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Alaska Marine Highway | Introduction
Alaska Marine HighwayIt is the marine ferry system of the State of Alaska. Look at the map of Alaska, we know that the terrain is relatively broken, driving on land often have to take a big detour to get from one city to another, but by boat will be much faster, some places because they are scattered island chain, take the ferry is even a must, so there is the Alaska Marine Highway system, which is often utilized by everyone.
If you drive all the way by land, it takes 357 miles from Whittier to Valdez, but only 90 miles by sea, although the scenery is great, the round trip time is really long. Therefore, many tourists who want to go to Valdez choose to drive to Valdez and back by ferry. For tourists, the advantage of taking the ferry is not only to save travel time, but also to see glaciers and marine life from the sea. The ferry route between Valdez and Whittier is very popular.
However, if you want to take the ferry, you have to plan carefully beforehand. When we booked our tickets, we originally planned to take the ferry from Valdez to Whittier. However, before we left, we realized that there was no ferry available on the date we originally planned to take the ferry, so we had to take the ferry from Whittier to Valdez and then drive back, which made our trip a bit more rushed. You can find more information onAlaska Marine Highway websiteCheck the shift schedule in advance.
There are different types of boats, and the newer boats run faster. When we took the ferry, Mr. Chenega only took a little over two hours, the boat is big and has more seats, but the frequency is small. Most of the trips take about 4 hours from Whittier to Veldez on older boats.
Notes | Whittier Tunnel
The Whittier tunnel is the only tunnel in the U.S. that is used by both trains and automobiles, and it is the only one in the U.S. that is used by both trains and automobiles. Because it is used by trains and automobiles alternately, there is a limit to the time it can be opened to automobiles, so you should pay attention to the opening time, otherwise you may miss your trip. the official websiteCheck the opening hours. You need to pay a toll to enter in Whittier direction, but not in the opposite direction, that is to say, if we follow our original arrangement to take a boat to Valdez to go back to Whittier first, and then go back to Anchorage by land through this tunnel, we can save a small amount of money.
When we arrived, it was not yet our turn to pass through the tunnel, so we queued up outside. When the tunnel opened, we drove a little closer to see that the tunnel entrance could only accommodate one vehicle. When we entered the tunnel, we could see the train tracks on the ground.
Small Town Scenery | Whittier
Whittier is a very sunny town, the center of the economy is the harbor, the scenery is quiet and beautiful, there are some small stores, most of them are Gift shop or Galleria, and all of them are on the cute cottage route. Apart from some snorkeling and fishing trips, there seems to be no other tourist economy, it is a paradise for rest. There is an underground tunnel from the harbor to the town center, but there was only one hotel in the town center when we arrived, and there were no stores or restaurants.
Breakfast Cafe | Lazy Otter
We only stayed in Whittier for a short time in the morning, and Lazy Otter was the only cafe that served breakfast. We didn't expect much, but the coffee was quite good. Sandwiches and soup warmed our stomachs, and with the harbor view from the window, it was quite relaxing and cozy in the rainy Whittier weather.
Alaska Marine Highway | Ferry Rides
When it was time to board the boat, we had to drive our car to the gate and wait in line, then we could board the boat when the gate opened. The boat we took was Mr. Chenega, there were quite a lot of seats on the boat, and the ride was very stable.
You can enjoy the glacier sea view from the boat. You can see a lot of glaciers along the sea route between Whittier and Valdez, and if you are lucky, you can even see whales.
Two hours later, the car drove over the railway bridge to the pier and arrived at the destination, Valdez.
Further reading
- Alaska 9 Days | Self-drive Itinerary Overview
- Alaska Driving】Anchorage Museum | Anchorage Museum
- Alaska Driving | Denali National Park Day Trip Tips | Denali National Park
- Alaska Marine Highway Ferry | Whittier Scenery
- Alaska Self-drive] Valdez 2 Days | Richardson Highway | Worthington Glacier | Wrangell St Elias National Park
- Matanuska Glacier | The Best Glacier in Alaska
- Kenai Fjords National Park Day Trip | Seward Township
- Ididaride | Super exciting dog sledding trip @ Seward
- Homer | Halibut Capital | Sea Kayak
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