Haines, our favorite stop

[lindaler]

If you are booking a cruise to Alaska and get a chance to include Haines on your trip we would recomment that you grab it. Of all the ports it was the most fun and the one closest to the "real" Alaska. We discovered that the town of Haines only allows one cruise ship a week to visit. As our free shuttle bus driver explained since we were invited as the one ship that week, we were not tourist but guests of their town. We loved the Hammer museum even though I could not imagine why anyone would have a museum for hammers I found it fun and educational. Our driver shared a lot of information as she drove us around and even though she pushed hard for a dollar donation each round trip, the "free" shuttle was an excursion in itself that is not to be missed. It was fun to visit the brewery that was at the fairgrounds on the set of "white fang" and the beer was good too.

 

When we were in Juneu there was five ships docked for the day and the streets were packed. In Skagway there were four ships and the streets were full but Haines gave that small town flavor you hope for on a trip north. The museum owner had to run down and help reset the ramp for the ship as the tide changed. It made you feel like they really wanted you when the store owners helped down on the docks.

[RedHeadTexan]

That is great to hear. We are in Haines from 6am to 9pm and scheduled the bike tour in the morning. The remainder of the day we will be wandering around Haines. Did you eat at any of the restaurants?

[lindaler]

We returned to the ship to eat and then headed out again, but both the bus driver and the person at the museum recommended places to eat. The bus driver was a source of local information you can't find too many places. She was a volunteer on the fire medical unit and used to work on the local paper as well as did some commercial fishing. She seemed to know everyone and the best places to shop or eat or camp.

[frugaltravel]

I agree that Haines is a great place to visit. Few visitors. Winter is even nicer with all the eagles.

 

I know what you are trying to say about the crowds in Juneau and Skagway but it is very easy to avoid crowds in those towns by just walking a few blocks in Juneau and even less in Skagway.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been in Haines a couple of times.

The first time we were there we did the "tour" of the twon and attended a salmon bake and then watched a show put on by the Chilkat natives.