Juneau Itinerary! Help!

[zenjenn]

We are renting a car from Rent-a-Wreck and planning to tour Juneau on our own. We dock at 6:30 am and depart at 5:30 pm.

 

Gosh, we want to see it all, and so little time.

 

Potential items on our agenda include:

 

- Shrine of St. Therese (I see it's a bit of a schlep, but one member of our party, my mother-in-law, is a devout Catholic. Worth it?)

 

- Someone suggested me continuing on to Eagle Beach if we go to St. Therese

 

- Mendenhall Glacier/St. Roberts Tram if a nice day

 

- Glacier Gardens

 

- Salmon Hatchery

 

Several people have recommended some museums to me but I think we'll skip those unless the weather is dreadful.

 

Can we realistically do all these items in 8-9 hours including travel time, lunch? How much time should we allocate for each of these attractions? Would you recommend a particular order?

[mapleleaves]

If your trip is late May, I'd skip the Gardens. The salmon hatchery might be interesting but you're too early for a run if that makes a difference.

If you have nice weather you might as well drive to Eagle Beach and then a few miles further to the end of the road. You should have plenty of time ... and you'll never be that far away that you can't turn back if you run short of time (there's not a lot of roadway).

There's an area map within this link:

http://www.bellsalaska.com/juneau.html

[Northern Aurora]

The Shrine of St.Therese is worth seeing.

 

Since you have a car, if anyone of the group is interested in breweries, consider including a quick stop at the Alaskan Brewing Company.

[zenjenn]

So the gardens.. just too sparse in May to be worth visiting? (This would be the end of May, like May 25th.)

 

I was thinking if we did St. Therese and Eagle beach, doing it early in the morning so we don't get nervous about being far away if it starts getting late.

 

So maybe:

 

St. Therese

Eagle Beach

Lunch

Mendenhall Glacier

Hatchery and just driving around downtown with remaining time?

[frugaltravel]

So the gardens.. just too sparse in May to be worth visiting? (This would be the end of May, like May 25th.)

 

I was thinking if we did St. Therese and Eagle beach, doing it early in the morning so we don't get nervous about being far away if it starts getting late.

 

So maybe:

 

St. Therese

Eagle Beach

Lunch

Mendenhall Glacier

Hatchery and just driving around downtown with remaining time?

 

Don't return to the downtown area for lunch. Plenty of options on the way from St. Therese to Mendenhall. Hot Bites, SE Waffle Company (not just waffles) and several places in the "valley" not far from the airport.

[Budget Queen]

It greatly depends on your length of stops??? Some could be 15 minutes, so your plan is doable.

 

Glacier Gardens, may still be worthwhile in May?? It won't be "flowering" but many do enjoy the gardens.

 

I too would not make any priority for "lunch", parking at the ship is not going to be easy to find, and your plan of "driving downtown" probably isn't going to be what you think either. But do perhaps include a drive by State Capital, Governor's house etc. can add a stop at the cementery, Last Chance Mine- etc. Do your homework on the downtown area.

[zenjenn]

Oh, when I said "lunch", I did just mean stopping at someplace convenient that happens to be wherever we are, not going back to the ship. (I did think of that as a possibility initially, but a quick look at the map made me conclude that it would be a waste of time to do so.)

 

I'm still unclear as to what I'm actually going to see or do at Eagle Beach to make it worth the extra driving time? Wildlife sightings?

[Budget Queen]

Oh, when I said "lunch", I did just mean stopping at someplace convenient that happens to be wherever we are, not going back to the ship. (I did think of that as a possibility initially, but a quick look at the map made me conclude that it would be a waste of time to do so.)

 

I'm still unclear as to what I'm actually going to see or do at Eagle Beach to make it worth the extra driving time? Wildlife sightings?

 

You see eagles. BUT, you can pull off at Auke Bay, marina, and see plenty of eagles as well. You are over estimating the time. It isn't a big deal, driving further past St. Theresa's. You have more than enough time.

 

I would also recommend the short stop at Chapel on the Lake at Alaska U.

[rayliang]

St. Terese / Pearl Harbor area is also a good place to look for whales.

 

The hatchery is an ok 10 - 15 min stop.

 

We are renting a car from Rent-a-Wreck and

planning to tour Juneau on our own. We dock at 6:30 am and depart at 5:30 pm.

 

Gosh, we want to see it all, and so little time.

 

Potential items on our agenda include:

 

- Shrine of St. Therese (I see it's a bit of a schlep, but one member of our party, my mother-in-law, is a devout Catholic. Worth it?)

 

- Someone suggested me continuing on to Eagle Beach if we go to St. Therese

 

- Mendenhall Glacier/St. Roberts Tram if a nice day

 

- Glacier Gardens

 

- Salmon Hatchery

 

Several people have recommended some museums to me but I think we'll skip those unless the weather is dreadful.

 

Can we realistically do all these items in 8-9 hours including travel time, lunch? How much time should we allocate for each of these attractions? Would you recommend a particular order?