favorite Alaska excursions

[MichelleCanada]

We also did the Small boat tour experience on Tracy Arm day, and that was well worth the cost for us. It was so great to get so up close and personal with the glacier and get away from the craziness we could see on the Wonder as we pulled away. So many people fighting for railing space.

We are also did this and it was wonderful. We got so close to the glacier - I would have be disappointed to have only got the view from the ship. It was not really crowded on the smaller boat and it was an enjoyable day.

We also did a whale watching tour - that was quite incredibly to be so close to see them. It was interesting to watch the small tour boats all communicate and share where they had seen them so that other boats could find them as well. The whales were beautiful!

 

[ocdisneycruiser]

in Juneau...we did the helicopter then dog sled on glacier...
but the excursions on the cruise are really really expensive...most we have ever spent on 6 Disney cruises...Europe next summer may top that but we are going to 7 ports...

 

[sabrecmc]

Skagway: Chilkoot Charters: Yukon bus up with lots of photo stops, white pass railroad down, with dog cart ride, includes lunch. This was the highlight of our trip!!! We liked doing the train down as we were tired from the first half of the day, and sometimes Skagway is foggy in the morning. If you look at our trip report in my signature you can see it was still foggy in the afternoon near the peaks, but much less than morning.

Juneau:. We took one of the glacier buses out to Mendenhall glacier and walked the trails/went to visitor center.

Ketchikan: We did the Disney excursion of visiting a Tlingit (sp?) Village to see totem poles and then the lumberjack show.

Vancouver:. We did the Sea to Sky tour (with Vancouver tours?) on debarkation day as we had a 10:30pm flight home. Really enjoyed it! We spent 3 nts precruise in Vancouver, walked around Stanley park/aquarium one day, and used public transportation to get to Lynn Canyon the other day.

Wow, this was almost exactly what we did way back in 2011! All of these were good. For Juneau, our tour was the kids' activity tour where my daughter got to paint a piece that would go on the DCL totem, which was cool. Also,we booked the Lumberjack show directly online, which was cheaper. The only difference to DCL was that we were seated in the section next to the DCL section. We also did a whale-watching tour in Juneau, and while I enjoyed it, I wish I'd booked with a private company. The DCL tour we were on was on a large boat and it was pretty crowded. We did see whales, though! Another DCL tour that we did that we enjoyed was the panning for gold. This was very hands-on and great for my daughter. Turns out, everyone "finds" some gold, lol, but the panning itself was neat and we got a nice little fleck of gold they put in a clear tube for us to keep. Everything was enjoyable, to be honest! These are very easy ports to do yourself, though, so if I were to go again, I'd probably book more tours on my own. The Chilkoot Charters tour was great.

 

[tvguy]

Whale watching is a must do in my book. Done two Alaska cruises (both on HAL) and always amazing. And we always book through the cruise line. Not much more money and you have the security of knowing they will hold the ship for you if there is an issue with an excursions

 

[Doingitagain]

We will have a four year old and an 11 month old in our party, any suggestions?

 

[OffToDWD]

in Juneau...we did the helicopter then dog sled on glacier...
but the excursions on the cruise are really really expensive...most we have ever spent on 6 Disney cruises...Europe next summer may top that but we are going to 7 ports...

Yea... I saw some the prices - $$$! One of the sled dog excursion looks like it's $999/person!! Good thing there are multiple variations of those.

 

[kmmfl2va]

We loved all of our Alaskan excursions, so it’s hard to choose. The best advice I was given was “get in the air”. We did a helicopter ride/glacier walk. Booked independently through Alaska Shore Excursions. It was amazing...our pilot and our family were the only ones atop the glacier. We also did a sea plane tour in Ketchikan, Misty Fjords Sea Plane booked independently through Family Air. The sea plane went into the Tongaas forest and landed in a private docking area. Again one else around. Both truly amazing and we loved both for different reasons. We also did the Yukon Expedition through Disney, which we enjoyed but it doesn’t compare to seeing Alaska from the air.

BTW we are a family of 4...our kids were 8 and 6 at the time.

 

[LAX]

Whale watching is a must do in my book. Done two Alaska cruises (both on HAL) and always amazing. And we always book through the cruise line. Not much more money and you have the security of knowing they will hold the ship for you if there is an issue with an excursions

Just curious if whale watching in Alaska is much different from off the PNW coast (OR/WA). I am looking for unique activities that I won't be able to experience in the lower 48. TIA.

LAX

 

[Ronneeaght]

This sounds amazing! Three questions: were the bikes provided as part of your excursion? Did they provide helmets? And was the grade very steep on the way back (as in, would this be safe for a novice or do you need to be an advanced rider)?

Thanks for this great tip!

Yep, bikes and helmets were supplied by the excursion company. We just brought our own gloves (and of course shorts ).

I would say that a novice would *probably* be ok. You definitely didn't need to be advanced. We all rode the brakes at various times.

 

[tvguy]

Just curious if whale watching in Alaska is much different from off the PNW coast (OR/WA). I am looking for unique activities that I won't be able to experience in the lower 48. TIA.

LAX

Well, I've never gone whale watching off the Oregon or Washington coast to compare. But these are not open ocean excursions, they are in enclosed smaller water ways off the ocean. I can only compare it to whale watching in Hawaii, and Alaska was amazing

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Just curious if whale watching in Alaska is much different from off the PNW coast (OR/WA). I am looking for unique activities that I won't be able to experience in the lower 48. TIA.

LAX

I can't comment on whale watching in Alaska, but we chose Glacier/air activities for that exact reason. Dog sledding, whale watching, and gold rush activities- which might all be great and tons of fun- are all available in the lower 48. Glaciers, not as much..... There are lots of ways to see the glaciers, air, kayak, hiking etc.

Also the rainforest in Ketchikan was a ton of fun to see. Definitely not one of those in the lower 48.

 

[OffToDWD]

Thanks, everyone, for all the fantastic ideas/tips so far!

 

[Colo17]

If you do whale watching in Juneau go with an independent. We had about 15 people on our boat (think current name is Dolphin Jet Boats, formerly Orca Enterprises) and ship tour boats had 50-60 on them. The glacier is ok to see, but buses up there now cost around $40pp partly due to them charging national park entry for each passenger.

If timing works and you don't want to take the train in Skagway there is a float trip through the eagle preserve. High speed ferry to Haines, bus up to entry point, lunch, bus back to ferry. Well worth doing.

Float plane to bears in Ketchikan. If you can't afford it there is a self-guided trail from Creek Street to a fish hatchery and totem museum. Entry to latter is cheap.

 

[Travel60]

We did Alaska with 2 adult kids and SIL. Paired up differently in each port according to interests. Daughter and I went snorkeling in (I think) Juneau. I thought she was nuts when she suggested but they provided wetsuits and it was great. Son and SIL did a jeep-type drive through the rain forest. They were wearing provided rain gear and came back covered in mud and muck. Loved it. DH and son did sea plane flight over glaciers. Kids did a bus then bike ride. I did a whale watch boat tour. All through Disney. With kids you just have to look through all the options, some have age restrictions, some are long and your kids could get bored. You know their interest best.

 

[lovingeire]

This is a great thread! We're scheduled to sail next August (third times the charm!). I have a short list of excursions, but am having trouble narrowing it down. It will be my DH and two sons (almost 12 & 8 at the time) on the cruise. My older son loves animals & nature. Both boys are Scouts and fairly into nautre/history.

Skagway: Chilkoot Charters: Yukon bus up with lots of photo stops, white pass railroad down, with dog cart ride, includes lunch. This was the highlight of our trip!!! We liked doing the train down as we were tired from the first half of the day, and sometimes Skagway is foggy in the morning. If you look at our trip report in my signature you can see it was still foggy in the afternoon near the peaks, but much less than morning.

I know I commented on your trip report, but did you or @anricat do the "White Pass Summit & Rail Pass" approx. 4 hours tour or the longer "Yukon Rail and Bus" tour that's 7.5 hours in Skagway?

in Juneau...we did the helicopter then dog sled on glacier...
but the excursions on the cruise are really really expensive...most we have ever spent on 6 Disney cruises...Europe next summer may top that but we are going to 7 ports...

I have been looking at doing the helo/dog sled tour directly through the same company that does Disneys. Still pricey, but at least saves a little.

Yea... I saw some the prices - $$$! One of the sled dog excursion looks like it's $999/person!! Good thing there are multiple variations of those.

This might be a good one to do independently. I believe you can book this directly through the company Disney uses.

Just curious if whale watching in Alaska is much different from off the PNW coast (OR/WA). I am looking for unique activities that I won't be able to experience in the lower 48. TIA.

LAX

We're looking at either doing whale watching in Juneau or in Vancouver pre-cruise. I've sailed in the Puget Sound and saw a lot of Orcas. If we do the helo/dog sled excursion we'll do whale watching in Vancouver. ETA: Go Big Blue! (Although I'm a little disappointed in today's final score...)

 

[Geomom]

I know I commented on your trip report, but did you or @anricat do the "White Pass Summit & Rail Pass" approx. 4 hours tour or the longer "Yukon Rail and Bus" tour that's 7.5 hours in Skagway

We did the 7.5 hr Yukon rail and bus thru Chilkoot Charters! It was awesome!

 

[TeaWithOtters]

We did the 7.5 hr Yukon rail and bus thru Chilkoot Charters! It was awesome!

That sounds amazing

 

[lovingeire]

We did the 7.5 hr Yukon rail and bus thru Chilkoot Charters! It was awesome!

Thank you! I thought Emerald Lake looked beautiful and didn't want to miss it necessarily. We have early dining so we'd have to take the train first option that leaves at 7:30am.

 

[Geomom]

Thank you! I thought Emerald Lake looked beautiful and didn't want to miss it necessarily. We have early dining so we'd have to take the train first option that leaves at 7:30am.

We had early dining as well, made it back in time. I can't remember what time the bus up tour left for us, according to my trip report we had to meet them outside at 8:15...not sure if that was 15 or 30 minutes or more before our tour...it was so long ago! I do know that we just made it to the Klondike gold rush national historic park in Skagway before they closed. (We did the junior ranger workbook from home before the cruise and turned it in that day to get the badges.). Shouldn't really matter which you do first train/bus, you'll see the same stuff!

 

[WDWLODGE]

In Juneau we rented a car right there at port. We did some shopping before heading to Mendenhall Glacier to explore. After that we had a private whale watching tour for our family of 4 through Rum Runners, which was amazing. Our crew was Capt. Chris, Brandi (Yellow Lab) was the 1st Mate & we had Adrianne was our naturalist, who taught us so much on the excursion. I can't recommend Rum Runners enough.