Alaska - Glacier Excursions for Family

[wendlle]

I'm heading on an Alaska Cruise this September (8nt leaving Sept 11)
I am wondering if anyone can recommend some sort of Glacier excursion that I can also take my kids on (aged 4 and 7)

This is probably a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska, so while I am on a budget as the Aussie Dollar is so weak I also want to do adventures that I'll never do in my life again - one being seeing and being on a glacier!

I am a silver Castaway member but happy to do outside excursions.

 

[auntlynne]

How do you feel about taking them on a helicopter? Minimum age is often 2y. Four just seems so young, but there are some adventurous kids.

You might find some activities will be finished for the season by Sep 11. I was looking for helicopter + glacier + dog sled. Those end in August.

We did a helicopter ride with glacier landing (Skagway). My niece did it again on her honeymoon and said it was an even better experience - they are not all the same. (I also did a glacier landing on Mt Cook in NZ in a small plane - in case you miss out in AK, at least that would be a little closer to home.)

We also did a float plane tour which landed on a lake (created by a glacier). The lack of noise at the lake is amazing. We went with Island Wings in Ketchikan (lots of positive reviews in thus forum).

From Island Wings website. A little better picture than mine.



Helicopter tour:



Keep an eye on the kids. Glaciers have a lot of dirt and rocks.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Unfortunately the ages of your children will really limit your choices. I didn’t do this one but the glacier point wilderness safari was my second choice. There is a great YouTube video of it from young at the parks but 7 is the minimum age. Check out Alaska shore tours and packer expeditions both offer hikes on a glacier not involving flying. Enjoy no matter what Alaska is amazing

 

[wendlle]

Thank you. yes I had a feeling my kids ages could play a factor, but I'd prefer for us to do things together rather than leave the kids on the ship in the clubs.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

A lot of the glacier excursions will be finished by then, the reason we cancelled our alaska 8n whihc we had booked for September. Thinking of rebooking for next year beginning of the season. Done alaska twice so done all the mainstream/affordable excursions. If I do alaska again it's to do the Helicopter/glacier/dogsled stuff

 

[wendlle]

A lot of the glacier excursions will be finished by then, the reason we cancelled our alaska 8n whihc we had booked for September. Thinking of rebooking for next year beginning of the season. Done alaska twice so done all the mainstream/affordable excursions. If I do alaska again it's to do the Helicopter/glacier/dogsled stuff

Thanks, I’ve found a few that are still operating and some are reasonably priced but don’t allow for too much time on the glacier.
I think I’ll have to settle for some tamer ones and save it for when my kids are bigger.
Gives me a reason to come back!

 

[sadiecatie]

My daughter is 7 and even at her age I wasn’t sure how much she’d be down for longer/more intensive glacier experiences.
We’ve settled on just visiting Mendenhall in Juneau and doing the basic hike/viewing and then doing a whale-watching excursion. Both shorter and more tame, but I’m more confident that the whole family will enjoy both.

 

[wendlle]

My daughter is 7 and even at her age I wasn’t sure how much she’d be down for longer/more intensive glacier experiences.
We’ve settled on just visiting Mendenhall in Juneau and doing the basic hike/viewing and then doing a whale-watching excursion. Both shorter and more tame, but I’m more confident that the whole family will enjoy both.

I'm now thinking the same also. I'll save the more adventurous stuff for another trip when my kids are much older.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We did the glacier walk in Skagway when low cloud cover prevented us from doing our planned dogsled tour (this was in May). Our kids were 3 and 7 and they loved it, especially when they go to drink directly from the freshly melting ice. It is very expensive, though, so if it's a choice between that and say, seeing bears in Ketchikan by float plane, I would choose the bears.

 

[Anna131517]

I’m not sure of your ports but Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau is probably your best bet. There’s also a glacier in Seward (exit glacier) that you can hike next to if you’re stopping there. It’s dangerous to walk on the glaciers and definitely not a kid activity so seeing them from afar is the only way for families to experience them. You’ll see them from the ship. Alaska is beautiful but dangerous. Don’t be overly ambitious in shore excursions, especially with kids. The water is extremely cold and absolutely everything is isolated.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I’m not sure of your ports but Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau is probably your best bet. There’s also a glacier in Seward (exit glacier) that you can hike next to if you’re stopping there. It’s dangerous to walk on the glaciers and definitely not a kid activity so seeing them from afar is the only way for families to experience them. You’ll see them from the ship. Alaska is beautiful but dangerous. Don’t be overly ambitious in shore excursions, especially with kids. The water is extremely cold and absolutely everything is isolated.

There was nothing dangerous about our glacier walk in Skagway. It wasn't a hike with clamps and ropes over crevasses or anything like that, more like a walk around to learn about the geology of the glacier. We kept the kids close. The least safe part statistically speaking was the helicopter ride there and back.