Hi Guys, coming to Alaska on a cruise early Sept what would be the best and cheapest rental car company to use, the prices seem wide ranging and also the best spots to go look at

Cheers
Wazza

Best and cheapest....hmmmm.

Are you looking for a vehicle just to run around Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau? How many days? What type of car? How many people? September you don't have to worry about snow and ice, so that increases your options.

just 2 of us, prob about seven days, would like to do a bit of driving around what roads there are in Alaska to see the sites etc, don't want a bomb

Thrifty on Spenard is a popular rental for most of us in my region.

U-haul van. Best kept secret in rentals. 19.95 a day plus mileage!! Sounds dumb. Think about it. It’s a steal for a rental.

Try UBER

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
U-haul van. Best kept secret in rentals. 19.95 a day plus mileage!! Sounds dumb. Think about it. It’s a steal for a rental.

Man did you rekindle fond memories with that very spot on suggestion. When I was a young GI in Colorado, we would rent a U-Haul truck on the weekends to go skiing. 15 or 20 of us would pile in the back with our sleeping bags, ski gear, and a keg of beer in the middle, and head to the slopes! What a blast, and only cost each guy $5-$10 a piece to cover the U-Haul. Great idea!

Jeff

Good daily rate but $0.79 per mile gets it close to auto rental. Auto rental June, July, Aug. I have seen $100/ day but Sept. would be cheaper.

Ya if your cruising all over the state a regular rental may be better. We got a lot of miles up here.

quote:

Originally posted by Snyd:
www.turo.com

Go in October; I paid $8/day.

I usually rent with Enterprise. The cars tend to be newer. Not as expensive as Avis or Hertz, but newer and cleaner cars (very important for "management") than Alamo, Dollar, etc. Their SUVs and trucks are 4x4s. Their intermediate truck is usually a Nissan Frontier.

It is often cheaper to rent off the airport. If that is true in ANC, then get an Uber to the offsite place, rent, return, then get an uber back to the airport.

Aug 30th 2017. Jake drops me off at the Aviator Hotel in downtown Anchorage. I stow my stuff, and get my sheep cape/meat/horns in their freezer.

Google says there is a Hertz and an Avis within easy wandering distance of the hotel, so off I go.

Me: Hello nice Hertz counter lady, Brenda, do you have any cars available?

Brenda: Do you have a reservation?

Me: No, I don't

Brenda: Sorry, no cars.

Me: OK, thank you.

I wander toward the Avis, but stop in at a diner for a bite and a beer (no beer while hunting with Jake, too heavy). While there, I check Hotwire for car rentals in the area. Hmmm. The Hertz that I just left has several cars available in the mid-size category. Hmmm, again. I check Avis and there are also several available.

So, I call the Avis location and am informed that all they have is a BMW X5 for the paltry sum of $160 per day. No thank you, have a nice day.

I go back on Hotwire, and rent a Toyota Rav4 for $28 a day from that Avis location through Hotwire. Hertz thinks their cars are worth more then Avis. I think they are idiots, and go with Avis.

I finish my mid-afternoon snack of Denali Chuli Stout with halibut and chips, and amble two blocks to the downtown Avis location.

15 minutes later, I am driving a Toyota Rav4 south to see if I can spot beluga whales snacking on salmon in the sound. Saw a couple, but they were way out there.

And that is how you rent a car in Anchorage. Use Hotwire, Orbitz, or whomever, but do it online.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Snyd:
www.turo.com

Go in October; I paid $8/day.

would be nice but cruises finish early Sept

ok thanks for the info, so what about places to see, things to do other than the obvious "Denali"

If it were me I would go to fair banks then east back down to ANC. Lots of neat stuff to see.

We are thinking of flying to anchorage and doing a road trip. How are the rental companies up there about the no gravel roads policy , which seems to be a common down south thing ?

Grizz

Grizz: If you fly into Fairbanks and rent a car pay attention to the "No travel on the Haul Road" clause in your rental agreement. They put GPS trackers on the rentals.

quote:

Originally posted by wazza56:
ok thanks for the info, so what about places to see, things to do other than the obvious "Denali"

Denali isn't a day trip, you'd need to spend a night at a hotel.

Day trips from Anchorage?

Drive to Eureka Lodge, eat lunch (and a slice of pie), then head back to Anchorage and stop at the Matanuska Glacier. It is a beautiful trip, take your time. Lots of pull-outs to take pictures and breathe in the air.

http://www.eurekalodge.com/Eureka_Site/Home.html
http://matanuskaglacieradventures.us

Drive to Seward. Visit the Sealife Center and have some halibut fish and chips. Stop at Exit Glacier to see another glacier: https://www.nps.gov/kefj/plany...xit-glacier-area.htm

Hike the trails around Flat Top mountain. In September you have good odds of seeing some huge bull moose in rut:
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/as...chugach/glenalps.htm

Drive to the Eagle River Nature Center and walk some trails. A beautiful drive up Eagle River Valley: https://www.ernc.org

If you want to guarantee you'll see a moose and bear, drive to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, its a good one. Also the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Girdwood:
http://www.alaskawildlife.org

For some easy pictures and a chance to see moose, drive around the airport and walk the Tony Knowles trail from Earthquake Park:
http://www.alaska.org/detail/t...nowles-coastal-trail

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams:
We are thinking of flying to anchorage and doing a road trip. How are the rental companies up there about the no gravel roads policy , which seems to be a common down south thing ?

Grizz

The big RV companies (and probably most rental car companies) won't allow you to drive beyond certain points, mostly because you'll be too far away to rescue the vehicle. You can drive the "Denali Highway", which is mostly unpaved, but not to McCarthy. Just have to ask the rental place.

Thanks guys.

Grizz

yep was planning on spending the night at Denali, was looking at doing a circuit past Fairbanks and back down to Anchorage traveling east, any snow on the ground by Sept.