What are the best excursions for Sitka,Juneau and Ketchikan???????

My DW and I need some help. What in your opinion are the best excursions in each town? We like nature, animals and adventure. Cost is no object if it's worth it. We don't really like on/off bus tours or ones where you have to wait on stragglers to get moving again.

This is a Celebrity cruise but I think for the most part, all the cruise ships offer about the same things.

We're thinking maybe "Dog sledding adventure on the Norris Glacier by helicopter" in Juneau.

In Sitka the "Salmon sport-fishing."

In Ketchikan maybe do the "Celebrity discovery collection: Wildlife cruise and seafood sampling."

Any thoughts on these or others we should consider instead?

In Sitka, Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center are interesting. There is a shuttle that runs from the visitor’s center about every 30 minutes. I think it was $ 10 pp r/t.

If you are in Juneau from at least 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, the Tracy Arm Fjord trip with Adventure Bound is popular. This same trip is offered from many of the cruise ships as well. Whale watching trips are also very popular in Juneau.

We did a kayak tour with Southeast Kayaks in Ketchikan and enjoyed it. Many recommend a Misty Fjords flight seeing tour.

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There are 100's of "best" tours. :) It looks like you already have a selection? Is there a reason, you don't want to go ahead with what list?

We did our homework before, and have been on 9 other cruises, so knew it was time to really decide what to do:

1. Juneau - rented a car for the day - saw the country - outside of town - and going to Fortress of the Bear, Raptor Center and Science Center was still cheaper renting a car than the ship excursion.

2. Sitka - rented a car ftd, as well. Lovely and fun. Ate, shopped, saw lots.

3. Ketchikan - Island Wings float plane trip - booked directly with them. Flew through Misty Fjords National Monument - breathtaking - majestic - WOW factors all around us.

Have fun!

We did our homework before, and have been on 9 other cruises, so knew it was time to really decide what to do:

 

1. Juneau - rented a car for the day - saw the country - outside of town - and going to Fortress of the Bear, Raptor Center and Science Center was still cheaper renting a car than the ship excursion.

2. Sitka - rented a car ftd, as well. Lovely and fun. Ate, shopped, saw lots.

3. Ketchikan - Island Wings float plane trip - booked directly with them. Flew through Misty Fjords National Monument - breathtaking - majestic - WOW factors all around us.

 

Have fun!

Just wanted to point out that Fortress of the Bear and Raptor Center are in Sitka, not Juneau. We wanted to go to Fortress (even though it IS a former wastewater treatment plant!) but we were in Sitka on Memorial Day and didn't arrive until 10. I wanted to go in the afternoon after our trip with Gary's Sitka Adventures. (I though this was worthwhile, although we saw no whales, just sea lions, cute sea otters, and closeup eagles. You might want to see if Gary is available for a boat trip and add on his land trip (Bears plus Raptor Center). Anyway, back to our day: At 2:30 I couldn't find anyone to take us to see the bears. Even cabs were a little scare in the afternoon. It was also a day when only a thousand or so cruisers were in town on two different smallish ships, which didn't help things. At least one of the normal vendors who take you to Fortress were not running their shuttle that day. (I had called a week before the cruise to ask.) If you really want to go to the Fortress, I would line something up with one of the shuttle operators in advance, or at least not wait until 2:30 in the afternoon to do it.

Hoonah is a pretty area and port, and you can just walk around the port area (Icy Strait Point), or go to the small town if you (or others reading this) don't want to do a lot of activity. I enjoyed that, and took lots of pictures. Coming back from the town, I saw a whale in the water not too far from the port. Some people were on the ship part of the day and saw a whale from the ship, although I don't know how close it was. I also saw eagles in Hoonah. But the highlight of Hoonah for my husband and I was the ZipRider. I know it's not for everyone, but we loved it - beautiful, very fun, not really scary. It's not a rinky dink one - it's the real deal (90 seconds, long slope way above treetops, 60 mph at times, great view, 6 people go at a time). You can book on your own or go with the cruise line. Either way, you'll end up at the "Adventure Center" at the port, where you'll check in on a tablet, get an armband, and put bags (if any) in a locker. Then they'll take you to the top of the mountain and soon off you go down. You end up where you started and can then explore the port area.

On our first visit to Ketchikan in 2007, we did a floatplane ride, too. I would have done it again if it weren't for cost. This trip, I went to two totem parks outside the city.

In Juneau we rented a car. Mostly we just went to Mendenhall, with a little time at the Shrine of St. Therese and the very ruined ruins of the Treadwell Mine, plus a few short stops. Renting a car gives you more options, but I wouldn't say it is a must by any means. Since you're looking at dog sledding, I would just do that. I wanted to, but it was pricey, and we were on a very moderate budget. However, in general I've heard people like the dog excursions.

Just wanted to point out that Fortress of the Bear and Raptor Center are in Sitka, not Juneau.

ROOTHY - thanks for catching that. We hit Mendenhall in Juneau - beautiful! And Sitka, yep, that's where the bears and birds are!

In Ketchikan, the very best excursion is the " World's Greatest Catch" - not sure I have that right but it is the ship that worked the Bering Sea - it is realistic and heartwarming - when we did this tour we saw whales and eagles everywhere in addition to their narrative.....it really is great...after that a bowl of clam chowder at Annabelle's and then back to the ship.....great way to spend your time there. You can book this via your ship and also on your own at the dock.

eclue:cool: