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Car tripping in the North West

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kaat72
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Kaat72

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O.M.G. We are having the jitters. My partner and me are planning a car trip for next year. Following this crazy idea to fly to Anchorage (Alaska), follow the Canadian Alaska Highway southbound to Seattle (Washington state), Glacier Park (Montana), Yellowstone Park (Wyoming) and the Badlands in South Dakota to Mt Rushmore (the presidents' heads), and further east or south...
Wow. At least 4,400 miles (7.000 kilometers). Three weeks of ultimate freedom.
A lot of questions to find answers to. What are the car rental options, what is the best time of the year, places to sleep...? What are the musical highlights, and other must sees, along that route?
 

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We requested five car rental companies for our options, on renting one way (Anchorage to Denver). Got one declined, four awaiting answer.
 
Alternative is: flying to AK, and drive there for a few days. Then take a next flight to Seattle for the rest of the trip.
 
One way car rental over that sort of distance might be difficult or expensive, because presumably the car rental co. in Anchorage will have to get their car all the way back from Denver somehow.
 
mikedt said:
One way car rental over that sort of distance might be difficult or expensive, because presumably the car rental co. in Anchorage will have to get their car all the way back from Denver somehow.
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That's why we would happily pay drop off costs. But car rental companies won't rent outside Alaska. Might have to do with crossing Canada ;)
 
Watch out for harvest season. Some non-major highways will get cluttered with combines. Some farmers don't own a combine and pay for travelling services. The combines will travel in packs.

We took a lot of back roads out there years ago and followed combines. We weren't in a hurry and the scenery and towns in between were a lot better than the interstate system.
 
Kaat72 said:
That's why we would happily pay drop off costs. But car rental companies won't rent outside Alaska. Might have to do with crossing Canada ;)
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I've had no problem with a US rented car, driving it in Canada. But I was returning it to the same rental agent in NYC, and not to a different state thousands of miles away, I think that's a problem that some renters might have.

Have a look at Enterprise, if you haven't already @Kaat72 apparently they do one-way rentals.
http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/home.do
And FWIW I tried Anchorage to Denver, and said was available... :thumbsupdroid:

...but then I tried one-way car rental, Beijing to London...it wouldn't have that for some reason.
 
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Thank you Mikedt :) I tried Enterprise as a sixth rental company, but they also won't rent for that trip. I will email them to be certain.
We have been car tripping from San Francisco to Houston, and from DC to LA before. One way, of course, and without problems.

I think we will go for Plan B. Fly to Anchorage, rent a car for 5 days, then fly to Seattle and rent another there for the rest of the trip. Taking the train to pass Canada is an option, but takes two days instead of two hours, and a whole lot more money. And another visum to file applications for ;)
 
Something in the car rental small print? You can rent one-way, provided it's contiguous United States, which would exclude Alaska and Hawaii of course.
 
From what I understand, one-way rentals are hella expensive.

We took a family trip back to NY in 2013. We planned to fly out and drive home, seeing various sights along the way. The cost of a rental for the return trip was high enough that my parents just ended up buying a used car in NY and selling their old one when we got home, as it was about time to do that anyway.
 
When you are going through British Columbia, I can recommend a few places. Jasper is a little bit out of your way. If you have time, head east once you hit Prince George and you'll end up in Jasper.

If you decide to skip Jasper, I recommend you take highway 99 which is a ways south of Prince George. This will take you to Whistler. It's known for skiing, but in the summer time, there are actually more activities to do in and around that area. The drive from Whistler to Vancouver is very nice and scenic. You'll be heading south and there are many places to stop on the side of the road and admire the view.

Between Whistler and Vancouver is Squamish. There is a music festival there in the beginning of August. http://squamishfestival.com/

If you decide not to take the highway 99/Whistler route, there is a place called Merritt near the other route heading south from Prince George. There is also a music festival there at the end of July. This one is very popular and it will be very crowded there. https://rockinriverfest.com/

Have fun. This reminds me of the road trip I took 20 years ago. Went coast to coast and back across Canada.
 
I hope the US car rental company will allow us to drive into Canada ☺
 
Kaat72 said:
I hope the US car rental company will allow us to drive into Canada ☺
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Definitely let them know that you intend to drive into Canada. There will likely be additional charges should they allow it. I do recall renting a car in Toronto. I had not planned to drive into the US, but I did notice they do charge more for that option.
 
Okay, the plane tickets are booked and the game is ON!
Amsterdam > Anchorage (Iceland Air), Anchorage > Seattle (Alaskan Airlines) and Minneapolis > Amsterdam (Iceland Air).
 
Keep your ear on news alerts. A lot of WA east to Montana is on fire due to drought. Roads could be closed. Strong winds can raise hell. Be safe and enjoy yourself.
 
Kaat72 said:
Thank you :) We will be traveling in next June.
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While travelling through Canada, I recommend checking this web site for weather alerts: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ . They also have an Android app. You can find information about road conditions as well. This year, it has been especially dry and there were a large number of forest fires.

June should be a nice time to be travelling through B.C. You'll have plenty of daylight hours. Have a great trip. Post some pictures and updates here for us when you can.
 
Tips, any one? Let's hear it :)
We're prepping our road trip for June: one week in Alaska, and two more driving from Seattle to Minneapolis. Planning our must sees, places to go, tickets to buy. Marking our road atlas.

Anchorage, Fairbanks (Summer Folk Fest), Tok, Anchorage (Moose's Tooth), Seward, Homer). Seattle for the Jim Hendrix Memorial, Space Needle, Pinball Museum, EMP Museum, Kurt Cobain's hometown Aberdeen, Vancouver. Yellowstone Park, Rushmore, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Badlands, Carhenge in Alliance, Paisley Park in Chanhassen MN.
It seems we are in the right place on our last night, June 24th, in Hinckley MN for a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert.
 
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