Budget excursion question

[darkauburnnotred]

I would appreciate some recommendations from people who have cruised before when it comes to excursions. Does anyone know of a good Mendenhall Glacier shuttle service? That is the main thing we want to do in Juneau, and we don't want to pay $70 each for the trip.

 

 

Also, we are debating to do either the White Pass Railroad or Yukon drive in Skagway. I know there are 2 options: 1) Do the railroad for the half day and then see the town. 2) Go on the full day drive. I'm considering either Dyea Dave, the ship's, or Chilikoot.

 

 

 

Any thoughts? Maybe something I'm missing?

[TheCalicoCat]

I think that the "blue bus" in Juneau (shuttle to & from Mendenhall) was about $20 per person.

[Budget Queen]

There are $20 pp round trip shuttle buses from the dock to Mendenhall. Pick up is at the tram parking lot. Buy your ticket from one of the kiosks. An alternative is the city bus, that is $4 pp round trip, BUT does take more time, and the drop off, is over a mile from the Mendenhall visitor center. A car rental works excellent if you want to make other sight seeing stops.

[SuperCrewBear]

I will be in Juneau this coming May and we will be renting a car for the day. We can pickup a car at the downtown Avis location (in the Rivergold Hotel) for $68. We are planning on heading to Mendenhall with a stop at the airport for a helicopter trip to one of the glaciers. By having our own wheels we are free to deviate wherever we want and the price ain't bad - the Mendenhall tour the OP mentioned is $70 per person. The rental car sounds like a heck of a deal.

 

At Skagway we are going to take the Dyea Dave tour over to Emerald Lake then catch the train at Frasier for the return to town. In my poking around I've seen several mentions that there's a good possibility of morning fog/clouds on the train up and visibility not being so great - that it typically burns off by the afternoon. Taking the bus first and train last seems reasonable to me.

 

Good Luck!

 

P.S. This will be my first trip to Alaska and first cruise of any sort - I thought I'd throw in some of the stuff I've learned though it might not be completely accurate...

[arlodog]

We have decided to rent a car again in Skagway. We did it the last time we were in the area and it was a really enjoyable way to see the sights. I booked it a couple of months ago and am paying $124 for the day. We looked into taking the railroad, but the cost is just too high for us. Last time we drove up to Emerald lake and came back.

 

There is a guide called Murray's guide which uses the mile markers along the highway to give information about the sights. You can google it and I believe the cost is $5.

[DougH]

You can do the full day tours in Skagway and still have time to see the town. It's really only one street and most ships sail in the evening. I'd go for the longest train/bus combo you can afford (Lake Bennett is great, I've used Chilkoot) or if cost is a factor the car rental is a great option. I've done both numerous times and its hard to go wrong.

[sherryf]

I would appreciate some recommendations from people who have cruised before when it comes to excursions. Does anyone know of a good Mendenhall Glacier shuttle service? That is the main thing we want to do in Juneau, and we don't want to pay $70 each for the trip.

 

Also, we are debating to do either the White Pass Railroad or Yukon drive in Skagway. I know there are 2 options: 1) Do the railroad for the half day and then see the town. 2) Go on the full day drive. I'm considering either Dyea Dave, the ship's, or Chilikoot.

 

Any thoughts? Maybe something I'm missing?

 

Both of these are discussed quite often here.

 

As others have mentioned, there are Mendenhall shuttles available from the dock area for $20 per person.

 

As for Skagway, there are many more than 2 options. I've done 4 different trips myself. (round trip train, train/bus combo with Caribou Crossing and dog cart, Lake Bennett train/bus combo, and car rental) You should read other threads on this subject and look at the different tours available either on your ship excursions or through private vendors.

[darkauburnnotred]

Thank you everyone.

 

I think we are just going to do the train to start or the Yukon drive. My husband is being indecisive and my parents keep on telling me one thing then another. (They went on the cruise a few years ago.) It's just so overwhelming right now.

[kayred]

Does anyone know if there are cabs available at the port. And if so how much to the glacier.

[Budget Queen]

Does anyone know if there are cabs available at the port. And if so how much to the glacier.

 

Yes, I'd budget $35+ each way

[kayred]

Thanks. Same as the tour but I like the idea of being there as long as I want. I read a couple bad reviews for the bus because of long delays with the bus. Nice to know our options. Thank you everyone.