Alaska on a low budget?

[AnotherVirginCruiser]

We don't have a lot of $$ leftover after booking a cruise to Alaska. Any suggestions of "must see places" or things to do in ports? (Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan). We are a family of three and looked at the excursions and most of them are over $100 each person.:eek: Thanks!:)

[thasmin]

We are also on a budget - if you look closely at alot of the excursions (flightseeing and swimming with polar bears notwithstanding), youll see that alot of these things that cost less than say 60 bucks a person you could do yourself for next to nothing. Example: Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Take the city bus for 10 dollars round trip per person. Ketch / Skagway / Sitka / etc: These towns are walkable and hikable. I think that when it comes right down to it, what is an excursion except for walking around and seeing stuff? True - if you want that once in a lifetime thing, you'll have to shell out the cash for either flightseeing, the white pass railroad in Skagway, whale watching in Juneau, etc.

Remember, alot of the water stuff you are going to see anyway because you in fact are already on a boat. I like to walk and explore. When I get to the port, I take a look at the local kiosk and see if there are any museums or gardens or anything like that. I remember on my cruise to Bermuda, we did so much by ourselves that the ships wouldn't even mention, because they are not revenue generating points. What good is it to them if I visit the botanical gardens for free?

Enjoy - I'll be new to Alaska but I am so not worried about excursions, because I know there will be plenty to keep me occupied without spending a fortune. Except for that railroad thing - that really interests me.

thas

[CaribbeanBound]

This is my kind of thread!

We did Alaska on a budget and saw more in Juneau and Skagway than most anyone else on the ship.

Here is a very detailed review of our Princess Star to Alaska cruise which departed out of Seattle. It's got lots of great information on how you can thoroughly enjoy Seattle and Alaska on a low budget.

[url="http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html"]http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html[/url]
Have a great trip!

[Budget Queen]

[quote name='thasmin']We are also on a budget - if you look closely at alot of the excursions (flightseeing and swimming with polar bears notwithstanding), youll see that alot of these things that cost less than say 60 bucks a person you could do yourself for next to nothing. Example: Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. Take the city bus for 10 dollars round trip per person.

Remember, alot of the water stuff you are going to see anyway because you in fact are already on a boat. I like to walk and explore. When I get to the port, I take a look at the local kiosk and see if there are any museums or gardens or anything like that. I remember on my cruise to Bermuda, we did so much by ourselves that the ships wouldn't even mention, because they are not revenue generating points. What good is it to them if I visit the botanical gardens for free?

Enjoy - I'll be new to Alaska but I am so not worried about excursions, because I know there will be plenty to keep me occupied without spending a fortune. Except for that railroad thing - that really interests me.

thas[/QUOTE]


For clairfication- it is NOT the city bus referred to here. This is run by MGT or Frontier, Juneau DOES have a city bus that stops 1 level mile from Mendenhall Visitor center for $1.50.

[Budget Queen]

I am one that does recommend and goes on high cost tours. They are well worth the costs in my opinion. But certainly there are low cost options. Request each city's visitor guide. Be WELL organized and have plans on what you want to do- don't wait until in town. :) All ports are viewable via walking tours request their maps. I do recommend at least one "splurge", with flights my top recommendation. :) In Skagway be certain to get to the Park Service visitor center [url]http://www.nps.gov/klgo/schedule.htm[/url] Ketchikan- the Public Lands building both free.

[thasmin]

correction noted

th

[mrr210]

One of my favorite things from my cruise last summer was hiking mt roberts in juneau. It is pretty low cost, because you just pay for the price of the tram.

Most of the beauty of a trip to Alaska is to get out and see nature. There are some places like Juneau where you can do this on your own. You might also try looking into excursions not with the ship. I did this and we managed to save some money in the process. For instance I booked my kayaking trip on my own with an outfitter - sorry can't remember the name- and saved some money that way.

If you do splurge I suggest doing the flightseeing tour of Misty Fjords with Michelle of island wings. I think her tour is the best value for the money and she lands in a remote lake so that you can get a real feeling for alaska.

Have fun!

[Flintstone]

The best tip I got from these boards was to rent a car in Skagway and drive to Emerald Lake. Go to Yukon's website and print his driving guide and you are all set! Thru Avis, final total for a car was $74.10. (Pretty cheap excursion for 3 people!!).
Deb

[Gail Johnson]

[quote name='CaribbeanBound']This is my kind of thread!

We did Alaska on a budget and saw more in Juneau and Skagway than most anyone else on the ship.

Here is a very detailed review of our Princess Star to Alaska cruise which departed out of Seattle. It's got lots of great information on how you can thoroughly enjoy Seattle and Alaska on a low budget.

[url="http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html"]http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html[/url]
Have a great trip![/QUOTE]
[color=blue]Thanks for your detailed itenerary.....your site was very informative. Appreciate your sharing it with all of us.[/color]
[color=#0000ff]G. Johnson[/color]

[jodyrick]

[quote name='Flintstone']The best tip I got from these boards was to rent a car in Skagway and drive to Emerald Lake. Go to Yukon's website and print his driving guide and you are all set! Thru Avis, final total for a car was $74.10. (Pretty cheap excursion for 3 people!!).
Deb[/QUOTE]

What is the Yukon website URL? We are thinking about doing a self-drive tour while in Skagway this May... any negatives to driving in May?

[jrask]

Yukon's guide is at:

[url="http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html"]http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html[/url]

[MichTraveler]

Avis may not be open yet in May depending upon when you arrive.
Here are car rentals in Skagway.
All offer good rates, especially since you can fit 4-5 people in a car instead of excursions for that many people.

[url]http://www.skagway.com/gettingaround.html#b[/url]

[musicmansmom]

[quote name='AnotherVirginCruiser']We don't have a lot of $$ leftover after booking a cruise to Alaska. Any suggestions of "must see places" or things to do in ports? (Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan). We are a family of three and looked at the excursions and most of them are over $100 each person.:eek: Thanks!:)[/QUOTE]

try [url="http://www.skagwaysbesttour.com"]www.skagwaysbesttour.com[/url]. they have a great white pass summit tour and FREE gold panning for $35 each. it is a real bargain and a nice tour in a good, clean , reliable van with big windows for all.

[Chris]

Dear Caribbean bound- thanks for the great review and ideas to utilize a budget-
chris

[Giantfan13]

Have you looked into buying the toursaver books. They can save you hundreds of dollars and can basically cut some of the tours in half. They are two for one deals. Check it out.

[taxatty]

[quote name='Giantfan13']Have you looked into buying the toursaver books. They can save you hundreds of dollars and can basically cut some of the tours in half. They are two for one deals. Check it out.[/QUOTE] [font=Arial Black][color=blue]This year, the toursaver book has very little for the Inside Passage area, although lots of good coupons for elsewhere.[/color][/font]
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[font=Arial Black][color=blue]Les[/color][/font]