Juneau - Glacier Gardens and Mendenhall Glacier

[RBAlbany]

Taking cruise first week of August 2017. Yeah I know--planning ahead :) Question is whether to do the Gardens and Glacier as a ship excursion, or on our own. Cost is not the issue, time is. For Princess they say a 4.5 hour excursion. Is that rushed at either location? Myself and wife enjoy gardens and can spend all day at New York Botanical. How big is Glacier Gardens? Can we do the same thing on our own at the glacier as we could with an excursion? Looking for any tips or advice. Thanks.

[Sequim88]

When our helicopter glacier tour was cancelled we opted for a short whale watching tour - saw calf which came right up to stationary boat with Mom watching a ways off. With time to spare we opted to take the city bus to Glacier Gardens. As luck would have it we were between ship tours (no crowd) and got a personal tour up to the lookout for a great view. The place was beautiful back in 2002 so I would suspect it is more so now with more development and growth. The story behind the place is fascinating (and funny). They called a cab for us for the short drive back to the ship. Didn't try to fit the glacier in but GG was well worth it and MUCH cheaper than on a ship tour. This was the start of our switch to independent touring.

[RBAlbany]

How long were you at the garden?

[Sequim88]

Probably hour and a half - no more than two hours. If they have expanded in the last 14 years your might need to allocate two - depends on stops of pictures and how interested in gardens and flora.

[Budget Queen]

Both these areas are better going on your own, rather than being on fixed time frames. It's not difficult to go on your own.

 

It involves either using taxis, or you can take the city bus to/from Glacier Gardens. To/from Glacier Gardens- go direct between there and Mendenhall with a cab. To/from Mendenhall there is a shuttle bus. From Mendenhall and Glacier Gardens, you'll need to call cabs about 1/2 hour prior to needing it.

 

Of course this plan is best with at least an 8 hour port time.

[NancyIL]

We rented a car in Juneau and drove to Mendenhall, Glacier Gardens, and the Shrine of St. Therese. Glacier Gardens isn't your typical garden - but it is beautiful.

[RoxyAlias8ty4]

What company did you use for car rental? It looks like most rental car companies are by the airport?:confused:

 

 

We rented a car in Juneau and drove to Mendenhall, Glacier Gardens, and the Shrine of St. Therese. Glacier Gardens isn't your typical garden - but it is beautiful.

[NancyIL]

What company did you use for car rental? It looks like most rental car companies are by the airport?:confused:

I used Rent A-Wreck in 2011, which was near the cruise ship docks. It is now called Juneau Car Rental Company: http://www.juneaucarrentals.com/

[donnadoll]

We are in Juneau in June. We have a 14 hour port day. We have booked a whale watching/Mendenhall Glacier with Juneau Tours. It was the #1 Tour company on trip advisor, but it seems people on the boards like Harv and Marv. Juneau Tours had the combo package. We requested to do the Whale Watching Cruise first. We will meet at Robert's Tram and hopefully bus to the Whale Boat. From there they will bus us to Mendenhall Glacier, where we can tour on our own. They have multiple shuttles running until 6:00PM....or something close to that. That is the plan, I have my fingers crossed.

[ace1zoe2]

We did Juneau DIY. We had time to do Mendenhall Glacier, a scenic drive to Skater's Pond, a visit to the Shrine of St Therese, Jensen Olhsen Arboretum, had lunch locally, then did Glacier Gardens, the Alaska Brewery then drove over to Douglas Island for pictures. Still had time to return to port and spend time shopping.

 

Here is a link to my blog for our day in Juneau. This is the first of several posts covering each place we stopped and lots of pictures, pricing, etc.

 

http://ocdplannercindy.blogspot.com/search?q=juneau#!/2014/04/2013-alaska-cruise-tour-juneau.html

 

Happy Planning!

Cindy

[Travelbug1978]

We are taking a cab to and from the glacier so we can take our time. May also do mount Tremblay depending on if it's clear.