Car Rental Alaska

Would anyone know which is the cheapest car rental company in Alaska?

We will fly into Anchorage July 16 and out August 26.

We spent $50 to enter the McNeil River bear viewing lottery. If we "win" we could pay up to $700. $US for 4 days of bear viewing.

Any suggestions?
Should we get a car rental?
Was the bear thing a good ideal?

If you have the time, please share your experiences.

thanks, jon

Hi Jon, from my personal experience I can tell you that being so close to grizzly bears and watching them in their natural habitat was one of the best wildlife experiences in our travels and that include safaris in Africa and one two-week long trip to Galapagos Islands among many others. It is hard to explain bear watching, you just have to see and feel in person.
$700.00 for 4 nights I would pay without even thinking. "The bear thing" is the best way to see real wildlife of Alska. However, do not be dissapointed as there are hundreds people every year entering lottery and only very limited number of spaces are available. But I hope you will be the lucky ones.

I am not certain what is your question about car rental? You will be there for about 6 weeks, right? July 16-August 26? If not renting a car how are you planning to get around for such long time? What areas would you like to see in Alaska? What activities are you interested in? How many of you are going be there? Do you need to know about activities for kids?

Car rental in Alaska is expensive but it will be much cheaper renting a car and staying in some very nice B&B or cabins/chalets (that's what we do when we travel in Alaska) than renting RV if prices of gas are going to climb.

If you don't mind the cost, you can easily arrange excursions to the Alaska Peninsula/Katmai/Tikchik region where you'll be able to see bears, without worrying about the lottery. See for example http://vacations.alaskaair.com/AS_Alaska/KingSalmonKatmai/KingSalmonKatmai.asp

I guess my recommendations for visiting Alaska run a little to expensive tastes. They're based on the idea that many folks won't be able to return easily, so see as much as you can while you're there. For that reason getting off the road system is a must, either by getting on the water for a while (ferry to Kodiak, for example) or fly-in camping, flightseeing, hiking, visits to native villages, something. It's pricey but it's the only way to see the great variety Alaska offers.

For six weeks, though, a car will definitely be needed, for at least a big part of the time. Book early and be prepared for sticker shock. Note some agencies won't let their vehicles on certain roads, in particular the Denali and Dalton (Haul Road) highways.

I do not want you to think that I am a wiseguy, but have you considered buying a car? If the price is not too high, you may be able to sell it for almost the same price. You may need a truck. Is a 3-5 year old pickup truck not too expensive?

"Cheapest" car rental is not the best value.

Typically, the cheapest car rental is a 4-5 year old car with 100,000 miles on the odometer. It is not under warranty neither by the rental agency, nor by the manufacturer.

The agencies that rent these cars are rarely open more than 10 hours per day, 5 or 6 days per week.

And, if the way they conduct business with the state, airport, and city is any example of their integrity, you would be a brave soul to gamble on their reputation to save yourself a few dollars a day.

The simple fact is that it costs a LOT of money to run a car rental agency. And, to pay the price, you have to charge the renter an equitable rate.

The advantage to renting a car from a reputable, albeit slightly more expensive company, is that you are going to get quality assurance. You will be getting a newer car which is under warranty from the manufacturer and most likely has road side assistance that not only covers mechanical failure, but also driving mishaps.

And, as one poster pointed out, most car rental agencies do not allow you off of the paved surfaces. Meaning that even a side trip to Exit Glacier could prove you "at fault" for damages.

Anymore, I almost exclusively Affordable New Car Rental as being the best value to the renter.

$700.00 for 4 nights of bear viewing is cheap. And, you might consider doing a few web searches on "bears" "Alaska bears" and "bear viewing."

While McNeil River might offer a better viewing environment, you will find yourself taking the same pictures that someone else has already taken. Everyone has seen the bear catching a fish as it jumps toward it's mouth. Taht is because it is not a single picture, but one that has been taken hundreds, in not thousands of times as the scene repeats itself every year at the same rock, and, most likely, with the same bear. Meanwhile, Alaska has many bears that have gone unphotographed and may be waiting to show off their stuff too....... If you want something unique that is.

We rented a car 2 years ago for 3 weeks.
The insurance will cost as much as the rental fee. We drove 4500 miles and we found no roads that we could not drive on and we went on some rough ones. We live in the country on a gravel road so maybe we knew a little more how to drive on some of the roads, but by and large most of the roads are fine.
We rented from National for no reason it was just as reasonable as the others.

It's not that a person isn't capable of driving on unpaved roads--it's that the rental agencies don't permit it.

BTW, the road to Exit Glacier is paved all the way now.

Jon:

I just booked a car rental today on Orbitz: $154 per week...cheapest I've been able to find.

As for bears, we have not been yet, but are scheduled to visit Hallo Bay Camp (Katmai Natl Park) this Sept. Check out their website -- www.hallobay.com --- it might serve as an alternate if you don't get into McNeil. As I said, we haven't been yet so I can't provide any first hand experience of the place -- but these guys purport to specialize in bear viewing and photography -- sounds like a blast. About twice the price of McNeil, though.

found no roads that we could not drive on and we went on some rough ones. We live in the country on a gravel road so maybe we knew a little more how to drive on some of the roads, but by and large most of the roads are fine.
We rented from National for no reason it was just as reasonable

You have missed the point of the post and you were EXTREMELY lucky not to have run into problems as you were in violation of your rental contract, National does NOT allow driving on unpaved roads, namely , Dalton, Denali Hatcher Pass and a whole list of others that you apparently ignored?? Your own car rental insurance and any secondary insurance would have also been void. So if you were in a personal injury accident the whole cost would have been in your lap.

Anyway- I have rented from several independents- some of which did allow limited gravel road driving. You had to sign your life away but they had insurance that covered you. A very important consideration. High Country was my last rental. If you want to stay with a major- Thrifty, Dollar and Payless are all available out of the Anchorage Airport.

Affordable Car Rental allows limited driving on unpaved surfaces as well. Though after the quake, I'm not sure how liberal they will be with the unmaintained Denali Hwy.

I concur with you BudgetQueen. Any mishap be it neglegence, or an act of God would have been on the customer's shoulders as they were in violation of the rental agreement.....CDW notwithstanding.

What normally happens on these roads is windshield and tire damage. And, you can be parked and pick up a flying rock from other motorists in a hurry to "see Alaska" even as they leave behind a cloud of dust.