Mid June vs. mid July?

[lauriebird]

Looking at the RT out of Vancouveron HAL. Due to our business the middle of the month is the only time we can go, is there a big difference on either of these choices?

[Yukon]

On average in SE Alaska, mid-June is a bit drier, mid-July a bit warmer.

[Budget Queen]

Days also will be the longest in June. June has a very slight edge to consider. Either area good choices.

[LindaKE]

We're going in mid July because that particular itinerary includes Tracy Arm. According to posts, mid July is the earliest cruise ships can hope get all the way to the end to see Sawyer Glacier. It is often too iced over to get very far up the arm, and there is no guarantee then. But we figured we were upping the odds by choosing July. Also, in July, the salmon will be running. That is a plus for us.

[PennyAgain]

Mid June is peak of the season for crowds which seem to max out of the 4th of July. Compare prices on both time periods to see what is cheaper.

[Yukon]

Mid June is peak of the season for crowds which seem to max out of the 4th of July.

 

That's definitely not true - July and early August are peak.

[Happy2Cruise4Fun]

We went in mid June 2009. We had a rain day on our sea day northbound out of Vancouver and perfect weather the rest of the time. It was in mid 60's in the afternoon and lower 40's in the AM. I would go that time again.

 

Once we got to College Fjord we had rain, snow and sleet plus fog to top it off. It was cold like you would think Alaska would be. We spent extra time in Anchorage as a base and drove out from there to sites and could have worn shorts if I had packed them.

[1Alaska]

Keep in mind that if you want to see bears and eagles, you need to time your trip with the salmon runs.

[lauriebird]

Sounds like the mid July could be the winner. Yes, we want to see bears, eagles and it will give me an extra month to save some more money to add to the excursion pot.

[luvlake]

This last summer on our B2B the 1st week from July 4th thru July 11th was quite warm. We were doing laundry so we could wear our short sleeve shirts. We also spent many hours on our balcony and deck. I definately didn't feel like I was in Alaska. Temperature in Skagway was 85 degrees.

 

The 2nd week from July 11th thru July 18th was a cooler week with long sleeve shirts the norm. We still had many hours of balcony & deck time but there was definately a difference.

 

We loved our trip in July. It is a trip I would love to duplicate over and over again. Alaska is a truly majestic place.:)

[Budget Queen]

Sounds like the mid July could be the winner. Yes, we want to see bears, eagles and it will give me an extra month to save some more money to add to the excursion pot.

 

If you want to see bears, AND only doing a cruise, you need to look at July and budget for an Anan bear tour out of Ketchikan.

[Budget Queen]

We're going in mid July because that particular itinerary includes Tracy Arm. According to posts, mid July is the earliest cruise ships can hope get all the way to the end to see Sawyer Glacier. It is often too iced over to get very far up the arm, and there is no guarantee then. But we figured we were upping the odds by choosing July. Also, in July, the salmon will be running. That is a plus for us.

 

Ships were all the way in Tracy Arm in May last season, and there have been plenty of times, when getting all the way in, in July is not doable. NO way to predict. The only way to significantly increase your chances is to purchase a add on Tracy Arm boat tour, from the cruiselines. Available on NCL and Princess.

[LindaKE]

When I said that we chose mid July because we'd have a better chance of getting all the way to Sawyer Glacier and that we'd get to see a salmon run, I was wrong. We've decided to go earlier and get a cheaper fare since the factors we were baseing our decision were faulty. Sorry!