Meng's Travels: The Alaska Ferry

The official name for The Alaska Ferry is the Alaska Marine Highway System. Because the state of Alaska is so big and many of the places are not connected by roads, they can be reached only by air and water. Flying is expensive and limited. So Alaska has this public transportation system that is a ferry instead of a bus. There are different ferry routes that cover different parts of the state: Southeast, Cross-Gulf Route, Southcentral and Southwest. I am taking the Southwest route, which takes me from Homer to the furthest west of the Aleutian Islands it'd go: Dutch Harbor.

Ferry System for the entire state of Alaska

Southwest Ferry Route

I started my ferry journey from Homer at about 11:00 pm on Tuesday, June 30. You can reserve cabins, for 2 or 4 people, but since I booked so late I was not able to get one. So there are a few other sleeping options: observation lounge, solarium or pitched a tent on the deck.
Many sleep on chairs in the observation lounge, which is also quieter and warmer. I slept in the solarium, which is kind of semi-opened but is heated. I found a nice corner and laid out my sleeping bag and put my stuff around it. There is a restroom and a men's shower nearby. Some brave souls pitched their tents on the deck. One did but came back in when we started sailing because it got too windy and probably too cold.

One interesting thing about being in Alaska in the summer is that it does not get totally dark. Sunset was supposed to be around 11:30 pm but at midnight you can still see part of the sun. Sunrise at this time of the year is about 4:30 am. In order to be able to sleep I had to wear a mask and ear plugs. In the solarium, the engine noise is loud so I need the ear plugs to shut out the noise. I wish I have an air mattress or even a pad and a nice soft pillow. Logistically, it won't work out because I am going to so many different places and doing different things in Alaska. The only thing I brought with me from Phoenix is the sleeping bag. At the end of this ferry trip, I plan to give it away or leave it on the ferry. I still have a few places to go and it is a drag for me to carry the sleeping bag around. Today you can buy decent one for less than $30.

This picture was taken at midnight as the ferry was leaving Homer

This is a 3 1/2 day trip and the ferry stops at several islands. Some of the trips are long, like the one from Kodiak to Chignik - more than 18 hours. You can see the other travel times from one port to the next below.

Running Time

Kodiak	to	Chignik	18:45
Chignik	to	Sand Point	9:15
Sand Point	to	King Cove	6:45
King Cove	to	Cold Bay	2:00
Cold Bay	to	False Pass	4:15
False Pass	to	Akutan	10:30
Akutan	to	Dutch Harbor	3:30