Whittier to Seward - You can't get there from here?
 

Okay, am I nuts? We are going to get off a cruiseship in June, want to rent a car in Whittier and drive to Seward. Mapquest shows going from Whittier North to Anchorage, then back south again ??? To make it more confusing, Google maps shows 12 1/2 hours, making a HUGE loop!!!! Am I going crazy? Can you not get there from here?

We did the drive but I don't remember much except for the tunnel thru the mountain that was sometimes open to cars and sometimes used by the train. But I know we didn't have to make a huge loop.

I got this from a website but no directions:

Drive Whittier to Seward (85 miles; plan 2 hours drive time, not including tunnel waiting period or stops.)

Keep in mind that there is just one car rental place in Whittier, with seriously outrageous prices for a one way trip. It ended up being cheaper for us (family of four) to take a bus out of Whittier and pick up a rental car in anchorage. We used http://www.themagicbus.com/

Thanks!
Linda

We were in Alaska June 2008. This is the deal with the tunnel, as explained by the bus driver who took us from Anchorage to Whittier.

The tunnel operates in only one direction at a time. Trains have priority - they are scheduled. Then group/tour buses, then private vehicles. There is a schedule set up as direction of traffic changes hourly - and one must line up ahead of that time to get into tunnel.

When we researched transit to cruise, what worked was to take cruise "transfer" (bus) from Anchorage to Whittier. We had spent time on land prior to cruise, returned rental car in Anchorage, and then caught the scheduled bus. This would work in reverse for you.

Thanks!