See it by land or cruise ship?

[Boatsafloat2]

We're planning our first Alaska tour for July 2017. Would like to hear from cc members who have toured Alaska both by sea and by land. If you have, which did you enjoy more? Which was less expensive? If we go by ship, we would most likely go with Princess on a seven day north bound from Vancouver (mini suite $5000) and also do a few excursions. If we go by land, we would rent a car in Vancouver and travel north doing excursions along the way for 8-10 days. We have previously taken eight cruises - all in the Caribbean but we also enjoy land vacations as well. From what I've read here on cc, our only must see is Glacier Bay. Any advice?

[Glaciers]

Glacier Bay is only accessible by boat, either a cruise or day tour from Bartlett Cove/Gustavus which you can’t drive to. If Glacier Bay is a must your decision is already made. You could certainly fly into Gustavus although probably not from anywhere along the Alcan.

 

It can take several days to drive from Vancouver to Alaska and there are very few excursions along the way, at least in Canada. It can be gorgeous but also remote and desolate. If Alaska is what you want to see, fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks and rent the car to tour from there.

 

Also, you ask which is less expensive. If your comparison is a $5000 suite, driving would probably less expensive.

[Beachiekeen]

Could you do both? A one-way cruise and then tack on a few days in Alaska at the end?

 

If you decide on a land vacation, the Alaska forum on Trip Advisor is very helpful with itineraries and suggestions.

[TheCalicoCat]

Comparing the cost of a cruise (your estimate $5000) to a land based trip can't be done based on what you shared.

 

Do you plan on renting a compact or luxury car?

Will your hotels be 5 Star or will you pitch a tent on the side of the road?

Only steakhouses or buying a loaf of bread & a tub of peanut butter?

etc.

 

Beyond Glacier Bay, what interests you? Denali, driving the Alcan, White Pass rail road, Whale Watching, etc.

 

Maybe when you list out all of the possibilities (Travel Alaska has a lot of "things to do") then you can answer the question for yourself.

[AKStafford]

If you rent a car in Vancouver, you'll spend the better part of a week getting to Alaska, just to turn around and drive back. If you want to see Southeast Alaska, take the cruise. If you want to see Southcentral & Interior Alaska, fly into Anchorage and rent a car. You could also tack some time onto the beginning/end of a one-way cruise to see both.

[Gardyloo]

If we go by land, we would rent a car in Vancouver and travel north doing excursions along the way for 8-10 days.

This is not a practical idea. The distances are too great, and you'd need to drive all the way back since one-way car rentals are no go between mainland Canada (or the lower 48 US states) and Alaska.

 

If you want to drive, fly to Anchorage and get a car. You could consider substituting a Prince William Sound glacier day cruise for Glacier Bay.

[xlxo]

What about driving to nearby Bellingham for a ferry. Then sail your way to and from Alaska with your vehicle?

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/where_we_go.shtml

[Gardyloo]

What about driving to nearby Bellingham for a ferry. Then sail your way to and from Alaska with your vehicle?

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/where_we_go.shtml

A car on the ferry is price prohibitive, plus with the available time they'd only get as far as Juneau or Skagway before having to turn around and come back. And if just visiting SE Alaska, there's no need for a car anyway.

 

For passengers, many round trip cruises from Vancouver or Seattle can be cheaper than the ferry as they're inclusive and the ferry isn't.

[RSF Cruiser]

Cruise and land trips are very different. A cruise is easier - you have magnificent scenery along with meals and entertainment. A road trip is also magnificent, but it takes a lot more planning if you do it on your own, and in my case, the road trip was more expensive, but we could do exactly what we wanted to, and for how long we wanted to. Can you plan one year to do the cruise as an introduction to Alaska, then at some other point, do the road trip?

 

For our first trip to Alaska, we flew into Victoria, stayed two nights, took the ferry to Vancouver for a few nights, and then boarded a one way cruise to Seward. From there we made a stop in Anchorage, then took the train to Denali, then a few days later onto Fairbanks, and then back home. It was about a two week trip and we loved it. We were hooked.

 

For the next trip to Alaska, we flew to Juneau, then flew to Glacier Bay, then flew to Anchorage, then flew to Katmai National Park, then back to Anchorage where we rented a car and drove to Talkeetna, then back to Anchorage for a flight to Barrow. We used the Tour Saver book and saved a fair amount of money. We stayed in each place at least two nights (depended on what we wanted to do). This trip was about two and a half weeks, and was expensive, but it was exactly what we wanted to do.

 

Since then we've taken round trip cruises from Seattle and San Francisco - we love Alaska and enjoy the one week or so getaway with beautiful scenery. We do the roundtrips since it's easier and less expensive for the flights. As you'll learn from others on these boards, if you like Alaska, the cruise is rarely a once in a lifetime trip :-)

 

Spend lots of time here, on Trip Adviser, and google learning about various options to determine what's most important for you. I personally think a cruise is a good introduction to Alaska, but a land trip gives you the opportunity to have a more indepth experience.

[Boatsafloat2]

Wow. It's a lot to consider. I guess it does make sense to do a cruise first to get our feet wet then come back for a land trip. Thank you all for your advice.

[Gardyloo]

I guess it does make sense to do a cruise first to get our feet wet...

Hopefully not. ;)

Edited December 15, 2016 by Gardyloo

[LeftcoastBC]

Having done the land trip more that I ever wanted to I can say that once would be just great. The secret is finding another way out of Alaska without back tracking.

So its flying:... What do you do with your car or rental ?

Ferry:.... way to hard on the budget. But a much much better experience of viewing the inside passage.

Back Tracking: to at least the Stewart Cassiar Hwy (#37 in BC) and then backing tracking even more again from Prince George south.

 

But you would have seen some of the greatest country in the World.

[zqvol]

We're planning our first Alaska tour for July 2017. Would like to hear from cc members who have toured Alaska both by sea and by land. If you have, which did you enjoy more? Which was less expensive? If we go by ship, we would most likely go with Princess on a seven day north bound from Vancouver (mini suite $5000) and also do a few excursions. If we go by land, we would rent a car in Vancouver and travel north doing excursions along the way for 8-10 days. We have previously taken eight cruises - all in the Caribbean but we also enjoy land vacations as well. From what I've read here on cc, our only must see is Glacier Bay. Any advice?

 

You are not going to see much of AK, if you plan to drive from Vancouver. The distances are huge, and you are not going to get to any of the touristy or populated areas. Most land tours are done out of Anchorage.

 

Doing a land based vacation is completely different than a cruise based one. For a cruised based vacation you see three or four ports in SE AK, plus a glacier or two. With your land based vacation you can see the mountain, ride the AK RR, go fishing, take day tours to glaciers, go whale watching, ie. everything you can do on a cruise plus a whole lot more.

 

With a land based vacation most people travel to Denali, and/or the Kenai.

[donaldsc]

I think that the best way to do AK is a combination of driving and the Marine Highway to get to places that you can't get to by land. A land DIY is much better than any cruise visit to AK. However, given the time that you have, it is not practical. Have you checked the distance from Vancouver to Anchorage on Google Maps. You do realize that it is 2195 miles from Vancouver to Anchorage which Google says will take 41 hours of driving and I think it will take more time than that. That is 41 hours of driving not counting sleeping, eating, etc.

 

Also, if Glacier Bay is a requirement, the only way that I can think of to do it is to fly or take the Marine Highway into Gustavus and take a tour from there which is just not practical given the amount of time that you have. I do not think that it is worth doing a land tour of AK unless you have at least a month. We did a 2 1/2 month driving tour which was about the right time.

 

Have you actually thought your 8 - 10 day driving plan through and realized how absurd it is.

 

As others have suggested, if you do not want to take a cruise, the best alternative is to fly into Anchorage and rent a car and even then I do not think that you have a enough time.

 

DON

Edited December 16, 2016 by donaldsc

[nasa1974]

I would suggest a cruisetour where you can spend up to 10 days touring between Anchorage and Fairbanks with stops in Mt. McKinley NP and Denali NP. Then take a 7 day cruise of the Inner Passage from Whitter to Vancouver. Alaska was our very first cruise and we did the land portion first and this is what I would recommend. The land portion is a bit hectic going to and from the lodges by bus and train. Traveling out of your suitcase for a few days. But then once you get on the ship you unpack kick back and relax for a week of outstanding beauty. The land portion you do have to pay for your meals and drinks.

[NancyIL]

I think that the best way to do AK is a combination of driving and the Marine Highway to get to places that you can't get to by land. A land DIY is much better than any cruise visit to AK. However, given the time that you have, it is not practical. Have you checked the distance from Vancouver to Anchorage on Google Maps. You do realize that it is 2195 miles from Vancouver to Anchorage which Google says will take 41 hours of driving and I think it will take more time than that. That is 41 hours of driving not counting sleeping, eating, etc.

 

Also, if Glacier Bay is a requirement, the only way that I can think of to do it is to fly or take the Marine Highway into Gustavus and take a tour from there which is just not practical given the amount of time that you have. I do not think that it is worth doing a land tour of AK unless you have at least a month. We did a 2 1/2 month driving tour which was about the right time.

 

Have you actually thought your 8 - 10 day driving plan through and realized how absurd it is.

 

As others have suggested, if you do not want to take a cruise, the best alternative is to fly into Anchorage and rent a car and even then I do not think that you have a enough time.

 

DON

A month for a land trip of Alaska would be great, but one can have quite a nice driving trip in Alaska with much less time. We did two post-cruise driving trips that were 9 nights each. We didn't get to Denali on the first one, and we spent the majority of our time in Anchorage on the second one (attending a church conference) before visiting Denali for 2 days. If I were planning just a land trip to Alaska, I would allow ~ 2 weeks to circle the interior. Longer is better, but it's hard enough to get people to stay even an extra day or two before or after their one-way cruises.

I would suggest a cruisetour where you can spend up to 10 days touring between Anchorage and Fairbanks with stops in Mt. McKinley NP and Denali NP. Then take a 7 day cruise of the Inner Passage from Whitter to Vancouver. Alaska was our very first cruise and we did the land portion first and this is what I would recommend. The land portion is a bit hectic going to and from the lodges by bus and train. Traveling out of your suitcase for a few days. But then once you get on the ship you unpack kick back and relax for a week of outstanding beauty. The land portion you do have to pay for your meals and drinks.

I like Princess's one-way itineraries, but I don't care for their cruisetours that stay at the McKinley Princess Lodge in the middle of nowhere. (The lodge is in Denali State Park.) If I were doing a cruisetour, I'd prefer one that stays in Talkeetna (RCI, Celebrity). Most of the Princess cruisetours also include the Natural History Tour at Denali instead of the longer (and better) Tundra Wilderness Tour.

[xlxo]

Here's another viewpoint.....

• Google Maps states it takes 31 hours to drive non stop from Vancouver to Skagway . Most would want to drive the 1550 miles over 3 to 5 days.... ONE WAY.
  
• Cruise ships will have you sightseeing in 2 or 3 days.
  
• Ferry will also take 2 or 3 days.
  
• Ferry will allow you to see more ports.... http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/routes.shtml
  https://bookamhs.alaska.gov/book/journey/journeySearch/
  

I'm not suggesting the ferry... but I'm not suggesting 2 weeks of driving either. I do want to present options to the OP to explore/compare.

 

There's also HAL's Yukon Denali option where you travel between Skagway and Central Alaska without a boat.

Edited December 16, 2016 by xlxo

[donaldsc]

Having done the land trip more that I ever wanted to I can say that once would be just great. The secret is finding another way out of Alaska without back tracking.

So its flying:... What do you do with your car or rental ?

Ferry:.... way to hard on the budget. But a much much better experience of viewing the inside passage.

Back Tracking: to at least the Stewart Cassiar Hwy (#37 in BC) and then backing tracking even more again from Prince George south.

 

But you would have seen some of the greatest country in the World.

 

That is sort of what we did on our 2 1/2 month trip except that we ferried our way south stopping at landlocked towns for a day or so. We put our car on the ferry which was expensive but the best option. We got off the ferry at Prince Rupert and drove the rest of the way home.

 

The only way to see AK but you need lots of time and lots of money. We put 13,000 miles on the car on that trip.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

A month for a land trip of Alaska would be great, but one can have quite a nice driving trip in Alaska with much less time. We did two post-cruise driving trips that were 9 nights each. We didn't get to Denali on the first one, and we spent the majority of our time in Anchorage on the second one (attending a church conference) before visiting Denali for 2 days. If I were planning just a land trip to Alaska, I would allow ~ 2 weeks to circle the interior. Longer is better, but it's hard enough to get people to stay even an extra day or two before or after their one-way cruises.

I like Princess's one-way itineraries, but I don't care for their cruisetours that stay at the McKinley Princess Lodge in the middle of nowhere. (The lodge is in Denali State Park.) If I were doing a cruisetour, I'd prefer one that stays in Talkeetna (RCI, Celebrity). Most of the Princess cruisetours also include the Natural History Tour at Denali instead of the longer (and better) Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

You are saying essentially the same thing as I said except that I said to skip the cruise, fly to Anchorage and drive. So I basically agree with you.

 

The problem with cruising AND driving as you suggest which is a good idea is that the OP implies that he only has a total of 8-9 days so he can not do both.

 

DON

 

DON

[NancyIL]

You are saying essentially the same thing as I said except that I said to skip the cruise, fly to Anchorage and drive. So I basically agree with you.

 

The problem with cruising AND driving as you suggest which is a good idea is that the OP implies that he only has a total of 8-9 days so he can not do both.

 

DON

 

DON

 

You said that it wasn't worth doing a land tour unless you had a month. I said that one can do a decent land-only trip in the interior in ~2 weeks. I didn't suggest that the OP do a cruise plus land trip. However, since many who cruise one way don't want to spend any additional time in the interior, it's hard to encourage people to spend more than 2 weeks on a land-only trip.

[Flyer55]

You have limited options with a 10 day time constraint. You could take a 10 day cruisetour, and given flight times, tour first. It is a very long day flying to AK and depending on your time zone you lose several hours coming back. This will get you a quick sampling of interior AK and you'll have a opportunity to take some tours, knowing what your schedule is and that you have good accommodations.

 

You will gain time going so your first day won't be just a travel day if you can get into Anchorage on one of the early arriving flights. There is enough time to rent a car and explore Turagain Arm, even make a quick trip to Seward and back if you aren't too tired.

 

Alaska Tour and Travel has a number of land packages that you can customize to stay within time and budget constraints if you decide land only. They also have pre-cruise packages.

 

You mentioned Princess. Their SB trips are outstanding. We have taken the SB from Whittier (keeps you from having such a long flight home and then losing up to 4 hours of time on top of that) 3 times. The first time the itinerary included College Fjord and Glacier Bay. The last two times we went to Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. Skagway is a good place to rent a car and take a drive to Emerald Lake or Whitehorse. It is a long port day so you will have time to explore the town before or after. The White Pass and Yukon RR is probably a better option for one's first time to Skagway. We've gotten hooked on whale watching at Juneau. Ketchikan has a lot of decent tour options. A later flight out of Vancouver leaves time for a trip to Stanley Park or other tour.

 

We did a DYI land tour in 2014 before the SB cruise. The price of doing it yourself is comparable to a cruisetour, and we had total control over everything but the weather. Prepurchased tours, trains, and transfers were the only scheduled events. We controlled the mode of transportation, rail, boat, or road. There were no surprise room assignments requiring lugging bags up stairs and views of a parking lot instead of the beautiful river or mountains. We didn't get stuck on a cobbled together train that didn't include an upper level domed car with a viewing platform for taking pictures. We weren't "trapped at a proprietary resort with limited (and even more expensive than usual for AK) dining options. We knew exactly what we were getting and went where our interests were. It is more work in the planning, but IMO, well worth it.

 

FWIW, you could do worse than flying into Anchorage and renting a car, staying the Inn at Whittier, and spending three days exploring the Kenai. I believe there is a car rental at Whittier and you can get there by bus or train, but if you rent in Anchorage you'll have to return the car and get a transfer back to Whittier. You might have time to do that and still do a Prince William Sound glacier and wildlife tour the day you sail.

[Boatsafloat2]

There's a wealth of information in these posts. Thanks to all who wrote. It will come in handy for our 2017 trip and most likely the 2018 one.