best way to drive from New Jersey to Anchorage, AK
 

My wife and myself are leaving New Jersey on 9/28/12 around 2PM, on our drive to Anchorage, AK. We are looking for the best route. Any ideas???

What do you mean by best route? Do you want the fastest? Are there some sites you want to visit along the way? Do you want to visit cities? Do you want to avoid cities? Do you want to go to some of the National Parks along the way?

You could start by looking at one of the mapping sites like mapquest or google maps and start with NJ then add the first destination you want to visit, then add destinations until you end in Anchorage.

Have a safe trip.

I'd leave earlier than 2 PM if you hope to get there before dark.

Why drive?

Take a train, fly, whatever? and rent a car, or a camper,

unless you want to visit places along the way.

It's a looooooooong drive. It will take you about 3-5 days. It's about 4500 miles.

http://maps.yahoo.com/#q1=New+Jersey...=4&mvt=m&trf=0

Fra_ Good one! :-)


Don't forget the snow tires!

That is one hell of a road trip!

-john

Use http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ to plan your trip. You will have different options in terms of routes (fastest, no tolls, scenic, etc.).

Seriously, whichever route you choose, make sure you know the location of all the gas stations and when they are open. DS and DIL ended up sleeping in the car at one gas station on their marathon drive. Before and After the tourist season, open hours are reduced.

On the way north, DS chose to drive to Bellingham, then take the Alaska Marine Ferry to Skagway. At that point it was still a long drive to Anchorage - one overnight in Tok.

And, yes, carry whatever you need in case you have to spend the night in the car including warm clothing and blankets. BTW it took them 5 days but they spent one night in a motel. AK->NH

Make sure the car and tires are in top notch condition, and carry spares of things like belts and hoses, especially if you have a car that is not available everywhere.

You will need a "Canada card" from your insurance company to show valid coverage for the Canadian portion of your trip, and you will need passports or other appropriate identification to enter Canada and return to the US.

Anything else you need to know you can google, though I was surprised to read that many garages do not accept credit cards.

When traveling to and around Alaska, it is necessary and sufficient to have the latest copy of _The Milepost_
http://milepost.com/
It will give exact descriptions and mileage between camp sites, lodging, and (most important) gas stations. If you're about to drive on a road where the next gas won't be for 150 miles, that is VERY useful information!

We have no idea which of the following routes you are taking (and I would not use ViaMichelin as opposed to MapQuest to plan a route in Alaska but to each their own)

Route #1: Drive to EWR and park car; fly to Anchorage; rent car and drive, drive, drive

Route #2: drive to Vancouver; BC; get on ferry; drive off somewhere further north

Route #3: drive to Alaska by road, through Canada and onto the Alaska Highway

OK, which one???

This is the first and only post by the OP. Probably best to wait until he/she returns and provides some clarification.

(My personal hunch is that this is a military relocation.)