Rental car in Kodiak

[dottiedef]

I just rented a car in Kodiak, but it is at the airport!!! Will Avis have a shuttle from the pier to the airport or will I have to get a taxi? Sure hope there is a shuttle. Think a car will be a good choice for the day since the Kodaik Crab Festival will be going on when we are there(May 22).

 

Dottie

[whale-watcher]

Last year Avis did send a shuttle to pick up people from the pier. They also allowed you to leave the car at the pier at the end of the day (with the keys in the glove box) rather than drive it back to the airport.

 

You can also rent from Budget on Marine Way (much closer the the pier but not within walking distance, although there is a shuttle running continuously from the ship to the downtown area). We opted for budget as avis did not have a large enough vehicle for our needs; only disadvantage was the later opening time (9am, and our ship arrived in port at 7, but we still had plenty of time for exploration).

 

Make sure you printout the Kodiak drive guide:

 

http://www.kodiak.org/things-to-do/driving-tour.html

[dottiedef]

Thanks for help--guess we will just assume that Avis will have transportation to airport to get car. We did Avis over National because the rental was $14 less BUT maybe the fact that National is right there would make it a better choice. What do you think?

 

Dottie

[whale-watcher]

Thanks for help--guess we will just assume that Avis will have transportation to airport to get car. We did Avis over National because the rental was $14 less BUT maybe the fact that National is right there would make it a better choice. What do you think?

 

Dottie

I would call the local avis office to confirm, but you could always catch a cab to the airport if need be...the shuttle to marine way (via princess) was also not free ($6 I think)...those that used Avis had no problems at all on my sailing...and were on the road almost two hours earlier. here is a quote from ibfern (Amelia) who was on my sailing:

 

We rented a car from Avis in Kodiak, unlike Whalewatcher. Right as we got off the boat there is a lady who will call them and they come and pick you up and take you to the airport. They are opened at 7 am, you don't have to wait until 9. Also, they let us leave the car right at the cruise ship when we finished, very convienent and easy.

 

We loved the store on Marine Way where we picked up our Budget car, however...lots of native alaskan items!

[dottiedef]

You have been a great help and have greatly alleviated my concerns about renting a car in Alaska. Did it at several ports in Hawaii and turned out great, but they were always thru Thrifty and I am a Blue whatever with them so got great treatment.

 

Can you direct me to any posts about where people drove. I tried to do a search for that but just got links to general topics that may have mentioned driving etc. Not sure how to really use the research part of cc. Thanks for any help.

 

Dottie

[whale-watcher]

Here is a link to the Kodiak driving tour. You can print this out, or call and they will send you a printed version.

 

http://www.kodiak.org/things-to-do/driving-tour.html

 

We had windy and rainy weather (not unusual in Kodiak) but had a great time driving to Fossil Beach, where we actually did find quite a number of fossils (sometimes the road is closed, if there is a rocket launch, but that might be interesting as well). Many scenic visitas along the way, as well as wildlife (LOTS of eagles, no bears). Fort Abercrombie is another popular destination, and there are some sights worth seeing right in town (and fantastic local seafood).