Help With Excursions/Activities

[aroundtheworld96]

I rather spontaneously booked an Alaskan cruise on RCI for early May 2023 (gotta love Black Friday sales...). I am looking for a bit of help figuring out the best options for certain ports. The cruise has stops in Juneau, Sitka, Skagway and Haines. I have a pretty solid plan for Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier + Tramway Hike) and Skagway (Rental car to Emerald Lake and back) but am particularly looking for help with Sitka and Haines. This will be a couples trip with everyone in their late 20s/early 30s. We are definitely on a tighter budget (150$/day max). Are biggest interests are nature, we are fairly active and mostly just want to enjoy the scenery (any wildlife would be a bonus!). Here is what I am thinking so far..

 

Haines - Our stop here is a short evening stop from 6:30pm-10:30pm. Right now I see 2 options. 

1. 2.5 hour Chilkoot Lake Nature and Wildlife Viewing Tour with Rainbow Glacier Adventures. This tour is 99$ per person and is appealing as we would get to see the Chilkoot Lake area but seems expensive for a short tour that is really just driving around, especially since the odds of seeing wildlife are low at this time of year. 

2. Car rental in Haines. Cost is approx 150$/car. This is clearly a much cheaper option (we will be between 2-4 people) but I am not sure if we will miss out by not having a tour? Does a tour guide really provide that much extra value in this area? With a rental car we would also be able to drive in the opposite direction and see both Chilkoot Lake and Chilkat River areas but we also have to account for the time of getting/returning the car... 

 

Sitka - I am at a loss for what to do in Sitka. Most of the tours I see involve very touristy things like Fortress of the Bear, the eagle preserve, etc. or city tours which is not all that interesting to us. Are there any hikes that offer good views and are easily accessible? Is there something I am missing? I have also seen a lot of whale watching/kayak tours but at around 150$/person and up, I want to make sure it is actually worth it. We are not planning a whale watching tour anywhere else right now, the idea of spending our time off the cruise in another boat is not all that appealing but if it is the best way to see the nature/wildlife sights then it may be worth it. 

 

Thank you in advance for any recommendations!

[Mountaineer0313]

Firstly, if you're going to Alaska and not doing a whale watch tour, you're missing out. We actually went on two separate ones last time we went, in Juneau and Icy Strait. That being said, if it's just because you're not into seeing ocean wildlife, then don't do it. 

[aroundtheworld96]

Thank you for your reply, this is exactly the kind of opinion I came here for! We are interested in ocean wildlife and have gone on quite a few whale watching excursions in Canada and in the South (some more successful than others) but I struggle with very bad motion sickness (concussion history) so I am hesitant to go on a long whale watching expedition, however it is something I am considering including in our Sitka plans and am here to get a sense of if it would really be worth it or not 🙂

[CCJack]

A couple thoughts....

 

In juneau we took the Mt. Roberts tram up and hiked the trails at the top of the tram.   It was beautiful up there, not a lot of trees, but views down over the city where spectacular.   I would only do this in good weather though.  You can spend as little or as much time hiking as you want.

 

We did a ship's excursion to the Davidson Glacier near Haines.   It was a much better experience than Mendenhall glacier.   However, it is also more work to get there.... some short hiking and short boat ride.  The ship may not offer this since you are there only in the evening, but you will have a lot of daylight and I would think it could be done in 4 hours.   I remember our excursion being a half day or so.     Not sure this is a good DYI however.   In any event, if you are seeing a glacier elsewhere I would skip Mendenhall.

 

As for whale watching, I am not an expert.  However, we have been on two ...one in Iceland (not fun, very few whales) and one out of ISP in Alaska which was wonderful.   We really got lucky, we ran across a group of Orcas and they circled and toyed with  our boat for about 40 minutes. They were no more than 4 feet from my camera !   I could have easily reached over the railing and touched them but I did not.   One of our best experiences ever... However as I said, we may have just been lucky....

 

Have fun planning..... 

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

I wonder of our OP has "googled" the website for the Haines convention and visitor's center.  I suspect they have a guide for Haines.  And I wonder about the statement "especially since the odds of seeing wildlife are low at this time of year."  What type of wildlife are you interested in viewing?  I live in the Interior of Alaska and by early May our bears are out of hibernation.  There may be a few hesitant to leave their den, but the bulk will be out for sure.

 

Regarding Sitka, the small boat excursions are lovely and are so different from a large cruise ship experience.  But given the concerns about seasickness I understand your concerns.  My sense is that most folks don't find the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear to be overly "touristy,"   Another consideration is to walk from the Harrigan Centennial Center along the waterfront to the Sitka National Historical Park (the local often refer to it as "totem pole park").  There is a nice interpretive center but the feature is the collection of totems distributed along a trail complex.

[beluga_baby]

I also suggest the Sitka Historic Park. We didn't book a tour there, just walked over from the visitor center which only took about 15 minutes (and as for wildlife we happened to see an eagle along the way!). Then at the park we went into their visitor center to watch the short film about Sitka and went through the little exhibit they have. Outside there is the "hike" which is really more like a lovely mile long walk through the woods on an even dirt trail. The trees were beautiful and through them you can see the water. Along the way are totem poles, and you can download the free National Park Service app that has an interactive map and info about each totem. There is also a stream along a portion of the trail that is supposed to have salmon in it. We went earlier in the season so we didn't see any wildlife, but I'm sure it's possible to see things depending on the day. Sitka is known for sea otters and we spotted them from the ship as we sailed into the port so always keep your eyes peeled. But I think the park will be something worth looking into if you like nature and views, and want to do something easy and free. 

[Northern Aurora]

3 hours ago, beluga_baby said:

..... There is also a stream along a portion of the trail that is supposed to have salmon in it. .....

 

 

I have been to Sitka both on business (joint Alaska Historical Society/Museums Alaska conferences) and as a port call.  During salmon spawning times that stream does indeed have salmon running.  The smell of the dying salmon is "interesting."  And some of the trails will be closed due to bear activity.