How to get to Alaska from lower 48?

Rhino

Long story short, we obtained some property in Alaska from a relative. We live in lower 48. Maybe we'll sell it, I don't know, but we would like to see it.

We live in lower, IL.

What's the best way up there? We could fly, but 1) I hate flying [I'm a big guy] and 2) it's expensive, specially if we plan to keep it and visit it regularly. It's about $700 to $1K a pop times two of us.

Driving is about ~3 days nonstop ONE WAY. My wife doesn't drive, so we would need to stop to sleep, eat, rest, etc and bet it could easily drag out to 5 or 6 days even at a gurgling pace. So, 1.5 or 2 weeks just for driving round trip - which would be a huge chunk of our vacation time.

No trains that I could find.

Maybe bus?

boat?

I'm not sure if there are any good options here, but obviously people travel up their regularly and just wanted to see what is available.

Esh

Rhino wrote:

Long story short, we obtained some property in Alaska from a relative. We live in lower 48. Maybe we'll sell it, I don't know, but we would like to see it.

We live in Chicago, IL.

What's the best way up there? We could fly, but 1) I hate flying [I'm a big guy] and 2) it's expensive, specially if we plan to keep it and visit it regularly. It's about $700 to $1K a pop times two of us.

Driving is about 3 days.

No trains that I could find.

Maybe bus?

boat?

I'm not sure if there are any good options here, but obviously people travel up their regularly and just wanted to see what is available.

Boat would be even more expensive and I can't imagine taking the bus would be any more comfortable (but significantly longer) than hopping a flight.

Driving is probably going to be your best bet if you're completely against flying.

Rhino

Thanks. Yea, I updated my post above. Driving isn't looking so hot either.

SeGaTai

From Anchorage originally and live in Madison, WI currently still have family back in AK. There is no super easy way to get there you probably haven't looked into. Flying is expensive but fluctuates a great deal with tourist season, there is a direct flight from Chicago once or twice a day and if you avoid July-Aug plus major holidays it gets down to $400-$500 at times. 3 days is pushing it driving, you can't really drive at all hours-not enough 24hr gas stations so I'd budget 4. You'll save some money driving vs. flying but unless your un/selfemployed its not worth it in my opinion. There's a boat from washington that cuts off part of the drive but again just as expensive as flying from what I remember.

I'd hang on to the property if you can get up there though-great place to visit, can be a rough place to live.

Rhino

Thanks SeGaTai for the comments, how long did you live up there? What part?

Are "common" goods up their expensive since it's remote?

What's the hardest part of living up there?

How much do you go back and which months? We wanted to go in summer months, maybe spring, just because it would be warmer.

How are the people up there? Are they nice? Wiki says it's fairly low income per person compared to most other states. Is there a lot of crime or problems due to this?

Draygo

If you want to use transit you can take amtrak as far as vancouver, then you have to bus/boat it from there, or hop a now shorter flight to alaska.

Flying is your quickest option and at the end of it all might not be that much more than driving, when you factor in fuel, food, and extra hotel stays.

a5ehren

Draygo wrote:

If you want to use transit you can take amtrak as far as vancouver, then you have to bus/boat it from there, or hop a now shorter flight to alaska.

Flying is your quickest option and at the end of it all might not be that much more than driving, when you factor in fuel, food, and extra hotel stays.

This. At 25 MPG and $3.50/gal, you'd be spending damn near $1K in gas alone.

To put it another way, once you hit Edmonton, Alberta, you would be about halfway there. The second half of that drive would be...remote to say the least.

I'd imagine there are boats from Seattle/Vancouver, but unless it's a cruise ship I wouldn't imagine it would be much more pleasant than flying. A bus (if it existed) would be just as uncomfortable as flying and take several times longer than driving.

Seattle Thread

The Alaska Marine Highway is ridiculously priced--a one-way, one-car, two-adult trip from Bellingham (its only Lower-48 stop) to Anchorage, in June, will set you back $1000, while the same run to Juneau goes for $1300. The trip lasts four days, and room and board is not included.

Despite the cost, flying is going to be your cheapest and most efficient option (though, I did do a quick curiosity search on Expedia and it seems that a one-way ticket to Anchorage from Chicago in June will go for around $350-400). Driving out there is a neat travelling experience, but for a business trip it's hell.

Comahawk

a5ehren wrote:

Draygo wrote:

If you want to use transit you can take amtrak as far as vancouver, then you have to bus/boat it from there, or hop a now shorter flight to alaska.

Flying is your quickest option and at the end of it all might not be that much more than driving, when you factor in fuel, food, and extra hotel stays.

This. At 25 MPG and $3.50/gal, you'd be spending damn near $1K in gas alone.

To put it another way, once you hit Edmonton, Alberta, you would be about halfway there. The second half of that drive would be...remote to say the least.

I'd imagine there are boats from Seattle/Vancouver, but unless it's a cruise ship I wouldn't imagine it would be much more pleasant than flying. A bus (if it existed) would be just as uncomfortable as flying and take several times longer than driving.

I went up to Whitehorse this last summer from Edmonton. The drive doesn't get "remote" until about Fort Nelson.

If you think you are doing this drive in three days, you are not being realistic. We could barely do Edmonton-Whitehorse in two, and that was exhausting, so lower Illinois to Anchorage or some such place is more like a 5-6 day trip.

Also $3.50/gal for gas.... hahahahaha. Gas fluctuates in Edmonton just above $1.00/L, the more you get north of here, the higher that price goes. I think this last summer, there were a few places where we payed around $1.75/L, which also turned out to be some of the shittiest gas ever.

But, if you do decide to drive, avoid the Swiss owned Northern Rockies Lodge. These people are jackasses, charge outrageous prices for gas and in general will treat you like shit because they know they can get away with it. At the very least, avoid their gas, we barely got 300km out of one tank.

wonderpug

Just in case you share the common skewed perspective on just how far Alaska is, the distance from San Francisco to Anchorage is about the same as it is from San Francisco to New York

Laemkral

The most cost effective method over time is clearly: get pilot's license, purchase small prop plane, and fly yourself to and from. Initial startup costs will be high, I imagine, but own the plus side you'll save A BUNDLE in extra baggage fees. :P

I am of course being slightly ridiculous, but at the same time for a long term dual ownership...could be something to think about.

bowen

Yeah, actually, laemkral is about right.

I know a few people who own property in Alaska and they are pretty much 100% pilots. If they aren't, they're in the process of getting there.

SeGaTai

Rhino wrote:

Thanks SeGaTai for the comments, how long did you live up there? What part?

Are "common" goods up their expensive since it's remote?

What's the hardest part of living up there?

How much do you go back and which months? We wanted to go in summer months, maybe spring, just because it would be warmer.

How are the people up there? Are they nice? Wiki says it's fairly low income per person compared to most other states. Is there a lot of crime or problems due to this?

I'm from Anchorage which is just a normal city and doesn't really warrant any silly stereotypes. Depending on how far you are away from Anchorage/Fairbanks yea it starts to get remote and less accessible for the cost. There's a little bit of a markup on goods, but theres no sales tax and if your a citizen a free $1200 or so every year.

I get back once or twice a year, pretty much Christmas and a week in the summer which is really the time to go and enjoy it if you haven't grown up there. Some people don't adjust to the low amounts of sunlight(4-5hrs at the worst in Anchorage) in the winter and endless night in the summer. Takes some getting used to it but there's a few people that just get real depressed in the winter, also from just having less to do I imagine.

Low income is again going to be very determined by where the property is, native villages obviously are going to have a pretty low one. Anchorage is full of oil companies and a lot of military personal, both groups that have more money than they know what to do with.

Seeks

Some people don't adjust to the low amounts of sunlight(4-5hrs at the worst in Anchorage) in the winter and endless day in the summer.

Fixed that for you.

There's no cheap way to get to or from Alaska, unless you're a wizard.

You'll want to fly, unless it's A) Worth the extra time and money to have your own car whilst up here or You just really hate flying.

Edit: The people are okay (I assume, don't have much experience to compare 'us' to), and crime isn't really a huge issue. Anchorage has more than Fairbanks, but Fairbanks has basically none because it's just too fucking cold to bother with crime for half the year.