# Alaska Marine Highway



## Chessie (Jun 27, 2017)

Anyone here has experience taking the Alaska Marine Highway? It seems like a particular interesting way to travel and experience some parts of Alaska, like the inside passage and the Aleutians.


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## City of Miami (Jun 27, 2017)

AMH has the plus of not requiring a passport unlike all of the cruise options.


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## Chessie (Jun 27, 2017)

That's true. I understand they are US flagged ships therefore do not need to worry about the passenger equivalent of the jones act. Doesn't affect me personally as I do have a passport that doesn't expire until 2025. :lol:

I especially like that they are not cruise ships but a transportation tool for locals as well as tourists and they transport vehicles too.


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## dogbert617 (Jun 30, 2017)

What cities/towns does the AMH run between, in Washington and Alaska? I will look up this ferry soon, now that I'm mildly curious to look up more info about this one.

Though if I ever traveled that way, I'd also want to see British Columbia and Vancouver myself! Maybe also some of the other places up there in BC, like Victoria and Vancouver Island.


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## ehbowen (Jun 30, 2017)

There are many, but the schedules can be confusing. I suggest that you look up their website. Their primary focus seems to be point to point within Alaska, but they do run an occasional ferry to / from Bellingham, WA.


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## Rail Freak (Jun 30, 2017)

ehbowen said:


> There are many, but the schedules can be confusing. I suggest that you look up their website. Their primary focus seems to be point to point within Alaska, but they do run an occasional ferry to / from Bellingham, WA.


I was under the impression you boarded in Bellingham, do they go to Seattle?


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## ehbowen (Jun 30, 2017)

Rail Freak said:


> ehbowen said:
> 
> 
> > There are many, but the schedules can be confusing. I suggest that you look up their website. Their primary focus seems to be point to point within Alaska, but they do run an occasional ferry to / from Bellingham, WA.
> ...


The only destinations they serve outside of Alaska are Bellingham, WA and Prince Rupert, BC.


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## railiner (Jul 1, 2017)

The schedules require you to make transfer's to get all the way from Bellingham to Dutch Harbor...the extreme ends of their routes. It is difficult to make that journey and avoid long layover's...

It is interesting that some ports such as Anchorage, Seward, and Nome, are only accessible by cruise ships, and not the state ferry. The ferry port for Anchorage is Whittier, where you then take a train or bus to Anchorage....


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## BCL (Jul 1, 2017)

railiner said:


> The schedules require you to make transfer's to get all the way from Bellingham to Dutch Harbor...the extreme ends of their routes. It is difficult to make that journey and avoid long layover's...
> 
> It is interesting that some ports such as Anchorage, Seward, and Nome, are only accessible by cruise ships, and not the state ferry. The ferry port for Anchorage is Whittier, where you then take a train or bus to Anchorage....


I thought that the ferry was supposed to be a transportation link for places that otherwise didn't have transportation options except maybe for float planes. The Alaska Marine Highway system isn't really a tourist ferry. I looked at Seward, and it's easy enough to get to from Anchorage or Whittier. Now if you're in the Aleutians, then what other option do you have?

Nome seems kind of far away. I guess there's a point where getting to one isolated area doesn't make sense, especially if there's an airport.


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## railiner (Jul 1, 2017)

BCL said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > The schedules require you to make transfer's to get all the way from Bellingham to Dutch Harbor...the extreme ends of their routes. It is difficult to make that journey and avoid long layover's...
> ...


Or sled dogs?  As in the end of the Iditarod? 

Seriously, you are quite correct...in stating its primary mission. But then again Hurtigruten started a similar mission in Norway, and is now morphing into a global recreational expedition cruise line...


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