Best Alaska excursions with two teen boys?

Our family (me, DH, DS13 and DS15) is heading to Alaska next June for the first time. We have stops in Ketchikan (6am-4pm), Icy Strait Point (9am-6pm), Juneau (7am-9:30pm) and Skagway (7am-5pm). I've already got some thoughts brewing on excursions based on my research so far, but I'd love to hear what you think are great excursions with two teen boys. The only thing I'm pretty sure we have no interest in is a fishing excursion. Thanks for any suggestions!

Icy Strait Point book a private whale watching tour. You wont be disappointed. We have used FISHES in the past but they are now retired. We booked with Hoonah Whale Tours under a recommendation. Will be doing the tour in 3 weeks and can let you know. Private tours only take 6 people so makes for a great day.

Deadliest Catch in Ketchikan, zip line in ISP, Mendenhall canoe and trek or whale watching in Juneau, Chilkoot trail hike and float, Wilderness Point safari, glacier dodsledding, or ATV in Skagway.

Helicopter in Juneau on Mendenhall! Without a doubt an amazing thing to see!!

Juneau:

Definitely do the Mendenhall Glacier Trek:

https://beyondak.com/trips/mendenhall-glacier-trek/

We did this with teenage girls (16 and 12) who loved it!

As far as whale watching, we really liked Glacier Winds Charter in Icy Strait Point. Small boat, only holds 6 persons. Real personal. You really get a sense of being in a small boat on the ocean. We saw whales and the coolest was two Orcas just cruising along. The 6 of us all agreed, that even if we wouldn't have seen any whales it was the best excursion. Mostcruise lines use Allan Marine. They use large boats ( 50-75 persons) crowded, impersonal. Check out the reviews on Trip Advisor. GlacierWinds fill fast, they only have one boat. Reserve on their website.

They may be interested in the train ride up / bicycle down excursion in Skagway.

We enjoyed the Adventure Bound trip to Tracy Arm Fjord out of Juneau. You’re port times will fit. It’s a long day and only you know if they would enjoy 9-10 hours on a boat with great scenery and wildlife or if they would be bored.

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Ask the kids!!!! There are countless activities to consider. First, have them take a look at shore excursion lists and select their top few. Then find out more specifics about the tours.

But with this being a year away. I wouldn't get to focused on selections. You have a lot of time, and ideas will change over and over the more you read. Don't jump into making decision at this point, I'd suggest, unless it's a very limited tour, like Anan. All else can wait.

We just returned from our cruise. We didn’t have teens, but the whale watching tour was awesome. We booked independently with Alaska Humpback Adentures. It’s a small boat so the ride out is fun. We saw a lot of whales and the Captain, Steve, took us to an area where there were 50+ sea lions all talking to each other. I have four sons and they all would have thought it was super cool. I recommend him very highly.

I haven’t been yet but have a 15yo son - late July 2018. He has chosen the whale watch in Juneau (he wasn’t really interested in the glacier) - I was but I’ve picked all the excursions so left it up to him. I’ve booked heli dog sledding in Skagway & Neets Bay bear watching in Ketchikan. I’ve booked these as it’s highly unlikely I will ever be back.

Do they like trails? There are a lot of trails to research about on all your stops? Hiking with active teenagers would be fun. We started the Dewey trail in Skagway but did not have enough time to complete. People that went further than us said the views further along were great. We did do the Deer Mountain trail after our float plane tour in Ketchikan and that was up hill through the forest all the way, but for active boys I could see them enjoying it. It really depends on your families interests but good luck with the research. That’s part of the fun. We did the whale watch with Glacier Wind too and saw lots of whales, a bear, sea lions and had a great morning with Shawn. The bigger whale boat tours may have more teenagers to hang with if that is important to them, but 6 on a boat was a nice experience for us.

We were just in Skagway. We did an ATV Glacier tour and took a helicopter tour to a different glacier. Both were amazing. We booked thru shoreexcursionsgroup.com

Have fun!

Kathy

We just returned from our cruise. We didn’t have teens, but the whale watching tour was awesome. We booked independently with Alaska Humpback Adentures. It’s a small boat so the ride out is fun. We saw a lot of whales and the Captain, Steve, took us to an area where there were 50+ sea lions all talking to each other. I have four sons and they all would have thought it was super cool. I recommend him very highly.

I second the recommendation of Steve and Alaska Humpback Adventures. We were out with him last week and found him to be a wonderful person, very knowledgeable, the boat was clean and well kept and he went out of his way to show us a lot. Boat only holds 6 people so it will be a very personal experience.

A lot of excursions in Skagway include a stop at "Caribou Crossing". I'd recommend some of the other excursions. Caribou Crossing is a tourist trap that probably was invented to serve the cruise industry. All it has is small petting zoo, a room with a bunch of taxidermy, a smaller room that is a museum to the Candian mounted patrol, a lousy lunch (piece of chicken, cole slaw, bread and doughnuts) and an opportunity to have sled dogs drag you around a dirt track on a wheeled cart (for an extra fee).

Icy Strait Point book a private whale watching tour. You wont be disappointed. We have used FISHES in the past but they are now retired. We booked with Hoonah Whale Tours under a recommendation. Will be doing the tour in 3 weeks and can let you know. Private tours only take 6 people so makes for a great day.

We are heading on this cruise in August with our 14 year old as well. How was your private tour with Hoonah Whale Tours?

We are just finishing our cruise today and thought Icy Strait Point Glacier Wind Charters was the best excursion we did. 18-year old college son and 20 year old daughter.

We did the following: Sea Plane in Ketchikan with Misty Fjord Air, Mendenhall Glacier with hike to Nugget Falls by taxi (four of us, so made sense, Mount Roberts Tramway with hike at top also in Juneau, White Pass RR up Fraser with Dyea Dave back to Carcross for Skagway.

Glacier Winds Charters whale and wilderness watching stood out. Sean is a pro. If I ever get back to Alaska, that's the only thing I would repeat. The rest were good (Dyea Dave has a very inexperienced new driver guide and it doesn't seem as if she has spent much time in Skagway, but she is nice and will improve throughout the summer).

We are just finishing our cruise today and thought Icy Strait Point Glacier Wind Charters was the best excursion we did. 18-year old college son and 20 year old daughter.

 

We did the following: Sea Plane in Ketchikan with Misty Fjord Air, Mendenhall Glacier with hike to Nugget Falls by taxi (four of us, so made sense, Mount Roberts Tramway with hike at top also in Juneau, White Pass RR up Fraser with Dyea Dave back to Carcross for Skagway.

 

Glacier Winds Charters whale and wilderness watching stood out. Sean is a pro. If I ever get back to Alaska, that's the only thing I would repeat. The rest were good (Dyea Dave has a very inexperienced new driver guide and it doesn't seem as if she has spent much time in Skagway, but she is nice and will improve throughout the summer).

Thank you so much! Unfortunately the Glacier Winds Charter is sold out:( But I will consider all of this in our planning!

Glacier point wilderness safari is great for some "light adventure". It's a short hike, a short canoe ride before they turn on the motor to get you to the glacier faster. Then we got out and walked around in the glacier run off up to the glacier. Very fun!

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