Barry

This summer I'll be taking a cruise to Alaska, and one of the ports will be Skagway. I plan to take a fast ferry from Skagway to Haines in the morning, pick up a rental car, and drive all the way back to Skagway via Haines Highway, Alaska Highway and Klondike by the evening before the cruise ship departs. I love a driving advantage but I'm wondering if this drive is possible.

Girlie

I drove from Anchorage to Skagway, Skagway to Haines, and back to Anchorage (with a bunch of other stops as well.) Ooo, thinking of what you're planning makes me nervous! I think the road to Haines is one of the top 3 roads I've driven in my life (better than the road to Skagway) and there's some places along there you just HAVE to stop at, but I'm not sure I'd want to be pressed for time like that. It is VERY difficult to "make time" on those roads. I personally wouldn't do it. If money is no object, maybe you could take the ferry over to Haines, rent a car and drive a few hours up the road and come back and take the ferry back to Skagway. The road in/out of Skagway is gorgeous, but many times it's covered over in fog. If the sky is clear, the round-trip train ride is great! Also, there's some good hiking in Skagway. But I much prefer the scenery in the Haines area and it is so much quieter and much less "touristy." The first time I was in Skagway I was on a CruiseWest cruise through the Inside Passage and as great as it was being on a small ship accommodating 80 people (as opposed to 3000+) I wanted off the cruise SO BAD. It drove me absolutely crazy to have so few hours in port. So when I went back the next time I took 3 weeks and drove all over Alaska (obviously couldn't go EVERYWHERE.) What time do you get inot Skagway, what time is the ferry, and what time do you need to be back on the ship in Skagway???

rqf

The drive is at least 350 miles. On those roads the trip is going to take at least 7 hours. I don't know that this is a wise thing to do. Miss the boat and you would probably have to fly to the next port. Further, have you checked car rentals and cost - if cars are available I suspect there will be a hefty drop off charge. Some years back I took the ferry from Skagway to Haines and I don't remember getting there much before 11am.

Barry

I'll arrive Skagway at 6:30am. The first fast ferry from Skagway to Haines leaves at 8:00am and should arrive at Haines before 9:00am. My cruise ship leaves Skagway at 8:30pm but I really should be back by 8:00pm. Avis has car rental offices in both Haines and Skagway and it offers one way rental for about $70 to $80 per day. By the way, I 've taken the round-trip train ride from Skagway already and I really enjoyed it. I also went hiking for about 3 hrs around Skagway after the train ride, so I'm looking for something different to time this time at Skagway. I'd appreciate any additional suggestions you may have.

Girlie

I've given your plan some more thought and with the times you've listed, I think it could be done. But do know that Haines in itself is quite time-consuming (at least it was for me) and another option is to rent a car and just "discover Haines" for the day (taking the ferry back to Skagway in the evening.) If you do decide to drive the entire route around, at least try to make a quick stop at Chilkat State Park in Haines. And remember if there's a whiteout as you're driving toward Skagway, traffic will be moving EXTREMELY slow, so take that into accout as you tweak your travel times. You'll also go through Customs twice. (We found entering Canada to be a breeze, but coming into the U.S. was a bit more of a hassle.) And buy The Milepost! That thing was our bible and I can't possible stress enough how much it enhanced our trip. It's worth buying even for just one day of use IMO. Have a great time.

Barry

Thank you for all your advice. Sorry for the late reply as I just returned from Yucatan.