Have you been to Alaska?

[Voortrekker]

Hi, All...

My wife and I are thinking of doing an Alaska caravan trip for our 50th anniversary. We'd love to hear from anyone who's done one. Good things...bad things...what to avoid, etc. Please include the name of the company you chose. Thanks....

Voor

[JLeising]

We went in 2013. Great trip! See this thread for our and other's trip comments:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...way-39732.html
The referenced Iowa-to-Alaska thread is very informative.
We did not use a company. Planned, made reservations (for ferry and Denali only) and went. We traveled "early" in the season - May and June - no issues with campsite availability at that time.

[CAT-RN]

Ought check out BamaBob thread on here. I think he is working on a group of Forest River owners going ?? Should be under F.R.O.G Caravan to Alaska 2018

Russell

[spock123]

We are taking the trip in 16, just plan on taking our time. We plan to cross the border sometime around June the 15th. We hope to come back the middle of September


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[Jerry Dixon]

I was thinking about driving to Anchorage and then ferry my motorhome back to Seattle to save gas, but then found out that the ferry costs twice as much as the gas would. Bummer.

[robsshots]

Yup, been to Alaska, would kill to go back there again. Wife won't make the trip. Too far…
It truly is the last frontier. Wild like no other place. All the adjectives apply in abundance: jaw-dropping, breathtaking, etc etc etc.

As far as the traveling, we went in mid-August to avoid all possibility of large amounts of bugs. Everything in Alaska is big, including the bugs. Took four days from Whistler up. If I was to do it again would likely take 6 days, because the scenery is simply too gorgeous and so many neat towns to stop in and poke around. Talking to locals is entertainment in and of itself. No problems with gas/diesel or places to stay. Some are "rustic" but who cares? You are in paradise.

We visited Haines to take a plane over to Glacier Bay National Park; Wrangle-St Elias NP; Kenai Fjords; Homer to catch a plane to see grizzlies in Katmai; and of course, Denali. RV parks are not cheap, but we did not find them overly expensive either. For us it was easy traveling. We considered taking the ferry up and driving back or vice versa, but the ferry with the MH is pretty darn costly. Would make a separate trip just on the ferry up and back.

The Alcan highway is darn good despite many warnings about its condition. The road heaves every year from deep frost, and they repair it all summer long. They put little red flags by the side of the road to tell you to slow down when you come to a heave section. Usually you can take these at about 35 mph. Every now and then you'll hit construction of a kind, but nothing really major. They work at keeping the road level and smooth as best they can. Found fewer potholes on the road to AK than I do on the U.S. interstates. What a travesty our highway system has become.

We booked our RV parks about 6 months in advance, but many times there was space almost everywhere we went. We like planning ahead, then making changes if need be.

However much time you are planning on, plan on more. Wish we would have stayed another week on top of the two we were there. Nothing not to like about this one.

[Bob Vaughn]

We went in the summer of 2014. We looked at various tours and found the cost extremely costly. Plus you are on such a tight schedule. We chose to take the trip on our own and are glad that we did it. It too was our gift to ourselves for our 50 th wedding anniversary...I figured it was more beneficial to purchase and auxiliary diesel tank for the bed of our truck and and extra spare tire for our 5th wheel. We did not make any reservations. We would check in for a night then if we wanted to see more things we would stay longer. We had no schedule. So if it rained we would stay an extra day. The only issue we had was it did not get dark at night in Alaska and our old cat thought it was day time all the time. We had to make black out shades for our windows and vents to make it dark. We just winged it....By all means get a new copy of Mile Posts and use it religiously. It will tell you every thing that is every mile. My wife would read as I drove and keep me posted as to what to look for. We would do it in a heart beat. It may have been more fun if we had gone with a friend.

[Hoffwmn]

Just returned from the 59 day Canadian Rockies and Alaska trip with Adventure Caravans. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and we will never forget it. There are pros and cons to caravanning.
On the pro side: 1. they made sure we saw as much of the surrounding areas as possible and included free days for us to do things WE were especially interested in. 2. It was a luxury to not have to make reservations, buy excursions tickets, etc. 3. For the folks with big rigs is was nice to know which gas stations and spots of interest could accommodate a 40ft coach with a toad attached, how far it was between gas stations, which had diesel and the best price. 4. The wagon master had a headsup on the current fire situations, of which there were many, as well as the road construction which is constant in AK in summer. 5. Having a tail gunner who was a mechanic was comforting, even though we never needed him. Everyone was not so fortunate.
On the con side: there were days when the pace was a little much for us but you are welcome to pass on any activity.
We will likely not go to Alaska again. Even though it is beautiful and grand, it is a LOT of driving. Hope this info helps you make your decision.

[CAT-RN]

Originally Posted by Hoffwmn

Just returned from the 59 day Canadian Rockies and Alaska trip with Adventure Caravans. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and we will never forget it. There are pros and cons to caravanning.
On the pro side: 1. they made sure we saw as much of the surrounding areas as possible and included free days for us to do things WE were especially interested in. 2. It was a luxury to not have to make reservations, buy excursions tickets, etc. 3. For the folks with big rigs is was nice to know which gas stations and spots of interest could accommodate a 40ft coach with a toad attached, how far it was between gas stations, which had diesel and the best price. 4. The wagon master had a headsup on the current fire situations, of which there were many, as well as the road construction which is constant in AK in summer. 5. Having a tail gunner who was a mechanic was comforting, even though we never needed him. Everyone was not so fortunate.
On the con side: there were days when the pace was a little much for us but you are welcome to pass on any activity.
We will likely not go to Alaska again. Even though it is beautiful and grand, it is a LOT of driving. Hope this info helps you make your decision.

Thanks. Nice info. Welcome to posting on the forum.

Russell

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Voortrekker

Hi, All...

My wife and I are thinking of doing an Alaska caravan trip for our 50th anniversary. We'd love to hear from anyone who's done one. Good things...bad things...what to avoid, etc. Please include the name of the company you chose. Thanks....

Voor

You will have a fantastic time!

We traveled last year through BC, Yukon and Alaska. 2.5 months in total. For 3 weeks we were three campers together the rest we were solo.

We have 47 blog posts from this trip if of interest. Post number one is here.

Have fun. Picture below is from Cottonwood RV Park on Kluane Lake, Yukon on our way to Alaska.

[frogsandhogs]

We did it in a 30 foot Lexington and our toad is a Saturn Vue. 10 weeks, 10,000 miles. Loved it. Only made reservations at 1 campground to join new friends. In Canada and much of Alaska you can camp almost anywhere for free. By all means get a Milepost. We loved Dawson City and did Top of The World Highway. That was the scariest part of trip. Plenty of gas stations, just be aware of your distances. Everything is further apart than people tell you. Took ferry from Haines to Skagway, saved almost 2 days driving and was not real expensive. Do a wildlife cruise out of Seward. See Denali, Talkeetna and some of the ghost towns along Cook Inlet. Caravans take the planning issues out, but going on your own gives you flexibility. If you like a place, stay longer. My husband had so much fun salmon fishing that we stayed several more days in Valdez than planned. We left WI in June, returned in September.

[dahagen]

My wife and I went a few years ago in our Class C on our own in July and August. Tore a Good Sam ad out and followed their route. No reservations needed if you stop to camp by mid afternoon. Rule #1...buy the Mile Post book. Rule #2...every time you see a gas station, fill up. Rule #3...take your time and enjoy!

[JPSPete20]

We went last summer. We used Adventure Treks. The owner and head operator only lives about thirty miles from us and other members of our Good Sam Chapter had been on their tour before. No complaints. We did, however take the 23 day tour. The cost was half the other tours and it ended in Anchorage instead of coming back to Dawson Creek. That left us free to see the rest and do what we wanted for another month before coming home. Part of the fun of the trip was in getting to know all of the folks from 16 other rigs and traveling with them lots of things to do in groups, that are more fun that way. We are part of the group discussing a "Frogs to Alaska" trip in 2018. Some of the organizers don't retire until then. From where we stand today, there is a lot of interest and we are considering two groups instead of just the one first discussed. My wife cried when we left Alaska the first time, so I don't really have any choice, we have to go back.

[RamblerGuy]

If you don't want to drive both ways, or if you don't have an RV, here's a way to make the trip one way in a new Class C. A friend and his wife did this before they bought a motorhome. They rented it for an additional week to spend more time in Alaska, then flew back.


https://www.greatalaskanholidays.com...kage/2016-sap/

[greymedic]

We left NEPA May 16 totally on our own and crossed into Canada near Shelby MT on June 2 so as to be one week ahead of the caravans. Never made any reservations and never found any place full but we usually arrived at each CG about 2:30-3:00pm. We saw all the scenery, towns, most museums and attractions. The MILEPOST was invaluable, locals friendly and other campers helpful and always a great source of info. We returned to the U.S. north of Seattle and returned home on August 10th----13,135 miles. Great trip, would love todo it again------without a caravan.

[Medic97]

Hi Everyone

We are planning a trip to Alaska next summer (May, early June 2016). We are undecided on doing it alone or Caravan it. We would prefer to caravan with some friends and look out for each other instead of paying the Caravan outfits.

Anyone one interested in getting our own group to travel to Alaska? We can have an early meet up to meet and get to know each other prior to the big trip in 2016.

Any and all comments are welcomed.

Robert

[dwebster]

My DW and I just returned from doing a caravan to Alaska with Coachmen. In my opinion, the one who laid out the caravan route made many mistakes which cost us wasted time sitting in Campgrounds where there was very little to do. WE went to Homer, Alaska to go Halibut fishing on a Thursday. No charter fishing for halibut by charters was allowed on Thursdays. No problem we would pay more money and fish for salmon the same way they fish for halibut. Guess what, we caught halibut and had to throw them back. Some scheduled included meals were a joke, and some of the campgrounds we stayed at should have been condemned. It was a real disappointment to have such poor planning. The caravan leaders were saints and did their very best with the bad situations that they were thrust into. I have done this same trip 11 years ago with Coachmen Caravan and it was perfect. What a change a different planner makes.
The scenery was beyond description. In many cases, I stood with my camera in my hand and could not decide which way to point it with so much beauty all around us. The roads were another subject. With very few exceptions they were under construction and EXTREMELY rough.
We took the Eastern route on the way up to Dawson Creek and the Western Route coming home. I believe that the Cassiar Highway that brought us down, was the best road in the whole trip. It had new pavement and a lot of bears. Oh, I should probably mention the scenery along the Cassiar, it was beautiful.
We did 3 whale watching cruises and saw whales on all three along with all kinds of sea life and glaciers. Even in the rain and fog, these are a must do.

[saltyman]

Medic97


We may be interested in the Alaska trip in 2016. We also live in Missouri

[beechjet16mf]

We did the ALCAN in May and June of 2014. It is the trip of a lifetime, but arduous. Once you start, it's hard to stop. Our blogspot of the trip is: The Soare's RV. We only had one RV park that was a problem; not the park, but the hosts. The worst highway we had was from Destruction Bay, YT to Beaver Creak, YT and then from Anchorage to GlenAllen had some bad spots. It is a worthwhile trip.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by Medic97

Hi Everyone

We are planning a trip to Alaska next summer (May, early June 2016). We are undecided on doing it alone or Caravan it. We would prefer to caravan with some friends and look out for each other instead of paying the Caravan outfits.

Anyone one interested in getting our own group to travel to Alaska? We can have an early meet up to meet and get to know each other prior to the big trip in 2016.

Any and all comments are welcomed.

Robert

We are planning on a trip to Alaska in 16 and about the same time. We plan to be in Yellowstone the first of June, we would like to cross the border around the 15th too. I can't wait to go. DW retires February the 29th, I'm counting the days off. Now if I could just get over this bad disease I have, wanting to trade campers


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