Alaska by LAND or SEA?

[BlondeBookworm]

My husband and I (early 30s, no kids) are looking to plan an Alaskan trip for the first time. We like to explore and have rented cars and cruised before so trying to figure out what would be the best way to get the most out of an Alaskan trip. Based on reading tons of posts here, I've learned:

1. You can't see everything in one trip unless you can stay for a few weeks
2. Prioritize what you want to see
3. Be aware of how much time is spent in each port when planning
4. Alaska will be amazing and I am excited

 

I share these things as a precursor to my question - do you suggest a land tour (on your own or book with guides), a sea trip (cruise with either RC, Holland America, or Viking), or one of the cruisetours that do land and sea? We've been working on a budget and have cruised in the past, but I worry that RC ships are too big to see some cool things, but I've never been on smaller ships. I've also seen some people in this board discuss the benefits of doing strictly a land tour and renting a vehicle, which we are open to. 

 

Any feedback/advice you have for us would be appreciated!

[donaldsc]

First of all, you left out two things on your list -

5. Distances are greater than you think and 

6.  It will take you longer to get there than you think or how much time Google says it will take               especially as they only have a limited season to  do road construction and you will encounter construction delays.  Also, I guarantee that you will get stuck in a long line behind a slow moving RV.

 

Now to answer your question.  We have done AK all 3 ways - by ship w and w/o an added DIY land tour but never on a cruisetour; on a small <100 passenger ship and on an extended 3 month DIY driving trip.  For us and I have to admit that I prefer DIY land trips to cruises, I would rank the cruises a distant 3d and the small ships and extended land trips a tie for 1st.  You can't go too far wrong w any AK but the experiences on the other 2 options were much much better.  The 2 options that are tied for 1st were completely different but also completely wonderful.

 

The nice thing about AK small boat cruises is that you get into places that you don't get into with an oversized large ship.  When you get to the smaller place, you will get much more of a local experience than you could ever get on a large ship.  Also, if you are here and the captain is told that there is something really neat over there, he will up anchor and go there to let you see it.  This will not happen on one of the Monstrosities of the Seas ships.  Granted that the amenities on a small ship are much less but you will get good food, a close relationship with ship staff and a close relationship with your fellow passengers.

 

Now for the DIY land trip.  We did a ~3 month driving trip.  On that 3 months driving from Las Vegas, we put ~10,000 miles on the car.  Even w 3 months, we did had to skip some places that I really wanted to visit.  After spending 3 months in the car w my wife, we were still talking to each other.  If you only have a few weeks for your trip there is no way that you can see all of AK or even most of it.  You will have to pick a few interesting areas and concentrate on them and ignore the rest.  Also some areas such as Ketchikan or Juneau are only accessible by water.  Two ways of seeing them would be to fly from mainland AK to these cities and rent a car there or to put your vehicle on one of the Alaska Marine Highway ferries to get to the cities. We did the ferry option but we then spent 4 or 5 days in each of the cities and you probably don't have the time for that so you have to pick your spots and forgo the rest of AK if you want to do a DIY land trip.

 

This was sort of long winded but I hope that it helps.

 

DON

[SuperCrewBear]

I knew we wanted to see as much of Alaska as possible too - Alaska really is too much for just one trip.  What we ended up doing is taking a 10-day cruise that started in Vancouver and ended back in Seattle.  We had an awesome time!  How I picked our particular cruise was deciding on the stops we definitely wanted to make and then found a cruise that included those locations (Glacier Bay and Sitka was our primary focus) - I think there was two cruises to choose from at the time that worked for us.  What we decided to do was the cruise one year and the next year we flew to Anchorage for another two weeks of a DIY road trip.  I think we drove something like 1,500-2,000 miles - basically as far south as Homer and as far north as Coldfoot Camp.  There is something to see practically any direction you look - prepare for many random stops that will make a 150 mile trip take most of a day.  We decided if there was anything that slightly interested us along the way that we'd make a stop. We made a LOT of stops!  The pre-packaged land tours are too restrictive for my taste - I don't like the idea of whizzing past everything in a big bus and then being herded through the different sites.  Alaska is very easy to navigate but you've got to allow plenty of time because distances are definitely deceiving plus all of the stops you'll probably want to make.  It's been a few years since that first cruise and multiple other trips that now includes my own place in Anchorage. I love Alaska!  Good luck!

[donaldsc]

26 minutes ago, SuperCrewBear said:

I knew we wanted to see as much of Alaska as possible too - Alaska really is too much for just one trip.  What we ended up doing is taking a 10-day cruise that started in Vancouver and ended back in Seattle.  We had an awesome time!  How I picked our particular cruise was deciding on the stops we definitely wanted to make and then found a cruise that included those locations (Glacier Bay and Sitka was our primary focus) - I think there was two cruises to choose from at the time that worked for us.  What we decided to do was the cruise one year and the next year we flew to Anchorage for another two weeks of a DIY road trip.  I think we drove something like 1,500-2,000 miles - basically as far south as Homer and as far north as Coldfoot Camp.  There is something to see practically any direction you look - prepare for many random stops that will make a 150 mile trip take most of a day.  We decided if there was anything that slightly interested us along the way that we'd make a stop. We made a LOT of stops!  The pre-packaged land tours are too restrictive for my taste - I don't like the idea of whizzing past everything in a big bus and then being herded through the different sites.  Alaska is very easy to navigate but you've got to allow plenty of time because distances are definitely deceiving plus all of the stops you'll probably want to make.  It's been a few years since that first cruise and multiple other trips that now includes my own place in Anchorage. I love Alaska!  Good luck!

 

I will bet that we have been to a place in AK that almost no CCers have been to or even heard of - Hyder AK.  Look it up on a map.  It is the only town in southern AK that you can drive to or at least you could drive to it until Canada closed down.  You get there through Stewart Canada.  On the way back from our long driving trip in AK, my wife found the place on a map and even though it was a couple of hundred miles out of the way, we visited Hyder.  Look them up on Wikipedia.  It is a neat place w a population of about 100 people that is totally isolated from the rest of the US.  

 

That is one of the wonders of driving trips. You make totally ridiculous silly choices that end up being great.  I doubt that any tours take you to Hyder.

 

DON

[oaktreerb]

How much time do you have?  If you do only a land tour you can experience a lot of what is special about Alaska.  Glaciers calving (Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour) out of Seward, walking on a glacier outside of Anchorage.  Wildlife in several locations including the Wildlife Conservation Center between Seward and Anchorage and the Sealife Center in Seward.  Spend several days in the Seward area and Turnagain Arm.  There is a native heritage center in Anchorage.  You can drive to Denali and plan a minimum of two nights there.   You could return to Anchorage if you want to cruise back to Vancouver.  

 

Start researching.  A driving tour would probably be the most fun for early 30 year olds.  Be sure the driving tour includes a drive to Homer with an overnight.  You could easily spend two weeks!

Edited July 14, 2021 by oaktreerb

[TMLAalum]

We've done both a DIY land tour and a r/t Seattle cruise. As much as we enjoy cruising and have a second r/t Seattle cruise coming up in just about 8 weeks, the better experience for us was our land trip.

 

Flew to Anchorage and spent 1 night in an airport hotel, rented a car, drove to Seward for a couple nights with stops at Portage Glacier and Aleyska and took a Kenai Fjords boat trip, drove back up to board the auto-train to Whittier, from there sailed the Alaska Marine Highway to Valdez, up the Richardson Hwy to Paxton and from there the Denali Hwy to outside the park for a night. 2 nights at North Face Lodge by Wonder Lake in the interior of Denali, back down for a night at the rustic Hatcher Pass Lodge, a couple of nights in Soldotna with day trip to Homer before heading back to Anchorage and flying out. 

 

You might want to check out the Alaska Marine Hwy ferry system although their schedule can be wonky to figure out stops and timing.

 

If you do decide a cruise is for you, consider using Tours by Locals or other private excursion providers. Join your sailings roll call, too to meet other like-minded independent cruisers. Even though DH & I are "seniors" we've had 30 somethings join us for a guided climb up the Mediterranean Steps in Gibraltar and in taking the public bus from La Spezia to Portovenere in Italy, where we took the 3-island boat tour, hiked and had a great lunch together.

 

[Gardyloo]

The choices you're facing are not uncommon, and I'd emphasize the points you make in your post:

 

1. You can't see everything in one trip unless you can stay for a few weeks.

2. Prioritize what you want to see.

 

I'd amend point no. 1 by simply removing the bold/italic words.  You can't see everything in one trip - period.

 

First, organized cruises, even the "small boat" (big price) ones only touch upon some of the sights in the Inside Passage and southeast Alaska region.  It's too big and generally sailing schedules only allow a few port calls, often in towns where multiple ships will tie up on the same day, with passenger and crew totals that can even exceed the towns' populations (most common in Skagway.)

 

Second, even the road system in southcentral and interior Alaska is very limited compared to the size of the state.  While road-tripping in Alaska is terrific, getting off the road system - in the air or on a ship - will reveal the vastness in ways you can't see from a car or a bus or a train's windows.

 

Which brings us back to point no. 2.  Only through considerable research and evaluation of your priorities can you come up with an "ideal" plan, but you still need to refer back to point no. 1.  

 

What takes your fancy?  Mountains?  Glaciers?  Marine mammals?  Birds?  Bears?  Russian-American or Native Alaskan culture and history?  Gold rush towns?  Fishing?  Archeology?  Midnight sun or Northern Lights?  Are you foodies, hikers, geocaching addicts?  Photographers?

 

I'm not trying to confuse the subject or overwhelm you with choices, only to suggest that for a first trip you might want to get a snapshot of various aspects of Alaska that you could use - if inclined - to hone your plans for your second (or third, or tenth...) visit.  

 

If it was me (and it most certainly is NOT) I'd maybe look at some combination of activities.  For example, a one-way cruise to Alaska from Vancouver to either Seward or Whittier (not possible this year, hopefully easy by next) would show you a snapshot view of SE Alaska including some of the main towns.  

 

Then spend a week or two with a car touring various parts of the road system - the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Denali, etc., seeing sights like Denali and the Kenai Fjords, maybe a Prince William Sound glacier cruise, some hikes or historic sites visits.  

 

Then maybe get on a plane and visit some bush community, maybe one like Kotzebue above the arctic circle or historic Nome with its gold mining heritage (as well as some roads out into the Seward Peninsula bush) or maybe Kodiak with its Russian and Native heritage as well as its vibrant fishing community and, oh yeah, some big beasts out there.  You could do a three-day (or so) visit so someplace that would reveal a part of Alaska not seen by all that many visitors.  

 

But that's just me.  Refer back to point no. 2.  

[diesel1973]

I have been going to Alaska for over 25 years. The first time I snowmachined (snowmobiled) along the Iditarod race for 10 days. Loved it!(-50 F) Next summer went up there fishing. Found out that some distant relatives had a place up there. Been flying up there at first for 2 wks. weeks a year and now go for 6-7 wks . Have traveled quite a bit up there and still manage to see something new every year. Have never cruised up here but have done some ferry trips. Am up here now for 7 wks.( 3 wks. left) and am just loving it. Was planning to drive up one way from Oregon last year but Covid hit. Still on my bucket list. If you do plan on coming up here alot as much time as possible as there is much to see.  

[Ashland]

If you only have a week no reason not to consider a northbound cruise for your first trip. That will give you a look and the encouragement to come back. We love the RCI ships Vancouver-Seward.

[BlondeBookworm]

Hi all! 

 

Thanks for your feedback so far. To answer a few questions that came up, here are the answers (I didn't know how to edit the original post):

 

1. For our timeline, we were thinking either 10-14 days, whether that is on our own or on a cruise. 

2. We've been to Russia so the Russian architecture and things don't interest us as much.

3. We would love to hike and sightsee in nature more than museums. Open to exciting adventure ideas, too!

4. Glaciers are definitely on my list but I'm open to which ones are the 'best' or recommended to see from people who have been there.

4. My husband loves local food so I'm sure a chunk of the budget will go towards interesting food places. 

[alasbound]

19 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I will bet that we have been to a place in AK that almost no CCers have been to or even heard of - Hyder AK.  Look it up on a map.  It is the only town in southern AK that you can drive to or at least you could drive to it until Canada closed down.  You get there through Stewart Canada.  On the way back from our long driving trip in AK, my wife found the place on a map and even though it was a couple of hundred miles out of the way, we visited Hyder.  Look them up on Wikipedia.  It is a neat place w a population of about 100 people that is totally isolated from the rest of the US.  

 

That is one of the wonders of driving trips. You make totally ridiculous silly choices that end up being great.  I doubt that any tours take you to Hyder.

 

DON

Hyder has been very much on my radar because of the bear viewing!  I ended up going to Katmai but I thought Hyder seemed like an interesting place in addition to the chance to see bears!

[donaldsc]

11 minutes ago, alasbound said:

Hyder has been very much on my radar because of the bear viewing!  I ended up going to Katmai but I thought Hyder seemed like an interesting place in addition to the chance to see bears!

 

When we were at Hyder,  we were too early for bear viewing so we only saw a few of them.  However, we have been to Anan 3 times and saw .lots of bears.  We are maybe going to AK next summer and are thinking about Brooks Falls.  Any thoughts on that idea.

 

DON

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, BlondeBookworm said:

Hi all! 

 

Thanks for your feedback so far. To answer a few questions that came up, here are the answers (I didn't know how to edit the original post):

 

1. For our timeline, we were thinking either 10-14 days, whether that is on our own or on a cruise. 

2. We've been to Russia so the Russian architecture and things don't interest us as much.

3. We would love to hike and sightsee in nature more than museums. Open to exciting adventure ideas, too!

4. Glaciers are definitely on my list but I'm open to which ones are the 'best' or recommended to see from people who have been there.

4. My husband loves local food so I'm sure a chunk of the budget will go towards interesting food places. 

The three dots in the upper right corner of your post are for editing (just click)...however you only have a short amount of time to do this.

[alasbound]

1 minute ago, donaldsc said:

 

When we were at Hyder,  we were too early for bear viewing so we only saw a few of them.  However, we have been to Anan 3 times and saw .lots of bears.  We are maybe going to AK next summer and are thinking about Brooks Falls.  Any thoughts on that idea.

 

DON

I only did a day trip and it was amazing!  I still want to go back and stay there.  I know that sometimes day trippers miss the trip due to weather, so having extra days available could be beneficial.  I'm addicted to the Explore webcams!

[RSF Cruiser]

Like the others, we've been to Alaska multiple times and have done cruise only, cruise plus land, and land only. My favorite trip was the land one, which was done after we had done a cruise-land trip and cruise only trip. We went for about 2.5 weeks, and it must have taken me at least a year to plan it. I started out thinking we'd be gone two weeks, but my research included so many "must do" things, we extended the trip for a few days. Think of a cruise - no matter what type - as an introduction to Alaska. After taking several cruises and cruise-land trips, I knew I wanted to do a land only trip so I could focus on things I couldn't on a cruise. I searched these boards and the internet, and here's what we did: 1) flew into Juneau and stayed four or five nights. We went hiking and did dog sledding, whale watching, and a boat ride to Tracy Arm. We toured the Alaska Brewery and Mendenhall Glacier (did some short hikes at the glacier). Drove to the end of the road and spent a few hours at Shrine of St Theresa. I love Juneau. 2) from Juneau we flew into Glacier Bay National Park and stayed two nights. We took the National Parks boat ride to Glacier Bay and hiked the trails near the hotel in the park. 3) flew from Glacier Bay National Park to Anchorage, where we spent the night near the airport. We left some of our luggage at the hotel since we stopped for an overnight in Anchorage after Katmai. Then we flew to Katmai for two nights. Now that was an incredible experience. As mentioned, once the day trippers leave, you have the park to yourself. We were there mid July and the salmon (and bears) were plentiful! We also went to Land of the Thousand Smokes. Katmai was a highlight of the trip. 4) After we flew back to Anchorage we rented a car and drove to Seward, where we stayed for two nights. We stopped at Alyeska on the way and took the lift to the top of the ski slope and hiked a bit. We also stopped along the way at anything that looked interesting to us. In Seward we hiked to the Harding Icefields, visited Exit Glacier, and took the six hour boat ride where we saw magnificent calving glaciers. 5). After Seward we drove to Talkeetna where we took a plane ride to Denali. We were to land on the Ruth glacier, but due to weather that didn't happen. It was still an incredible excursion. We also visited the Talkeetna cemetery and monument to those who perished on Denali. We even got to see Denali in all her glory for about 90 minutes. On the way to Denali we stopped at the musk ox farm, Eklutna Historical Park, Hatcher Mine, and stopped at the sled dog place in Wasilla. 6) We went back to Anchorage to drop off our car and flew to Barrow for two nights. In Barrow we walked around town a lot, watched the midnight sun march across the sky (yes, we stayed up all night), and took a tour from two local men who drove us all over the area. We had an ambitious trip, and didn't do everything we wanted to since we really didn't want to be gone longer. The trip was for my milestone birthday, so I read everything I could and kept a spreadsheet to figure out what I wanted to do. As I found new must do's, I either extended the trip of eliminated something. No, you can not do everything in one trip - you can't everything in multiple trips! My interests are mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, sea life, and hiking. There are tons of resources online to help you decide what are your priorities. I read trip reports, looked at photos and videos to decide where I wanted to go. If you are adventurous, I strongly recommend doing the trip on your own and not with a tour operator. Our trip was complex, and with my planning, everything proceeded without a hitch. Hope my summary helps you. Think of going to Alaska as a multi-year plan 🙂

[donaldsc]

15 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

Like the others, we've been to Alaska multiple times and have done cruise only, cruise plus land, and land only. My favorite trip was the land one, which was done after we had done a cruise-land trip and cruise only trip. We went for about 2.5 weeks, and it must have taken me at least a year to plan it. I started out thinking we'd be gone two weeks, but my research included so many "must do" things, we extended the trip for a few days. Think of a cruise - no matter what type - as an introduction to Alaska. After taking several cruises and cruise-land trips, I knew I wanted to do a land only trip so I could focus on things I couldn't on a cruise. I searched these boards and the internet, and here's what we did: 1) flew into Juneau and stayed four or five nights. We went hiking and did dog sledding, whale watching, and a boat ride to Tracy Arm. We toured the Alaska Brewery and Mendenhall Glacier (did some short hikes at the glacier). Drove to the end of the road and spent a few hours at Shrine of St Theresa. I love Juneau. 2) from Juneau we flew into Glacier Bay National Park and stayed two nights. We took the National Parks boat ride to Glacier Bay and hiked the trails near the hotel in the park. 3) flew from Glacier Bay National Park to Anchorage, where we spent the night near the airport. We left some of our luggage at the hotel since we stopped for an overnight in Anchorage after Katmai. Then we flew to Katmai for two nights. Now that was an incredible experience. As mentioned, once the day trippers leave, you have the park to yourself. We were there mid July and the salmon (and bears) were plentiful! We also went to Land of the Thousand Smokes. Katmai was a highlight of the trip. 4) After we flew back to Anchorage we rented a car and drove to Seward, where we stayed for two nights. We stopped at Alyeska on the way and took the lift to the top of the ski slope and hiked a bit. We also stopped along the way at anything that looked interesting to us. In Seward we hiked to the Harding Icefields, visited Exit Glacier, and took the six hour boat ride where we saw magnificent calving glaciers. 5). After Seward we drove to Talkeetna where we took a plane ride to Denali. We were to land on the Ruth glacier, but due to weather that didn't happen. It was still an incredible excursion. We also visited the Talkeetna cemetery and monument to those who perished on Denali. We even got to see Denali in all her glory for about 90 minutes. On the way to Denali we stopped at the musk ox farm, Eklutna Historical Park, Hatcher Mine, and stopped at the sled dog place in Wasilla. 6) We went back to Anchorage to drop off our car and flew to Barrow for two nights. In Barrow we walked around town a lot, watched the midnight sun march across the sky (yes, we stayed up all night), and took a tour from two local men who drove us all over the area. We had an ambitious trip, and didn't do everything we wanted to since we really didn't want to be gone longer. The trip was for my milestone birthday, so I read everything I could and kept a spreadsheet to figure out what I wanted to do. As I found new must do's, I either extended the trip of eliminated something. No, you can not do everything in one trip - you can't everything in multiple trips! My interests are mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, sea life, and hiking. There are tons of resources online to help you decide what are your priorities. I read trip reports, looked at photos and videos to decide where I wanted to go. If you are adventurous, I strongly recommend doing the trip on your own and not with a tour operator. Our trip was complex, and with my planning, everything proceeded without a hitch. Hope my summary helps you. Think of going to Alaska as a multi-year plan 🙂

 

I know that we are not supposed to criticize the appearance of a post and your post was very interesting.  However, it would have been much easier to read and more people would read it if you used paragraphs.

 

DON

[RSF Cruiser]

Thanks - I was being lazy... Here's the post with paragraphs ( I was too late to edit the post so I copy and pasted it) 🙂

 

Like the others, we've been to Alaska multiple times and have done cruise only, cruise plus land, and land only. My favorite trip was the land one, which was done after we had done a cruise-land trip and cruise only trip. We went for about 2.5 weeks, and it must have taken me at least a year to plan it. I started out thinking we'd be gone two weeks, but my research included so many "must do" things, we extended the trip for a few days. Think of a cruise - no matter what type - as an introduction to Alaska. After taking several cruises and cruise-land trips, I knew I wanted to do a land only trip so I could focus on things I couldn't on a cruise.

 

I searched these boards and the internet, and here's what we did:

 

1) flew into Juneau and stayed four or five nights. We went hiking and did dog sledding, whale watching, and a boat ride to Tracy Arm. We toured the Alaska Brewery and Mendenhall Glacier (did some short hikes at the glacier). Drove to the end of the road and spent a few hours at Shrine of St Theresa. I love Juneau.

 

2) from Juneau we flew into Glacier Bay National Park and stayed two nights. We took the National Parks boat ride to Glacier Bay and hiked the trails near the hotel in the park.

 

3) flew from Glacier Bay National Park to Anchorage, where we spent the night near the airport. We left some of our luggage at the hotel since we stopped for an overnight in Anchorage after Katmai. Then we flew to Katmai for two nights. Now that was an incredible experience. As mentioned, once the day trippers leave, you have the park to yourself. We were there mid July and the salmon (and bears) were plentiful! We also went to Land of the Thousand Smokes. Katmai was a highlight of the trip.

 

4) After we flew back to Anchorage we rented a car and drove to Seward, where we stayed for two nights. We stopped at Alyeska on the way and took the lift to the top of the ski slope and hiked a bit. We also stopped along the way at anything that looked interesting to us. In Seward we hiked to the Harding Icefields, visited Exit Glacier, and took the six hour boat ride where we saw magnificent calving glaciers.

 

5). After Seward we drove to Talkeetna where we took a plane ride to Denali. We were to land on the Ruth glacier, but due to weather that didn't happen. It was still an incredible excursion. We also visited the Talkeetna cemetery and monument to those who perished on Denali. We even got to see Denali in all her glory for about 90 minutes. On the way to Denali we stopped at the musk ox farm, Eklutna Historical Park, Hatcher Mine, and stopped at the sled dog place in Wasilla.

 

6) We went back to Anchorage to drop off our car and flew to Barrow for two nights. In Barrow we walked around town a lot, watched the midnight sun march across the sky (yes, we stayed up all night), and took a tour from two local men who drove us all over the area.

 

We had an ambitious trip, and didn't do everything we wanted to since we really didn't want to be gone longer.

 

The trip was for my milestone birthday, so I read everything I could and kept a spreadsheet to figure out what I wanted to do. As I found new must do's, I either extended the trip of eliminated something. No, you can not do everything in one trip - you can't do everything in multiple trips!

 

My interests are mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, sea life, and hiking. There are tons of resources online to help you decide what are your priorities. I read trip reports, looked at photos and videos to decide where I wanted to go. If you are adventurous, I strongly recommend doing the trip on your own and not with a tour operator. Our trip was complex, and with my planning, everything proceeded without a hitch. Hope my summary helps you. Think of going to Alaska as a multi-year plan 🙂

Edited July 14, 2021 by RSF Cruiser

[SuperCrewBear]

On 7/14/2021 at 6:25 PM, donaldsc said:

 

I know that we are not supposed to criticize the appearance of a post and your post was very interesting.  However, it would have been much easier to read and more people would read it if you used paragraphs.

 

DON

They why do you KEEP doing it? 👎

[donaldsc]

6 hours ago, SuperCrewBear said:

They why do you KEEP doing it? 👎

 

I almost never do it even though I see lots of posts that are full of errors.  However, this was a case where a very excellent post with lots of useful information was very hard to read and many people would not bother to read it for that reason.  Apparently RFS Cruiser did not find a problem with my suggestion and he fixed the problem - see post #17.  You do have to admit that the modified post is worth reading and is much easier to read.

 

DON

[GTJ]

From a broad perspective, a "land tour" and a "sea trip" are mutually exclusive. Practically speaking, there are no roads in southeastern Alaska, and the only real choice for travel is by sea. (Both the extreme south end and north end of the panhandle are accessible by road--Hyder, Haines, and Skagway--everything in-between is reached by sea.) So I see the fundamental choice being not so much a choice of transportation mode, but rather the choice of geography will dictate the transportation mode. If the desired geographic coverage is large, then you might have to go by both land and by sea.

[GTJ]

On 7/13/2021 at 9:06 PM, donaldsc said:

I will bet that we have been to a place in AK that almost no CCers have been to or even heard of - Hyder AK.  Look it up on a map.  It is the only town in southern AK that you can drive to or at least you could drive to it until Canada closed down.

 

Hyder is entirely dependent on Canada for all of its services--groceries and EMS included--and its economy runs on Canadian dollars, so I cannot imagine that commerce has not continued between Hyder and Stewart, even in the face of an official closing of the border. (I don't believe that there has been a Berlin-type airlift going on to supply Hyder!) In years past I remember the Alaska Marine Highway stopping in Hyder, but that has been gone for some time now. So other than the twice-weekly 6-passenger floatplanes (de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft) operated by Taquan Air to and from Ketchikan, there's no outlet from Hyder other through Canada.

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

 

Hyder is entirely dependent on Canada for all of its services--groceries and EMS included--and its economy runs on Canadian dollars, so I cannot imagine that commerce has not continued between Hyder and Stewart, even in the face of an official closing of the border. (I don't believe that there has been a Berlin-type airlift going on to supply Hyder!) In years past I remember the Alaska Marine Highway stopping in Hyder, but that has been gone for some time now. So other than the twice-weekly 6-passenger floatplanes (de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft) operated by Taquan Air to and from Ketchikan, there's no outlet from Hyder other through Canada.

 

Check this link out - https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/11/02/canadas-relaxes-covid-19-border-rules-for-alaskans-in-hyder/.  Specifically this part -  

 

"But on October 30 the Canadian government announced a number of exceptions to strict 14-day quarantine rules for a number of border towns, including Hyder which is separated from the rest of Alaska by mountain peaks and open water.

“There is a lot more freedom of movement across the border, but it is not completely open for locals to go back and forth,” said Jennifer Jean, a Hyder resident and co-chair of the Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, B.C. COVID-19 Action Committee. It’s spearheading the effort to reopen the border and attracted support from elected officials on both sides of the border.

She says crossings will be limited for “necessities” like groceries, fuel, firewood or helping out family members in need.

Recreation and socializing doesn’t qualify."

 

DON

[AKStafford]

On 7/13/2021 at 2:01 PM, BlondeBookworm said:

1. You can't see everything in one trip unless you can stay for a few weeks

I've been here 40 years and have lived and traveled all over the state. I still feel like I'm barely scratching the surface...

[GTJ]

18 hours ago, donaldsc said:

"But on October 30 the Canadian government announced a number of exceptions to strict 14-day quarantine rules for a number of border towns, including Hyder which is separated from the rest of Alaska by mountain peaks and open water. * * *"

 

A set of practical exceptions for a place like Hyder! I am familiar with the cited locations, and can add a few more that arguably should be part of the list for one reason or another: Point Roberts, Washington; Estcourt, Maine; Akwesasne, Québec; Machias Seal Island, Maine or New Brunswick (sovereignty disputed by United States and Canada); St-Pierre et Miquelon, France; and a few specific real properties that span the international border (e.g., Aroostook Valley Country Club in Maine and New Brunswick, Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Vermont and Québec, White Pass Route summit turn-back loop in Alaska and British Columbia). Each one of these places in interesting in its own right, and I would encourage anyone to read up on them.

[donaldsc]

50 minutes ago, GTJ said:

 

A set of practical exceptions for a place like Hyder! I am familiar with the cited locations, and can add a few more that arguably should be part of the list for one reason or another: Point Roberts, Washington; Estcourt, Maine; Akwesasne, Québec; Machias Seal Island, Maine or New Brunswick (sovereignty disputed by United States and Canada); St-Pierre et Miquelon, France; and a few specific real properties that span the international border (e.g., Aroostook Valley Country Club in Maine and New Brunswick, Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Vermont and Québec, White Pass Route summit turn-back loop in Alaska and British Columbia). Each one of these places in interesting in its own right, and I would encourage anyone to read up on them.

 

Been to St-Pierre on a Holland American cruise.  A really neat place that is totally French in every way.

 

DON