What are "must do's; not to be missed" in Juneau, Ketchican & Sitka

Juneau - we have booked the helicopter/Mendenhall Glacier landing in Juneau will also do the tram up the mountain. Given the limited time available after these two activities what is a "must see or must do" in the town of Juneau (restaurant, stores, landmark etc.) Our tour will be 2 hrs long and we will not be at the ship until 12:30 and ship leaves port at 4 pm.

Ketchican - we are booked for a 4 hr kayaking experience until noon, returning to the ship to change and have lunch before heading ashore (likely 2 pm). Again, given the timeframe what are some other "must see/do's, not to be missed" while in Ketchican. I believe the ship leaves later (around 7).

Sitka - nothing planed at the moment, but as above, if you only could do one thing what would it be (if multiple things, in order of priority).

Thanks for your responses.

I HIGHLY recommend going on an excursion with Davey Lubin and his Esther G boat in Sitka. It was the highlight of our trip to Alaska. We saw otters including an otter carrying its baby, puffins, falcons, eagles, multitude of other birds, starfish, and an amazing encounter between 3 adult orcas, a baby orca, and a humpback whale which was a once in a lifetime experience. Davey went out of his way to make our trip extra special. He is so enthusiastic and informative when sharing his love of Sitka and wildlife. You will learn so much on the trip. He even served wonderful salmon, crackers, and homemade cookies. We just got back from Alaska and my family is already planning a trip to Sitka and having Davey take us to one of the cabins on an island near Sitka. We all agreed that we wished we had taken the longer tour. Tell him Sarah recommended him! www.puffinsandwhales.com

We just returned. In Juneau we did whale watching with Captain Larry (3 hour tour) and ziplining with Alaska Zipline Adventures (also 3 hour tour). We enjoyed both immensely, but you may not have the time.

In Sitka, we tendered in early. We walked to see the aquarium at the college, then the Totem National Park, then on to see the Raptor Center. We found the town beautiful, and peaceful and enjoyed the walk. About a mile to the national park (the aquarium is on the way) and another half a mile from the park on to the Raptor Center. I would definitely do Totem Park! There are buses also, but we walked. We also enjoyed looking at all the shops and climed to the top of a hill for a marvelous view. There are towns people manning booths when you tender in. They hand out free maps and are very helpful!

do you have a website or email address for the ziplines?

This is what we have planned for our first cruise to Alaska:

Ketchikan: Floatplane to Misty Fjords/shopping in town

Juneau: Whale Watching with Captain Larry & then to Mendenhall Glacier/shopping in town

Sitka: Historical Sitka Tour/shopping in town

I don't know if these are "must do's" in Alaska, but after much researching these were our final choices! Enjoy your cruise. ;)

Thanks for the responses.

Having read an earlier post, I am working on a backup plan should our helicopter/mendenhall glacier tour get cancelled due to weather. Keep the suggestions coming - I like them all!

Here's the web site for the Juneau zipline that we did:

http://www.alaskazip.com/index.html

It was GREAT!!! I would recommend highly!

it looks very cool! now I just have to convince DH!

On the helicopter tour - check with the company you booked with on how many people they put in the helicopter. If it is 4 people you will enjoy it. If they cram 6 people in, and you end up in the back middle seats you can't see a lot and you definitely will not get pictures. The actual landing is still awesome, but you miss the great views from the helicopter.

Skip eating lunch on the ship----on the other side of the visito's center, thru the tunnel, there is a little place called Burger Queen-it serves the best Halibut--and I am not even a fish eater-It taste as if it has parmesean cheese in the batter-it's wonderful! Go there-you will enjoy!

There are 2 ziplines in Juneau.

This is the original established one in the ski area that has a couple favorable reviews:

www.alaskazip.com

vs.

www.alaskacanopyadventures.com

which is a the new one from the folks who also have one in Ketchikan

We did the 4 hour kayaking with Southeast Kayaks in Ketchican and it was our favorite- hope you have as much fun. Afterwards we just got a free walking map and tramped around seeing the town. Creek St. and Dolly's (if you don't have kids along) are fun, you can ride the funicular, and there are a few totem poles, too.

You might not have time to do much more in Juneau. A whale watching trip and the Mt. Roberts tram plus a quick shopping/post office trip used up the day. We wanted to get to the Alaska Brewing Company, but it's nowhere near the docks. BTW, there's a Ben Franklin store near the post office that had stuff the places near the docks didn't. Good prices, too. We did most of our souvenier shopping there. Look around on Mt. Roberts if you like animals. Even with all the people, we saw a hoary marmot and a porcupine.

Goldenprincess53,

You didn't say which crusie line you were on, but Im sure they all offer the same ones. My wife & I did Carnival southbound last year. for each stop, heer is what we did;

Sitka - Wildlife quest - it's on a boat, goes out for about 3 hours. We saw

eagles, otters, whales, starfish. It was great!! In the town, check out the Raptor Center, St. Michael's Cathedral.

Juneau - Mendenhall Glacier/Salmon Bake. Bus takes you to Mendenhall Glacier - 15 minutes from town - great hiking and pictures - then bsu takes you to salmon bake closer to town. After hiking around Mendenhall for about an hour, an salmon bake with Alaskan Summer Ale is perfect.

Ketchikan - if weather permitting, do the floatplane to Misty Fjords.

Book it at the Visitor Center, it's much cheaper than the ship. We walked in at 3 p.m., talked to the first float plane tour, took off at 4 and was back by 6 for $189 pp. 40 minute flight out, 30 minutes spent on the lake

you land on, and 50 minutes back.

Hoep this helps!!

www.southeastexposure.com

these guys do kayaks, ziplines, and bikes. A 5 star tour company!