV damage from folks I talked to.

Whichever way you pick, do it while you can, and please let us know how it went.

 

[Ray-IN]

I joined a caravan to AK in 2012, it was a mixture of DP and gas MH's, TT's and 5ers and one truck camper. The only units that sustained damage was a severely over-loaded TT, and a gas MH that had the hitch break off and lost the towed into a swamp.
Every year the Alaska highway is damaged by freezing, that produces frost-heaves, which is actually a misnomer. After the road-bed thaws a front heave turns into a depression, the worst was a nearly foot deep and 20'long. The solution is to drive slow35-40 mph to allow time to spot frost heaves and slow even more to navigate through them.(more on that subject later if you wish)
The MH's in the caravan ranged in age from a new 45' Newmar Essex to my 2000 Winnebago in my signature.
If it weren't for our ages today, we'd both love to make the trip again. I took nearly a thousand pictures and heve my computer screen saver set to display them as a slide-show, DW and I have sat for an hour just watching the pictures and reliving the experience and feelings we had then.
UPDATE: IMO the drive through Canada and scheduled stops along the way was as interesting as Alaska, just different.

 

[UTTransplant]

We did a caravan trip I. 2022. Fabulous. The only really challenging section was from Tok to Destruction Bay (and back!). Frost heaves aren’t hard to see. They supposedly are marked by flags, but many aren’t. Still pretty visible. We had everything from an older 27’ travel trailer to fifth wheels to Class Bs to Class Cs to gas and diesel motorhomes. Biggest was a 42’ tag. Advice is to thoroughly inspect your vehicle. Make sure your tires are perfect. And expect something to break. Shackles, a transmission on a toad (owner’s fault), tow bar, and tires were the common failure points. I wouldn’t do it again, just because I am not fond of coastal Alaska. Just not a water/coast person, though the mountains were breathtakingly beautiful. However I would do western Canada more extensively than we had a chance to do it in a minute!

 

[Kirk]

driving or ship cruise to Alaska

They are very different experiences so I wouldn't think of them as alternatives. Most RV trips to AK you would spend at least a month there and many stay longer. If you do a cruise up and back you will only see a few of the communities and possibly some thing close by and most cruises do cruise Glacier Bay with many RVs miss. When we did the cruise we did one that we flew into Faribanks, spent a week touring and the cruised back south. Doing it that way you should get to visit Denali NP which is a major part of what most of us want to see. Even then we mostly saw different things on the cruise/tour than via an RV trip and we were only there for about 10 days. In my opinion, the best choice is to do both but if you really don't want to drive there make your cruise one that includes a land tour as well. That was the 17-night cruise we did but there are other cruise lines with similar offerings.

 

[NMDriver]

And then there is the Alaska Marine Highways Ferry system where you can do both. Alaska Marine Highway System - The Alaska State Ferry

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Those aren't alternatives ways to do the same trip - I think each is a unique experience. The cruise ship is convenient - the itinerary and accommodations are fixed and you will hit the coastal towns & glaciers. The views from the water are fabulous, but you won't see more than that except day visits to coastal towns like Skagway.

Driving by RV, you see much more of the interior and will surely encounter a lot of wildlife. Plus splendid fishing everywhere if you are inclined. You can join a caravan if you want somebody else to plan the itinerary for you, but it's not necessary. We had to good fortune to travel with another RVing couple who had made the trip before. Spent about two weeks in BC, AK panhandle & Yukon, another 6 weeks in AK proper, and another 10 days cruising thru Jasper & Banff on the way back to the USA. All fabulous!!!

The Marine Highway allows you to combine RV & sea travel, but the ferries won't make stops to view glaciers or solely to give you a day in a port town.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

As Gary said, those aren't alternatives ways to do the same trip.

I lived in Fairbanks for 22 years. The frost heaves are something you have to just watch for and slow down. They're not too hard to spot. Watch for a large dark spot in the middle of your lane. The spot will be on the far side of the frost heave. The spot is where all the fluids fall off the vehicles coming out of the frost heave.

I wouldn't think of planning a driving trip for less than two months, three would be better. And as Gary mentioned, don't bypass the Jasper & Banff area. It is fabulous.

If you do decided to drive, make sure you get a copy of latest edition of the Milepost. The 2024 edition should be out in April.

I worked for Holland-America West Tours for 12 years. Believe me, if you decide to take a cruise-tour, do the land part first, then the cruise. Most people don't realize the distance between cities. So the land part keeps you on the go. Doing the cruise part last gives you time to relax before getting back to your normal daily routine.

The Marine Highway is south east Alaska's public transportation. The cities in the south east are accessed only by sea or air. So the Marine Highway is like a Greyhound bus. You can take the Marine Highway from city to city but when you get off, you're there until the next ferry comes by.

Which ever way you decided to go, it will be a fabulous trip.

 

[Bob C.]

On You Tube watch "Happily Ever Hanks or Endless Adventures" Both did trips to Alaska. If for nothing else the views are great.

 

[Len and Jo]

Lot's of good logs in the RV Forum files. Before we went in 2003 we down loaded all that were there and referenced them in our planning. We did the trip in a 'B', traveled clockwise and had a wonderful once in a life time experience. BC also was very beautiful and glad we did not miss it. Glad we took the trip when we did. 80 now 60 then. Our trip was from Michigan. Here is a 10 minutes slide show of our trip. Have safe travels

 

[CharlesinGA]

A neighbor took the train one way, and the cruise ship the other.

Charles

 

[Isaac-1]

We did an Alaskan cruise in 2013 on Holland America, it was mostly good, except we missed a couple of ports due to an early season winter storm the first week of September, 75+ mph winds when we got to Sitka and could not get to the dock, skipped Ketchikan entirely, but we did get to come back down the inside passage instead of going outside, and spent a full 17 hours in Victoria, BC. All total good, though the 30+ ft seas when we crossed through the openings in the inside passage were a bit rough. I would love to do an Alaskan RV trip, but I just don't see it happening, at least not until my wife retires in another 10 years, as even though she gets over 35 paid vacation days per year, and 2 more for every year she stays at her current job, work logistics means it is very hard for her to take off more than 2 weeks at a time, and even that is hard to schedule, though she did manage to take off right at 3 weeks last year. Even if she were to fly up, and I do the long drive to Alaska solo, it would still be a challenge all around, google puts the round trip driving distance at 8,488 miles to Anchorage, AK. even at 400 miles per day that is over 21 days of driving just to get there and back, and I much prefer doing under 350 miles per day and no more than 2 driving days in a row.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Our 2003 round trip from our Florida home totaled a little over 17,000 miles and just under 6 months. Nine weeks of that were actually in Alaska and another seven weeks in BC, Yukon, and Alberta. Many fabulous memories!

 

[Kirk]

Dlwfarms52,​

How about an update on what you are thinking now?

 

[ennored]

We left our motorhome at home. It's a 3800 mile drive, one way, from the Detroit area to Anchorage. We flew, and rented a motorhome in Anchorage. Drove about 1800 miles in a week, and flew home.

I'd like to do the drive someday, but it's a trip in itself.

 

[Len and Jo]

Our 2003 round trip from our Florida home totaled a little over 17,000 miles and just under 6 months. Nine weeks of that were actually in Alaska and another seven weeks in BC, Yukon, and Alberta. Many fabulous memories!

Must of passed each other on the road.