Driving from Anchorage to Haines (Juneau and, Whittier: home, restaurants, costs)

[RN2travel2]

Okay, silly question but as we have never done this trip need help anyway!

My husband has had a DUI years back and we hear that it is hard, almost impossible to get him into Canada after this, is this true? What if I do the driving? What is the chance we will get turned back at the border into Canada?

We plan on taking the ferry from Haines to Bellingham but if we have to fight to get into Canada would it be better just to drive as we will have allready gotten into the Country?

With the ferry being down out of Whittier, I feel like we will be really stuck if we have trouble getting into Canada!

Advice?

Thanks all.

Carol

[Rance]

You pull up to the AK border and you are driving...chances are pretty good you'll get in. Bring passports.

[warptman]

Canada: DWI or DUI - Driving convictions - TripAdvisor

Entering Canada with a DUI Conviction (broken link)

Old DUI? Stay away from Canada - SmarterTravel.com

There you go.

[ASpilot2be]

Its not a bad drive. I drove to Anchorage in the spring, and drove back in the summer. On my way back to Haines, I just drove through the night. Pretty painless, other than those darn frost heaves

[RN2travel2]

Thanks Rance, it does look like we may have some trouble, looking at what Warptman posted. It does show that the border crossing sites are closed at night, does that mean the roads are closed too? Or just the crossing site? Might have to fly him to Juneau then from there to Haines. What a pita...

[RN2travel2]

Geeze Warptman, thanks for these links, I really appreciate it. Looks like we have a problem! I told Rance we may have to just fly him from Anchorage to Juneau and then to Haines as I can't find a flight from Anchorage to Haines! Thanks for your input.

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by RN2travel2

Geeze Warptman, thanks for these links, I really appreciate it. Looks like we have a problem! I told Rance we may have to just fly him from Anchorage to Juneau and then to Haines as I can't find a flight from Anchorage to Haines! Thanks for your input.

Your right, there are no flights Anchorage to Haines. What you could do is have him fly to Juneau and meet the ferry there.

[RN2travel2]

We did think of that but it only costs another 99 to fly to haines! The haines to Juneau portion is at night so to me he would not miss any scenery but....well he wants to see Haines. When we come back home we will have to be sure the ferry is running all the way to Whittier!
Thanks for replying!

[rotorhead]

When are you traveling? If it's still gonna be winter I'd recommend the ANC-JNU hookup and skip the trip to Haines for him. It's worth seeing in the summer, but not especially appealing this time of year. The drive down from Haines Junction to Haines is quite pretty regardless of season, but that road can be treacherous in the winter.

Keep in mind that there's NO jet service to Haines, the trip from Juneau to here is in a very small single-engine propeller plane (like maybe 4-6 seats, including the pilot). In addition to the aircraft issue, you've also gotta consider the delays and cancellations caused by the poor flying weather. In winter we regularly go for days without getting any new mail since it comes in mainly by those little puddle-jumpers, and sometimes they just can't get in or out until the weather improves.

I've been a professional pilot for over twenty years (including a fair bit of Alaska flying) but I'll be perfectly happy if I don't EVER have to get on one of those little single-engine planes out over that cold, unforgiving water. I'll take the ferry whenever possible, thank you.

On the positive side, things are starting to ramp up just a little bit here in Haines as far as the restaurants go. We were down to only one place that was open for dinner, and even they've had some nights when they didn't open. There are a couple more cranking up pretty soon now, and by summer there's a surprising number of choices for dining out.

The Canadian "no-DWI" thing is a major irritant for quite a few folks that want to travel the Alcan and a prime example of their nanny-state hypocricy as many of their own citizens are a LONG way from being models of sobriety. Don't even get me started on their gun laws....

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

I've been a professional pilot for over twenty years (including a fair bit of Alaska flying) but I'll be perfectly happy if I don't EVER have to get on one of those little single-engine planes out over that cold, unforgiving water. I'll take the ferry whenever possible, thank you.

I agree. However if you are gonna fly, pay a little more and jump on Wings of Alaska. That way you may get the Caravan. That PT-6 turbine is a proven engine.