Car rental in Juneau

[wildlifeart]

My wife and I are going on one of HALs cruisetours August 20th. One of our stops is Juneau. We have been to Juneau before so this time we are thinking of renting a car instead of some of the regular tours. Does anyone have any suggestions on renting a car in Juneau and whether or not you can pick it up near the docks? Thanks for your help.

 

Wildlifeart

[Budget Queen]

I have rented cars several times in Juneau. Rent a Wreck, does offer downtown pick up and return (verify this for current information however). Most of the majors DO NOT and the cars are at the airport requiring a cab both ways add probabaly at least $40. So call directly and inquire if shuttle service is available and post here for other's. There is/was also a car dealer who rented cars- Evergreen, check them out too. As for driving- it gives you a LOT of freedom outside of downtown- don't bother renting if touring here. You can go on your own to Glacier Gardens, the brewery, Hatchery, Shrine of St. Theresa, Mendenhall Glacier, Chapel on the Lake, Douglas Island etc etc. Request their visitor guide http://www.traveljuneau.com

[wildlifeart]

Budget Queen, thanks for your input. Did some checking around and as near as I can tell, Rent A Wreck is the only car rental company in Juneau that will make arrangements where you can pick up a car in the downtown area. (All other car rental companies are out at the airport, 6 plus miles from the cruise ship docks and would require a cab.) There is a charge for this service. If you want to pick up a rental car in a downtown parking garage in Juneau, Rent A Wreck charges a $10 drop fee. When you are done with the car, you can leave it in the parking garage for another fee of $7.50. This is still cheaper than a cab to the airport and back. There is a way to avoid the $10 drop off fee. When you get into port, you can call Rent a Wreck and they will pick you up and take you to their business to pick up the rental car. (They are also located near the airport)

 

I do believe a rental car is a good way to go if you have been in Juneau before.

 

Wildlifeart

[cactuscruiser]

Try http://www.evergreenfordjuneau.com That's who we used last year. They were off site from the airport but they picked us up at the dock - no cab ride involved. Hope they're still in business. We wanted to use them again ourselves this year.

[CaribbeanBound]

I second Rent-A-Wreck. We had a very good experience with them in Juneau.

 

If you are interested in our review of our Alaska cruise and details on Juneau as well as other ports...

 

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html

 

Have a great trip!

[wildlifeart]

I sent an email to Evergreen Ford in Juneau for car rental info. They never answered my email. I finally reserved a car with rent-a-wreck. Yesterday I recieved paperwork in the mail for my reservation along with a map and a list is suggested places to visit. The map had those places highlighted. All the tourist stops will be easy to drive too. It will be a really great way to see all of Juneau.

 

wildlifeart

[trishs]

Are you planning on driving to Mendenhall Glacier if how close can you get to it? Trish

[Budget Queen]

Are you planning on driving to Mendenhall Glacier if how close can you get to it? Trish

 

 

Close viewing but no contact. You just park then a short walk to the visitor center and photo point trail- if of interest. Consider also a stop at Chapel on the Lake at Alaska University - wonderful view of Mendenhall.

[rfholcom]

I am very impressed with Rent A Wreck's email response. Very prompt and very nice. How well maintained are the cars? Just wondered with a name like Rent A Wreck. Are they older cars?

[Budget Queen]

They can have high milage- although I think Skagway takes that cake with some 100,000 mile rentals. :) Not in pristine shape either. But you never hear of break downs??? I take digital photos of ALL cars before they leave the lot anyway- a good idea perhaps??