Advice on getting to Whittier from Anchorage

[pentiumvi]

Hello,

 

I'm planning on going on a cruise from Whittier to Vancouver in August. I'm going to be flying into Anchorage. I been looking around for a good means of transportation from Anchorage to Whittier. I'm interested in a shuttle that includes some sort of sightseeing/tour along the way if possible.

 

I did some googling and found this company: Whittier Shuttles

 

Has anyone ever traveled with them? Are they any good? Does anyone else on this forum have any recommendations?

 

Thank you very much!

Edited May 22, 2011 by pentiumvi

[Chenega]

They have a good reputation. You can see a listing of all companies by going to http://www.anchorage.net

[Marie321]

We used Alaska Leopard Comedy tour when going from Whittier to Anchorage. We were very pleased with their service. We stopped at a wildlife preserve and Portage Glacier. Their comedy is clean and you would not have to worry if you have kids along. Here is a link.

 

http://alaskanleopardtours.com/

[rsfsrs]

Please beware that there is no more Alaska Leopard Tours as they have been bought out by Alaska Transportation Group. We were booked on Alaska Leopard Tours and when we went to the terminal in Whittier to get picked up by them, we were told that they don't exist anymore and they have been purchased by Alaska Transportation Group who would not take us and would not give us a refund because they did not have us on their records.

 

And no wonder as I have found posts like this about Alaska Transportation Group http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28923-i349-k2913508-Alaska_transportation_and_tours-Alaska.html and their BBB record is terrible. I would have never booked with them from the beginning but I was kind of forced into it...

[pentiumvi]

Oh wow, thanks for the head's up. Saved me a lot of headaches in the future.

 

Has anyone taken the Anchorage - Whittier motor-coach + Wilderness cruise offered by Prince William Sound Cruises?

[kruiser54]

Why not just get there a day early and do a sight seeing tour the take the ships transfer to Whittier. All of the transfers take the same route to get there, see the same stuff.

To me it would be better to do a tour and rest that night then get on the ship.

We leave in 5 days for 5 days before on land on our own and the SB on the Diamond on June 4th.

 

Good luck planning. Have fun.

EB

[doofus]

Oh wow, thanks for the head's up. Saved me a lot of headaches in the future.

 

Has anyone taken the Anchorage - Whittier motor-coach + Wilderness cruise offered by Prince William Sound Cruises?

 

 

Actually our family is going to take that tour along with the motor coach special with Prince William Sound. I think it's the easiest and pretty reasonable. I think you can also take the train or there is a company called the magic bus that will do transfer between Whittier and Anchorage.

 

Ling

[Whittier Mermaid]

:cool: Hello There,

there are many ways you could go about this. Some of them are;

 

There is the train you can find a schedule at http://www.alaskarailroad.com. It has a station in the airport and one across the street form the cruise ship terminal.

 

Another way is there is an Avis rental car at the airport in Anchorage and also there is one in Whittier two blocks from the cruise ship port. You can book a car at avis.com.

 

Lastly buses here are some links: *************************/

http://www.anchorage.net/913.cfm

 

Personally I would recommend using Avis rental car. It gives you freedom to go by your own schedule and you can sight see since you have some time to kill.

[vmom]

Actually our family is going to take that tour along with the motor coach special with Prince William Sound. I think it's the easiest and pretty reasonable. I think you can also take the train or there is a company called the magic bus that will do transfer between Whittier and Anchorage.

 

Ling

 

 

We signed up for this tour also. We pick up the bus in Anchorage and then they drive us to Whittier for the Prince William Sound tour and then will drop us off at the port. Seemed like a great way to see Prince William sound and get to Whittier.

 

If you go soon, please let me know what you thought. We don't leave until mid June.

 

For the OP, another reasonable option would be to take the Princess transfer from Anchorage to Whittier.

[doofus]

We signed up for this tour also. We pick up the bus in Anchorage and then they drive us to Whittier for the Prince William Sound tour and then will drop us off at the port. Seemed like a great way to see Prince William sound and get to Whittier.

 

If you go soon, please let me know what you thought. We don't leave until mid June.

 

For the OP, another reasonable option would be to take the Princess transfer from Anchorage to Whittier.

 

Actually we don't leave until mid July prehaps you can fill us in on your experience :). Enjoy.

[pentiumvi]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I think I'm going to take the PWS tour with the motorcoach special.

 

@Vmom

Do leave a comment after you return from the trip, and tell us your experience with the PWS tour =D

[rnccns44]

Our vacation was in July 2014. We wanted to take the train from Anchorage to Grandview and back to Whittier for our afternoon cruise departure but not have to spend so many hours on the train. We used the Magic Bus company to get from Anchorage to Portage for the second departure. Instead of a 9 am departure on the train, the six of us were picked up at 11 am at our hotel by Gary and his colleagues. To our surprise, Tim the owner sent a second van for our luggage and took it to Whittier for us and checked it in at our cruise terminal. They planned for us better than we did and did not charge us extra. It was a wonderful experience. Gary was our driver and we had so much fun with him. He took pictures for us, regaled us with great stories of the area, stopped for snacks before we got to Portage and got us there in enough time to enjoy the station but not wait for a long time for the train. We HIGHLY recommend this company, esp. as an alternative to a long train ride.