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Moving to Alaska....now how do I get there?

My husband and I are moving to Anchorage, Alaska in the next two weeks. We are planning on taking 3 weeks to get there. I know that it will be snowing and we may get in some pretty rough weather, we are as prepared as we can be. What is the best resource for mapping out exactly what route to take. We are starting in Florida. Thanks, Meredith

Check out the alcanseek.com board for up-to-date travel advice from regular travelers to and within Alaska.

DO NOT leave until you have a current copy of the Milepost. Go here for more about this indispensable book. The site also has a very helpful message board and FAQ -- and a neat little distance calculator. Click on "Highways of the North" for an exhaustive narrative of the roads you'll be driving. http://www.themilepost.com You're in for a fantastic adventure -- and be sure to have a camera with you.

If you want to cut out some driving time, you can take the ferry from Bellingham WA and get off at Haines. We got off at Skagway and it was about another 800 miles to Anchorage. We overnighted in Tok. Haines is a bit closer. Check out costs with the Alaska Marine Highway System. They have a website. Vehicle rate is by size and length. It's a 3 night trip, renting a cabin is optional. If you have pets with you, they stay in your vehicle but you are allowed to feed, walk etc a couple of times a day. You can check some weather on the website for the Anchorage Daily News and you might also find some other good links: www.adn.com. Good luck!

Donna F: Is this a scenic ride on the ferry? I have heard it suggested to take a ferry out of Seattle. I've heard that it is a great way to see Alaska and actually more scenic than the drive. I think this would be a welcome and relaxing last couple of days of the trip after driving all the way across the continental U.S. What do you think? Meredith

Meredith, last summer we drove a little over 16,000 miles going from Naples, Florida to Alaska and back. We did the realllllly long way, stopping off in New York and Maine first, for example. On the way back we took the Alaska Marine Highway (the ferry system) and were glad we did. Due to a scheduling problem we ended up taking it all the way to Bellingham instead of just to Port Rupert as originally planned. We were glad we did. Although I do not like cruises, this was great. The ship (in our case the newly refurbished Columbia) was much nicer than I expected. The cabin was small, efficient, and OK. The meals were better than I expected. But it is very scenic, although I realize at that time of year it will be dark a whole lot more of the time. There is a naturalist on board who also gives brief talks and answers questions. Trust me, after driving from Florida to Washington, you will welcome the break of taking the ferry to cut off a whole lot of miles. You might want to do the ferry in a couple of stages, making a stop overnight in Ketchikan, Juneau, or Sitka for example.

Ooops. Sorry, yes I know -- Prince Rupert.

Regarding the ferry, is this the type where you can bring your car on board? (That might be a stupid question. If so, I am sorry.)

Not a stupid question at all. I used to think that the term "ferry" meant that you can take a car, but I've sure been on a lot of them recently that didn't take cars at all. Look at the website: www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/ for all the information on the ferry system in Alaska including schedules and prices.

As Patrick pointed out, yes it's a very scenic ride. Bellingham is north of Seattle, we took the slow picturesque route, maybe 2 hours. The largest of the Alaska Marine Hwy ferries is the Columbia and it does the route from Bellingham to Haines. It goes pretty much the same route up the Inside Passage as the cruise boats. It's spartan but comfortable and the observation lounge where the forest service person lectures is a fantastic place to spend the day. Some of the towns along the way, including the state capital Juneau are only accessible by boat or plane. Traveling via ferry is a way of life for people in this part of AK. Skagway, for example, does not have its own doctor or dentist so people travel by ferry to Juneau for appointments. You do not have to rent a cabin but it will be very cold on deck. There's a heated solarium area where people sleep on deck chairs and you are allowed to put up a tent on the fantail. Friends had fun doing this but it was summer. We elected to have a cabin but there are public showers etc for people who are roughing it. The ferry is large enough to carry trucks. I hope you have winter travel advice from someone in AK. No snow in Anchorage yet, but there is in higher elevations. Best wishes.

Meredith- I'm glad to hear of some fellow Floridians making the drastic move! Please give this board some updates on your move to Anchorage. This is an option we have considered before, but chickened out because of the long dark winters. Best of luck! Anchorage is a great city. -Mike

I checked out the rates of the ferry out of Bellingham and it looks as though it would be about $1200 just for the car and our two bodies, not including the cabin and food. After that it would probably be about $2000! That is a little too steep for us. We were thinking about $500-$600. Donna F and Patrick: Are these about the prices you paid on the ferry? Let me know. Thank you! Meredith

Well, welcome to Alaska, meredith, where everything costs more! Seriously, you made one error. In the winter the driver goes free so a car (depending upon size) and the two of you would be $896 from Bellingham to Haines. A cabin could cost you another $143 to $263. Considering it is saving you several nights motel, the cabin becomes almost a bargain. And I sure wouldn't count the food as you would have that expense any way you go. You could also cut it down and just do the ferry from Prince Rupert to Haines, making the car and the two of you about $439.

Yes, it was late July and I think the jeep was about $900. The cost is by the foot. Re-think using Patrick's numbers. Calculate how much you are saving in gas as well. Don't worry about food, you can bring your own cooler with you. The cafeteria prices weren't too bad but I thought the dining room was overpriced and the food mediocre. Please keep us posted and let us know when you arrive. And please remember that you are going to be driving hundreds of miles with NOTHING in between. Where is your spare tire? Can you get to it without unloading the car? A donut tire may not be good enough to get you to the next town. Sorry to nag. Also check road conditions since the earthquake on Sunday.

There are some easy and not-so-easy choices to make. First, traveling the Alaska Highway all the way is relatively easy but if you're not accustomed to winter driving I'd honestly think twice about it. It will be snowy, icy, and - especially - dark for much more of the day than farther south, all conditions which will slow you down, hence more nights on the road, hence more expensive. It will be cold, too - probably in the teens or below (F) all the way once you're past Dawson Creek, and temperatures below zero (F) in the interior are not uncommon in November. That said, many people find driving the Alcan in the winter to be more pleasant than in the summer - lots less traffic, of course, no dust and no bugs. But if you get into freeze-thaw country there can be mud and crud on the road, which gives your windshield washers and wipers a workout. Second choice, ferry plus drive. You can drive to Prince Rupert BC and take the ferry to Haines, then it's a 2-day (in okay conditions) drive to Anchorage (same problems with the cold interior, but fewer days); or you can take the Alaska ferry from Bellingham to Haines, then drive. I personally would happily opt for the latter, since the ferry ride is beautiful and wonderfully relaxing in winter - you can rest after driving cross country, and get ready for the final drive. A third ferry option is to cross over to Vancouver Island from the mainland (near Vancouver city), drive up the island to Port Hardy (a day), catch the BC ferry to Prince Rupert, then the Alaska ferry to Haines as before. The final option is the one used most frequently by people who live in Alaska. Drive to Seattle (Tacoma, really) and put your car on the TOTE Boat (Totem Ocean Trailer Express - http://www.totemocean.com/ ) then fly yourselves up. It's pricier than the other methods, but the car goes directly to Anchorage with no road wear (tires, glass damage, moose dents, etc.). And you fly, rent a car for a couple of days until the car arrives (takes 4 days door to door), and prepare for settling in. I'd seriously do the math, and be conservative about how many nights you'd really spend on the road/boat, meals, and all that. There has been some earthquake damage BTW on parts of the highways that you'd be using, but it will probably be under control by the time you'd get there, aftershocks notwithstanding. Good luck and have fun following the North Star.

I work with someone whose husband (ex-military) was transferred from an Alaskan post back to the continental United States. She made the comment that they had to drive the whole way back because they didn't get their reservations on the ferry in time. I don't know exactly where they were coming from or going to, but I'd suggest checking it out further.

Just wondering: If we take either ferry option, are we cutting out that much of the dangerous driving if we still have to drive from Haines to Anchorage? Still debating what to do. Thanks, Meredith

Unfortunately the "Haines Cutoff" (the road connecting the ferry terminal with the Alaska Highway in the Yukon) is rather notorious for lousy conditions in winter - steep grades, heavy snow, high winds, etc. I just looked at the Alaska and Yukon road condition websites (listed below) - the Haines Cutoff is currently experiencing freezing rain and high winds, and the YT government is advising no travel. Conditions in Alaska are somewhat better - temperatures around Northway and Tok are in the teens and 20s F, some snow, some black ice. By taking the ferry and the Haines route you're cutting several days' driving out of the all-highway option, but you still have a couple of days' winter driving ahead, including the parts of the Yukon and interior of Alaska that tend to be the coldest sections of the highway. So it's not better, it's just shorter. Here are the websites: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/planresc/road_cond.html http://www.gov.yk.ca/roadreport/ Also read this: http://www.explorenorth.com/library/howto/ht-akwinter.htm Good luck.