North to Alaska
Lynn Harden
difficulty in researching how to get to Alaska from Vancouver. There's
plenty on the net about travel within Alaska - but not much on reaching it.
Anyone with any suggestions please. (I'm in Australia and our local travel
agents don't really have much beyond the 'luxury cruise up the inside
passage')
Thanks
Patty Winter
Well, there's the non-luxury cruise up the Inside Passage. :-) AKA
the Alaska Marine Highway System (http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/).
It doesn't leave from Vancouver, but if you can get to Bellingham,
Washington, or Prince Rupert, B.C., you can pick one up there.
I took the ferry from Juneau to Prince Rupert once and enjoyed it
very much. My room was spacious, and there was a ranger on board
giving talks about the areas we passed through. The food wasn't
exciting, but it was okay for a couple of days.
If you really want to do it inexpensively, you can camp on deck
instead of reserving a room. (At least, that was allowed when I
was on the ferry several years ago; check to make sure it still
is if this option interests you.)
Have a fun trip!
Patty
Iron Pirate
to Seattle (Quick Shuttle offers several daily departures from
Vancouver to Sea-Tac Airport) and fly to Anchorage from there.
Alaska Airlines offers round-trip fares from Seattle to anchorage from
$230 (US), and you might do better through one of the discount web
travel sites.
Once you are in Anchorage, there are several options to get around,
which it looks like you have already explored.
Bruce
On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 15:37:33 +1100, "Lynn Harden" <lynd...@tpg.com.au>
wrote:
Dennis P. Harris
get a copy of "the milepost" http://www.themilepost.com
your choices are:
enter US south of vancouver, take northbound alaska ferry at
bellingham, washington.
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/
or
cross to vancouver island, north by highway to nanaimo to catch
BC ferry to prince rupert, BC
or overland to prince rupert via prince george, BC
then alaska highway north from prince george via whitehorse to
fairbanks
or overland to prince rupert & northbound alaska ferry from
prince rupert
so it partly depends on what parts of alaska you want to see.
the lonely planet guide was written by a former alaskan
journalist, so is quite comprehensive.
try posting to alt.culture.alaska for local viewpoints.
Keith W
"Lynn Harden" <lynd...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:422b...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
The first thing to do is get a copy of the milepost.
http://www.themilepost.com/
Your options are threefold
1) Fly
2) Drive
3) Use the Alaska Marine Highway system from Bellingham
or Prince Rupert
I'm driving up and coming back from Skagway on the ferry
Keith
My side
"Keith W" <keith...@kwillshaw.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:d0h1rm$2f1$1$8302...@news.demon.co.uk...
___________________
Best advice so far is to get a copy of the "Milepost". It is the ultimate
guide to Alaska. Remember that it gives distances in miles.
You have been given a myriad of ways to get to Alaska. My choices of the lot
would be based on time and money. The cheapest way is to leave from
Bellingham WA with a no frills ticket. The most expensive but
easiest/quickest is to fly to Anchorage.
Bear in mind that it is a long way from Skagway, where the Bellingham ferry
and most of the Cruise Ships land, to Anchorage or any other Alaskan city.
The distances between places in the Yukon and Eastern Alaska are vast.
Motels/Cafes are few and far between. Not as vast as Australia's outback
mind you but with much different scenery.
Driving from Vancouver to Anchorage would take you 4 -5 days with driving
all day every day. Driving to Prince Rupert, to catch the ferry to Skagway,
is over 1500 Km. This Vancouver to Rupert journey can be done by a bus to
Prince George then the train or bus to Rupert.
On the other hand having or renting a car while in Alaska is not to be
overlooked as public transport is scarce once you leave the
Fairbanks/Anchorage strip.
You have choices to make Mate.
It is a great place that deserves its Motto "The Last Frontier".
Don.
Dennis P. Harris
pat...@wintertime.com (Patty Winter) wrote:
> If you really want to do it inexpensively, you can camp on deck
> instead of reserving a room. (At least, that was allowed when I
> was on the ferry several years ago; check to make sure it still
> is if this option interests you.)
>
it is; you can either pitch your tent or grab a chaise longue in
the solarium, which is heated. no fires, though. if your gear
is in a car on the car deck, access is very limited. pets have
to stay in the vehicles except for the limited times of day for
pet care, when they are allowed to get out and walk around for a
few minutes; the owner must pick up the mess.
you should have heard the deck crew bitch when we had a circus on
board. elephants generate a lot of manure...
Icono Clast
> "Keith W" wrote:
>> "Lynn Harden" wrote:
>>> Alaska from Vancouver . . . reaching it.
Arguably the best publication of its kind!
> Driving from Vancouver to Anchorage would take you 4 -5 days with
> driving all day every day.
The only thing I've ever put on any vehicle of mine to indicate where
it had been was a bumper sticker that said "We Drove The Alaska
Highway", at that time (1970) considered one of the world's last
great adventures. 'Twas a thousand miles of dirt and gravel and
fourteen blowouts of which we were quite proud. I understand there's
more pavement now but driving on hard clay is one of the loveliest of
driving experiences.
The towns were about three hundred miles apart being a leisurely
twelve-hour drive. There were occasional grocery stores, roadside
ponds with tables and pools, and beautiful scenery wherever one looked.
> Driving to Prince Rupert
We got off the ferry from Valdez there. The early-morning drive
along the Skeena River was one of the most beautiful of my life.
> It is a great place
We didn't think so. We thought Alaska, along with Mississippi and
Alabama, to be a Southern State. We didn't like the people at all but
they sure have a beautiful place to live.
> that deserves its Motto "The Last Frontier".
Dennis P. Harris said:
> pets have to stay in the vehicles
We had two dogs. We jammed a car door open and placed their food and
water under the car. They had about thirty-foot restraints that
allowed them a bit of exercise, a way to relive themselves, and the
comfort of the car.
_____________________________________________________________
A San Franciscan who's visited 49 of 50 US states
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net
Lynn Harden
come back inland - taking the ferry from Skagway when I reach it to
Bellingham and then either fly or train or bus back to Vancouver.
Regards
"Lynn Harden" <lynd...@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:422b...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
My side
"Icono Clast" <ICl...@jps.net> wrote in message
news:1110282819.9d52b5ed1b96a3346d1d99a9255e8f31@teranews...
> My side wrote:
>> "Keith W" wrote:
>>> "Lynn Harden" wrote:
>>>> Alaska from Vancouver . . . reaching it.
Good choice. Taking that tack, consider this short side trip enroute to
Skagway.
Take the Kenai Peninsula Highway from Anchorage to Whittier and catch the
AMHS Ferry from Whittier to Valdez. About 3-4 hours. Make a space
reservation for your vehicle as many weeks ahead as you can see fit. Vehicle
space is in high demand! The ferry leaves once a day about noon and is a
pleasant break from miles of Highway. There is plenty more miles from Valdez
to Skagway, believe me. Enroute to Valdez the ferry goes into a Glacier fed
Bay and cruises slowly through the icebergs that have calved off the
Glacier. Valdez is a small but interesting town with a good museum. Across
the bay you can see the tankers loading oil from the Southern end of the
Alaska Pipeline that begins at the Arctic Ocean in Prudhoe Bay. They take
the oil to refineries near Bellingham WA. Hey! Maybe you can hitch a
ride????
Have great trip! Don.
Dennis P. Harris
Harden" <lynd...@tpg.com.au> wrote:
> Thanks everyone for your advice. Have decided will fly to Anchorage and
> come back inland - taking the ferry from Skagway when I reach it to
> Bellingham and then either fly or train or bus back to Vancouver.
it's best then to take the train or bus to seattle, since there
are no direct flights from YVR, but many from SEA. at least the
anchorage route has some competition to keep prices down, unlike
southeast alaska, where we only have alaska airlines.
alaska airlines has several types of discounted tickets --- see
http://alaskaair.com and check the e-deals and web specials
frequently. alaska airlines is a quantas mileage program
partner.
continental, northwest, & united also fly SEA-ANC.
the major highways except the cassiar are all paved. if you
decide not to drive from fairbanks to skagway, holland-america
runs double coaches (articulated busses) on that route.
any large city travel bookshop should have this year's milepost,
or you can order it online. just remember that every business
listed there paid for the listing. if you want the unvarnished
economy view, you also need the lonely planet guide, which should
be readily available since they're an oz publisher.
there's a lot of info at http://www.explorenorth.com
if you can sort out the crossposting trolls, there actually is
info at alt.culture.alaska
Debbie
'THE MILEPOST' If you are going to spend any amount of time driving around
Alaska, it's an absolute must! We actually had one bought back home (from
the U.S) and it was our travel 'bible'
ggl...@softtracks.com
> are no direct flights from YVR, but many from SEA.
This is incorrect. In the summer months Air Canada operates a non-stop
flight from Vancouver to Anchorage:
To Anchorage: AC538 dep 11:10 arr 13:29
To Vancouver: AC537 dep 14:15 arr 18:20
Note that if you take this you may find a return ticket is cheaper than
a one-way, you may also get less hassle at US Immigration with a return
ticket than a one-way. (Just throw the second half the ticket away if
you don't want / need to use it.)
Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada