What WOULDN'T you do in Alaska?

[KAYEF]

You don't need a guided tour for Exit Glacier.............it's in a National Park (or it IS a Natl. Park) and they have people in the building and it's a paved trail and there are signs...............and info. in the bldg. It's a nice place to go...................you can walk right up to the front of the glacier.........

As I remember, it didn't cost anything...........but, the last time I was there was a couple of years ago.

[Raihi]

I don't like flying at all. I'm not that comfortable in a commercial passenger jet, so you can figure.....I am TERRIFIED of small planes. Somehow, though, my husband talked me into taking a flightseeing tour over the glaciers in Juneau. Because he wanted to do it so much, I finally agreed to go. I thought I was going to barf most of the time - but we used L.A.B. Flight Services (they were on the dock in Juneau when we got off the ship), and our pilot had 35 years of flying experience. He was very good at what he did, and I felt safe with our pilot. It was beautiful up there, even if I was a nervous wreck the whole time.

 

You can't say it's not safe to fly JUST in Alaska....it's not truly "safe" to fly anywhere, anytime. A plane can go down for any reason in any locale with any pilot. If you get on a plane, you are taking a risk, period.

 

We are now talking about taking a flightseeing tour to Mt. McKinley...help me!

 

Why do you say it is not safe to fly in large airlines? It is very safe statically.

[cruzin4us]

Why do you say it is not safe to fly in large airlines? It is very safe statically.

 

 

This is out of the 7/22/09 Homer, AK newspaper:

 

 

Homer remembers Renda Horn

When Homer’s universal teacher and lover of music, Renda Horn, died suddenly last week in a plane crash near Destruction Bay, Yukon, she left behind a legacy of musical talent and memories that touched an entire community.

Horn, 63, was flying with her husband Steve when the plane flipped over after touching down on the water.

[Minoushka]

I really truly enjoyed all our excursions

Ketchican we walked on our own and found it very pleasant Shopping was a must ....guilt over leaving Hubby and son home so lots of shopping here which was fine

We were ucky it was sunny in Ketchican when we were there

I would not do the city tour of Juneau but I would stay longer at Mandenhall

Whale watching Is a MUST WE did it with Capt Larry .WE stayed 3 hours and saw so many UP close you could smell their breath ---like old fish We went twice because missed TRACY ARm Apparently it is STUPENDOUS but you must get to boat early morning we misse it because of misinformation by 10 minutes .Other people we know went and were floored by the scenery and wild life

NEXT TIME

I would skip Raptor Centre Very expensive for what it is but I did enjoy the trail around it

Loved Totem Park in Sitka ...lovely trail

In Sitka wildlife excursions are good

Whittier glacier experience up close was FABULOUS WE went with Major Marine

Loved the YUKON did it in minivan Would do that one again but skip lunch at cinamon bun ladie's cafe ...true in the middle of nowhere but too expensive for what it is 1 soup 2 wraps 1 bun =30$......be creative bring lunch

 

Loved all scenery

Will return to Alaska

[Raihi]

This is out of the 7/22/09 Homer, AK newspaper:

 

 

Homer remembers Renda Horn

When Homer’s universal teacher and lover of music, Renda Horn, died suddenly last week in a plane crash near Destruction Bay, Yukon, she left behind a legacy of musical talent and memories that touched an entire community.

Horn, 63, was flying with her husband Steve when the plane flipped over after touching down on the water.

 

I agree with small planes not being safe , but I wrote; "Why do you say it is not safe to fly in large airlines? It is very safe statically." I meant commerical airlines.

[Steamboatin]

It's not like life in Fairbanks or of Native Alaskans revolves around riverboats. In St. Louis it sure did.

 

 

You are certainly correct about using the word "DID".:D

 

We dearly miss the opportunity to cruise on the Delta Queen.

 

Now for things to not do in Alaska I would say anything during the winter months.

[surfisla]

Well...I live in Ketchikan and know that the snorkeling tour was the highest selling tour last summer. They give you wet suits and take you about 10 miles north of town. The water is extremely clear, and who knows what you'll see! It's Alaska. You'll most likely see sea cucumbers, sea stars...but who knows, Orca's could be chasing a baby seal right next to you. That tour is a little more reasonable in price too.

 

What not to do? Well, if you're an adventurous kind of person, then I would stay away from the narrated bus tours. But if you're older, and don't like walking around for hours, then I highly recommend them. I would recommend a bus tour over the horse trolley tour. You can easily walk where the horse trolley tour takes you. But the buses go further out of town...away from all of the tourist shops. Go to www.ketchikanblog.com

www.visit-ketchikan.com has links to all sorts of tours too.

There is an article about which tours to do for whatever budget. If you're looking to spend $250, do the Misty Fjords seaplane tour. If you're wanting to spend $160, go ziplining Kayaing If $100 is more your language, go snorkeling...yes, snorkeling. Most of all, have fun!

[Pssunshinegal]

Now for things to not do in Alaska I would say anything during the winter months.

 

You might be surprised. There are not as many opportunities for excursions in the winter, but Alaska in the winter is beautiful. I landed 12/22 at -49 degrees, after leaving Palm Springs at 75. I claimed that I would never go in the winter because I would freeze to death. Then I went to Healy at -69 degrees. The Northern Lights, the clear sky. How many people do you know who can say they were truly at the North Pole on 12/25. Animals are easier to spot because the leaves are all gone.

 

Alaska is to be experienced no matter when you go.

[flashdog_1]

To help make your decisions about excursions, I'd suggest making a list of what interests you out of all the stuff you've read about here and on Alaska websites. In another column, next to each one, put the # of hours it takes, and in the last column, the price. It lets you see your dollar per hour so to speak! And that also helps you time wise scheduling. Sometimes there will be a conflict of times and you must choose.

 

if you are traveling with children your decisions will be different than if you are just a couple, so everyone's list will be different.

 

If one of you wants desperately to do one thing which does not appeal to the other, do 1 of 2 things: 1) compromise, go with the other, and then they go with you on your first choice. 2) go alone on your favorite tour and take lots of photos to show the other person what he/she missed!

 

Before my first trip to Alaska, which I thought would be my only one, we asked each other, if money were not an issue, what would we really like to do on a 7 day cruise (we were so dumb we didn't know we could go early and do more). One wanted to mush dogs on a glacier (me), and one wanted to fly to the Misty Fjords. So we did both, and then did cheaper tours in town, like the Duck Tour in Ketchikan, and Glacier Gardens in Juneau. We did no tour in Icy Strait Point, just walking the grounds, and were satisfied talking to the Tlingits we met there. Oh, we did take a van tour to the Yukon and cherish our photos at the border. Can prove we were there! Did a dog pulled wagon on land at Caribou Crossing while up that way, something both of us wanted to do. The museum there is spectacular.

 

We got in on a "free air" deal so we saved on airfare which enabled us to do some of these once in a lifetime experiences.

[frugaltravel]

Now for things to not do in Alaska I would say anything during the winter months.

 

As another poster already mentioned, this is SO not true. Northern Lights viewing, mushing your own dogsled team, watching the start of the Iditarod race and much more.

 

Ever think about a winter trip to Denali? It can be done on dogsled (you mush your own dogs), multi-day trip for a reasonable cost, and with pretty nice lodging amenities to boot.

 

Winter is actually a great time to visit!

[TracieABD]

I would not take the train from the White Pass to Skagway again. Just too long, too slow, and not as much as I would have like to have seen.

[TMS9539]

I wouldn't go horseback riding at Emerald Lake. It was awful - way too many people in the group and not enough guides. I was at the back of the line and all I saw was dust. My horse spooked and almost ran away with me. One lady fell off. It was unorganized and not safe or fun. It was supposed to last two hours but only lasted a little over an hour... for which we were grateful.

 

But then again, I wouldn't do the drive to Emerald Lake again. I'd go hiking in Skagway instead. I'm just not much of a sightseeing-from-the-car type of person. Most people seem to love the drive though.

[verdl]

So now I'm wondering tetleytea........ what DO you do in Alaska? I think you pretty much ruled out everything!! :p ;)

 

My thoughts exactly!!

[041473]

You don't need a guided tour for Exit Glacier.............it's in a National Park (or it IS a Natl. Park) and they have people in the building and it's a paved trail and there are signs...............and info. in the bldg. It's a nice place to go...................you can walk right up to the front of the glacier.........

As I remember, it didn't cost anything...........but, the last time I was there was a couple of years ago.

 

 

Exit Glacier is still free. The trip from the piers to the National Park was $40.00 for a taxi cab (Mike's Cabs); but grab another couple who are boarding the ship and its a steal for $10.00. You can either go with a Ranger Guide and learn about the area, then hike to the edge of the Glacier, or skip the Guide and just hike. 2 hours will let you do both. Have fun!

[Disneyworld]

We went on b2b cruises and just returned. We loved all of our excursions, which we booked totally with independents. One thing I would not do again is the 3 hr. Dyea tour. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy Dyea Dave, our southbound with him to the Yukon and carcross and Emerald Lake was great!, but our northbound to Dyea was a 'bust' as far as I am concerned.

[TracieABD]

We went on b2b cruises and just returned. We loved all of our excursions, which we booked totally with independents. One thing I would not do again is the 3 hr. Dyea tour. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy Dyea Dave, our southbound with him to the Yukon and carcross and Emerald Lake was great!, but our northbound to Dyea was a 'bust' as far as I am concerned.

I did a bike ride through Dyea with Sockeye tours. It was great. I am not sure how much you would see either on foot or in a van. Actually, I may have just been really happy to be moving after the train ride!

[Happy2Cruise4Fun]

I would suggest trying to not pack to much into a day. There is so much to see and so much to do it will drive you nuts if you try to do it all, which you won't anyway. We looked at it as out in morning, back to ship for lunch then back out in afternoon. Why pay for for a lunch when you already did unless you want some special local meal that you cannot get at home. Crab legs and Halibut are hard to come by in the state you know. :rolleyes:

 

Pick something and be happy with what you planned. We did limited excursions, Skagway train and Gold mine tour in Juneau. DS enjoyed the gold mine and all enjoyed the train. Due to the wide age range of those traveling in our party (10-70) we had to plan activities that all would enjoy. Most of the time we based things on the activities in town knowing we will have to return in the future. Then when we go back we will skip the in town activities.

 

There is just so much to see and do in the short 6-10 hours in each port.

[seaflow-28]

The Best Thing about our trip to Alaska in May was seeing Mt Mckinley , whale watching, lumberjack show in Ketchican, Paddle boat trip, flying over glaciers. The worst was being on the Coral Princess......never again. Went for seven days on Coral & three days on wilderness tour. We were treated like cattle because of a Flu outbreak???? It was never determined, and my husband got sick after eating eggs at breadfast that were not cooked right. We have been on a few Cruises, but will not take another Princess Cruise. This is not their first outbreak ???? If we ever went to Alaska again.....we would fly in as we did, and then rent a car and do our own thing. The people in Alaska are friendly and very nice, but I really have not much of a desire to see Alaska again. The animals were far and few between. They only take you seventeen miles in Denali, and that is why you see so little. Our other two cruises were fine....wish I had better things to say...hope I helped some.

[cruzin4us]

I am enjoying reading everyone's posts. I realize everyone has a different opinion on everything from cruising to whale tours. What I am getting from all this is a different opinion, and I like that.

I'm also happy when you state what you did like, and what you wouldn't do again.

[frugaltravel]

The animals were far and few between. They only take you seventeen miles in Denali, and that is why you see so little.

 

I beg to differ. The reason you see so little is because you chose a cruistour that was severely lacking. You could get a FREE shuttle bus almost as far as that tour took you. Book a cruisetour with the Tundra Wilderness Tour or book a shuttle bus and go up to 5 times further into the park.

 

Alaska is not a zoo. Wildlife sightings in the wild take time. Multiple tours, even multiple trips into Denali for example. Rushing from one stop to the next allows tourists to see the road but not really see what Alaska really has to offer, which is unfortunate.

[Starfish67]

Exit Glacier is still free. The trip from the piers to the National Park was $40.00 for a taxi cab (Mike's Cabs); but grab another couple who are boarding the ship and its a steal for $10.00. You can either go with a Ranger Guide and learn about the area' date=' then hike to the edge of the Glacier, or skip the Guide and just hike. 2 hours will let you do both. Have fun![/quote']

 

Thanks to you both for your input. I will take the cab and decide once I get to the park about a guided tour. How long is the cab ride? Can you walk on or at least touch the glacier?

[chachi]

I would not do the ocean rafting in Sitka. The company was very professional, but I thought the ride was boring. I actually had a hard time staying awake. I fell asleep several times. When I got off, I heard another man say that he was nodding off. Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't just done the sea otter tour, but they took us to the same place so we saw the same wildlife and scenery. Also, we had to wear sunglasses. They would get wet, so you couldn't see out of them. The guide would pass a towel around from time to time to dry them, but as soon as you put them back on, they were wet again.

[chachi]

I would not take the train from the White Pass to Skagway again. Just too long, too slow, and not as much as I would have like to have seen.

 

I think that there was so much hype to this one, that it just didn't measure up for me. I loved riding the bicycles down though. I know a lot of people say that it is an accident waiting to happen, but it was one of my favorite part of the trip. I would not take the train without the bike portion. I don't like to just sit that long.

[brr5]

I absolutely love to shop, but don't spend my time shopping while in Alaska. Not to say that I won't step into an interesting shop for a brief amount of time, but in general, I'd much rather be taking in the sights.

Regarding NancyIL's comment about the Misty Fjords trip, I agree, the first trip of the day is probably not a good idea. I did the Island Wings Misty Fjords floatplane excursion a few years ago. It was a fantastic experience, but would not have been worth the time or $$ if too foggy to take in the scenery.

[fenstersuzy]

We just returned from our cruise, and the one thing I would definitely NOT recommend is Butchart Gardens in Victoria. I had been there several years ago, and it was beautiful and peaceful. Now, the place is completely overrun with cruise ship passengers. It still might have been ok if we had more daylight time there. Our tour left the pier at 6:45, got to the gardens around 8:15. It was pitch dark by 9, which didn't leave nearly enough time to see everything. In planning the tour I read somewhere (don't remember if it was on the Garden's website or here) that the gardens are lit "like daylight" at night. This is absolutely not true. The paths were lit, but not well enough for us to find our way around, let alone to actually see the flowers. They do have a fireworks show on Saturday nights, but that isn't what I was interested in.

 

The one thing I would do again and recommend (but not to everyone) was the Underground Juneau Gold tour to the Alaska Gastineau mine. It was one of the very best tours we've been on (in 4 cruises). The guides were very interesting and informative, and the group was small enough that we could see and ask all the questions we wanted. My kids, ages 5 & 7 loved, loved, loved panning for gold, although they did get a little bored with all the talking. If you are interested in mining and how it relates to Alaska's history, you will enjoy this tour.