Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan tours

[margord]

For those of you that have been or those of you that have not been but have researched. What one thing would you do in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan?

[TrojanJulez]

I have not been, but I have researched. We are also cruising to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. Our must-do list has included the White Pass Railway in Skagway since day 1 of planning. We also really wanted to do something with glaciers and helicopters... our final itinerary is:

• Ketchikan - Duck Tour (quick view of the town, as we will only be there until 2pm) and walking behind Dolly's House on Creek Street (I read that there's a nice trail that takes you to a fish hatchery)
  
• Juneau - Helicopter/Glacier Tour and Ziplining
  
• Skagway - White Pass Bus and Rails Tour

Just from browsing this site for over a year, it seems like going to Emerald Lake is a must for many people to do in Skagway... :)

[NancyIL]

We'll be doing planes, trains, and boats in those ports. :)

 

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords flightseeing with Island Wings

Juneau: Whale watching with Alaskan Marine Adventures

Skagway: Rail/bus excursion to Carcross, YT with Chilkoot Charters

 

We're flying to Vanocuver 2 weeks from today, and our ship sails the next day. I can't wait!!!

[gg3]

This will be our third trip to Alaska, this July. Here is what we have done and will be doing this summer:

Juneau: whale watching twice and again this year

Skagway: float trip down the Chilkoot River to see the bald eagles and a salmon dinner on the way back. THE TRAIN. This year we have rented a car from Avis in Skagway and are driving to Emerald Lake, where you can horseback ride with Joni (www.yukonhorses.com) or go to a musher's camp.

Ketchikan: float plane to Mystic Fjords; Lumberjack Show; this year Bear Watching float plane trip to Anan Creek

Whatever you do, whether you take a big or small excursion, whether you just walk around the beautiful, quaint towns, you will have the trip of a lifetime. :) gg

[cjnky]

Ketchikan - Misty Fjords float plane with Island Wings

Juneau - whalewatching with Orca followed by glacier helo landing with Coastal

Skagway - White Pass train and bus

 

Is it August yet? :D

[40yearcruiser]

We leave in 12 days! These are our plans:

 

Ketchikan: "ducks" tour and walking tour to totem heritage center and salmon ladder

Juneau: Mt. Roberts tram and shuttle to Mendenhall glacier; some of our group are going whale watching with Orca Enterprises

Skagway: 8.5 hour train/bus to Lake Bennett and Carcross with Chilkoot Charters and Tours; instead of train DD and her family (with 3 children) are thinking about going to the gold dredge

 

Have fun with whatever you choose!

[margord]

Thanks for the great ideas.

[GORDONCHICK]

Skagway - White Pass Railroad

Juneau - tram

Ketchikan - ducks

 

Our excursions were chosen based on the fact that we will have our 6yo DS with us.

[MercedMike]

Check our page in my sig below for reviews of several trips to Alaska with various shore excursions.

 

For a very first time to Alaska, I would do:

 

Juneau: Whale Watching or Gold Mine

Skagway: Rent a car and drive to Caribou Crossing for the dog cart rides

Ketchikan: Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight Park -- and if time then do the Ducks.

 

But the excursions I like might be totally boring to you, and the ones you like might kill me!! The thing to do is to read the shore excursion booklet VERY carefully. Exactly what they list is exactly what you will do. If you are still unsure go to the shore excursion talk the first day. All of the excursions have satisfied thousands of passengers so they are good of their kind. You just have to decide which are right for YOU.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Taxi]

Hi,

 

I cannot recommend the White Pass Rail Tour. We did that a couple of years ago when we were in Skagway and it was horrible. If you do it, only go one way. On the way back everyone on the train was sleeping, that was a $50.00 nap. It is a beautiful gorge, but very viewable from the road in far less time.

 

Carol

[margord]

Thank you all.

[anniecat]

If you are a rail fan....the White Pass RR is fantastic, amazing engineering, extremely high wooden bridges, tight curves. Very exciting, if you can understand what you are experiencing. But, it's true the best views are on the way up, but the best photo's are on the way down.

For a rail lover...it's a must-see. If you hate trains...avoid it.

Have fun what ever you chose. (There's lots to see in Skagway also...National park museum, other museums, etc)

[NancyIL]

Hi,

 

I cannot recommend the White Pass Rail Tour. We did that a couple of years ago when we were in Skagway and it was horrible. If you do it, only go one way. On the way back everyone on the train was sleeping, that was a $50.00 nap. It is a beautiful gorge, but very viewable from the road in far less time.

 

 

 

Carol

 

What made the trip "horrible"? I don't recall reading that people had to nap on the way back. ;)

[donkeytiara]

Hi! What a great question to be able to answer, as I just got back from my second cruise to Alaska! I did this cruise differently that the first (back in 2001), as I didn't book but 2 excursions with the ship...and let me tell you, it made all the difference in the world!! I did lots of research via this website and the internet, and I HIGHLY recommend the following:

 

Skagway: Temsco for the dogsledding on the glacier trip (save about $40 per person booking it on your own) It is the quintessential Alaskan experience...oh and be prepared to pay $20 for the great photo they'll take of you while you're on the dogsled! Pricey, but absolutely worth it.

 

Ketchikan: Island Wings Misty Fjords floatplane tour. Michelle is a fantastic guide...she is passionate about what she does, and it shows. Plane and boat are the only ways to see this fantastic part...don't miss it. Pricey, but absolutely worth it.

 

Juneau: Whalewatching through Harv and Marvs. They have 6 person boats instead of the 120 person boats, which makes for a much more personal experience....when you pull up next to those 120 seater boats, you know they're thinking "oh how much did THEY pay for the private tour??"...when you didn't pay much more at all... Jay (aka Marv) has been giving tours for 42 years and his knowledge shows. If you go to their website harvandmarvs and click on the photos of the week, you'll see a photo of a humpback's tail that was taken while I was on the boat! Great great fun....and I get really sea sick...just take your dramimine!!

 

My first trip to Alaska, I did the white pass railway, bicycling tours and others that kind of interested me, because I didn't want to spend the money on the "higher priced" tours.... I learned my lesson. Do it right and do it exactly how you want to....who knows if you'll be around in 10 years, and who wants to look back and say "you know, I really shoulda done that...." [= Live so you'll have no regrets!! Have a BLAST when you go!!

[ncsongbird]

In Ketchikan, the float plane to Misty Fjords with Island Wings was the highlight of our cruise last year. Amazing scenery and landing on a crystal clear lake in the middle of the fjords was great. Expensive, yes, but well worth the experience. Also, walked to Creek St. and toured Dolly's house and some nice little shops in that area too.

 

In Juneau we did the whale watching and grabbed a cab up to Mendenhall Glacier on our own. Saw our only bear as he/she was running in front of our cab in the visitor center parking lot. Our cab driver, quite a local character, acted as our tour guide.

 

In Skagway, took the White Pass RR trip up and back. If you get a chance, there's a free short movie about the building of the RR shown daily at the visitor's center. It makes you really appreciate what an engineering marvel the RR is.

[NancyIL]

In Skagway, took the White Pass RR trip up and back. If you get a chance, there's a free short movie about the building of the RR shown daily at the visitor's center. It makes you really appreciate what an engineering marvel the RR is.

 

Did you NAP on the train?

[Toyz711]

on the round trip, you can see many nodding off for nap time. it's quiet, very little talk over the loud speakers. the train is swaying...tired from long days on the ship.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2574867760096824660ipQzAF

where that canvas bag is on the seat...that's my hubby leaning against the side..asleep.

remember, the views are on 1 side...if you are on the OTHER side going down, not much to see..unless you go outside.

[Georgia Peach2]

We were on Sun Princess last week (May 13-20). We were on a strict budget & did not preplan excursions except whale watching. It turned our great for us though. Here's what we did:

 

Ketchikan - mostly walked the town & took the free shuttle to Walmart for souvenirs. (A crew member told us about it. You catch it at the green building a block or two over from the dock. The van is plastered "Walmart Shuttle" so it is hard to miss.:) )

 

Juneau - Took the $6 shuttle to Mendenhall glacier then was picked up by Harv & Marv for whale watching. This was the most fantastic thing we did. I would book with them again in a heartbeat and would recommend them to anyone. We saw whales within just a few minutes of leaving the dock. Also saw sea lions & eagles. Eileen in the office was great about suggesting times to be sure we saw Mendenhall beforehand. Their van was waiting for us in the parking lot just as promised. The boat was stocked with sodas, snacks, & binoculars. Everything was just fantastic. Couldn't have asked for anything more. I can't compare them to Orca & others as I have no experience with those companies, but for us, Harv & Marv were the bomb!

 

In Skakway we were planning to book an inexpensive tour on the dock but ended up doing the bus tour up to Carcross. We booked it at a little shack on the dock that offered about 30 different excursions. I forget what ours was called but it was $99, about 6 hours long, and included lunch. We were on a small shuttle bus (hmm, 25 passenger or so) but there were only 5 people on the tour. It also included touring the wildlife museum at Carcross & driving to Emerald Lake. Barry the bus driver was great about pointing out the sites, telling local folklore, and even snapped some pictures of us so we could all be in the photo. We saw a bear on the roadside and also a moose (we think...it bolted before we got a good look at it)

 

Our trip was fantastic. Hope yours is too.

[OnlyMe]

We 'did' Alaska in 2005 and we are doing it again this July.

 

In 2005 we did the following:

Juneau: Coastal Helicopter flight with Glacier Landing, followed by Captain Larry's Whale Watch.

Skagway: Glacier Point Wilderness Safari - Our TOP excursion!!!! - we 'sacraficed' doing the train, (which we REALLY wanted to do), to do this and we did not regret our decision for one moment - an Awesome Excursion!!!

Ketchikan: Walked around the town and went up the Funicular and along the Married Man's Trail.

 

This time:

Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier, walk around the town (didn't se any of it last time), maybe take the tram if the weather is good.

Skagway: Bus / Train combo to Frazer or Carcross - not fully decided which one.

Ketchikan: Flight to Anan Creek to see Bears - I just CANNOT wait to do this, it is to be the highlight of our cruise so fingers crossed.

[bluebreeze]

We were on the Diamond last week for the northbound inside passage. This was our first Alaskan cruise but will not be our last. We did the following:

Ketchikan Just walked around and looked around we had a short time in this port

Juneau ships tour to Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Hatchery in the morning and Capt Larry's whale watch in the afternoon....which was great...saw eagles, orcas, humpbacks and seals

Skagway ships tour on the railroad up to Frasier, then bus back with stop at Liarsville for samon bake and gold panning and a visit to the Red Onion Saloon

[gg3]

Juneau: Whalewatching through Harv and Marvs. They have 6 person boats instead of the 120 person boats, which makes for a much more personal experience....when you pull up next to those 120 seater boats, you know they're thinking "oh how much did THEY pay for the private tour??"...when you didn't pay much more at all... Jay (aka Marv) has been giving tours for 42 years and his knowledge shows. If you go to their website harvandmarvs and click on the photos of the week, you'll see a photo of a humpback's tail that was taken while I was on the boat! Great great fun....and I get really sea sick...just take your dramimine!!

Thank you for your info. We will be going to Alaska on our third trip, this July and we are also going whale watching with Harv and Marv. I am so glad you had a great time with them. I will go to their web page and look at the photos of the week. We scheduled with them for the reasons you stated: smaller boat, fewer folks, lots of experience and knowledge, plus they have been excellent on answering their phones immediately, following up with confirmations, etc. gg

[gg3]

We 'did' Alaska in 2005 and we are doing it again this July.

 

Ketchikan: Flight to Anan Creek to see Bears - I just CANNOT wait to do this, it is to be the highlight of our cruise so fingers crossed.

 

We are going to Anan Creek, as well, in July with Family Air. I have been so impressed with every detail in working with them. They certainly do rate highly amongst their fellow operators in Ketchikan, because two companies rec. Family Air to us as a first class operation. The only thing I have to learn before seeing the bears, is "how do I turn off my flash on my 35 mm camera ?" :D gg

[M.Gardener]

Check our page in my sig below for reviews of several trips to Alaska with various shore excursions.

 

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the great pics and reviews. I noticed you went on the Skagway Street Car Tour. I'm going on RCI, and they say that they go to the cemetary, which I really want to see and take rubbings of the gravestones. (I love gold rush history!) I'm wondering how long they stay there - do you remember?

Thanks!

Mary

[OnlyMe]

We are going to Anan Creek, as well, in July with Family Air. I have been so impressed with every detail in working with them. They certainly do rate highly amongst their fellow operators in Ketchikan, because two companies rec. Family Air to us as a first class operation. The only thing I have to learn before seeing the bears, is "how do I turn off my flash on my 35 mm camera ?" :D gg

 

Hi gg, we almost booked Family Air for our trip but decided on Island Wings instead as they have a larger plane and I have a claustrophobia issue. I have to say that both Family Air and Island Wings were AMAZING in helping me with my 'condition' and I am now pretty confident that it won't be an issue. BTW, what date will you be in Anan? What ship are you on?

[Paintguru]

Right now we are booked on:

 

1. Juneau: Hike

2. Skagway: Train

3. Ketchikan: Kayak

 

 

What is the "duck" tour?