Skagway - Haines
August 2018
Shipping company: Alaska Marine Highway System
Type of shipment: RoRo
Duration: 60min
Cost: 126 USD
Web: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs
Although we largely omitted Alaska on our route, we made a detour to Haines to see the salmon run and the bears at Chilkoot Lake. The voyage from Skagway over Chilkoot Inlet was beautiful. Pale green water and a breathtaking mountain landscape surrounded us. Unfortunately the organization of the ferry company was quite chaotic. We had to wait 1.5 hours in the car at the harbour before we were allowed to board the ship and then the ferry was 30 minutes on delay. The crossing itself was diverting. There was a small kiosk on board, where you could buy some food and drinks. There were tables, on which all possible sea inhabitants of the region were printed. We could only pass the time by studying all the animals.
The organization of the ferry crossing:
We reserved our tickets the day before by telephone, because there is not too much space on the ferries. The tickets we got and payed at the harbour. You can try to get a spot spontaneously as well. The shipping company keeps a few free places that cannot be reserved. Depending on the size of the vehicles and the capacity utilization of the place, there may be room for spontaneously decided ones at the end.