One of the best ways to experience Alaska is driving around the state yourself. Cruises and the Alaska Railroad bring you to the beautiful views, but the small towns, epic hikes and unplanned wildlife sightings all happen when YOU are in control of your travel. Rental cars in Alaska are available Anchorage and Fairbanks easily, and in most ports. You’ll find that there are actually a lot of independent rental agencies as well as hotels and inns that have small rental fleets. You can’t drive most rental cars on a lot of the highways though, so before you book a rental car in Alaska you need to have a travel plan and understand the roads.
Check out our Alaska road trip plans and itineraries here!
Car Rental Options in Alaska
As you’re planning and starting to book your Alaska trip, a rental car is going to be one of the first things you’ll want to secure. In the summer months the rental cars get booked up rather far in advance, especially the 4WD options, both through major and independent rental agencies. There are a lot of gravel road restrictions for rentals cars in Alaska, even if you’re booking a 4WD or SUV, so be sure that you understand what you’re signing up for.
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Gravel Road Restrictions in Alaska
While Alaska does have an excellent highway system that connect much of South Central Alaska and up into the Interior, there are still a lot of gravel highways that you may want to travel on. Some of the most breathtaking sights in AK are not along the primary highways, so if you’ve got a sense of adventure or are planning an epic Alaska road trip, or maybe you even want to head into the Yukon, you’ll need a 4WD vehicle that is allowed on the gravel highways.
Here are the gravel highways that standard rental car companies restrict:
- Dalton Highway – the epic gravel road to Deadhorse through the Arctic Circle
- Dempster Highway – gravel road through the Yukon and into the Northwest Territories
- Denali Highway – an option from Cantwell near Denali National Park cutting to the Richardson Highway connecting Glenallen to Fairbanks
- Elliot Highway – north of Fairbanks into the Interior
- Edgerton Highway – connecting Copper Center to Chitina (the Fisherman’s Highway)
- KIondike Highway – connecting Whitehorse to Dawson City in the Yukon, accessible from Haines
- McCarthy Road – connecting the Richardson Highway to McCarthy and Wrangell-St Elias National Park
- Steese Highway – north of Fairbanks heading up to Circle on the Yukon River
- Taylor Highway – eastern Alaska connecting Chicken AK to Tok AK
You can have an awesome experience on your own with a regular rental car, but I think it’s worth it to do a rental that allows for boundless exploring.
Renting a 4WD Car or SUV in Alaska
Our preferred unrestricted rental company in Alaska is GoNorth Alaska 4WD Rentals. They have a big fleet of 4WD cars and SUVs and allow you to travel on the gravel highways of AK. They also rent campers and RVs (some restrictions or fees with these) so you can enjoy all that Alaska has to offer through its highway system.
Use discount code GON2TD for a free mileage package with your vehicle rental through GoNorth Alaska.
Be sure to use the code to get the mileage deal!
Renting a Standard Vehicle in Alaska
Most people coming to Alaska won’t need to have anything more than a standard rental car. The main highways are very well maintained considering the insanity of weather fluctuation (yes, there are some potholes and rogue rocks sometimes), so sedans and midsized SUVs are great options. Most visitors will likely be traveling on the following Alaska highways:
- Parks Highway – from Palmer to Fairbanks via Denali National Park
- Richardson Highway – from Fairbanks to Valdez (Prince William Sound)
- Glenn Highway – from Anchorage to Glennallen where it meets the Richardson Highway
- Seward Highway – Connecting Anchorage to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, spur to Whittier
- Sterling Highway – on the Kenai Peninsula connecting the Seward Highway to Cooper Landing, Kenai and Home
Each of these roads is paved and kept clear in the winter months. Visiting Alaska in winter isn’t a bad driving experience for the most part, but we do tend to opt for a 4WD vehicle during the coldest months.
We use EXPEDIA to book rental cars when we don’t need a specialized vehicle. We like having it connect to our central travel booking account and it keeps our trip information all in one app (hotels and activities live here too).
Find an Alaska car rental via Expedia here
Using the Alaska Marine Highway with a Rental Car
One of the most memorable type of travel you can have in the State of Alaska is getting to ride the Alaska Marine Highway (AMHS). It’s a great system that connects much of Southeast Alaska to the smaller communities and islands, but then also connects Valdez to Whittier, Homer to Kodiak and onward into the Aleutian Islands. You can either walk-on or drive a vehicle onto the AMHS, but if you’re bringing a car, you need to know its size at the time of booking your passage.
You should book your auto transport on the Alaska Marine Highway as far in advance as you know you’ll be using it, but that means that you also need to secure your rental car at that time. If you don’t have a rental set up yet, figure out what you will be booking and see what the range of lengths can be for that vehicle class. If you’re booking through a place like GoNorth Alaska (use code GON2TD) you’ll know what sort of car or SUV you’ll have once you book, but if you’re using a service like Hertz or Enterprise the vehicle assigned to you may vary. Confirm the options and the longest length vehicle you might end up with BEFORE booking auto passage on the AMHS. This will ensure that you’re allowed on the ferry and that their loading process and sold space isn’t messed up.
I hope you’ll consider renting a car and exploring Alaska via its beautiful highways. There is so much to see and do, I know that you’ll be glad you did it this way. If you have any questions about booking a rental car or an RV, or if you need some clarification on road tripping in Alaska, please send us a note so we can help you. We’re all about exploring and making sure others enjoy their experience in AK just as much as we always do.