Skagway Car Rental - Avis or Sourdough???

[North2Alaska]

Our past three trips we've rented from Avis, partly due to somewhat older, negative reviews for Sourdough, and it's worked out great. It looks like there might be about a $50 savings by going through Sourdough and they are supposed to be open earlier than 8am and big plus with a short stay. I know those cars are older, but I'd would really like to know what recent experiences anyone has had. Thanks! CC is the best!

Edited February 11, 2011 by North2Alaska

[InternetAgeTraveler]

We rented from Sourdough in May 2010, early in the season and things went very smothly. In our case, we needed a mini-van and they had one while Avis didn't. Car wise, ours was in very good condition and clean.

 

The only thing I can recall that I didn't like was the 3 day cancelation policy which meant if for any reason we didn't go, we'd still have to pay.

 

This thread had a lot of discussion of the comparison. I think the consensus is that Avis wins on most things except price and number of larger vehicles.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1167808

[1toppump]

Last week we rented a car a from Sourdough Rental in Skagway. The company is owned by a local person that runs several businesses as his living. He was friendly, and very helpful. Unlike the big Rental companies, he encouraged me to not buy the insurance since I was covered by my credit card company and also my own insurance, The car was clean and ready to go. The vehicle was a few years old, missing a hub cap and the passenger window didn't seem to work, but I wasn't expecting a perfect car. We had the car for the day and put 150 miles on it with absolutely no problems. Personally, I liked the idea of renting from and independent and I thought the experience was great and would not hesitate to rent from him again. He is a one man show, and I don't think you can expect him to drive 75 miles to pick you up if you have a problem.

[CRUZBUDS]

We are using them next week for the first time and we were concverened about the older negative reviews also -- I specifically asked what the policy was if for some reason the ship did not make the port -- they assured us there would be no charge. We've cruised enough to have have missed a few ports.

 

They said they were cruisers also and to not be concerned about a missed port, there would be no charge if the ship didn't make Skagway.

The reason that they have the policy is that they will hold the car for the full day for you in case you want to do another tour first.

 

Thanks for the positive feedback :)

[fleckle]

Last week we rented a car a from Sourdough Rental in Skagway. .....He is a one man show, and I don't think you can expect him to drive 75 miles to pick you up if you have a problem.

What did he say you should do if the car broke down?

[pmjnh]

What did he say you should do if the car broke down?

 

 

That is a great question.We are planning on renting a car in Skagway and assumed we would use Avis. I would hope that Sourdough would have a procedure in place to assist their customers in the event of a breakdown.

Not sure if they have AAA or not on Skagway but I think I will look into that. I wonder also if there is cell service on the road up to Emerald Lake/Yukon or even through the stretch of Canada that you have to drive through to get there???

 

More wondering..Does travel insurance protect you if you breakdown and miss the boat departure and have to fly to Anchorage to meet it? Now there is an awful thought!:eek:.That is the only advantage I can see to taking a cruise sponsored excursion to the Yukon!

[Budget Queen]

That is a great question.We are planning on renting a car in Skagway and assumed we would use Avis. I would hope that Sourdough would have a procedure in place to assist their customers in the event of a breakdown.

Not sure if they have AAA or not on Skagway but I think I will look into that. I wonder also if there is cell service on the road up to Emerald Lake/Yukon or even through the stretch of Canada that you have to drive through to get there???

 

More wondering..Does travel insurance protect you if you breakdown and miss the boat departure and have to fly to Anchorage to meet it? Now there is an awful thought!:eek:.That is the only advantage I can see to taking a cruise sponsored excursion to the Yukon!

 

The AAA is based in Whitehorse, none in Skagway that I know of. There are dead spots on the Klondike Highway with no cell service.

 

 

The road is well traveled and the ONLY access by road to Skagway, actually a LOT of traffic on a cruise port day. People help you- bottom line, traveling in this area.

[CRUZBUDS]

I have heard in other posts that if your break down either with Avis or Sourdough -- note where it is and flag someone down to take you back to Skagway. They said all tour buses will stop. I really hope we don't have to find out. :eek:

 

There was another thread were someone had locked the keys in the car - they got a tow truck from Whitehorse to come out an open the car - $400 oops :rolleyes:

Edited September 12, 2011 by CRUZBUDS

[pmjnh]

The AAA is based in Whitehorse, none in Skagway that I know of. There are dead spots on the Klondike Highway with no cell service.

 

 

The road is well traveled and the ONLY access by road to Skagway, actually a LOT of traffic on a cruise port day. People help you- bottom line, traveling in this area.

 

Good to know..and that makes sense with the numbers of people from a cruise ship!

 

I have heard in other posts that if your break down either with Avis or Sourdough -- note where it is and flag someone down to take you back to Skagway. They said all tour buses will stop. I really hope we don't have to find out. :eek:

 

 

Great advise, thanks!

[Cruiser304958]

I have heard in other posts that if your break down either with Avis or Sourdough -- note where it is and flag someone down to take you back to Skagway. They said all tour buses will stop. I really hope we don't have to find out. :eek:

 

A woman from Texas wrecked (totalled!) her Avis car north of the suspension bridge last month, and a train crew that was going by helped get her and her 3 kids back to Skagway. Everyone is very helpful on those remote roads.

[rayliang]

I rented a minivan from Sourdough in Skageway on 8/24. The car is clean and functioned very well, no breakdown scares to think about. The owner is great.

[tickford]

We rented from Sourdough in August. Had a little trouble contacting them when I was trying to book the car but did get that sorted by actually ringing them up.

 

Yes the car was older, yes it was not in pristine condition but it had been cleaned and the people are very nice and helpful.

 

There have been some negative reviews on these boards but we decided to take a punt as we say in Australia and it was all fine.

 

What to do if you should break down? Flag down another car or bus as previously mentioned, there are lots on the road, people are friendly, plenty of help around should you need it.

 

I'd recommend them, just don't expect a new, spic and span vehicle.

[Walt fan]

I have never cruised to Alaska, and was interested in renting a car and going on our own in Skagway; I was curious about rates and checked on Avis' web site for June 2012, the date we are going; it said "The Rental location selected is closed - seasonal hours" Well, now I know, I don't feel comfortable going with an independent so now I will go book a tour; that stinks

• The Rental Location selected is closed (Seasonal Hours).
  

[Cruiser304958]

I have never cruised to Alaska, and was interested in renting a car and going on our own in Skagway; I was curious about rates and checked on Avis' web site for June 2012, the date we are going; it said "The Rental location selected is closed - seasonal hours" Well, now I know, I don't feel comfortable going with an independent so now I will go book a tour; that stinks

• The Rental Location selected is closed (Seasonal Hours).
  

 

Avis Skagway is open in June - you can wait a few weeks until the database corrects or you can phone their Anchorage office (just Google Avis Alaska).

[amc155]

I have never cruised to Alaska, and was interested in renting a car and going on our own in Skagway; I was curious about rates and checked on Avis' web site for June 2012, the date we are going; it said "The Rental location selected is closed - seasonal hours" Well, now I know, I don't feel comfortable going with an independent so now I will go book a tour; that stinks

[*]The Rental Location selected is closed (Seasonal Hours).

 

When I called Avis' 800 number a couple weeks ago to check on a reservation for next year they gave me the direct number to the Skagway office and told me to call in May when the office reopens.

[Cruiser304958]

When I called Avis' 800 number a couple weeks ago to check on a reservation for next year they gave me the direct number to the Skagway office and told me to call in May when the office reopens.

 

You can phone the Anchorage office and reserve now - by May your date may well be sold out!

[eh2zed]

For any Canadians following this thread, keep in mind Canadians cannot rent a car in Skagway and take it into Canada. Only US and other nationalities can.

[amc155]

You can phone the Anchorage office and reserve now - by May your date may well be sold out!

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Is it the airport or downtown location that should be called?

[rjwex]

I just returned from the final September cruise. Avis was sold out, so I went with a new company (at least I think it's new, because I couldn't really find anything here) - Alaska Green Jeep Rentals. I don't know the price comparison, but with four of us, this was way less than the train! I had a four door jeep, and it was new or near new.

 

They picked me up at the dock, took me to the jeep, and I was able to drop it back by the ship at the end. We had a cb on board - they did say little or no cell coverage. Drove to Emerald Lake. Fall colors were in, and it was beautiful. I was really concerned as it was rainy and foggy in Skagway, but the road is really good.

[pmjnh]

Just an FYI..I just booked a car with Avis in Skagway for the day our cruise ship is in town in July 2012. I did this via the Avis website. The rates varied from $89 to $99 for the day, depending on the size car you need. The largest car they have available is a full size.

[rplusr]

We were also on the last cruise of the season for Golden Princess and we hired a van from Sourdough Rentals. There were 6 of us and for $USD140 for the day it was way cheaper than taking the ships tour.

 

We had an 8 seater van and although not a new vehicle it went well and was neat and tidy inside.

 

It was a great day for all of us and the scenery was some of the most amazing we have scene.

 

Definitely want to do this all over again.

 

Cheers

 

rplusr:)

[frugaltravel]

For any Canadians following this thread, keep in mind Canadians cannot rent a car in Skagway and take it into Canada. Only US and other nationalities can.

 

This is no longer true - see another thread for discussion about this.

[Ga Dawg]

Loved Sourdough! He met us there when we got off the ship at 8am. He gave us a detailed map and also pointed out all the places of interest. We could not be happier with the car or the service. We also loved the drive to Emerald Lake and saw our only bear. Great guy to deal with and he is local.

[CruiseBuni]

Is Sourdough still in business? Their website isn't up and the domain name is for sale.

[Ga Dawg]

Yes, just used them last week. His phone number is 907-973-2540