Alaska rental cars

[Weatherwise]

Next summer I plan to make an Alaska cruise from Seattle or Vancouver to Anchorage. I browsed though many rental car pages to find out if there is a possibility to rent a car at Anchorage and drive all the way back and return it in Seattle/Vancouver but was not successful. Does anybody know about a possibility, how to find a one way rental?

Thanks in advance, Reinhold

[Weatherwise]

Next summer I plan to make an Alaska cruise from Seattle or Vancouver to Anchorage. I browsed though many rental car pages to find out if there is a possibility to rent a car at Anchorage and drive all the way back and return it in Seattle/Vancouver but was not successful. Does anybody know about a possibility, how to find a one way rental?

Thanks in advance, Reinhold

[Karen Knowlton]

It may be difficult, as driving back from Anchorage to Seattle or Vancouver is a VERY long drive, through much remote countryside, on a road that often has some rough spots - though not as bad as the 1500 miles of gravel it used to be! The biggest difficulty, however, would be that the drive involves crossing an international border (US/Canada) at least once, and twice if you are heading for Seattle. Rental car companies are often reluctant to allow cars to cross state borders, let alone international ones.

[tigerman]

Good luck. That's a brutal drive and most car companies wouldn't even consider it. Suggest you buy a car here and drive it back - probably can find one of the rental agencies to let you buy one - then you could sell it when you get back home. Could even share the driving with somebody who would be willing to split gas with you. Any questions - let me know.

[commander rob]

Depending on your dates, check with some of the RV rental places. I know that some of the outfits in Whitehorse have a deal where you transfer the vehicles either north or south near the end of season. Fuel may hurt a bit, but you can save a bundle on motels. We once rented a truck/camper unit up there, really nice way to see the country. Fuel cost improved greatly once I discovered the tires were down around 20lbs not 70.

Another option to all that open road may be to drive as far as Skagway and take the Alaska State Ferry (reservations a must) to Bellingham if returning to Seattle. The other option is driving to Prince Rupert then take the BC Ferry to Port Hardy then down Vancouver Island and across to the mainland.