Vacation in Alaska in June - Rent RV or not?

[CampingGator]

We are planning a two week trip to Alaska in June, including a seven day, one way cruise. We are debating staying in hotels vs. renting a class C motor home for the first part of our trip. We intend to do several excursions around Denali and Anchorage area for six days. Do any of you have insight one way or the other? We plan to drive to Alaska one summer after we retire, but life is short and we don’t want to wait to visit. There are no guarantees we will be able to do our dream trip in five years.

[Bikersarge]

If it were me, less stress if you Hotel it, especially after watching the you-tube video of the honeymooners vacation/Alaska.

[spock123]

We went to Alaska this year for two months but if I was going for a few days I would stay in hotels

[timfromma]

I rented a small Class C years ago before buying my TT. Between the rental fee and mileage it was VERY expensive but I wanted to see if RVing was something I'd enjoy.

[RV_Fan44]

yea, I would say hotel for such a short stay.

[Stank Bait]

Everything up there is expensive. The cruise is the cheapest part of your trip. The distances between civilization can be very far, depending where you plan to travel. You will enjoy the scenery. For a short timeline I would just do the overland with the cruise people. They have it all figured out. Holland America does a good job. They get you to the major points of interest within the time you have.

[dmac1951]

I would look at doind a cruise add-on. Or book a tour through a tour agency. That takes a lot of the headache out of it.
We used a company called Gate 1 for an Ireland trip and was very pleased. Not sure if they offer AK stuff.

[Oneiron]

I would strongly urge you not to rent a motorhome. We used CRUISERVAMERICA and were so disappointed with the comfort and performance of their motorhomes. The best thing about them was we were convinced that we did not want to buy a motorhome. INCREDIBLY expensive to rent and very uncomfortable mode of travel. Just sayin'...

[Jo-D]

We have done both motor Home and cruise. You see two different Alaskas. We prefer the RV trip hands down. Yes, there is a distance between some stops, but so much to see in between. Roads are not crowded with a thousand of your shipmates, scenery is majestic, and people are friendly. Stop as you want, wade in the waters, skip stones on the shores, and see wildlife peering out between the trees. You can’t compare that with the cruise shops on the shores of the port cities.

[jjuscg]

A few years back we spent 2 months traveling in Alaska by TT (plus another month round trip travel to and from). It was GREAT, but we didn't have to maneuver a motor home for local sightseeing trips. Friends, who were NOT campers went last year and rented a motor home and they loved it. Going into town in a motor home and finding parking spaces can be challenging in the bigger cities (only 2 in Alaska..), but most tourist stops are no problem. Travel comfort is relative, but we much prefer to have our own kitchen and restroom with us when we travel. Rental is expensive, but a motor home gives more flexibility.

[Two Ole Travelers]

I agree with Jo-D. We took our fifth wheel to Alaska a few years ago. Spent two months traveling around the state and had no problems. Boondocked a lot of time, but stayed in RV parks a couple days a week to shower, drain tanks, etc. We left Kingston TN, headed north to MN to visit son, went west from there to Montana, headed north thru Alberta and into the Yukon to Chicken, AK. We meandered, seeing spectacular sites along our drive. Lucky us...we arrived in Fairbanks when the Indian Olympics were going on. What a treat that was. Don't miss it if you can help it. World Eskimo-Indian Olympics Alaska is truly the last frontier. Don't be afraid of the roads... we had a 31' Chaparral, towed with 3/4T Dodge Ram diesel. No problems. Last year we took the Inland Passage Cruise with Royal Caribbean. The cruise was put together to spoil you rotten. The food and the scenery are unsurpassed. I think I just talked us into another trip up there. You really do see 2 different Alaskas when you RV and Cruise. Don't miss the White Pass Railroad trip from Anchorage to Denali.... https://wpyr.com/

[Cold Lake Kid]

First time at least, I would try Holland America's Cruise/Tour.
You can always go back another year.
We, (Wife and I) are in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and have done it a number of times.
Alaska is our favourite destination.

[Burnking]

x2 on Cruise/Tour. We're doing one next Aug. Several cruise lines have them. We are doing a Norwegian were most of your land travel is by rail.

[CampingGator]

Thank you for all the advice so far. We are still planning, so are taking everything into consideration.

[ysidive]

Rented from Great Alaskan Holidays and they are number one...None of their rentals are over 2 years old and they have repair personnel contracted all over alaska.. They are the top notch rental people... We met other people that had rented from other companies and they told us nothing but nightmare stories...Check them out www.greatalaskanholidays.com
We rented and stayed in Seward for 3 nights, drove to Homer for 3 nights and spent 1 night just outside of Soldotna on the Kenai peninsula then on to Whittier for a night before going back to Anchorage.... Costco and Sams are within a mile of the rental facility so you can stock up before venturing out... Most places in Alaska you can spend the night on the side of the road, in a parking lot or just a pull off...There are also parks with camping that are reasonable. I loved the adventure and the freedom to spend an extra day wherever without a schedule to be somewhere the next day......

[mzlisapratt]

I have done 7 Alaskan cruises and my last one we rented a RV. It was one of my favorites. I will add that I also have done the land/train tour and rented a car and stayed in hotels. The average night in a motel can be $350. We rented a 33ft Minnie for 5 days for $1200. It was well worth it. I did pay for unlimited mileage. At the time we did not own a motor home but 3 months later we bought one. The campgrounds were all clean, friendly, and none over $50 per night. I doubt I will ever do Alaska by land again that I don’t rent a motor home, unless I can convince my hubby to drive ours up. We rented from a large outfit in Anchorage, Great Alaskan. The units were new and.in top condition.

[Rokslinger]

We went to Alaska, 90 day trip last summer. For where you are going and the length of time you will be there, i would recommend the car/hotel. Your time will be precious and you won't want to be using it dealing with the trappings of rv'ing. For your long trip, you will definitely want a motorhome/toad.

[Steveanddianne]

We are planning on taking our first trip in retirement to Alaska, I googled for information and there’s a planning book on amazon. I’m not sure what is the best way to plan the trip. We will be traveling from the east coast and assume the 2-3 months would be what we would plan for. Looking for the best way to plan the trip. And suggestions on routes.
Thanks

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by ysidive

Rented from Great Alaskan Holidays and they are number one...None of their rentals are over 2 years old and they have repair personnel contracted all over alaska.. They are the top notch rental people... We met other people that had rented from other companies and they told us nothing but nightmare stories...Check them out www.greatalaskanholidays.com
We rented and stayed in Seward for 3 nights, drove to Homer for 3 nights and spent 1 night just outside of Soldotna on the Kenai peninsula then on to Whittier for a night before going back to Anchorage.... Costco and Sams are within a mile of the rental facility so you can stock up before venturing out... Most places in Alaska you can spend the night on the side of the road, in a parking lot or just a pull off...There are also parks with camping that are reasonable. I loved the adventure and the freedom to spend an extra day wherever without a schedule to be somewhere the next day......

Have to agree with ysidive. In August of 2016 we rented a class-C 25' Minnie Winne from GAH for 3 weeks while we toured AK. We paid the surcharge to guarantee a newer unit. The unit we received had 5000-6000 miles on it and was flawless for our entire trip. We drove the unit 2200 miles over the 3 weeks. As far as the experience, it was a fantastic trip, I highly recommend renting a RV to tour AK.
The two best (read only) companies to rent from are GAH or ABC. As was mentioned by ysidive we also ran into folks who rented from others and had numerous and major problems.
This experience (our first) in a RV convinced us to buy a rig after our return. We are currently spending our 88th night camping this season.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by Steveanddianne

We are planning on taking our first trip in retirement to Alaska, I googled for information and there’s a planning book on amazon. I’m not sure what is the best way to plan the trip. We will be traveling from the east coast and assume the 2-3 months would be what we would plan for. Looking for the best way to plan the trip. And suggestions on routes.

Thanks

We left from North Carolina this year and didn't make any plans. We stayed two months in Alaska and Canada and had a great time. The only campground we made reservations for was in Seward AK and shouldn't have for that spot. The city campground was better. We just went