Coming back on our own

We are sailing on Explorer in about 2 weeks. In Juneau I have booked the Whale Watching/Mendenhall Glacier combo tour through Royal Caribbean. As I'm reading reviews of the tour, most people are saying you do not have time to hike to Nugget Falls and back. I was really looking forward to this, and would be super disappointed if we didn't get to see it.

So, I have a few questions: First, is this true? We are willing to skip the Visitor's Center and just do the hike. We are mid 40s and in pretty good shape if that makes a difference. Second, if it is true, can we just stay longer and get our own transportation back to the ship? Third, what do you suggest for transportation options?

Thanks!

Look up the phone number of a taxi company and take it with you.

I just read a review by someone who did just what you would like to do. I believe the provider of her tour gave her the phone number of a taxi company to contact when she was ready to return to town. In her case, however, before calling for a taxi, she spoke to one of the Blue or White bus drivers who was out at Mendenhall waiting for returning passengers, and the driver took her back to town. I wouldn't count on that, because passengers pay for round-trips to and from the Glacier.

There are transportation numbers in this link, incl cab companies:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=fseprd495443

Last yr the cab fare was about $35. Probably the cheapest excursion of your trip !

Take the numbers with you, then call about an hr before you're ready to leave. They might be coming from downtown which is a good 20 minutes away. and you don;'t want to be late.

Maybe you can find someone on your whale watch tour that would share the cab with you ?? You really need a good hr for the Nuggett Falls trail.

There are also regularly-scheduled shuttles from the tram station by the port and back. However, you'd probably have to pay for a round trip ticket, so it wouldn't really be worth it, and I'm not even sure they sell tickets going back. I vote for the taxi. Just keep in mind that Juneau can have up to 4 cruise ships in port on any given day, so allow plenty of time, as someone already suggested!

I always tell the tour guide for the excursion that I'm going to go back on my own. I don't know if you have to do that, but I always figure it's a good idea, so they don't wait around - if they indeed do wait around!

The park website has trail maps you can print out - Photo Trail and Nugget Falls, for example.

If you're open to booking on your own, we used Juneau Whale Watch last week for their Mendenhall Glacier/whale watch combo. I had called them before I booked and asked if I could get extra time at the glacier so that I could do the Nugget Falls walk. They had us do the whale watch first, and then had shuttles run from Mendenhall back to the ships every half hour, so you take as much time as you want. It worked out great! I think we were at Mendenhall for maybe 1 1/2 - 2 hours, but I never went to the visitor center (my Dad was there while I went to Nugget Falls). We had a little early booking discount, so the tour was $125/pp or so.

I would absolutely use them again.