Please help us choose our shore excursions!

[Aussie Teen]

We are cruising the Inside Passage as part of an APT Canada /Alaska tour leaving Vancouver 7th September and need some advice on choosing our land optional tours. There are 4 in our group and we are all fairly active and fit. Because we come from Australia we have had next to no experience of a cold climate landscape or animals.

Some of the options offered on the HAL website seem fairly pricey but if they offered good value we would consider them as this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. Any advice would be most appreciated.

We also have a few days in Victoria on Vancouver Is before we commence our tour. Suggestions would be good here too!

[epixx]

Consider the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer on your Tracy Arm/Juneau day.

[CTDesign11]

You need to post the ports you'll be visiting and your interests. We arranged all our excursions on our own and saved some money. With a little more information you'll get plenty of good advice here.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Hi Aussieteen - good for you researching before making a decision. Can you tell us what ports you'll be visiting and your itinerary? Also - what are the interests of the four people traveling? What I (or a million others) may enjoy may be of no interest to you.

 

Our interest is always in wildlife and spectacular scenery. Given that, at some of the main ports, this is what we've done on our four cruises to AK:

 

Juneau -

 

Whale watching with Harv and Marv (harvandmarv.com) - small, 6 passenger boats which we felt gave us a more intimate and personalized view of the whales over the ship sponsored or larger boats. No crowding at the rail for photos or better views. Yes, there is a small bathroom on board and they provide snacks and beverages. Wonderful knowledgeable and enthusiastic captains. Highly recommned.

 

Another time we took the tram up to the top of Mt. Roberts for the magnificant views from that high vantage point. We then hiked the trails and visited with the disabled eagle who resides there since being injured. Beautiful! A tip is to not pre-book the tram ride thru your cruiseline - wait until you are there to see what the weather is like. If it is rainy and/or foggy with the top of the mountain not visible, no sense in going up because your views will be limited.

 

In 2011, my niece and her boyfriend and I booked a self-guided kayaking tour on Mendenhall Lake in front of the Mendenhall Glacier w/Above and Beyond Alaska. They picked us up in town right near where the ship docked for a short van ride to their gear shack at Auke Bay, where we were suited up and given instructions. Very easy to do even for those who have never kayaked before. It was a wonderful excursion in a double kayak (for my niece and I) and her boyfriend in a single kayak. We paddled quite close to the face of the glacier, in and among the floating "bergie bits" and it was just stunning! Afterwards, we had rented a car from Rent-A-Wreck (the name has changed since then), and we drove to the fish hatchery where we took a short, informative tour and spent some time watching the salmon fight their way up the fish ladder, with a hungry and quite smart sea lion at the bottom, having his own version of the Lido buffet! Then we drove to the brewery, which unfortunately closed at 6PM minutes before we arrived:(. From there we had a short stop at Mendenhall Glacier to get a different, on-land perspective of that huge hunk of ice. Then we were off to the Shrine for a peaceful walk thru the woods out to some stunning views of the water. People often report seeing whales just off shore, but we weren't so lucky this time. Next it was a long stop at Eagle Beach, "out the road" from Juneau where we hiked and spent some time trying to catch salmon in the fish filled river with our bare hands:D - rats, foiled again! Loads of eagles everywhere, perched in the trees, along the river bank, and flying all around. It was a terrifice, experience filled day that none of us will ever forget.

 

Ketchikan:

 

Our first trip we did Misty Fiords flightseeing with Michelle of Island Wings (www.islandwings.com) for a stunning and awe-inspiring birds eye view of the fiords. Truly a magnificent flight. Highly recommend!

 

Another time we went with Kethickan Outdoors on their "Romance Package" where Capt. Tab took us out to Blank Island (off the coast of Ketchikan) and dropped us off for a morning of beach combing on this virtually deserted island. They provided us with a canopy tent and some chairs for our comfort, a roaring campfire, an Alaskan picnic including fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, homemade salmon dip and chocolate (natch;)!) along w/thermoses of hot chocolate, tea and coffee, and even a 6 pack of Alaskan Amber for my husband. We had binoculars, a metal detector, a birding book and book on various sea creatures that we'd be seeing washed up on the beach, including amazingly pastel colored starfish which were everywhere! We even saw several humpacks not far off shore. It was a great day filled with the peace and solitude of Alaska. Our captain came back early to pick us up with reports of orcas in the harbor and did we want to go see them? Hello??? Of course! And we did see several orcas, along with an impromptu tour of Ketchikan from the water by Capt. Tab. Very, very enjoyable!

 

In 2011, when I went w/my niece and her boyfriend, they took the zipline excursion thru HAL and raved about it. While they did that, I took the Neets Bay floatplane trip for bear viewing, booked thru HAL. Loved it!!!! After a flight to Neets Bay and a short walk thru the rainforest past the fish hatchery, we arrived at the bear viewing creek and were rewarded with up to 15 black bears at one time fishing for their supper literally feet in front of us. Amazing! Would do this excursion again in a heartbeat! One of the reasons we chose an early August cruise in 2011 was the opportunity to view bears, and I was richly rewarded with this excursion.

 

Sitka:

 

By far my favorite AK port on 7 day trips - just gorgeous, unspoiled Alaskan port without all the touristy trappings that the others have. Sail in to Sitka is almost magical with the island studded harbor and Mt. Edgecomb volcano towering over the water. We've gone to the Raptor Center several times for an up close and personal encounter with the majestic bald eagle and other birds of prey. Walked along the water to the totem park, stopping at the small, volunteer fish hatchery along the way for a hands on look at some sea creatures and the salmon fry growing in the tanks out back. The Russian history of this port is prevalent and so interesting.

 

Twice we've gone on a marine wildlife search in Sitka - the first time w/Capt. Davey on his 6 passenger boat, the Ester G (www.puffinsandwhales.com), and the second time with another captain recommended by Davey because his excursion slots were full at the time. Both trips were well worth the effort of our research of private tour providers - we saw tons of whales, sealions, puffins and sea otters on both trips. We actually saw our first gray whale w/Capt. Davey and it was quite a thrill!

 

One time we went sea kayaking (HAL excursion) which we enjoyed very much as well. Took a zodiac boat to a secluded cove where we suited up like the Michelin Man and paddled w/our local guide who provided an amazing insight into life in Alaska. Loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

So these are just a few things we've done to give you an idea of what is out there, and I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites. Again, it all depends on what is important to YOU. If you can give us some insight into what is on your bucket list for an Alaska trip, we can perhaps provide you with some private tour operators that can give you what you are looking for. Good luck in your mission, and I hope you fall in love with Alaska like I, and many, many others on this board, have as well!

[WalleyeLJ]

We are cruising the Inside Passage as part of an APT Canada /Alaska tour leaving Vancouver 7th September and need some advice on choosing our land optional tours. There are 4 in our group and we are all fairly active and fit. Because we come from Australia we have had next to no experience of a cold climate landscape or animals.

Some of the options offered on the HAL website seem fairly pricey but if they offered good value we would consider them as this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. Any advice would be most appreciated.

We also have a few days in Victoria on Vancouver Is before we commence our tour. Suggestions would be good here too!

 

AT,

Unfortunately, many excursions in Alaska are pretty pricy, but in my opinion - TOTALLY worth it! I've read reviews where people were disappointed that they didn't see much if any wildlife in Alaska, to usually find out they did all their wildlife viewing from the deck of their cruise ship, and spent most of their port calls right in port/downtown. While you certainly can have a great experience or two viewing wildlife from a cruise ship, if that's truly an interest to you, you will most likely have to take a look at an excursion or two that gets you out of each port and into the wild a bit.

The funny thing is, my wife and I are really not active for the most part back. But when we get to Alaska, the adventurer in us gets going! We've taken two trips to Alaska so far, and on the cruise portions, here's a general list of the excursions we've done:

Ketchikan:

Misty Fjords Float plane trip with Island Wings

Salmon fishing with Ketchikan Salmon Fishing

Juneau:

Small boat (6 passenger) whale watching with Harv & Marv (3 times in two trips!!!)

Mendenhall Glacier, twice (part of trip with H&M)

Juneau Fish Hatchery

Skagway:

Rental car drive up into the Yukon

Horseback riding in the Yukon

Salmon fishing with Fat Salmon Charters

Icy Straight Point:

Halibut fishing/whale watching (twice with two different outfitters)

Seward:

Sea Kayaking with harbor seals, ice bergs and glaciers

Boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park

Homer/Katmai/Cook Inlet:

Sea Kayaking

Bear viewing on land (less than 100 feet from Brown/Grizzly bears)

Bear viewing by boat (less than 50 feet from black and brown bears)

I know your tour won't be going to several of the places I mentioned, but it gives you an idea of what we did with our time in each port/area. Bear viewing (and kayaking), for example, should be an option for you in Ketchikan. We were going to do the trip to Anan Creek there with Island Wings before we ended up booking the two bear trips on the Kenai Peninsula.

While each of these trips (except the car rental) cost anywhere from $149 to $600 per person (ave around $225), EVERY trip we had exceptional experiences. Every whale watching trip/boat tour we've seen whales, and most of the fishing trips. Sea lions, mountain goats, black & brown/grizzly bears, harbor seals, Dall porpoise, sea otters, tons of different sea birds, bald eagles, orcas/killer whales - you name it, we've seen these on boating/kayaking excursions.

We've also spent parts of two trips inland. I'm not sure if you're doing a land tour in Alaska as part of your HAL trip (I assume you are doing a round trip in and out of Vancouver as I didn't see any HAL trips our of Vancouver on 9/7/13), but on our two land tours, we've also seen lynx (twice!), wolf (singular because it was a lone wolf when we were at Katmai bear viewing), Dall sheep, moose, beavers, Golden eagles, snowshoe hare, porcupines, red fox, etc.

Out of all the wildlife we've seen, only a sea birds (gulls), a FEW Bald eagles and a couple of harbor seals, and one whale have we seen while in ports themselves. I've written an extensive review with a lot of photos of our trip last July if you are interested in hearing and seeing some of the things we did on our most recent trip (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1679447). If you have any other questions please let me know. There are plenty of people who have spent a lot more time on cruises and visiting/living in Alaska on here that can offer you advice as well, but hopefully some of this info has been helpful. The Alaska board here on CC, as well as Trip Advisor (CC sister site) will give you tons of other ideas and price ranges to fit your group. In any case, have a fantastic time on your trip.

By the way, I'm sure you have run into a FEW wildlife encounters in Australia...;)that's one of the reasons I want to visit Australia:D!

L.J.

[Aussie Teen]

The ports we are stopping at are Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. We are all very active people who enjoy outdoor pursuits scenery and wildlife. We have camped our way around most of Australia together and decided on Canada and Alaska because it is such a different landscape to home!

[CowPrincess]

Without really understanding what your specific interests are for this trip (other than you like the outdoors :) ) here are a few thoughts.

 

Skagway has plenty of good hiking (you can get a map from the National Parks Service, they may even have them on the net). There's also a Hike the Chilkoot Trail/River Float shorex offered through HAL. Depending on the day you are in Skagway you might want to investigate taking the Fast Ferry to Haines and back to Skagway (a small authentic Alaska town).

 

I think there is kayaking and canoeing offered in Ketchikan

 

Juneau there are hiking trails at the top of the Mt Roberts Tramway IIRC, and hiking trails at the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Shore excursions are very expensive in Alaska, so you might want to think about doing a self-guided hike in one of the ports.

 

I don't "do" small planes or helicopters so I cannot comment on many of the very popular "rave review" tours in Alaska.

 

In Victoria, the Butchart Gardens are well known and popular. Or think about renting a car and go "up island" to Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park. This is NOT a day trip, you'd need to stay at least overnight in Tofino.

[antmoe565]

Juneau - Definitely whale watching with Harv & Marv. Don't wait to long to call and book if you decide. They have limited spaces available. Truly remarkable! http://www.harvandmarvs.com

 

Skagway - We splurged on the Glacier Exploration by Helicopter last time because we were celebrating our childrens' graduations (1 from high school and 1 from college). It was very pricey but extremely worth it. You spend a considerable amount of time on the glacier and seriously, how many times in your life will you have the opportunity to walk on a glacier.

 

Ketchikan - If you want to do a ziplining excursion on your cruise, this one is the best. We have done it in Juneau and here and while Juneau was fine, this one was far superior. Just crazy fun!