Portage Glacier boat or not?

[stjohnrocks]

We are not taking any small boat trips to glaciers so should we take the Portage Glacier boat trip on our last day? I am hoping (weather permitting) to hike the Byron Glacier trail but if it is snow covered probably won't hike all the way up to the glacier.

 

10 weeks away and counting down!!

[fti]

It is supposed to be a nice boat ride and the 4pm departure often has discounts (online, toursaver for example). Another option for your hike is to go through the Whittier tunnel and hike the Portage Pass trail I believe it is called. You get close to the glacier from what my Hiking Alaska book says. I am considering this hike myself. It does mean you need to plan your trip around the tunnel openings and pay the $12 toll though.

[mytime53]

You aren't giving enough information for anyone to give you advice. By last day, do you mean last day of your cruise? If so, are you flying out that night? Or last day of landtouring? If you have more time on land than the afternoon, there are drives to take you to glaciers for you to get much closer than you will on that boat.

[stjohnrocks]

You aren't giving enough information for anyone to give you advice. By last day, do you mean last day of your cruise? If so, are you flying out that night? Or last day of landtouring? If you have more time on land than the afternoon, there are drives to take you to glaciers for you to get much closer than you will on that boat.

 

Ok more info..this will be the last day of our cruise. We are flying out midnight same day. We plan on taking our time driving towards Anchorage from Whittier stopping at sights all along the way. I have rented a car for drop off in Anchorage. The car is rather costly so I am opting not to do a longer boat tour in Whittier and to just sightsee by car that day. We also plan on looking around Anchorage a bit. I understand the tickets for the Portage boat are $29 a piece just trying to decide if it is worth it? I am asking particularily since we are Not doing a boat tour out of Whittier.

Thanks.

[Nancyquilts]

Portage is just barely out of Whittier. The boat trip to the glacier is okay if you can get it for half price. If there is too much snow for your hike, you might want to go to Girdwood (lunch at the Bake Shop, of course) and take the tram to the top of the ski area - but only on a clear day.

And if it's really clear, on your way into Anchorage, if you go up O'Malley to the golf course, you can get a marvelous view of Mt. McKinley from there.

If you should find yourself in Anchorage before 2pm, I think is closing time, the gift shop at the Native Hospital on Tudor Road has the best prices for handmade gifts from Alaska. Nancy

[stjohnrocks]

Portage is just barely out of Whittier. The boat trip to the glacier is okay if you can get it for half price. If there is too much snow for your hike, you might want to go to Girdwood (lunch at the Bake Shop, of course) and take the tram to the top of the ski area - but only on a clear day.

And if it's really clear, on your way into Anchorage, if you go up O'Malley to the golf course, you can get a marvelous view of Mt. McKinley from there.

If you should find yourself in Anchorage before 2pm, I think is closing time, the gift shop at the Native Hospital on Tudor Road has the best prices for handmade gifts from Alaska. Nancy

 

Thanks for the excellent tips! I didn't know about the golf course view! Also, any ideas for 1/2 price tickets and where is the bake shop in Girdwood. Thanks alot

[Italy52]

We did the Portage Glacier boat tour May 20th last year. The weather was rainy and we really didn't get to see much of anything. We cracked through some ice but that was about it for the trip. If weather conditions are not good, I would save your money.

[Nancyquilts]

Assuming the Jade Shop is still there, the Bake Shop is behind it, just beyond and up the first narrow road about half a block to an old hotel. (After you stop at the stop sign about 1/2 block and about a mile before the Alyeska Hotel). We love their soup - you can go back for seconds - with a large buttered bun.

Don't know where you get the half price tickets - our son lives in Anchorage and he had them in an annual book that comes out there. There must be other sources - I'll bet some of the excellent posters on this board will know. Nancy

[AkSusan]

Here's a link to Gray Lines site that gives 1/2 off on the 4:30 p.m. sailing of the M/V Ptarmigan

 

http://www.graylinealaska.com/webspecials.cfm/mode/detail/product_id/1910

 

Jade Shop is still there. Been up for sale a couple of years but still was there when we were in Girdwood in January.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[greatam]

We did it last year after one of our fishing trips on our way back to Anchorage to catch the plane home. FIL wanted to see a glacier up close. I bought the 1/2 price tickets from GreyLine Alaska http://www.graylinealaska.com/webspecials.cfm/mode/detail/product_id/1910

 

The visitors center (which is free) was great. The little cruise-well, if you have nothing better to do. Kind of disappointing. Even FIL was not impressed and he had never been to Alaska.

 

The tram to the top of Aleyska, with the tram/lunch combo at Glacier Express, is a fantastic place for great views and spectacular scenery. The summer menu and prices aren't out yet. You can even go parasailing from the top.

http://www.alyeskaresort.com/files/Alyeska/aGLX_Winter_0607.pdf

 

The Wildlife Conservation Center is another great little place to stop. Just south of the turnoff and across the road from Aleyeska. The elk will almost let you pet them and the bears are pretty darn close. If you have never seen a muskox, you need to stop if for no other reason. Weird looking animals. http://www.alaskawildlife.org/

 

Lots of turn outs on the road north to Anchorage. Beluga Point viewing is spectacular. If you time it right, you may even get to see the boar tide and surfers in Alaska. Someplace on the internet, there is a tide schedule, but I can't find it right now.

 

Here is a list of stops from the Portage turnoff. http://alaska.org/driving/turnagain-arm-drive.htm

[stjohnrocks]

Thanks everyone. I think we will skip the boat since we will be there in the AM (so no 1/2 price tickets). We will stop at the visitor center.

[fti]

Thanks for the link to the stops along the road.

 

The tram to the top of Aleyska, with the tram/lunch combo at Glacier Express, is a fantastic place for great views and spectacular scenery. The summer menu and prices aren't out yet. You can even go parasailing from the top.

http://www.alyeskaresort.com/files/Alyeska/aGLX_Winter_0607.pdf

 

The link is to a menu, not to parasailing info :confused: . I did read about the parasailing somewhere a few months ago and it sounded interesting, though not for my next trip.

[greatam]

Thanks for the link to the stops along the road.

 

 

 

The link is to a menu, not to parasailing info :confused: . I did read about the parasailing somewhere a few months ago and it sounded interesting, though not for my next trip.

 

I meant to post the menu to show the lunch/tram combo.

 

Here is the link for parasailing. http://www.alaskaparagliding.com/ enjoy!!!

[Budget Queen]

The Portage Glacier boat tour, is ok at half price, but overall so so at best. As already mentioned, the visitor center is excellent and definately worth a stop. With a rental car, this would not be a priority for me. Use your car and get out and enjoy the endless scenery.

 

Correct, end of May probably will still have some snow, but worse also mud. :)

[mytime53]

I totally missed the "10 weeks" from now part of the OP. You can't even count on the boat going out in late May. Can you see 100 middle school kids arriving there after a 2 hour bus ride for a "reward" field trip only to find out there is too much ice to safely run the boat? Ouch! It's happened more than once. I've been there the end of May, and personally thought the cruise was boring--we couldn't get close to a glacier, again because of ice in the water. And getting close to the glacier is the only reason for that particular trip. When I was a kid, that was one of my favorite places to stop...the glacier came right up to the parking lot. It's been receding since long before any talk of global warming.