The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is located 10km from Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city and home to more than 40 percent of the state’s total population.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (Photo: Holy Trinity Othodox Church via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Renting a car is the perfect way to take in the region and its striking topography. To reach the Rental Car centre, you simply need to follow the signs which direct you through a tunnel and past a giant, encased halibut (this is Alaska, after all!). In total, the centre has 11 rental car companies.
To help us select the best on offer, Travelmag.com have conducted online searches for various dates and durations, and then condensed our findings into the following categories: Most Affordable, Best for Luxury and Best for Minivans – so all the major bases are covered.
Probably in no other city in the US would you be so concerned about getting a cheap car rental. Even during the low season, the cheapest car (Fiat 500) is leased out at $86 per day, by Hertz. Come the high season, that same car has shot up to $112 per day. Despite the high prices, cars are in heavy demand throughout the year, so if Hertz is out of vehicles, then we’d recommend Alamo, which, on our sample dates, still had availability on their Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa at around $110U per day.
Considering that premium rental cars can command prices as high as $480 per day at ANC airport, you’ll need to be in the big league to consider this category. If that is the case, then Hertz offers the best deal on a luxury vehicle in the form of a GMC Terrain at just under $150 per day in mid-season, ascending to $180 by the start of the summer. For those looking to travel deeper into the Alaskan territories, Enterprise leases out the Hyundai Santa Fe at $150 while at the other end of the SUV scale, Hertz rents out a 7-seater Ford Explorer at around $400 per day.
Whether your large group is aiming to head into Alaska’s deepest forests or towards one of its famous glaciers, the choice of minivans is somewhat limited at ANC airport. On our sample dates, Alamo and Enterprise had very similar offers with prices starting off at around $150 per day during the mid-season. If your group is only in town for a a day or two, then we strongly advise that you look closely at the rental policies before making your decision, as some deals include a full tank of petrol.
