Whale Watching or Mendenhall Glacier Visit in Juneau?

[LEMJMcC]

Looking forward to our cruise next summer, but am a little conflicted about what to do in Juneau.  The two things that I think are must-see/do are glaciers and whales.  So, do we shoot for whales in Juneau or perhaps plan that for Sitka?  How close can one actually get to Mendenhall Glacier?  If it's a hike up to a point, then viewing from a distance, then I may be more apt to go whale watching there.  But, if one can hike right up close or even onto the glacier, then I might defer the whales until Sitka.

 

Advice?  Experiences?

 

Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

I guess this would all depend on where else you are sailing to, which you have not told us. Having Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier or even Tracy Arm on your schedule would affect the choices considerably.

[wolfie11]

No, you can't walk up to the glacier.  There's a lake between you.

[Northern Aurora]

I wonder if our OP is going to Icy Strait Point -- the whale watching at that port is incredible.

[Coral]

I actually find Mendenhall underwhelming. It is not a priority for me. I have been several times and it has receded quite a bit since then. I would do whale watching.

 

I would agree about Icy Strait Point being better for whale watching.

[LEMJMcC]

Sorry.  Our itinerary is Seattle to Sitka to Skagway to Endicott Arms/Dawes Glacier to Juneau to Victoria, BC to Seattle.

 

We hope to be a group of nine, possibly ten.  We're considering Harv and Marv's in Juneau as I've read some good reviews of their whale-watching tour in Juneau.  Whale-watching is also offered in Sitka.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[CCJack]

Since you will be seeing another glacier on your trip, I would skip Mendenhall.   I agree it can be a bit underwhelming... I vote whale watching and since you don't go to ISP, Juneau would be a good place to whale watch.   You will also see beautiful scenery from your whale watching boat, so it is almost like an excursion in itself (in addition to whale watching.)   Juneau is not far from ISP, so I think people have had good whale watching experiences from both ISP and Juneau.   Of course, it is a matter of luck on whale watching but we had a great time on our whale watching trip out of ISP.

[wreckem2013]

Whale watching is going to depend on a lot of things. Particularly time of year the most. Juneau can be just as good as icy strait or better on a great day. Last Sunday we saw a large group 15 humpbacks bubble net feeding in Juneau. They all came out with their mouth fully open multiple times.

[wreckem2013]

On 7/7/2023 at 3:25 AM, LEMJMcC said:

Sorry.  Our itinerary is Seattle to Sitka to Skagway to Endicott Arms/Dawes Glacier to Juneau to Victoria, BC to Seattle.

 

We hope to be a group of nine, possibly ten.  We're considering Harv and Marv's in Juneau as I've read some good reviews of their whale-watching tour in Juneau.  Whale-watching is also offered in Sitka.

 

Thanks for the advice!

We did Harv and Marv’s this past Sunday. They do a great job of getting to the whales. But it’s going to be hit or miss depending on the month and weather.

[new_cruiser]

There are many other things to do in Sitka and it's not as good for whale watching as Juneau (and Icy Straight). So, with your itinerary I'd recommend doing yhe whale watching from Juneau. Mendenhall is, IMO, more about a nice hike that gives a view of a glacier and a nice waterfall. Also depending on the time of year, a possibility of seeing bears. Sitka National Historic Park provides a pleasant easy forest hike with totem poles.

 

Depending on the length of your port stop in Juneau, it is possible to combine whale watching and a visit to Mendenhall there.

[texasweather]

I personally would do the whale watch over Mendenhall.  I was on a cruise last summer and did Mendenhall, and don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable experience but not a bucket list type excursion.. the glacier we saw from our cruise ship (Dawes) was much more impressive.  This year, I did a whale watch in Juneau and it was absolutely incredible.  We got to watch a pod of whales bubble net feeding, it was magical.

[LEMJMcC]

Thanks to all of you who responded!  We're going to plan on the whales in Juneau and then perhaps find some good hiking in Sitka and/or Skagway.

[packedandready]

Thanks to those that responded, I had the same question. Our cruise has an excursion that does both, Whale watching and Mendenhall. But, after reading so many reviews of a couple of private companies for whale watching, we decided that we really wanted to go with them because of the small group. We plan a helicopter glacier landing in Denali so really didn't know if Mendenhall was a 'must do'. I think we'll stick with our small group whale tour.

 

[travelbuds]

Depending on how much time you have, you can do both, whales and Mendenhall. The past two summers we had to be onboard by 3:30pm for a 4pm departure. We did whale watching with Harv and Marv and got back to Auke Bay by 11:45am. We had made arrangements with Evergreen Taxi to pick us up at noon at the Auke Bay harbor (Statter Harbor) for the 10 minute drive over to Mendenhall. The other 4 on the boat were taken back to the ship. That saved us 40-50 minutes by not going back to the ship. We had time to go to Photo Point and hike to Nugget Falls. Didn't go inside visitor center as we had done that on other trips. Got the Blue Bus to go back to the ship. Blue Bus tickets from VC had to be purchased (half price of RT fare) directly from company (Tammy) via phone. Not sure how that schedule works now because of permit shortage. Could also make arrangement with taxi.  Left the VC at 2pm and still had time to shop for fudge near dock. Guess it just depends on what you feel comfortable with. 

[Coral]

21 hours ago, packedandready said:

Thanks to those that responded, I had the same question. Our cruise has an excursion that does both, Whale watching and Mendenhall. But, after reading so many reviews of a couple of private companies for whale watching, we decided that we really wanted to go with them because of the small group. We plan a helicopter glacier landing in Denali so really didn't know if Mendenhall was a 'must do'. I think we'll stick with our small group whale tour.

 

Mendenhall is not a must do. Unless you are landing on the glacier which is expensive.