Whittier–Cordova ferry: the Aurora's Prince William Sound run, back on March 7

Winter decides everything on this route. From mid-October to early March the Alaska Marine Highway lists no sailings at all between Whittier and Cordova: the MV Aurora made her last fall crossings on October 11, 2026, and the calendar for November through February is empty. Service returns on Sunday, March 7, 2027, and AMHS has already loaded dated sailings through the end of April.

Cordova feels that gap more than most towns. The city council, backing an air-service application in December 2024, wrote that daily jet service is extremely critical because Cordova is not connected to a road system. Its one highway, the Copper River Highway, starts at the ferry terminal and runs 51 miles inland to Abercrombie Creek beyond the Million Dollar Bridge. From mid-October to March, that leaves the airport for most travelers.

Whittier is the other bottleneck. It sits at the head of Passage Canal, 60 miles southeast of Anchorage, and its road link to the Seward Highway goes through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the longest combined railroad and vehicle tunnel in North America. How AMHS dates its sailings and prices its tickets is covered on our Juneau–Haines page; this one sticks to Prince William Sound.

Every Aurora crossing from March 7 to April 30

AMHS sailing calendar for Whittier and Cordova, read October 15, 2026 and checked against the Prince William Sound schedule grid; no sailings October 12, 2026 – March 6, 2027; dated crossings March 7 – April 30, 2027   AMHS — Sailing Calendar and Prince William Sound schedule grid · 2026-10-15

A fare from the booking engine and a toll for the tunnel

AMHS keeps no printed Whittier–Cordova fare. AMHS prices every trip inside its online Sailing Search, so the figure depends on the date, the number of travelers and the length of whatever you drive aboard; we have not run quotes through the booking engine.

Whittier and Cordova each have a staffed terminal, which matters for late plans: the website stops taking bookings four hours ahead of a sailing, and inside that window you deal with the terminal desk.

AMHS fares page and travel policies, read October 15, 2026   AMHS — Fares · 2026-10-15

A terminal in Whittier's center, another a mile from Cordova

Seven hours east from Passage Canal to Orca Inlet

Leaving Whittier at the head of Passage Canal, the Aurora heads east across the open Sound to Cordova on Orca Inlet, at the foot of Eyak Mountain. By the calendar's own clock a direct run takes 6 hours 45 minutes one way and 7 hours the other. A stop at Valdez stretches that to roughly twelve hours, and the villages of Chenega Bay and Tatitlek each turn up on a few spring dates.

That makes this a day trip only in the loosest sense. Compare it with the airport ferry at Ketchikan, a hop across a narrow channel in Southeast Alaska; here one ship spends most of a working day covering a single leg of open water.

Getting a car through the tunnel and onto the Aurora

• Nothing to catch before March

  The restart is Sunday, March 7, 2027: Cordova 04:00 via Valdez to Whittier 16:00, then Whittier 16:45 straight back to Cordova 23:30.

• Ninety minutes with a vehicle

  Cars check in 1.5 hours ahead at both terminals. Foot passengers need one hour, must clear security 30 minutes before boarding and be aboard 15 minutes before departure.

• Time the tunnel too

  The road to Whittier runs through a toll tunnel shared with the railroad. Vehicles queue at each end for scheduled openings, so check DOT&PF's tunnel times before you leave Anchorage.

• Late arrivals in Cordova

  Evening departures from Whittier and the Thursday trips through Valdez dock in Cordova at 00:15 or later. Sort out where you will sleep before you board.

• Seven hours aboard

  The Aurora has observation lounges, a heated covered solarium, a cafeteria, a movie lounge and showers; towels cost a small fee.

• Who to call

  Whittier terminal (907) 472-2378, Cordova terminal (907) 424-7333. AMHS reservations, 1-800-642-0066, are staffed on weekdays, 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. in Alaska.

One ship from 1977, five ports to cover

The Aurora came out of Peterson Builders' yard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1977 and is named for the Aurora Glacier in Glacier Bay. At 235 feet she is one of the smaller state ferries, built for little harbors: she takes up to 250 passengers and 660 linear feet of vehicles, which AMHS translates as about 33 cars of 20 feet each.

In the Sound she works a rotation rather than a shuttle, serving Whittier, Cordova, Valdez, Tatitlek and Chenega Bay in turn. That is why a Whittier–Cordova ticket can mean under seven hours of open water one day and a midnight arrival via Valdez the next, and why, for Cordova, the first date on the spring calendar is the one people watch.

Questions before the spring restart