Because we felt this was a once in a lifetime trip, we wanted to see as much of Alaska as possible, so we left Prince Rupert, BC on the Alaska State Ferry with our 30' motorhome on board. They charge by the foot so we even took our bikes and rack off and put them inside the RV for the ferry trip. We planned and reserved with the Ferry service in Dec for a May 5th departure so that we could set our own particular itinerary. The National Park service offered educational talks while on board. We took our motorhome off at every stop possible for 3-5 days so we would have time to explore: We watched whales from an overlook while sitting at our campfire in a National Forest campground in Wrangell, hiked up to the Mendenhall Glacier, explored the Capitol, watched Eagles in Petersburg, and felt sorry for the many cruise ships' passengers as they made a few hours stop in Ketchican, Juneau and Skagway while we had the luxury of thoroughly exploring for 3 or 4 days each. About three weeks after leaving Prince Rupert we left the ferry at Skagway, drove north to explore mainland Alaska, then back by way of the Alcan Hwy with the ultimate guidebook, the latest edition of "the milepost".
So much to see! Beautiful vistas at every turn! Indeed the trip of a lifetime.