Can u drive to Alaska?

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ARTHUR R

My wife & I drove to Alaska from Brooksville, Florida last year and feel I can give you good advise. As of right now, you do not need a passport to drive to Alaska from the lower 48. You do need a drivers license or state ID card, a certified copy of your birth certificate and proof that you have filed for a passport. Our government decided that they wanted everyone traveling to and from the U.S. to have a passport. What they did not plan on was as many people filing for a passport as did.

For many reasons I suggest anyone traveling from anywhere East of I-15 to cross into Canada at Sweetgrass, Montana. Using this route you will have very good roads to the start of the AlCan Highway. Also you will purchase as little Canadian fuel as possible. Canadian fuel is much more expensive than U.S. fuel. You may pay $1.20 per liter and the exchange rate is almost non-existant at the moment. $1.20 per liter X 3.8 liters per gallon is $4.56 per gallon.

From I-15 at Sweetgrass your drive to Dawson Creek, British Columbia will be on mostly divided highways for the 741 miles. You will drive by Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta on Canada 4 and 2. At Edmonton you will turn West on 43 into Dawson Creek. This part of the drive may be done in two days. Take longer and enjoy the sites. An interesting visit to Head Smash In Buffalo Jump, out of Fort Macleod, Alberta.

From Dawson Creek, British Columbia, the start of the AlCan/Alaskan Highway to Fairbanks, you will cover 1,462 miles. This may be done in four hard days, maybe. A lot depends upon road repairs that can delay a half-day at times. I know of one person who spent an entire day waiting for a herd of Caribou to cross the road, this is a very, very rare occurance in early Spring. Take time and enjoy the sites, there are more sites on this road than any other in the world. You will see the end of the AlCan/Alaskan Highway in Delta Junction, not to worry, in 1942 when the highway was built, this is where it stopped. You continue on to Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway.

If you take nothing else, purchase a copy of the Milepost. This book, has every thing on every mile of the Alaskan Highway listed. Also everything there is to do and see, from the U.S. border with Canada to the Alaskan border. In Alaska, every road, not just highway, is listed and everything also. Anyone who travels in Alaska carries a copy. We got ours at Amazon.com. at half price. It can be purchased at www.milepost.com and many book stores. Once you have your copy you can plan your trip and routing. If you don't wish to go to Fairbanks, you can plan anywhere you wish to travel in Alaska.

Also make sure your vehicle is in good condition, good tires and spare is a plus. Supplies can be had along the way. A road service that will come to your rescue in Canada and Alaska is a must. Cell phone service North of Dawson Creek is mostly non-existant. We found a GoPhone good for communications. Their roaming in Canada is only $0.15, where service is available.

Also a good deal is the Great Alaskan Coupon Book. There are many very good 2-4-1 deals. Many hotels charge in the excess of $100 per night and with this coupon book you can spend 2 nights for the price of one. Pick this book up at any Safeway store in Alaska.

Read my blog on Yahoo 360 for photos and tips on traveling Alaska. We took over two years planning our trip. You are a little late leaving for Alaska, this year. By the time you get there, it'll be time to head back to the lower 48.

Good luck and happy traveling.

InquiringMinds

You don't need a passport to get into Canada (I'm Canadian) but you do need a passport to get back INTO the US

Also, where are you from? How are we supposed to tell you how long of a drive when you don't say where you're driving from?

cheddar bob

Ya you can drive to Alaska. You dont need a passport and depending on the stops you make, you could be there in 5 days.

you can drive the alaskan hwy. don't think you have to have a passport

mai

You could drive to Alaska. How long it will take depend on where you're traveling from. Yes, you will need a passport. Everytime you leave the U.S. border you'll need it!

Russian CBR

from where u driving?
i flew to alaska from LAX last week. it took me 6 hours to get there.
u dont need anything to drive thoough Canada on the ewway to alaska except ur driving licence, and maybe US passort

Hokie_Pokey

You should use google maps to figure out the shortest way. Click on get directions and enter your start and end addresses. Depending on where you are, it's going to be at least a couple thousand miles. And you probably don't want to try driving thru Canada and into Alaska during the winter months.

Good luck. It's going to be a long trip.

Karen

You can drive to Alaska, but some cities (like Barrow) are only reachable by plane or boat.

Bex13

You will need a passport to get into and out of Canada but since I do not know where you are, I am not sure how long the drive will be for you.

Have a safe trip!

Information Police

Yes you will need a passport to travel through Canada.

You will also have to drive long distances on the ALCAN highway which is barely paved. If you don't have a rugged enough car you won't be allowed to drive it. And you will have to drive in a caravan with other vehicles because it is so remote.

Brer Buffalo

Yes you can drive. My in-laws did a couple of summers ago, it was a few days from WA (USA) to Alaska. I think you might need a passport now.

smart E

Depends what part. The capitol city, Juneau, has no roads in or out.
You can drive to Anchorage, but its really a long way. It will take you three to five days from the canadian border . The Alaska Highway is very long, not well maintained in some places, and would be an awesome adventure. You will need a passport.

You could take a ferry or even a freighter, they have passenger cabins, but this will take a while also.

josiahj91

yes...but expect an EXTREMELY LOOOONG drive!!! Even if you're from Seattle it's the same as driving from Los Angeles to New York...but it does depend where in Alaska you're going...it's pretty big. lol and there are freeways up there...but it's a ways away from Seattle if you're going north.

~*~ strryeyedgrrl ~*~

Yes, you can drive to Alaska. I did a quick map from Seattle to Anchorage and it comes up with a drive time of 43 hours.

You will not need a passport to drive into or out of Canada - the land crossing requirements were put on hold until 2009. It might be best, though, to bring along your birth certificates in addition to your photo identification.

For those people that think I don't know what I'm talking about, see the links below. I work in travel, this stuff is ingrained in my brain.

kookiemonstr1470

you will need a passport i assume but since you didnt say which state your in, theres no telling how long it will take.

u will need a passport to get into canada, but they really dont check it, it can be expired and they wouldnt notice, just make sure it isn't so u can get back. it depends on where u start from, so i cant tell u how long it would take 2 drive there. considering ur from Virginia its about 4445 miles, florida; about 5245 miles. my cousin drove up 2 ferdonia, by the border from manhattan, it only took her about a day (shes a horrible driver though)

hth

noelbutterfly

Mapquest it

Canada should own alaska anyways well whare you driving from asumeing you live in new york it whould take 3,845 mi ā€“ about 2 days 21 hours
na you wont need a pastport but haveing one whould help.

teren b

no take a boot

jake

No, it's on another planet. What cave did you suddenly come out of? I can only imagine what your BF is like!

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