Favorite port in Alaska?

Which port is your favorite in Alaska?And why?

Not technically a port, but Glacier Bay. The scenery never stops....

Sitka. It's fairly non-touristy compared to the others.

Sitka. As noted, it’s less touristy than most ports and there’s a ton of stuff to do.

Any port that does not have a lot of other ships in it - Kodiak, Valdez, Wrangel, Metlaklia. Although we drove to Hyder, it is on the water so does Hyder count? We are doing Dutch Harbor in 2019 so that will add another small non-shipped port to my list.

DON

Icy Strait Point - fun filled day. Still have things I want to do there.

All the ports were special in their own way, but Sitka was my favorite and the place I told my husband I could actually see myself living. Juneau was my least favorite, but that may have been partly due to the rather nasty weather we had there.

Any port that does not have a lot of other ships in it - Kodiak, Valdez, Wrangel, Metlaklia. Although we drove to Hyder, it is on the water so does Hyder count? We are doing Dutch Harbor in 2019 so that will add another small non-shipped port to my list.

 

DON

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What did you do in Metlakatla? We are there May 28 from 7 AM to 5 PM and I'm not finding much info other than the ship tours.

 

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We visited Metlakatla off a small ship w less than 50 passengers. On that cruise, most of the activities were ship arranged. I do remember that we visited a native peoples lodge where there was dancing and we got to interact with the people of the village. I also think that I remember totem poles and a small but interesting museum. That cruise was more than 10 years ago and my AK trips tend to blur.

DON

We visited Metlakatla off a small ship w less than 50 passengers. On that cruise, most of the activities were ship arranged. I do remember that we visited a native peoples lodge where there was dancing and we got to interact with the people of the village. I also think that I remember totem poles and a small but interesting museum. That cruise was more than 10 years ago and my AK trips tend to blur.

 

DON

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For those who said Sitka was their favorite port, would you tell me what you did while you were there? We haven't made up our minds as to what to do there. Thanks!

I would have to say Juneau for the variety of things to do there!

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For those who said Sitka was their favorite port, would you tell me what you did while you were there? We haven't made up our minds as to what to do there. Thanks!

We enjoyed Sitka as well. It is more traditional Alaska and not too commercialized. We took a shuttle from the Visitor’s Center to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center. I think the shuttle was $ 10 pp. You can walk back to town from the Raptor Center through a park to see totem poles or take the shuttle back. We then walked around town and saw the Bishop’s House, the Russian Orthodox Church and had lunch.

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Sitka because it still looks like an Alaskan town not full of tourists. Places I enjoyed in no particular order: Sheldon Jackson Museum (first visit on ship tour, not nearly enough time, plan to return on next years trip) Raptor Center (very good presentation on raptors) Fortress of the Bear (a little depressing at first until you find out the alternative for the cubs....death. Will return ) Sitka National Historical Park (easy walk along the harbour path and GREAT totems)

St. Michael's Cathedral (worth the donation; beautiful icons)

If you like walking you could combine Sheldon Jackson & the National Park along with the Russian Bishop's House (I have not visited this, on next years list) . Enjoy your visit!

We’ve been to Sitka several times and have done everything JT & ghia mentioned. In addition, we once went with Gallant Adventures out to St Lazaria Island. Lots of wildlife, including humpback whales, otters and many birds such as puffins, guillemots, oyster catchers and eagles.

We rented a car for the day in Sitka. We went to the Fortress of the Bears, Raptor Center and parked downtown to walk around - saw St. Michaels and the Russian Bishop's House. Walking around downtown was cool - we bought lunch from a food truck called Ashmo's - EXCELLENT food. Along the way to the Fortress we made several stops for pictures - nice scenery. I found the Fortress of the Bear interesting - it's built from the remains of a defunct pulp mill (*not* a sewer plant like some people think...) - I'm in the paper industry. My main motivation for the car was to drive past a few homes I've looked at online and get a better idea of different neighborhood areas - I'm highly considering Sitka as a place to retire. My next time there will be a minimum of 10 days - I think I'd like to be a local...

Glacier Bay if that counts.

For a "regular" port where you actually dock, then Juneau. Yeah it can be crowded but I find it has the most stuff to do.

In order...

1. Vancouver. So much to see and do. You need more than one day to take in all the activities.
   
2. Glacier Bay, so much better than Sawyer
   
3. Skagway.... White Pass railway, Yukon and the Red Onion
   

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In Sitka we walked along the main street stopping in shops that we found interesting. We went into St. Michael's Orthodox Cathedral which was beautiful on its own, but I had a fascinating conversation with a gentleman who, I believe, was the father of the priest. Wonderful stories. At the end of the main street, we walked up the stairs to the Baranof Castle State Historical Site. Gorgeous views. Pretty sure we ate lunch somewhere, but can't remember. Sometime during the day, my husband went back to the ship and I just walked and walked and walked. I went to the Sitka National Historic Park/Totem Park and walked along the trail there. Intended to walk back and go to the visitor center at the park, but missed the spot on the trail where it looped back, so just kept walking. Loved every minute.

Glacier Bay if that counts.

 

For a "regular" port where you actually dock, then Juneau. Yeah it can be crowded but I find it has the most stuff to do.

If you visit Glacier Bay on a small (actually very small) ship, you can dock at Glacier Bay. We were there on a ship that held 50 passengers and we docked right at the National Park Headquarters dock. Visited the headquarters and also did a hike.

DON