As is typical for all of our trips, we generally add a few tidbits of information to the blog after we get home, generally some status updates on the blog completion, general impressions of the trip after we have been home and thought about it, and some general cost information, and we do that in the Epilogue.
I have been adding pictures to all of the blog post themselves, and doing some initial proof reading. I have also added photos to most all of the Photo Albums listed in the Menu and on the right sidebar.
We will also be rearranging the post to normal chronological order since the trip is competed. We have also added a menu link to the “Trip Posts Only” which allows you to skip all of the Trip Planning Posts and only see/read the actual posts from the trip itself.
I have not processed any of the GoPro Videos yet, and we will add some of those as well as phone videos eventually.
Health Update
I am still fighting COVID, and Stephanie is still not sick at all (Thank Goodness!). My symptoms are really just some slight dry coughing, either a runny nose or congestion, it just depends on the day, and I am generally tired, well we both are. Some of that may be adjusting back to the time here. I still tested positive on Thursday, July 20 when I took a rapid test, so I am still not going anywhere. But in general, I do not feel that bad, so that is good.
Trip Costs
We pulled together all of the cost information for the trip. It was a little surprising how expensive the trip ended up being, not terrible, but we both thought it would have or maybe should have been a little less. We did stay in some specialty places, like The Between Beaches, and that drove up the cost over typical accommodations. I think we were more surprised how expensive food was in Alaska. Initially, we attributed the high cost for food to being in Seldovia where everything has to be brought in, but after we left there, it was not that much different. Gas was also expensive everywhere in Alaska, it averaged in the range of about $4.04 to $4.40 per gallon. Luckily, we only needed two tanks of gas in total, but that was $200 of gas split between the couples.
Here is the breakdown of Stephanie’s and my costs for the trip, taking into account splitting the rental car and gas with Ashley and Bryan, and also including just our half of the cost of the accommodations in Seward and Talkeetna, where we shared our place. Each couple paid individually for the hotel(s) in Anchorage, the Between Beaches Cabins, and the separate places we each stayed in Seldovia.
- Accommodations – $4,829.00
- Flights – $1,626.00
- Car Rental – $ 700.00
- Seldovia Ferry – $ 245.00
- Gas – $ 100.00
- Cash Expenditures – $ 250.00
- Food & Incidentals on Credit Cards – $1,446.00
- Seward Boat Tour – $ 463.00
- Travel Insurance – $ 360.00
TOTAL COST $10,019.00
The total cost divided by the 15 days were were gone equates to a cost per day of $668.00 for the two of us, or $334 per day per person.
For a comparison, I looked at our costs for our trip to Switzerland and Austria in 2021, and the average cost per day per person for that trip was $292.00. Switzerland is generally considered an expensive place to visit, but maybe not so much after going to Alaska. Of course, things are more expensive in 2023 in general as compared to 2021, but that trip trip was also subject to exchange rates for both the Euro ($118.00) and the Swiss Franc ($1.09), both higher than the dollar at that time.
Also, we compared this trip cost to our 2022 Viking Transatlantic Cruise from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale, plus our three additional nights in Barcelona, pre-cruise. That trip totaled $10,686 but was for 18 nights. Included in that cost was the cruise, round trip airfare, Viking travel insurance, drink packages, tips and the cost for three nights on our own in Barcelona. The cost per night per person for that trip was $297, also less than Alaska, which was surprising, Viking Cruises are expensive, but we know the Viking Transatlantic cruise was less than typical Viking Cruises since port stops were very limited.
Just our accommodations for this Alaska trip averaged $322 per night. On the Switzerland trip we averaged $205 per night, so that is a large part of the per day cost difference. In general, nothing we stayed at in Alaska was all that special, other than the Between Beaches Cabin, which was special, not exotic, but worth the price. The other places were average at best for the cost, especially the Anchorage hotel stays. We all thought the Cottage in Seward was oversold in the description listed on Airbnb. I mean, who advertises having a wood fired sauna that requires special sized firewood for the stove and then does not provide any firewood for it. I guess we need to pack a chainsaw on our next trip to Alaska.
It is what it is, but that is why we like to make the comparisons, to help us to see the value for the various trips we take
We really can’t complain, we did not get involved with selecting any of the accommodations, or in planning any of the trip destinations. None the less, we still want to know the overall costs for comparison to our other recent trips, both cruises and land trips.
We will make one more posts with our “Final Thoughts” on this trip. We always wait a few weeks in general for that post so we have time to think back about the trip and discuss the plusses and minuses before we make that post. It gives us the opportunity to think about our expectations and our experiences, and sometimes after a little time passes, we look back and think differently than we might right after we return.
In general, this trip will not be near the top of our favorite trips list. The uncertainty of even going on the trip before we left, coupled with the weather played a big part in the overall satisfaction we experienced, it was just too cool and rainy for us to really enjoy being outside. Adding in a dose of COVID for me, and the impact that had on both of us further degraded our overall experience. Losing the use of my best camera did not help either, but other than the Seward Boat Tour, there was nothing that we considered fantastic photo opportunities on this trip, so the camera situation was not that much of an actual impact, but it seemed bad at the time. Again, cloudy, rainy, and gray skies don’t make for wonderful photos, nor did they inspire me to carry my camera around on most days. Thanks to Stephanie for keeping up with photos on her phone, especially when I was sick. Otherwise, we would not have that many photos to post for the blog.
Everything is always subject to comparison, like it or not.