Mendenhall Glacier and Mt. Roberts Tramway

[Lou33]

Is it necessary to take the ships tour to go to these sites? We would like to go at our leisure do short hikes on the trails at both locations. Is there a city shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier? Possibly at a lower cost than the ships tour? Is the Mt. Roberts tramway within walking distance of the ship?

[lmkucala]

I'm sure some of the folks with experience will chime in as well, but here is what we learned from our research and are doing next week.

 

There is a bus that I believe is $30-$35 per person to Mendenhall, however you can also rent a car for the day from Avis, which if you have 3 people is about the same price if not more economical - I think our car is about $95, and this will allow us to explore other sites after we are done at Mendenhall - at our leisure - much our preference as well!

 

My understanding is you can also purchase a ticket on your own to Mt. Roberts Tramway, which is near the pier (walking distance). That way you can wait and see if the weather is good - as I believe I've heard it is not really worth it if it is not.

[RSF Cruiser]

We're renting a car from Juneau Car Rental and the price is about $60-65. Their cars are in excellent running condition, but they are a few years old. Their lot is at the end of the port area, and depending on where you dock, about a half mile walk. They do not pick you up at the ship. I always rent a car for the flexibility.

[xlxo]

One question I have is whether you are interested in a whale watch.... both are West of Juneau and looking at private tour combo's will save you port time in not retracing back to the dock.

[Budget Queen]

Never buy tram tickets in advance. You want to be able to have clear viewing, and walk up is simple, fast and easy to get. The tram is an all day pass, so plan on more than one ride up- it's only 6 minutes.

 

There is a Mendenhall shuttle bus, which leaves from the tram parking lot. Purchase your tickets from sidewalk vendors. $30 buses run about every 30 minutes. There is the city bus that leaves once/hour, and drops off a mile away. Not the best use of valuable port time, considering this option.

[Budget Queen]

We're renting a car from Juneau Car Rental and the price is about $60-65. Their cars are in excellent running condition, but they are a few years old. Their lot is at the end of the port area, and depending on where you dock, about a half mile walk. They do not pick you up at the ship. I always rent a car for the flexibility.

 

The South Franklin is 1/2 mile++, and up hill to the AJ dock. It's almost a mile from the tram parking lot.

 

There are shuttle buses, that run when a cruise ship is docked there. Some do charge fees.

[3Fluffies]

Never buy tram tickets in advance. You want to be able to have clear viewing, and walk up is simple, fast and easy to get. The tram is an all day pass, so plan on more than one ride up- it's only 6 minutes.

 

I endorse this - I took Budget Queen's advice on my day in Juneau, and waited until I returned from my whale watch to decide whether to take the tram. The weather had cleared up, and buying a ticket and boarding the tram around 4 pm was easy-peasy, took less than 10 minutes.

 

My ship was at AJ dock, which is about a mile from downtown Juneau and the tramway, but the shuttle bus to and from AJ picks up and drops off right next to the tram entrance. So I got off the bus from my whale watching tour with the passengers from the ships docked near downtown, took the tram up to Mt. Roberts, then on returning, got the shuttle back to AJ dock.

[BOAZ5]

Just off the Explorer last week. We walked up to the vendor by the tram entrance and purchased round trip tickets to Mendenhall for $30pp round trip. The little kiosk is well labeled. They will try to sell you whale watching combo, but you can just do the shuttle bus. It picks up in the parking lot directly in front of the tram entrance at the top and bottom of the hour.

[vadersprincess12]

BOAZ5 ~ how long is the bus trip to Mendhenall? We were thinking of an excursion but it seems like there is very little time to walk the trails and enjoy the views given the time of the excursion, so figured we could do this on our own since we have a lot of time in Juneau. Any other information you can share would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[pamrob]

We rented a mini van in May when we visited. Allowed us the freedom to explore a few other sites at our own pace. For the four of us renting a van was not only cheaper than using the bus but also allowed us the flexibility we enjoyed.

[spidybabe]

Haven't used them yet (good ratings) but alaskacoachtours gives you one and one half hours at Mendelhall Glacier, which is why we booked with them, and only $9 more (including city tour) than taking shuttle.

Safe sailing

[mbotos]

 

There is a Mendenhall shuttle bus, which leaves from the tram parking lot. Purchase your tickets from sidewalk vendors. $30 buses run about every 30 minutes.

 

We were there at the end of June 2016 and used the 'Blue Bus'. There is also a 'White Bus' price seems to be the same. Both sold by vendors in the tram parking lot. Somewhere I had read that the 'Blue Bus' will give you a $5 discount if you already have a Park Pass. THIS IS NO LONGER TRUE.

 

Also check when you buy you ticket as to the time of the last return bus. Although the 'Blue Bus' [M&M Tours] site says 6:00 PM back from Mendenhall, the day we were there, it turned out to be 4:00 PM and we had to rush our visit at Mendenhall more that we wanted to.

 

Michael...

[enjoyinglife]

We're renting a car from Juneau Car Rental and the price is about $60-65. Their cars are in excellent running condition, but they are a few years old. Their lot is at the end of the port area, and depending on where you dock, about a half mile walk. They do not pick you up at the ship. I always rent a car for the flexibility.

 

 

Is it hard to drive around town? Also is parking a problem?

 

 

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[Kathyfromstl]

BOAZ5 ~ how long is the bus trip to Mendhenall? We were thinking of an excursion but it seems like there is very little time to walk the trails and enjoy the views given the time of the excursion, so figured we could do this on our own since we have a lot of time in Juneau. Any other information you can share would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Bus trip is 25-30 minutes.

 

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