Heading To Alaska This Summer

[lionhouse75]

We have signed up for this year's Ultimate Alaska tour with FantasyRV. We are excited about the trip but also a bit nervous about the kinds of preparations we need to make. We have taken extensive road trips around the U.S. and Canada before in the 10k-15k miles, 3-4 months range on our own so having others with us for this trip is comforting.

If you have gone on this or a similar route before (whether alone or with a tour) what preparations should we be prepared for that would perhaps be exceptional or different from any other long road trip? Were supplies (eg. food, drinks, personal items) readily available along the way - in other words, how much of the trip is in really remote areas and how much did you pack/stock up on beforehand?

Were the overnight camping arrangements boondocking or with hookups, more of one or the other?

Did you purchase travel insurance?

We have never towed a vehicle as we rely (successfully so far) on our electric assist bicycles. Do you see not having a toad an issue? What other tips for this trip would you recommend?

Thanks for any advice you can provide. 

P.S. we will be driving a 34 foot 2015 Fleetwood Bounder. 

Peg 

[desertdeals69]

We did Alaska on our own in 01.  We had a toad and found it useful.  We boon docked all the way.  We took spare tires but didn't need them.

[tbutler]

Like desertdeals69 we did the trip on our own.  You will get hundreds of stories, some good, others not so...

We like you had done extensive long trips and been in Canada and all over the US.  We always travel on our own, did a tour with Fantasy RV this past spring, Kentucky Derby.  Wasn't so much a tour as an event.  We were parked the whole time.  Travel was in the immediate area on tour buses.  Your experience will be different.  We traveled at our own pace, sometimes stopping at rest areas overnight, others in parks.  This was 2006 and internet was still sketchy but most parks had service, slow but usable.  We had mail delivered to locations in Alaska (full timers). 

Most parks along the way and in Alaska had wash facilities available and we used them frequently.  Your coach will get dirty, again and again.  Distances in Alaska are great, bicycles give you limited distance and being on a schedule you won't have the flexibility of slow travel.  You may or may not find them to meet your needs.  Among the trips we took was leaving the coach in Dawson City and driving our toad 500 miles one way (most gravel) to Innuvik, an Inuit village well inside the Arctic Circle in northern Canada.  Wouldn't have wanted to miss this but doubt you will have that time allowance or even that particular stop on your tour.

Fuel and food are available all along the route though you will want to fill up at most towns along the way as they are widely spaced.  Your tour guide should be able to give you guidance regarding these but it isn't a major concern.  There is a publication that I would recommend to anyone going on their own, The Milepost.  It has tons of information and advice regarding your trip.  Much more than I would ever attempt.  Your tour I believe will give you some independent time to explore on your own and you may find interesting things in this guide as well as more specific answers to your questions about the coming trip.

We took car excursions into Denali NP to the distance allowed (about 20 miles) and had time to do several hikes and stop for a ranger talk.  Drove car several times into Wrangell St. Elias NP, once to stay several nights at Kennicott the other to do some remote hiking outside Gulkana, both long trips (70 - 80) miles on gravel roads. 

We had not one flat tire on coach or toad but some people undoubtedly did, no broken windshield, just dirt, dirt, dirt.  And, we occasionally had a closet dumper, hitting the frost heaved road a little too fast will magically lift all your clothes hangers off the clothes rod in the closet.  Happens to all, trailers, motor homes, nothing to do but laugh and try to go a little slower next time.  We saw quite a few vehicles with visible damage, saw a wrecker haul a pickup with 5th wheel attached out of roadside brush/ditch and drive off.  Drive cautiously at all times. 

Did I mention dirt?  If it is raining it is mud, if it is dry it is dust.  Dust on road repair areas where you are driving on dirt - they control the dust with calcium chloride which will make... mud.  Parking lots at grocery stores may or may not be paved.  Pull into fuel pumps, you will be on gravel or dirt.  Alaska is a US frontier and you get the total experience in every way possible.

Oh, one other thing you may want to consider.  There are credit cards that do not charge for currency conversion.  We have one that we use for any travel outside the US.  Saves us a bunch not having to pay 3% or more to convert from $$ to some other currency.  You will get a discount in Canada, their currency is something like 75 cents to our dollar.  It wasn't that way in 2006!

We crossed into Canada on Memorial Day and returned to the lower 48 on Labor Day.  It is the trip of a lifetime.  Enjoy.

[lionhouse75]

12 hours ago, TBUTLER said:

Like desertdeals69 we did the trip on our own.  You will get hundreds of stories, some good, others not so...

We like you had done extensive long trips and been in Canada and all over the US.  We always travel on our own, did a tour with Fantasy RV this past spring, Kentucky Derby.  Wasn't so much a tour as an event.  We were parked the whole time.  Travel was in the immediate area on tour buses.  Your experience will be different.  We traveled at our own pace, sometimes stopping at rest areas overnight, others in parks.  This was 2006 and internet was still sketchy but most parks had service, slow but usable.  We had mail delivered to locations in Alaska (full timers). 

Most parks along the way and in Alaska had wash facilities available and we used them frequently.  Your coach will get dirty, again and again.  Distances in Alaska are great, bicycles give you limited distance and being on a schedule you won't have the flexibility of slow travel.  You may or may not find them to meet your needs.  Among the trips we took was leaving the coach in Dawson City and driving our toad 500 miles one way (most gravel) to Innuvik, an Inuit village well inside the Arctic Circle in northern Canada.  Wouldn't have wanted to miss this but doubt you will have that time allowance or even that particular stop on your tour.

Fuel and food are available all along the route though you will want to fill up at most towns along the way as they are widely spaced.  Your tour guide should be able to give you guidance regarding these but it isn't a major concern.  There is a publication that I would recommend to anyone going on their own, The Milepost.  It has tons of information and advice regarding your trip.  Much more than I would ever attempt.  Your tour I believe will give you some independent time to explore on your own and you may find interesting things in this guide as well as more specific answers to your questions about the coming trip.

We took car excursions into Denali NP to the distance allowed (about 20 miles) and had time to do several hikes and stop for a ranger talk.  Drove car several times into Wrangell St. Elias NP, once to stay several nights at Kennicott the other to do some remote hiking outside Gulkana, both long trips (70 - 80) miles on gravel roads. 

We had not one flat tire on coach or toad but some people undoubtedly did, no broken windshield, just dirt, dirt, dirt.  And, we occasionally had a closet dumper, hitting the frost heaved road a little too fast will magically lift all your clothes hangers off the clothes rod in the closet.  Happens to all, trailers, motor homes, nothing to do but laugh and try to go a little slower next time.  We saw quite a few vehicles with visible damage, saw a wrecker haul a pickup with 5th wheel attached out of roadside brush/ditch and drive off.  Drive cautiously at all times. 

Did I mention dirt?  If it is raining it is mud, if it is dry it is dust.  Dust on road repair areas where you are driving on dirt - they control the dust with calcium chloride which will make... mud.  Parking lots at grocery stores may or may not be paved.  Pull into fuel pumps, you will be on gravel or dirt.  Alaska is a US frontier and you get the total experience in every way possible.

Oh, one other thing you may want to consider.  There are credit cards that do not charge for currency conversion.  We have one that we use for any travel outside the US.  Saves us a bunch not having to pay 3% or more to convert from $$ to some other currency.  You will get a discount in Canada, their currency is something like 75 cents to our dollar.  It wasn't that way in 2006!

We crossed into Canada on Memorial Day and returned to the lower 48 on Labor Day.  It is the trip of a lifetime.  Enjoy.

Thanks so much for the info. I did purchase the Milepost Guide but need to actually go through it now. Appreciate your reply.

[manholt]

Lionhouse. 

I have one question:  After spending a good amount of money on this trip to Fantasy Tours, they did not or are not able to give you, a peace of mind information?  In other words, a day by day itinerary, a clear understanding of avg. temperatures for day/night, recommendations of what to bring with you, when your on your own, breakfast, lunch & dinner, entertainment, side trips, etc. 

Fantasy Tours have been around a long time and make 2 Alaska trips a year, a short one and the long one.  I have played golf with the owners, but never had the time to take one of their tours!  I would not do it for Alaska...been there, done that, but I'm planning to take the maritime provinces, next Summer (2019) with Linda!  

[lionhouse75]

On 1/19/2018 at 2:43 PM, manholt said:

Lionhouse. 

I have one question:  After spending a good amount of money on this trip to Fantasy Tours, they did not or are not able to give you, a peace of mind information?  In other words, a day by day itinerary, a clear understanding of avg. temperatures for day/night, recommendations of what to bring with you, when your on your own, breakfast, lunch & dinner, entertainment, side trips, etc. 

Fantasy Tours have been around a long time and make 2 Alaska trips a year, a short one and the long one.  I have played golf with the owners, but never had the time to take one of their tours!  I would not do it for Alaska...been there, done that, but I'm planning to take the maritime provinces, next Summer (2019) with Linda!  

Yes Fantasy has given us itinerary and a bit more but it’s early yet. Full info package will be out in April. I’m just impatient! 

[ianbullock]

Tom,

We are in the planning stages of an Alaskan trip for  most of the summer of 2019.

Thank you for the tip on The Milepost.  Looks invaluable!

 

[bthomforde]

We went to Alaska with Fantasy last summer, they will give you a Mile post book and full list of campgrounds when you meetup to start the trip. The info includes campground name, address, phone and latitude and longitude. It will also include fuel stops along the way and other things like scenic pull outs, etc.

The wagon master and tail gunner  will both call and talk over what to expect and try to answer questions.

For us this was a trip of a lifetime, we made lifelong friends.