Anchorage to Seward: Car or Train?
 

Hi!
This will be my first trip to Alaska. All things being equal, do you see the same sights by car as you might by rail on this route? Naturally train and car *experiences* are different, but are the routes essentially identical? Discounting factors like cost, (in)conveniece to car driver, etc, would people, on the merit of scenery alone, recommend the train over car?
My problem is that though I would like to take the train from ANC to Seward & then p/u my car rental in Seward, the Seward p/u-ANC d/o rental car rates are almost double that of ANC p/u-ANC d/o. It would take a little imaginative trip re-planning to incorporate the ANC-Seward train w/o losing arm/leg on car rental. I'm wondering if train is vastly superior to car enough to warrant some re-planning.
Many thanks for your thoughts!

I live in Alaska, and though I haven't taken the train as of yet, I would say avoiding the summer traffic and being able to sit back and relax might warrant the train trip.
Plus if you do a r.t., you'd have time to see and explore in Seward. I am sure others who have taken the train will add some thoughts.
Enjoy your trip. The weather is lovely now, sunny and dry and all the wildflowers are in full bloom. J.

The train travels along the same route as the highway for most of route but takes a separate path for several miles about 2/3 of the way to Seward. That separate route runs very close to a glacier that is not visible from the Highway.

I'm a train buff so the choice for me is easy. What I typically do is take the train from ANC to Seward, spend whatever time I'm going to spend in Seward, then take the train back to ANC. I can then pick up my rental car and go wherever else in Alaska I'm going.

I also enjoy the opportunity to meet people on the train I would not have if I drove.

Have a great trip.

You are going this August and you are in a process of planning a trip for a group? Today is July 27th, dear. Are you planning on renting RVs for your group? Do you have accommodations? Do you know about prices and availability of rental cars, RVs in Alaska at a last minute? Why did you wait so long? Would be more logical to start planning this trip for 2007. Your message is not clear and your abbreviations don't make it easy to read. I would take a train and organize my itinerary accordingly which means I wouldn't drive back to Seward on the same trip. I repeat after dwooddon, once in Anchorage you can go wherever ELSE you want in Alaska. Driving back to Seward? Not very logical planning.
*()p/u d/o!??

As much as I love trains I would drive. It is the most scenic, beautiful drive we've ever taken. We stopped a countless number of times between Anchorage and Seward to take pictures, take in the beauty, watch in amazement the Dall sheep standing on the edge of cliffs! There are a number of "scenic outlook" places to park, some with placards describing the area you're viewing. I wouldn't trade that drive for anything.

Thanks for everyone's thoughtful input.
Dwooddon - I think that's what we were hoping to do - train from ANC to Seward, time in Seward, train back to ANC, p/u rental car & move on. I'm glad you agree to that.
Z - thanks for your concern, most of our reservations are made but bits and pieces left to complete

Well looks like you made up your mind, but we did both, drove and took the train. I agree with AnnMarie. The drive is out of this world, and the train although granted for some of the trip is the same, but you see things that you did not notice by driving it and then there is the part that you do not see from the highway. I am glad we did both.

Hi!
Any suggestions on taking a bus? My husband and I will be going on a cruise ship in September and need to go from ANC to Seward too. This is also our first trip to Alaska and we are flying all the way from Peru - so don´t want to make mistakes!
Train sounds wonderful but it departs at 6am so it won´t leave us any time to walk around Anchorage (we´ll get to ANC just the night before our cruise), so I was thinking on taking the 3pm bus - the cruise departs at 9pm.
Thanks!

llello, BQ must be in Alaska, because she hasn't been on here for awhile and she'd be the one to tell you all about cruises (and most anything about Alaska travel).

We had scheduled a cruise last year, but canceled it to do our own independent vacation for 2 weeks in Alaska. Anyway, our cruise line offered an afternoon Anc - Sew train trip, and that was with Princess. If you are really interested in the train trip, call your cruise line and the Alaskan Railroad. Leave no stone unturned until you are certain the option you want is not available. Have fun on your cruise!

So good news & planning thanks to all your input.
We're going to take the train into Seward and our return to ANC will be via a Hertz shuttle service (not car/van rental but a shuttle which includes driver).
So we should be getting the best of both rail & road worlds!

As far as travel options between Seward & ANC, I'd only been familiar with the railroad, the ParkConnection Motorcoach, and car rental options. For a number of reasons, none of these 3 are options for us but we accidentally stumbled across the Hertz shuttle we have decided to use for the Seward to ANC leg of our trip.

Any news/experience re: this shuttle service from Seward's Hertz office?
In the spirit of buyer beward, I thought I'd just feel this out with the group since I hadn't heard of this option previously. For our large group, the cost ends up being comparable, if not better, than train or ParkConnection.

Thanks!

I'm just back from Alaska. Our group of 8 adults/2 cars drove from ANC to Seward, to Talkeetna and then Denali. I was afraid the driving would be too demanding or keep the drivers from relaxing and enjoying the view but it worked out well. In my opinion, some postings on Fodors tend to emphasize the amount of traffic and the long drive times in Alaska. In fact, there wasn't so much traffic and the drive times were managable. Of course, it makes a difference when you can share the driving among several adults. If you are going alone or with just one other person, the train would probably be less tiring. Just don't be afraid you cannot handle driving in Alaska. Have fun!

The distances can be vast, and the driving times in Alaska are even longer because of the beauty . . . there are just so many stops you will want to make. If you are there, why miss a great overlook, neat side trip, or photo op?

Jurisdoctor, consider yourself very lucky if you never encountered road construction and/or very slow going RVs, which can really slow down your drives. Also, very few of us have 4 adults in one vehicle to share in the driving and most of us make lots of planned stops, not going straight from Anc to Denali, for instance. I think when giving advice, most of us place so much emphasis on drive times because we want travellers to slow down and ENJOY the trip, not spend it all driving, yet realize there are a lot of miles between most places in Alaska. Yes, the drives are doable, within reason. Jetset1 is a resident and as posted above, the drives are long to her, too.

Gaps, it sounds like you are REALLY doing your research . . . glad you have managed to find a way to enjoy the best of both!:)

Oops, Jetset1's comment on drive times is on the thread, "Homer or Not?"

Gaps,

Although the train is gorgeous, I'm a big fan of driving just because the stops hold so much promise. But I know with the one-way rentals, it's tough so it sounds like you've worked out a nice blend of the two.

Here's my suggestion for the Hertz shuttle, have some need a pit stop in Moose Pass, then another at Summitt Lake (say to the driver ``Sorry it was so pretty at Moose Pass I didn't know I had to go ...'') and then resort to bribery in Girdwood ("Thanks for making all those 'unscheduled' stops, we really must buy you something from the bakery at Alyeska to make up for it ..." ;) )

Drive. It's a drive like no other. Thanks to rain and my frequent stops on that route, the foliage is greener than green:S-

Very clever, repete. You made me smile. Thanks

Clever advice, Repete! Thanks

okay repete~ how about a compromise? ((I))They can get their bakery goodies, and eat them while walking.. I think as Alaskans, we need to keep our special visitors healthy.
My favorite treat is a honey bran muffin from the Moose is Loose in Soldotna, for those of you returning from Homer. Watch out for the tall bearded baker, he's a mischief maker..