Which trips in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchican

[Roaming Rover]

Going up the inside passage on 4th  June on the Konningsdam and wondering which trips are best  to do at these ports of call . also is it better to book the shore excursions on the ship or wait till we get to the town its self?? as in the Caribbean there are lots of buses waiting when you get of to take you site seeing .

[rsldonk]

Kind of depends on what you want to do and what your interests are.  I usually like to book through the ship, I find it easier and usually a comparable price.

[lcand1923]

A lot depends upon what interests you, if you have been to these ports before, how much you want to spend and if you are comfortable doing things on your own.

 

Look at the Excursions tabs on this website.  It will help you to decide.  

 

Personally, if I do a Shore Excursion, I will book it on HAL’s website before I cruise.  A lot of the most popular ones are fully booked long before I cruise.  If I’ve been to a port before, I will then usually do something on my own.  All of these ports have a lot of interesting things to do, either on a Shore Excursion or on your own.

[OlsSalt]

All cites are walkable or have public transportation, as well as shore excursions that can include the downtown areas along with scenic points further afield. All of it is good- beautiful countryside, very scenic Alaska, and compact downtowns for shops and restaurants.

 

We loved Totem  Bight State Park in Ketchikan, local bus outside of town or a tour: http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/brochures/totembightbrochure.pdf

 

White Pass RR and Yukon Gold Rush National Historic Center in Skagway.  White Pass RR will need a tour

 

Juneau: excellent, new  historic museum downtown along with just wandering around town to see the Russian style buildings, state capitol and governors home.

[shanni-shanni]

I sure would visit Tracy's kingcrab shack in Juneau.

 

Tom

[tupper10]

Do the tram in Juneau and the glacier - there is a shore excursion that does both. The only issue with the excursion for the  the tram is weather - so if it is raining don't bother going.   We wait and see the weather and just do the bus to the glacier and buy tickets for the tram - not an issue at all.  Take the railroad excursion in Skagway - well worth it. We did a hike in Ketchikan, but it was beautiful out and nice to just get out and about.https://www.alaska.org/destination/ketchikan/parks-and-trails

[fsdj1097]

I second the ideas about the Mount Roberts Tram and Mendenhall Glacier.  If you're interested in salmon fishing, I'd recommend Ketchikan for that.  If you're into zip lines, there's one in every port.

Also, you can pan for gold in Juneau and Ketchikan.  One of our favorite excursions in Ketchikan was a ride out to Emerald Lake....beautiful drive with opportunities to see black bears and dall sheep along the way.  We booked the Emerald Lake trip through Dyea Dave Tours.

[1ANGELCAT]

3 hours ago, fsdj1097 said:

I second the ideas about the Mount Roberts Tram and Mendenhall Glacier.  If you're interested in salmon fishing, I'd recommend Ketchikan for that.  If you're into zip lines, there's one in every port.

Also, you can pan for gold in Juneau and Ketchikan.  One of our favorite excursions in Ketchikan was a ride out to Emerald Lake....beautiful drive with opportunities to see black bears and dall sheep along the way.  We booked the Emerald Lake trip through Dyea Dave Tours.

Emerald Lake is out of Skagway not Ketchikan.

[MISTER 67]

4 hours ago, tupper10 said:

Do the tram in Juneau and the glacier - there is a shore excursion that does both. The only issue with the excursion for the  the tram is weather - so if it is raining don't bother going.   We wait and see the weather and just do the bus to the glacier and buy tickets for the tram - not an issue at all.  Take the railroad excursion in Skagway - well worth it. We did a hike in Ketchikan, but it was beautiful out and nice to just get out and about.https://www.alaska.org/destination/ketchikan/parks-and-trails

We did the same tours as you. 

[VennDiagram]

If you want to do a whale watch, Juneau is the port to do that.

 

Ketchikan has a decent self guided walking tour that includes some of the totems in the town.  Depending on how physically fit you are, and how long you are there, you could walk to Saxman Village and see the totem park there.  Or take a taxi or bus out, and walk back.  I think (but can't verify right now since we downloaded some "improvement" to our browser) that it is around 2 miles one way. 

Edited April 7, 2022 by VennDiagram

[Snate]

I am interested in the Skagway answers to this.  I have been before and already done the train.  Thinking of doing a ship excursion over to Haines.  Anybody know if there is good wildlife sighting in Haines when you take a raft or boat in the wildlife area?  The tours state you see moose, bear, eagles but before booking was curious if this is true.  

[karatemom2]

2 hours ago, Snate said:

I am interested in the Skagway answers to this.  I have been before and already done the train.  Thinking of doing a ship excursion over to Haines.  Anybody know if there is good wildlife sighting in Haines when you take a raft or boat in the wildlife area?  The tours state you see moose, bear, eagles but before booking was curious if this is true.  

You will definitely see eagles. Moose sightings are very, very rare. We have been to Haines numerous times and never spotted one. Bears are seen during the peak salmon run - typically late July through August, but there is no guarantee. You may or may not - just all about timing and luck. If you take the tour you will see a lot of beautiful scenery but wildlife sightings are a bonus.