Aleutian Islands

It has been a few years but I have travelled on that ferry at least 15 times. The seas can get rough but the boat does not run in the winter time when the real nasty weather sets in.

Usually in the summer there are big rollers and you just bob along but some people get uncomfortable with that.

If you are just going to Kodiak it is just a one day journey and you sleep on the ferry overnight.

If you are going to Dutch Harbor it will take a few days.

I say go for it. Are you planning on working out there? Check the schedule if you are just touring because there isn't very much to do if you get stranded in one of the villages and the flights out are very expensive.

Thanks for the info. I'll probably go in July or August. I want to go all the way to Dutch Harbor, for some reason, even though travellers tell me I am crazy. I have a fascination for boat travel. Of course, I'll do the round trip, so won't be staying in any of these places overnight.

Sounds great. The Aleutians are really remote and rugged. Even the National Geographic article on them was very week because the writer didn't spend any time down there except for a quick flight for some arial photos.

If you have the time and your schedule is free consider staying in Dutch Harbor for a while and looking around for work. The biggest fishing fleet in the US is based there and there is always work to be found. You might even want to go out in the Bering Sea and work on one of the boats. It is really the only way to see the Aleutians unless you join the Coast Guard.

Remember though that even Vitus Bering (The guy they named the sea after) said that the Aleutians were the most god forsaken place he had ever been to after spending a few winters out there.

It is an experience you will never forget.

I would suggest that you have a stay in Dutch Harbor. If you are there on a wednesday night or Sunday morning, you should go to the Grand Aleutian. They have a famous buffet. Absolutely worth it. King crab, smoked salmon, omlets to order and an amazing view. The coffee is great too. They have WiFi in the hotel and don't mind if you hang out in the lobby. Sounds like a great trip. I've only done it on CG ships. Are you going to camp on the boat? I here that is the thing to do. Also, your roughest part will be Unimak Pass. Bring your sea-sickness pills for that stretch, haha. I think you'll have a great time meeting all the people that actually live in these places.

Oh, one more thing, if you stay in Dutch, book a flight to Akutan. I'd just do the round trip and wouldn't worry about getting off in Akutan. Your plane will be a 1940's Grumman Goose! I'd love to do that and will if I ever get back there. I think it's run by PenAir.

Happy Travels!!

Oh! I just looked up the Grumman Goose. That's something I'd really like to do. And the Grand Aleutian buffet sounds great. I'll probably be ready to eat after days on the boat, vomiting from seasickness.

Yes, I'll be camping on the boat. The woman I called on the reservation line told me if I'm lucky, I can set up a sleeping bag or a small tent in a room inside, next to a heating unit; otherwise, most people just set up a tent on deck. I must be crazy. Cold. Seasick. Wet. Hungry. What a holiday. But it's my dream. Hoy.

I hope that I can revive this March, 2007 discussion about the Tustumena ferry out to the Aleutians. I write from Chicago and have been to Alaska 5 times. I think the Alaska Marine Highway is one of the best cheap travel adventures in the world. The ships are good and clean and they visit some very exotic locations.

I rode the Tustumena once. My wife and I went from Homer to Kodiak, then back around the Kenai in the other direction to Seward, then the Columbia Glaicer (could not see a damn thing but we heard it growling) then to Valdez, where we stayed in a B and B and took the bus on the Richardson Highway to Palmer for the state fair, then back to Chicago to our boring jobs. What a trip. If you knocked out the top five scenic spots it would still knock the lights out.

Kodiak was fine for a couple of hours but I would not want to live there. I always wanted to go there but I am glad we did not spend the night-or three-based on the schedules.

The Tustemena (the Alaskans call it the “Trusty Tusty”) is very pleasant. We did not take a cabin. We stayed in the enclosed deck and slept on the plastic couches. It was very warm and pleasant and we had good views from the windows. Meals are good and not so expensive, like on the other state ferry boats. You can bring beer on board and I drank a few in the common area on the sly. On other boats, they are more strict, but even on the Leconte I had a few. You cannot do this on the fancy cruise ships. The Tusty has a nice little pub, with limited hours but fair prices. There were no drunks but people enjoyed their fairly priced night caps.

It is one of my greatest travel dreams to take the Tusty out to Dutch Harbor, then fly back. Aniakchak AND Katmai are too expensive but you could include them as you fly back, probably from Chignik

So, anyone who can tell me what this great boat adventure is like would be doing me a great favor. What appeals to me is this is really our of the way Alaska without paying 430 dollars an hour for a bush pilot and other high costs. We now have 2 small children, 3 and 5. In 2005 we flew to Juneau then Sitka, and took the ferries all the way back to Anacortes, near Seattle. This included the Alaska, Washington State and BC ferries, including the Queen Charlotte Islands. The kids loved the boats and the food and the kids they met.

But…are the towns in the Aleutians so lovely? Is it worth the tedium, the wind and the sea?

One fellow wrote that closer destinations were better. I think he may be right. We loved Cordova, one of the 4 most lovely US towns I have ever seen. We also liked Wrangell. Palmer was a pleasant surprise. But Sitka and Juneau have been ruined by the cruise ships. I want to see the Aleutians. Call it the Call of the Wild.