Shore Excursions

[waquiltcruiser]

We are debating the best shore excusions in Juneau. I would love your opinion. We don't want to do the helicopter one due to price. I especially want to do see Mendenhall Glacier. We are thinking of the whale watching, Mendenhall Glacier trip. Thanks for your help.

[CowPrincess]

For us, the whale watch is a "must do" virtually every time. Didn't do it last year :( as I was on a strict budget, on a trip that I hadn't planned to go on :D

[Assateague Island Princes]

Agreed - whale watching would be tops on my list. We've gone with Harv and Marv's twice - and it was fantastic! Small 6 passenger boats (plus they have one 12 passenger boat now as well), with knowledgeable, excitable, interesting, local captains who really know "their" whales. They will drop you off at Mendenhall afterwards, and then you can take the blue bus back to town whenever you are ready (I believe it is $14pp round trip), or they will stop at Mendenhall and come back for you - but usually in about a 1/2 hour, so if you intend on spending more time there, go the bus route.

[Willsot]

We have done whale watching out of Juneau and Sitka. Sitka was best for us.

[SF49erfan]

We have done the Mendenhall/Whale watching/Salmon bake that was fantastic. We had time at Mendenhall, then went to the whale watching where we saw many seals, sea lions and many, many whales. After that we were dropped off at this wooded area right outside of town where there was a buffet of fresh caught salmon grilled over an altarwood fire, chicken, baked beans, salads, cornbread, and lots more. A folk singer was there for entertainments. You could walk down a little path to a waterfall that was just beautiful. Also, there was a little bonfite where you could toast marshmellows or make smores. There were buses that would take you back to the ship, so you could eat and run or stay as long as you wanted - as long as you were back by the all aboard time :). We booked this through the ship.

Terry

[Stevesan]

Definitely Orca Enterprises. An extract from my review:

 

Our best independent tour was a three hour Whale Watching Cruise with Orca Enterprises, aka Capt. Larry, while in Juneau. Capt Larry’s boat is custom built and seats a maximum of thirty-two passengers; however, he normally books only twenty-four, leaving extra wiggle room. The “Awesome Orca” is a forty-two foot water-jet propulsion craft with an enclosed lower deck. There is a roomy and comfortable exposed viewing deck on the aft end. The top deck is totally open for SRO viewing. Up-top limit is eight at a time, so we all periodically rotate. The trip through Auke Bay to the viewing area is at high speed, but the waters are calm throughout. The still waters in the bay combine with the smoother jet engines for a far smoother ride than our Sitka experience. We saw a number of whales, one of whom breeched directly in front of our bow. Two humpbacks were deep diving in tandem as a ballet duo, showing their flukes with each dive. Sea Lions and Dall’s Porpoises were abundant. Alas, no seals or orcas appeared today. Orca Enterprises is a truly first class operation. Capt. Larry provides the narration and finds the wildlife. His web site is: http://www.alaskawhalewatching.com/. You need to book this tour about one month in advance.

[catl331]

We really enjoyed that salmon bake also!! Yummy!!;)