Renting a car in Juneau and KETCHIKAN

[a9753]

Being Canadian, I can't rent a car in Skagway and drive across the boarder to Emerald Lake.

 

Is it worth renting a car in Juneau and Ketchikan? I like driving and checking out sites... Can you let me know what to do if I rent a car in Juneau and Ketchikan? Where to go, what to see! THANK YOU!!!

[JohnQ]

We did back to back cruises and had two days in each port so we rented a car for the second day in Juneau and Ketchikan. Used Rent a Wreck in Juneua, got old Dodge Intrepid, ran good, looked fine inside, no smells. We went to Mendenhall Glacier, saving $12 each and parked closer! Then took back road to northern end of highway with stops at the Mendenhall overlook for great shot, then on to Shrine, and end of road. State Park and last 15 miles of road took a while and didn't show us anything new or wildlife. Went back to Mendenhall to check on the bears to see if out in open now. Then saw downtown highlights. Didn't have time for other end of road or Douglas Island as Tee Harbor recommends. So I think it was worth it but don't know where time went. We didn't cut it too close leaving an extra hour plus to walk around near ship.

 

In Ketchikan, we rented from AKRentals and had a newer small car which was fine. We drove from one end of island to the other and saw every wide spot in between. We enjoyed this and saw most of it. Plenty of things to see, and little hikes to take. Don't have list or map here to list specifics. Again, we enjoyed this as we had taken the Misty Fjords tours twice before.

[Weave]

We rented a car in Skagway and drove to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.

Saved $250 (as opposed to taking the train ride), saw basically everthing the train saw, and was able to stop whenever we wanted to and take side trips for the day.

If you are on the fence between taking the train and renting a car: there are tour operators in Skagway (walk down the main street and you will find them) that will sell you "day of" tickets for half price. However by renting a car you will have much more freedom and can go where you want when you want!