HoneyIdHunny

I'm planning a vacation to Alaska from NC and I'm wondering if anyone has ever made this trek with a rental car. I have read several threads on issues of not being able to rent a car to drive to Alaska on a one way travel, but I haven't been able to find anything relating to renting a car to drive to Alaska and dropping car back off from original point of pickup.

I'm not worried about mileage as I know with unlimited miles it doesn't matter. A few years ago I rented a car and drove 13,500 miles cross country during a 5 week roadtrip. I have calculated and driving to Alaska and back would actually be a little less than that, I am just concerned with crossing the border into Canada then going into Alaska with a rental car from North Carolina.

Any advice on driving to Alaska is also welcomed. We are on a budget so we plan on camping most nights along the way.

Ackislander

Your problem is Canada.

You can drive rental cars into Canada on round trips, but you need special paperwork and special insurance endorsements to do it. These may completely offset the savings you would expect to get by road tripping. Or not. You will have to do some calling around.

If you are youngish, you may get extra attention from the Border Agency. Some laws are much more restrictive in Canada than in the US, and you need to know which these are and make sure you don't have violations on your record or potential violations on your person or in your vehicle.

What if you skipped Canada and took the car ferry from Washington? I have heard that it isn't cheap, so that might not be a great idea, but it is a thought.

dfrostnh

We did the car ferry Alaska Marine Ferry getting off in Skagway because it looked like an interesting place to visit and then had about 1 1/2 day drive to the Wasilla area. We overnighted in Tok. If your plans are for this summer, you might be out of luck for reserving space for a car. We rented a cabin for three of us but a lot of people slept anyplace. Tents were allowed on the deck (bring your own duct tape) and there were public washrooms for those without a cabin. Some places were ok for sleeping at night but signs said you needed to be out during the day since the room would be in use. The deck chairs were snatched up by the first people who got on board. Cost of car will depend on its size and the distance you are traveling.

If you can drive all the way, make sure you know where gas stations are located. DS and DIL drove AK to NH in less than a week but they also had to sleep in a gas station parking lot waiting for it to open.

Dukey1

I honestly do not understand some of this.

I've driven a car from Buffalo into and out of Canada on numerous occasions. It was a rental each time. I told the rental agency I was going to Canada.

I was never questioned by any border agents on either side of the border.

Special insurance? Who knew? I always take the so-called rental car rip-off insurance because I do not want my OWN insurance carrier involved in any way and for obvious reasons.

tomfuller

When I drive my own car into Canada, I just tell my auto insurance agent and he prints out a card valid in Canada at no charge. As long as you have a car registered and insured your agent should be able to give you a card valid in Canada.
For our trip to Alaska last June, we flew from Seattle to Anchorage and rented a car there. We spent 10 days in Alaska without the long trip in the Alaska Highway through Dawson.

janisj

I don't know for sure but my guess is finding a one way car rental to Alaska would be VERY difficult. When is your trip? The tourist season in AK is quite short and dropping a lower 48 car in Alaska when few would be renting for a drive south.

There are RV companies the do allow one ways - but they cost a FORTUNE.

Have you looked into driving your own car and shipping it back? Might not cost any more than a rental (IF you could find a rental)

Gardyloo

This will be handled on a case by case basis by the rental companies, and as stated you'll need insurance documentation for Canada (which is usually free but required.) You'll need to ask, and you'll need to shop very aggressively. Some stations (in states not near the Canadian border) might have locally imposed regional restrictions. But it's probably doable.

But my main question is, "why?" 10,000+ road miles for the 500-600 miles of great scenery you'll encounter? 20 days of blah driving for the 10 that are great?

I get the idea of an adventure and far be it from anybody on a travel board to discourage adventure travel, but I'll just suggest this:

Do a careful budget. Using some real back-of-the-envelope numbers I come up with something like $7000 using motels and camping 50-50 (which might not be possible) and a one-month rental car counting gas and supplemental insurance (which you'll need for the Canadian portion, and should have anyway given some of the roads.) That doesn't count food or incidentals, just car and lodging.

I'd suggest doing some side-by-sides. Flights from CLT or RDU to Anchorage are around $320 one way or $650 round trip. Rental cars in Alaska are expensive in the season; figure $250 per week. The ferry from Whittier through the Inside Passage down to Bellingham WA is $695 and takes six days; you can camp on the solarium deck - many do so. And so on. The fly-drive-ferry option would not only (maybe) be cheaper, it would let you see the coastline, something the cross-continent drive wouldn't do at all.

Just saying, there are several ways to skin this cat.

janisj

Oh -- I got off on the wrong track -- my post was about a one-way rental.

It seems you want to drive R-T -- which would be a HUGE hassle.

(is that is mostly because you can't find a one way rental? )