My Road Trip to Alaska Cost + How to Save Money in Alaska

I didn’t have a strict budget when I took my 2 month (58 day) trip to Alaska, although I was hoping to spend less than $100 per day.  I knew I would have days that cost more than $100 per day, like the days I took boat rides to glaciers.  But I also knew I would have days where little was spent, and all my activities were free.    I also knew that gas would be one of my biggest expenses, and there would be little I could do about that. The following is my road trip to Alaska cost plus tips on how to save money on your Alaska Road Trip.

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My Trip to Alaska Cost

I spent $3,130 total on my 58 day trip to Alaska, a cost of $54 per day.  The breakdown of costs are:

Gas = $1,350.  Notes:  my biggest cost by far.  As a solo traveler, this is the cost that stings the most.  See my “how to save money in Alaska section below to see how this could have been lower.  I drove 10,731 miles and got around 27 miles to the gallon.   The most expensive gas was in Yukon on the Dempster Highway.

Activities = $655.  Notes:  There are so many things to do in Alaska that are free, but there are also loads of super expensive bucket-list type activities (Like $300 to go Halibut fishing or $700+ for a float plane ride to watch Grizzly Bears in Katmai).   Included in the $655 was:

• Williams Lake Rodeo
• 2 Glacier cruises – Columbia Glacier from Valdez and Northwestern Glacier from Seward
• A 3-Day music festival in Atlin, BC
• A shuttle and tour at Kennecott mine (and a free walk on a glacier)
• A shortened shuttle ride in Denali National park (read why I got a shortened tour)
• A few old timey shows – in Barkerville and Dawson City
• A few movies
• Entrance to a few cheaper attractions, like in Fairbanks, Valdez, Alaska Wildlife Center, Seward Sealife Center
• Whittiter Tunnel Toll (Note: this was the ONLY road toll I paid on the whole trip!)

Eating Out = $65.  Notes:  I didn’t eat out much.  I did have a couple meals bought for me (I was sponsored as a blogger in one city, and had a first date) and I had a couple free meals at community festivals (hot dog + sides)

Groceries = $131.   Notes: this includes about $60 of groceries that I had as I started the trip, purchased on sale at my local grocery.  I also was on a restrictive diet for the duration of the trip, restricting calories to around 1000 per day, as a variation of my very own “3E Diet” – see details here.

Other = $341.  Notes: incidentals, an occasional snack, beers  (beers were probably the biggest portion of this 😊 and I stuck to the cheapies – Rainier and PBR)

Car Insurance = $200.  Notes:  this is my normal insurance cost.  Make sure you have insurance and call your insurer to make sure you’re covered.  I ended up with a cracked windshield so I’m happy I had coverage with $0 deductible. 

Camping = $156.  Notes: this was the category where I spent the least compared to what I expected to pay before my travels.  Nights I paid for camping included 2 nights at the Rodeo, 1 night at Barkerville (no free spots super close to Barkerville and I was visiting for 2 days), 4 nights at the Atlin music festival, 1 night at Dease Lake (cheap campground and I was tired), 2 nights in Seward ($10 tent camping right on the water), and 2 nights in Inuvik, NWT. 

Souvenirs = $42.  Notes: I try not to collect much, but I have to get a new fridge magnet in each new state or province/territory.

Car Maintenance = $118.  Notes: Two oil changes – once in Whitehorse and once shortly after I returned home.

Communications = $74.  Notes:  2 months of cell phone + $5 skype credit. But I found my cell phone coverage was worthless – my cheap t-mobile plan didn’t work in Canada or Alaska.

Now, I’m excluding a few big-ticket items here – rent at home (hypothetically a person could go nomadic and live out of the van), health insurance (covered mostly by my employer), and depreciation on my vehicle.   But all other expenses are included.

How To Save Money in Alaska – Specifically an Alaska Road Trip

Camp for free!!!   If you know where to look, there are lots of places to camp for free.  This is the main reason my Alaska trip expenses were well under budget.  Check this post for some of the best Free Campgrounds on my Trip to Alaska.

Save on meals – don’t eat out often and stock up when the goods are cheap.   I often ate canned soups or chilis.  I stocked up when I could get them for close to $1 per can.  At more remote places in Alaska or Canada, the same canned soup was over $3. 

Plan your gas purchases ahead.  The Gas Buddy App or website is your friend.  Check the gas prices at the places you’re visiting the next day and plan where you might fill, top up, or just fill enough to get to the next, cheaper spot.  I didn’t do a good job at this, but I suspect I could have saved $50-100 by planning ahead a little bit (for example I filled gas in Whitehorse, Yukon before driving to Skagway, Alaska where it was considerably cheaper, I could have saved over $15 on that single fill-up.

Shop at Fred Meyer in Alaska – I LOVE Fred Meyer!  On my way up to Alaska, some nice people gave me a sheet of coupons for RV Travelers to Alaska in 2019 that included two coupons for 20 cents off per gallon of gas and $10-30 of purchases of $50-150+ in store.  I saved over $10 in gas and $20 on in-store purchases from these amazing coupons from Fred Meyer.  Ask for these at campgrounds or ask the gas station attendant at the Fred Meyer Gas Stations.  Fred Meyer has some of the best prices on groceries and gas even without the coupons. 

But the Milepost Guidebook before you go – A must have for driving the Alaska Highway is the Milepost.  This book is the self-proclaimed bible of travel to Alaska.  It contains nearly every point of interest on any route you might take to Alaska, all around Alaska, plus many interesting detours.   It contains mile by mile attractions, campgrounds, motels, and other points of interest along the entire Alcan.  It also hints where you might have an extra good chance to see wildlife, where you might find wild berries, etc.  It helped me plan my days and find lots of free things to see and do.  You should buy this book before you travel to Alaska -not only can you plan your route, you save about $15 from buying it from a visitor center or gas station in Canada or Alaska.  Buy your Milepost Guidebook now at amazon to start planning your trip up the Alaska Highway.   

Avoid the Ferry (Alaska Marine Highway) – I had so many people ask me if I were taking the ferry to Alaska.  I also attended a talk on the ferry at the Seattle RV Show and the ferry looked really great.  Then I looked at the prices.  Bellingham to Seward one way = $3,000 for my 14-foot van plus me.  That’s the cost of my entire trip!  And that didn’t even include a sleeper cabin and you cannot sleep in your vehicle.  It definitely is a faster way to travel, but there are two distinct routes to Alaska by driving and they both have interesting sites to see along the way – the Cassiar Highway and the Alaska Highway.

Do you have any other suggestions to save money in Alaska?  Leave your comments below.

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