Sitka taxis?

Hello! DH and I will be cruising in mid May. One of our stops is Sitka. I would like to see Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center, but I really don't want to be on a big tour. We are both relatively new to cruising and have only done ship excursions. How would you recommend getting to these locations? Taxi, bus, private tour? I appreciate any insight you could offer!

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Will your ship be tendering or docking? The dock at Sitka is not downtown, so if your ship will be using the dock you might consider arranging to be picked up at the dock by a taxi. Or check if your cruise line will have no additional charge shuttles take folks from the dock to downtown. Quite frankly, we have never visited the Fortress of the Bear, but have walked from downtown to the Raptor Center.

I believe that in the past the tender location for Sitka has the tenders coming in near the Harrigan Centennial Hall, which is downtown. Hopefully someone will confirm.

Get a rental car for the day. Check out (search for) "Sitka Car Rental". I think it is quite a bit less than $100 for the day. They will deliver the car to wherever is convenient for you so you're not wasting time getting to a rental office and such. Sitka is a very easy place to navigate and you'll have complete flexibility in going where you want. I've been to both the Fortress of the Bear and Raptor Center. Typically buses will pull up and a crowd will get out but they will only stay a short time. We had both places mostly to ourselves because the crowds quickly leave. There's a good size parking lot right in the center of town so you're able to easily walk to all the center sites like St. Michael's Cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House, etc. Look for a cool food truck called Ashmo's - very good local seafood items. If you dock at the Old Sitka Dock you're about 10-15 minutes to the center of town. The Fortress of the Bear is in the opposite direction from downtown about 15-20 minutes - you'll pass the Raptor Center on your way there or back. You'll also pass the Sitka Post Office if you need to mail anything home or buy stamps. I love Sitka! Good luck!

Hello! DH and I will be cruising in mid May. One of our stops is Sitka. I would like to see Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center, but I really don't want to be on a big tour. We are both relatively new to cruising and have only done ship excursions. How would you recommend getting to these locations? Taxi, bus, private tour? I appreciate any insight you could offer!

 

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We used the shuttle that leaves from the visitor’s center to go to Fortress of the Bear. The shuttle was $ 10 pp r/t and ran every 45 min or so. The shuttle stops at the Raptor Center on the way back. It’s a nice walk from there back to town through a park with totem poles or you can take the shuttle back to the visitor’s center.

Once back in town we saw the Bishop’s House, Russian Orthodox Church and other historical sites. Sitka is not commercialized like some of the other ports, which is nice.

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Thank you all for your replies! We will be on Holland America Eurodam. Not sure about docking versus tendering. I really like the car rental idea. We can then explore at our leisure. I will check that out this morning! Thank you again!

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We are on NCL in May. How do I find out if they have shuttles? Or else we may do the car.

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We are on NCL in May. How do I find out if they have shuttles? Or else we may do the car.

 

 

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You can find the docking berth for most ships at this link:

http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

Look at the Berth Codes to determine where you are scheduled to be docked. This is usually accurate, but changes do occur.

Most larger ships use the Old Sitka Dock (OSS) and buses run throughout the day to take you to / from the visitor’s center downtown. From there you can catch shuttles to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center and it’s just a block or so to walk downtown.

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Get a rental car for the day. Check out (search for) "Sitka Car Rental". I think it is quite a bit less than $100 for the day. They will deliver the car to wherever is convenient for you so you're not wasting time getting to a rental office and such. Sitka is a very easy place to navigate and you'll have complete flexibility in going where you want. I've been to both the Fortress of the Bear and Raptor Center. Typically buses will pull up and a crowd will get out but they will only stay a short time. We had both places mostly to ourselves because the crowds quickly leave. There's a good size parking lot right in the center of town so you're able to easily walk to all the center sites like St. Michael's Cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House, etc. Look for a cool food truck called Ashmo's - very good local seafood items. If you dock at the Old Sitka Dock you're about 10-15 minutes to the center of town. The Fortress of the Bear is in the opposite direction from downtown about 15-20 minutes - you'll pass the Raptor Center on your way there or back. You'll also pass the Sitka Post Office if you need to mail anything home or buy stamps. I love Sitka! Good luck!

Thanks SuperCrewBear for this post! We contacted Sitka Car Rental yesterday and they gave us a quote today! Just what we want, I think. Can go where and when we want, stop for lunch, don't have to be limited to an excursion, and see the countryside!

Thanks SuperCrewBear for this post! We contacted Sitka Car Rental yesterday and they gave us a quote today! Just what we want, I think. Can go where and when we want, stop for lunch, don't have to be limited to an excursion, and see the countryside!

You're welcome! I love Sitka! It's a very cool town - I wouldn't mind living there one day. This is my favorite port. (y)

You can find the docking berth for most ships at this link:

 

http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

 

Look at the Berth Codes to determine where you are scheduled to be docked. This is usually accurate, but changes do occur.

 

Most larger ships use the Old Sitka Dock (OSS) and buses run throughout the day to take you to / from the visitor’s center downtown. From there you can catch shuttles to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center and it’s just a block or so to walk downtown.

 

 

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By chance do you know what dock ISD is? That's what is listed on the Berth codes. I'm just trying to figure out how far that dock is and if there will be a way to get from there to the visitor's center.

By chance do you know what dock ISD is? That's what is listed on the Berth codes. I'm just trying to figure out how far that dock is and if there will be a way to get from there to the visitor's center.

ISD is Inside Sitka Dock on listings. Per the link below, it looks like it is the new berth at the Old Sitka Dock outside of town where most ships dock. You will catch a bus at the dock into downtown Sitka. It’s not a long trip and better than the old method of tendering, in my opinion.

http://www.cliaalaska.org/2018/03/new-cruise-ship-berth-added-sitka-dock/

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