Renting a Campervan in Alaska: Million Mile Adventures- Campervans are becoming the new way to travel, and there are many reasons why to travel by campervan. This article I will review our time renting a van with Million Mile Adventures. They are based out of Kenai, Alaska but vans can be arranged for pick up and drop off in Anchorage, Alaska or other nearby areas such as Seward, Alaska. During our summer trip with a campervan we got to visit National Parks, small towns and stunning scenery in the state of Alaska.

Why A Campervan?

I always will say we never saw ourselves as ‘campervan’ people. After trying it out one time in Iceland, we loved it and have never looked back. The next year we got a campervan to travel through Washington State, the following to Colorado and now this year, Alaska!

So why a campervan? One, they are an affordable way to travel, you can also fit more into your schedule, it’s easier to get to remote scenic areas and so much more. I listed more details on why and how below. Even if you were like us and never considered one, I would think a little more about it and all of its benefits with renting with Million Mile Adventures.

What Is Included In Our “Alaska” Million Mile Van?

We rented the “Alaska” model van with Million Mile Adventure, which is a 2020 RAM Promaster 2500. We knew we didn’t need much as it was just the two of us, and all we were doing was hiking and visiting a few small towns. This was the perfect amount of space, we didn’t want anything too large, but enough space to be comfortable as we were in the van for two weeks. I like the other to be able to stand up, unlike some of the smaller vans that we have been in.

This was by far our favorite van that we have rented! The bed was so comfy, we stayed for two weeks in the campervan and never have slept better. It was hard to get out of bed in the mornings because of the comfort! We also loved having a sink and kitchen to prep and wash up before and after meals.

What was included in this model:

Portable Stove
Kitchen Sink
Outdoor Shower
Air Conditioning
AM/FM Radio
full sized bed with a 10” mattress
luxury high thread sheets and bedding
butcher block counter
Yeti cooler
LED lighting
exterior awning with lights
Plenty of storage for all your gear
Extra Blankets
Basic Pots and Pans
Plates, bowls, cups and silverware
Cutlery
1 Butane Canister for the stove,
400W Power Inverter
4 Pillows
Water Tank
Beary Spray
Night covers for windows
Step Stool
USB port and bluetooth connection
12V cigarette lighter for charging
Free Alaska State Park Pass (this helped save us money with parking and visitor fees in some State Park areas)

Reasons Why To Get A Campervan With Million Mile Adventures?

Affordable

I checked a lot of other campervan companies while searching. We looked on Outdoorsy, RV Share and Google Searches. I was so impressed with their pricing in the peak of summer season. While others were raising their prices for this crazy summer season, Million Mile Adventures kept it affordable.

Unlimited Miles

One of the ways that Million Mile Adventures is one of the most affordable campervan companies is because they offer unlimited miles during your trip. This is actually something not a lot of companies offer, and will help your budget tremendously. We typically underestimate all we can see and do in a week with a campervan, which leads to racked up miles and a bigger bill at the end of our trip. With Million Mile Adventures offering unlimited miles really helps budgeting for a trip like this.

Budget

With the 2021 rental car prices skyrocketing due to rental car storages and pandemic pricing, campervans are definitely the way to go. Booking a campervan fits into our travel budget much more easily, it was cheaper than a rental car in Alaska at the time. We also don’t need to worry about booking hotels or AirBnBs and also a rental car into our trip cost. It all comes in one package deal.

Time/Proximity

A lot of times when visiting National Parks, or more remote areas with scenic trails we found it hard to find hotels and rentals close by, sometimes even small towns could be a while away. But what we could find very near were campgrounds! This put us close by, just a short drive to our trailheads. We even got to stay inside Denali National Park and Wrangell St. Elias National Park!

Beat the Heat/Crowds

When we travel during summer months it can get hot on the trails and crowded as it is in tourism season for Alaska. Being close to campgrounds and being able to just pull out of our spot, instead of needing to re pack put us ahead of the crowds. We got to see the main sites before others that needed to drive longer from town. This is one of my favorite reasons for the van. Beating the heat and crowds makes the wilderness more enjoyable and peaceful.

Flexibility/Freedom

The freedom of using a campervan is that you really have the flexibility to create a travel plan for everything that you want to do. You can spend your entire trip camping in the van or you can change it up. I have heard of some people on long campervan trips booking an AirBnB in the middle of their trip to have a chance to stay in a city or stretch out and take some time to do some loads of laundry (even though some private campgrounds you can find laundry at, which we did a few times during the trip to clean up).

Snice campervans are the size of a car we have been able to easily visit small towns and big cities in a van. We had no issue in Alaska, the whole state was very accommodating for a campervan. Most small towns and even Anchorage had great spots to park the van for a day of exploring and eating, including stopping at breweries. Not letting our campervan rental hold us back.

What Should I Bring From Home?

I did make a complete list of What to Pack For A Campervan Trip, make sure you check that out as well. But for this trip we brought our favorite camping essentials. You really don’t need much, as most of your supplies are already provided in the van by Million Mile Adventures.

Tea Towels– for kitchen and general clean up

Turkish Towels– I love these and take them everywhere, I have used them for bath towels, table clothes, extra blankets and more. They pack up really small too.

Mesh Shower Bag– to make campground showering easier, I absolutely love this one as it helps keeps things dry with the extra bag.

Shower Shoes/Chacos– something for campground showers and to slip on and off in the van

Small Packing Cubes– helps keeps clothes organized in the van

Camping Spice Jars– add extra flavor to our camping meals

Freeze Dried Camping Meals– easy on the go meals, or last minute meals for when in a rush.

Pourover Fresh Ground Coffee– I love these as these pourovers are easy to pack and use.

Our grocery list when we got there had items such as oatmeal, granola bars, fruit, peanut butter, bread and ingredients for some easy camping meals.

What Are Campgrounds Like in Alaska?

When looking for campsites in Alaska we searched using Recreation.gov and google search.

Campgrounds in Alaska have a wide range of sites and prices. Really all depends on how much you want to rough it and your budget. We like to alternate between remote campsites with fewer amenities and nicer ones with laundry and shower houses. That way we get some chances to clean up really well and do our laundry, especially for a longer trip such as this one. Here is a general idea of what you might get in Alaska campgrounds.

Private

Campsites at what I like to call private campgrounds, such as KOAs and individually owned are going to probably be the cleanest and have the most amenities. But also the most expensive, ranging from $20-60 a night. These campsites will most likely be close together, envision a parking lot with a firepit or such. But they also might have a lot, such as a shower house, sinks, laundry, sometimes even a pool or water park, entertainment, etc.

Parks

We find a lot of our campsites near National Parks and National Forest hiking areas on recreation.gov. These range from $10-30 a night. These can range in their amenities. They always usually have toilets and garbage disposal, but they can range if they have running water for sinks, potable water, showers, electricity and more. But the recreation.gov website is a great resource. They will list exactly what services they have at each campground, even some review the cell phone service! They even will let you know how and when to book the sites, ones near popular national parks tend to fill up early, so plan accordingly.

Public Lands

One thing we don’t do much but many people do, is camp on public lands. Camping on public lands or on BLM lands is camping with no amenities. Which is free and secluded, but a little harder to understand exactly where to camp. You will need to check the rules on fire bans, closeness to water or roads to make sure you won’t get in trouble. So with no reservations available you are not guaranteed a spot, but high reward if you get one (free and great views). This site and this site are good resources.

Any Surprises in a Campervan?

Being that we have used a campervan a few times before we didn’t have any major surprises! It was absolutely perfect! But I will leave you with a few tips that I have learned from the past.

Be Organized

Since it is a small space you do need to stay somewhat organized so you know where everything is. Try to dedicate the various compartments to certain items, such as one that is easy to reach for clothes, an area for groceries and one that is harder to reach for the stuff you might not use as much.

One thing that helps us so much with making sure everything is not just thrown all over the campervan is packing cubes! We put items in the cubes so everything has a place and doesn’t slide all over the van in the compartments. Makes it easy to grab shower stuff, clean clothes and toiletries for when you need them.

Less Is More

Try not to over pack. The more you have the more you have to get around in the small space. One luggage per person, if you have more than that you might run out of room to store multiple suitcases. We love the Motherlode Ebags as they are easy to store in vans and can be a carry on if travelling by plane.

Extra Towels

We always like to have a few extra Tea Towels and our Turkish Towels for cleaning up dishes, drying off after swimming or showering, and for wiping mud off our shoes. You want to keep your living space as clean as you can.

Plastic Bags

Throw a few plastic bags in your suitcase, sizes from ziploc sandwich to gallon to trash bags. That way you have some extra storage, places to put open food in to go back in the cooler. Trash bags are great from wet clothes and of course disposing of your trash (but these did come with the van). Please practice no trace left behind in these beautiful parks please!

Where Did We Go?

Here is a short layout of our 2 week itinerary, check back soon for a full guide on our trip to Alaska.

Day 1:

Arrive in Anchorage Airport
Take connector flight to Kenai
Meet to get Campervan
Grocery Shop

Day 2:

All Day in Kenai Fjords National Park (Exit Glacier and Harding Ice Field Hike)

Day 3:

Explore Cooper’s Landing area
Drive to Whittier

Day 4:

Explore Whittier Area
Drive to Talkennta, evening in Talkennta

Day 5:

Drive to Denali National Park
Small hikes around the Visitors Center

Day 6:

Denali Transit Bus and hikes in the park

Day 7:

Hikes in the Savage River area of Denali National Park
Drive to Talkennta

Day 8:

Plane Tour with Talkennta Air Taxi

Day 9:

Drive to McCarthy
Hike to Root Glacier and explore the Kennicott Mine

Day 10:

Drive to Valdez

Day 11:

Glacier Cruise with Stan Stephens Tours

Day 12:

Drive and hikes near Glacier View area
Explore the town of Palmer

Day 13:

Hatcher’s Pass area, Reed Lakes Hike

Day 14:

Explore Anchorage & return van near airport (extra fee for Anchorage return)

So are you ready to travel by campervan yet? Try it for a weekend trip or try it for a month, it’s worth it and all the places you can go in it! If you have any questions about renting with Million Mile Adventures, or campervans in general feel free to reach out! Or -email- them directly, they are so friendly and were happy to answer any of my questions!