Alaska Question - Book or Not Book??
Alaska Question - Book or Not Book??
I'm planning a trip to Alaska this June. I have planned the trip, including the route and hotels. I'll be on the road for 30 days, so I will have many hotel reservations. My question is this: Hotels can be hard to find, and rooms can go quickly, so I was going to make all the reservations in advance. But if something disrupts or delays travel, that means rescheduling all the affected hotels - which could be a lot. So, for those of you who have made the trip in the last few years, what did you do, and/or what do you recommend? Make reservations, and hope all travel goes according to schedule or reserve rooms as you go and hope there are some available.
Thanks for your insights.
Rich
Thanks for your insights.
Rich
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Joined: May 2012
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From: Carlsbad, CA
We always book travel in advance. But, our longest trips are 2 weeks. One of our lessons learned is not having off days. So, even though I suggest booking in advance, build in some buffers with a 2 night stay every 7 days or so. Certainly there should be great areas to spend a little extra time, and if something goes wrong…it’s easier to cancel one night to catch up, rather than to have to reschedule the entire trip.
Oh yeah, cancellations and rebookings are easier to do when you book direct with the hotels. Although I do like using Expedia just for the convenience of having all the reservations in one place. If you are organized, and don’t misplace reservations, I’d suggest direct bookings.
Oh yeah, cancellations and rebookings are easier to do when you book direct with the hotels. Although I do like using Expedia just for the convenience of having all the reservations in one place. If you are organized, and don’t misplace reservations, I’d suggest direct bookings.
Last edited by TriGeezer; Nov 16, 2024 at 02:22 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Michigan
We (three of us) went to AK in 2000.
On the way up we "split" motel rooms (3rd man used a cot or roll-a-way bed) with the exception of only one night.
That one night (by choice) was spent in a fishing camp with 2 of us using our sleeping bags in a small camper. and the third guy chose to pitch his tent.
We had no reservations but we made sure to "get off of the road" before it got too late into the evening and the only "bad choice" we made was paying for a room before learning that there was no cold beer available for miles around!
I can't imagine what room rates are these days but I'm sure that "room splitting" or even sharing a campsite would save U a bundle on a 30 day trip IF you could find a compatible travelling companion.
These days, with quick pop-up tents and heated gear camping is much more appealing (especially if you're young enough and able to do it).
On the way up we "split" motel rooms (3rd man used a cot or roll-a-way bed) with the exception of only one night.
That one night (by choice) was spent in a fishing camp with 2 of us using our sleeping bags in a small camper. and the third guy chose to pitch his tent.
We had no reservations but we made sure to "get off of the road" before it got too late into the evening and the only "bad choice" we made was paying for a room before learning that there was no cold beer available for miles around!
I can't imagine what room rates are these days but I'm sure that "room splitting" or even sharing a campsite would save U a bundle on a 30 day trip IF you could find a compatible travelling companion.
These days, with quick pop-up tents and heated gear camping is much more appealing (especially if you're young enough and able to do it).
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,809
Likes: 4,137
From: NC
NC to Alaska and back in June. Did not book anything. Camped and cheap hotels 60 / 40. No problems. I despise riding on a schedule. I don't know your route but good lodge in Liard Springs. Hot spring there is wonderful. Good hotel right beside good restaurant in Tok.
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Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Marion NC / Lake Norman NC / Panama City Fla
Didn’t go to Alaska, but I did do a 10k mile 28 day trip back in May/June. Never booked anything in advance, meaning I rode to about early afternoon then I decided how much farther I wanted to ride that day and booked my room then. I never had a problem finding a room, even in Canada.
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From: Idaho Panhandle
I booked where there might be issues. Only place in town or a major road stopping point. In places where we had multiple choices, I had a list of three with addresses and phone numbers. I’d call three days ahead and make a reservation. We also did what is discussed above. We had four 2 day stops. Whitehorse, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Homer.
In this scenario, we arrived at our destination several times when they had no more rooms for unreserved travelers. We had our room. We saw vehicles turned away. It appeared to us, the few bikes we met generally had reservations and the vehicles that were turned away were either tired of their RV for a night or just wet from camping in the rain. Remember, road crews in the rural stretches stay in the only motel. That worked out great for us, but every room was booked and people were turned away including one set of Beemer adventure bikers who were tired of camping in the rain and mud. Oh well, they had one more night in wet tents at least.
As it was, even with our motel in Anchorage burning down with us just escaping at dawn, we did not have to change our ride plans as we had a flex day built in and our next accommodation was open to adding us a day earlier.
I booked every motel directly and had a confirmation on my phone by text or email. I did not use a phone app like Expedia. Been burned on an earlier trip. Expedia confirmed my room, arrived, motel was closed, defunct. Happened twice, never gave it a third try as we are two lane back road junkies and the next motel was another 40-50 miles away. But we did enjoy the pool with the waterfall!
We also planned several short ride days. That meant we were had some Flex Time, laundry, golf twice, and a fresh outlook for a long day following.
In this scenario, we arrived at our destination several times when they had no more rooms for unreserved travelers. We had our room. We saw vehicles turned away. It appeared to us, the few bikes we met generally had reservations and the vehicles that were turned away were either tired of their RV for a night or just wet from camping in the rain. Remember, road crews in the rural stretches stay in the only motel. That worked out great for us, but every room was booked and people were turned away including one set of Beemer adventure bikers who were tired of camping in the rain and mud. Oh well, they had one more night in wet tents at least.
As it was, even with our motel in Anchorage burning down with us just escaping at dawn, we did not have to change our ride plans as we had a flex day built in and our next accommodation was open to adding us a day earlier.
I booked every motel directly and had a confirmation on my phone by text or email. I did not use a phone app like Expedia. Been burned on an earlier trip. Expedia confirmed my room, arrived, motel was closed, defunct. Happened twice, never gave it a third try as we are two lane back road junkies and the next motel was another 40-50 miles away. But we did enjoy the pool with the waterfall!
We also planned several short ride days. That meant we were had some Flex Time, laundry, golf twice, and a fresh outlook for a long day following.
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We rode from Mississippi to the Arctic Circle and back. You can see a Ride Report of that trip HERE.
There are some pretty long stretches where gas and place to stay are sparce. Unless you want to keep riding when you come upon a booked up motel, might be best to make reservations in the more remote areas.
Have fun planning your trip, and enjoy it!
Kevin
There are some pretty long stretches where gas and place to stay are sparce. Unless you want to keep riding when you come upon a booked up motel, might be best to make reservations in the more remote areas.
Have fun planning your trip, and enjoy it!
Kevin
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From: Long Island, New York
I prefer booking in advance, one less thing to worry about. We did a 6 week 10k trip in 2013, made every reservation. Another trip we did break down, but I only needed to move two nights around, we spent those two days on the interstate making up lost time. Then we were back on schedule. As stated above, having a rest day in the schedule works great when you need to jockey stuff around. Good luck.