Alaska Travel Forum

I'm new to Virtual Tourist and my husband and I are taking a Cruise tour to Denali and cruising south to Vancouver. Our first time to Alaska and wondering if anyone has ideas for must see shore excursions and things to do. Our ports of call are Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. We spend time in Denali and Mt. Mckinley before the cruise.

It really depends on your interests. There are usually some marine animal tours, glacier tours, fishing tours, horseback riding, bicycle rides. All three towns are interesting to walk through, especially Ketchikan. Skagway has some nice hikes to lakes that are close by.

We did that trip about 3 years ago and loved it. In Skagway, see if your cruise offers a day trip to the Yukon. Usually you go to the Yukon by bus and then return by train. The scenery is great. Also take an hour or two to stroll around Skagway's historic district. Amidst the souvenir shops there are still a lot of interesting old historic buildings and a nice little museum.

In Juneau, do the whale watching cruise. Also, take a bus to the Mendenhall Glacier, which is about 1o miles outside Juneau. You can buy tickets for the bus to Mendenhall at a stand on the dock. If the weather is clear, the Mt. Roberts tram gives you a good view of the area. If you want to spend some serious money, a lot of cruise lines offer dogsledding on the Mendenhall Glacier (you get there by helicopter, weather permitting).

Ketchikan is a bit of a tourist trap, with over half the buildings dedicated to souvenir and jewelry stores. There is a small historic district, and a nearby native town (Saxman) with a number of totem poles. A beautiful area nearby is Misty Fjords National Monument, and a lot of the cruise lines offer aerial tours of it.

Beware that the Alaska Panhandle is one of the rainiest areas in the USA, and that a lot of activities involving flights or other outdoor activities frequently get canceled on short notice. Always have a rainy day backup plan for each port.

Also, if your cruise starts in Seward, see if you can get there a day early and tour Kenai Fjords National Park. The scenery there is beautiful, and you can only see it from the water. We did a 5-hour boat tour that included lunch and drinks.

Feel free to visit our various Alaska pages here on VirtualTourist. We have pages on Alaska, Skagway, Kenai Fjords National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway.

Also see if you can spend an extra day or two in Vancouver at the end of your cruise. It is a very nice city.

Hi - Alaska is wonderful!

In Juneau: twice went with Orca Enterprises for whale watching (lots of whales, eagles, sea lions, etc. both times) - http://www.orcaenterprises.com/. Also went up Mt. Roberts Tramway for nice view of the harbor. Entrance is right near the dock. Most recently we did a Pilot's Choice 2 glacier landing with Temsco helicopters, which was superb! http://www.temscoair.com/

In Skagway: went with Temsco for the dog sledding/glacier landing - lots of fun. Most recenly rented our own car (Avis is in walking distance from where the ship will dock). We drove through the Yukon, to Caribou Crossings, and Emerald Lake. A fantastic day! Very relaxing day and very cheap compared to most Alaskan excursions!

In Ketchikan: twice went with Island Wings - http://www.islandwings.com/ - on floatplane. Once to Anan Creek to see bears (seasonal) and once for Misty Fjords. Both trips fantastic! Also easy to walk around the town and see Totem Park, Creek Street, etc.

If you can, take a helicopter or floatplane trip. It gives you a different perspective of how huge and beautiful Alaska is. All companies I mentioned were top notch. We were fortunate to have decent weather while we were there (once in May, once in August) but do be prepared for the possiblity of rain. Do get out of the "immediate" towns because there are just a ton of shops selling the same thing (even from port to port!) to cruisers. Don't waste any time going to get any "freebie" that they'll be pushing on the ship.

If you haven't already done so, you can check www.cruisecritic.com for additional information about ports, your ship, and even your particular sailing.

Have a great cruise!!