This blog post is for the adventurer who wants to go on a 2 week ONE-WAY road trip. The reason we say one-way is you can have your car shipped back anywhere you want; thus, saving you gas, time, wear & tear, hotels and much more.
This example can be used for any situation, but for simplicity’s sake, we will use Los Angeles, CA to Alaska as an example. Then from there, we will go over the process of shipping a car back to Los Angeles.
Our wonderful trip will start off on the 5 freeway and will end in Anchorage Alaska. Alternatively you can drive the famous Pacific Coast Highway 101. Before we get started, prep your car: use synthetic oil, use the highest octane gas, change fluids (brake, coolant, powersteering, wind shield wiper fluid), buy fix a flat in case of flat tire, have a spare tire and jack. Buy a small tent and sleeping bag in case you want to save a ton of money and camp on a state or federal camp ground. Use camp sites or Airbnb (linked to below) to bring down costs. Buy baby wipes because you won’t always be near a shower. Android and iPhone GPS will work in most places that have signal and you may want to buy a TomTom or Garmin with satellite signal off eBay (freakin cheap!). Before going on the trip, make sure it has the US and Canada maps installed. Split the costs 50-50 with a friend!
Take the 101 up the California coast starting in Los Angeles. Ending in Anchorage Alaska. Make arrangements ahead of time with with an auto transport company to ship a car to California. Get one-way airfare from Anchorage, Alaska to Los Angeles, California. You can find this one any site like Expedia or Travelocity, but make sure you talk to the auto shipping company first so they can give you a date. Sometimes their transport trucks are full.
There are 2 routes to get from LA to anchorage. One is up the coast on the 5 freeway which is 66 hours of driving. The other is up the 15 North through UT, Ohio, Montana, Alberta, Yukon, Anchorage which is 69 hours.
- Los Angeles (start)
- San Francisco (2 nights)
- Eureka (Redwood Forest) (1 night)
- Portland oregon (or skip it)
- Seattle Washington (2 nights)
- Vancouver (British Colombia) (2 nights)
- Prince George (BC) (1 night)
- Smithers (BC) (1 night)
- Whitehorse (Yukon) (1 night)
- Anchorage Alaska (14 hour drive from Whitehorse) (3 nights) Car will be picked up by AA Auto and transported back to Los Angeles.