Which Port for Car Rental??

[teacherman]

We will be on our first, and maybe only, Alaska cruise in September (HAL Volendam). Our port stops and times are JUNEAU (Fri,9-10) 2:30-10:30, SKAGWAY (Sat,9-11) 7am-9pm, KETCHIKAN (Mon, 9-13) 10-6. I have put the days, dates, and times, realizing it is late in the season and we may be limited by hours of daylight, weather, etc. We are thinking of renting a car in one port to "see the country", and it appears that the best place would be Skagway to do the drive to Emerald Lake. Does that seem like the best port for car rental? Any other suggestions for "easy" do-it-yourself tours in any of these ports are also welcome. We are following this cruise with a repositioning from Vancouver to Hawaii, so the more info/advice I can get, the better. Thanks for any ideas you can offer.

[AlanAllyn]

Skagway is your best choice, as long as you are not Canadian. (Customs does not allow Canadians to cross the boarder in rental cars.)

[DougH]

I agree, Skagway is the only place to rent a car. The drive into the Yukon is a great way to spend a day. Ketchican is small enough to wander around easily and in Juneau the only place you really might head to is Mendenhall and you can get a cheap ride out there for about $6 each way.

[Budget Queen]

I have rented cars in all those ports, and it certainly can offer you plenty.

 

Driving to Emerald Lake has the wonderful, "necessary" Murray's Guide ready for you, and a great day.

[MercedMike]

Renting a car in Skagway and driving into the Yukon following Murray's Guide (Google it) is a classic. It works really well.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.bully4.us/skagway.html

 

We are looking into renting cars at the other ports for our next cruise to Alaska (our 8th) and it is sort of iffy. Not sure there is much point in Juneau, although it would be nice to drive to Mendenhall on our own schedule and possibly visit the Gardens. Ketchikan offers the possibility of getting to the Totem Heritage Center, Totem Bight and Saxman Native Village on our own, but I think that the native dance at Saxman is only available on ship's tours. We are still kicking the idea around but I think we will probably decide that renting is great in Skagway and marginal in the other ports.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!