Oh my gosh are they nuts?

[CajunCamper]

My wife , son and I are flying in to Anchorage in June for 10 days of whale watching, fishing for King Salmon, and camping in Denali National Park. The plan was that we would spend a few days in Anchorage without a car and then rent a car for 4 days, pick up loaner camping gear from our friends parents that live just outside of Anchorage and camp in Denali. Well I went online today to rent that car and the smallest car they have which has a four cylinder rents for $90 a day. Are you kidding me? I checked with them all and they're all $86 to $96 dollars a day for an economy car and a small Suv is $169 a day.

Well after picking myself up off the floor, I started looking for alternatives. To catch the train from Anchorage to Denali would cost $780 roundtrip and then your up there with no vehicle....that's not an option, so I looked at catching a bus from Anchorage to Denali and that was $540 rountrip and still left without a vehicle...again not an option.

Then I thought alright let me see what a motorhome rents for. So I found a company that will rent a 22 foot Coachman motorhome to me for $150 a day with unlimited mileage. Well it cost more than the economy car and will burn more gas, but the comfort of traveling in the motorhome versus the economy car is a no brainer well worth the extra cash. And then, it's less expensive than the SUV and more comfortable as well. The motorhome will also get us off the ground in the campground while giving my wife a comfort barrier between us and those grizzly bears she's so worried about.

I'm pumped.

[austinado16]

Hey, welcome to how things are done in Alaska.  Remember to bring your own food, because if you think their grocery store prices are jacked, wait 'til you see what food goes out in BFE.

[dthurk]

My parents made a trip to Alaska several years ago.  The drove to Seattle from New York State and took a ferry into Alaska, then drove back home through Canada.

Had you considered taking your car and maybe your camper on the ferry?  I have no idea what the ferry rates may be, but what with flight costs and vehicle rental costs your already looking to spend, it may be price effective to have your own equipment there.

[flyfisherman]

The time factor kinda limits one's options. I've heard that ferry trip up the Inside Passage is fabulious anf that's what I've wanted to do for some time. But I had to settle for flying, too, mostly because of high gas prices. Plus I was a guest at a friend's home and they had a full two week itinerary planned for me, including transportation being provided. When I lay down after a full day's adventure, I passed out from exhaustion! And I got to see lots of bears! Those big brown bears and lots of the blacks, too ... there is no shortage of bears in alaska!

That motorhome sounds like a good idea. I did get to see a couple of NFS campgrounds (they were next to streams we were fishing) and I was surprised to see the number of tents ... even a couple of popups. But they were mostly clustered together and I did note some had one of those hog-legged .44 magnums on their hips. Came across one guy while fishing that had a short barreled (folding stock) shotgun across his back! In my case had a bear ever come after me I would have given him (her?) a good switching with my fly rod!(LOL) --- But I did see the biggest bear I've ever seen in my life, ANYWHERE, while we were hiking to a remote lake that was just full of cutthroat trout.

Bottom line is that trip to Alaska was my trip of a lifetime. I've never seen such spectacular country nor have I ever experienced such spendors as two humpback whales surfacing right next to our boat while we were deep fishing for salmon in the sound. Nor did I ever see before a bald headed eagle dive no more than maybe fifty feet in front of me while fishing a stream and snatch a fish right out of the water. Nor have I ever caught so many fish ... BIG fish ... in such a short period of time. I never thought I'd see the day that I would have to sit on the river bank and put the fly rod down because my arms were so tired of fighting those fish. What an experience.



Fly

[CajunCamper]

My parents made a trip to Alaska several years ago.  The drove to Seattle from New York State and took a ferry into Alaska, then drove back home through Canada.

Had you considered taking your car and maybe your camper on the ferry?  I have no idea what the ferry rates may be, but what with flight costs and vehicle rental costs your already looking to spend, it may be price effective to have your own equipment there.

My first choice would be to drive and tow my pup, unfortunatly I don't have the time to do it like I would want to. Perhaps one day, time will not be an issue.

[CajunCamper]

I did a quick calculation on taking the Ferry from Washington and the roundtrip for the 3 of us along with the tow vehicle and pup would cost about $4500 and then we would still have to drive hundreds of miles to get to where we need to be.

[coach]

First on I checked had a surburban for 119/day, $30/day for economy

try

http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/alaska.htm

[dthurk]

I did a quick calculation on taking the Ferry from Washington and the roundtrip for the 3 of us along with the tow vehicle and pup would cost about $4500 and then we would still have to drive hundreds of miles to get to where we need to be.

Rather pricey, more than I expected to see.  Oh well.  I'd look for alternatives myself.  Sounds like an Alaskan cruise would be cheaper.  You probably wouldn't get to see the things you want to see on a cruise, though.  

It would make for a great trip, though.  More time and money than I've got available right now.  Hope you make it.  Have a great trip.

[wavery]

That's about what we paid to rent a 22' Class-C motorhome in 1982  :confused:  to do that same trip. I thought that was a good deal back then (27 years ago).