Juneau - Helicopter Excursion and walk to Nugget Falls in 8hrs?

[lofoten96]

Our ship docks at 2.00pm and leaves at 10.00pm in late September.

 

We are 3 fit and foxy ladies that want to see it all!

 

Can we fit in the helicopter ride to the glacier with dog sledding and then taking a bus out to Mendenhall, walking to nugget falls and back to the ship?

Thanks :)

[chipmaster]

Weather permitting helicopter likely only a couple hours, they run a tight schedule on those tours.

 

The drive out and back from Mendenhall is a bit but if that is the only two things, you'll have plenty of time.

[world_traveler_et]

We were able to do two to excursions while in Juneau this past June. We were in port for around eight hours. Our ship arrived in the morning and sailed at 4PM.

 

We did the Pilot's Choice helicopter tour (via Temsco) which is a double glacier landing. This tour was booked through the cruise line and we meet for our tour at 7:30AM on the dock. We landed on the Gilkey Glacier and on the Juneau Icefield. This was an expensive excursion but very enjoyable.

 

After the tour we had time to go back to the ship and change into shorts and leave our jackets--it was around 87 degrees that day. We took the "blue" bus to the glacier for $8.00 each way per person. The buses leave every half hour and take around twenty minutes to get to/from the glacier. If you want to walk to Nugget Falls allow around forty five minutes to an hour round trip. We stayed a little longer at the falls to enjoy the view--the falls were gushing do to the warm weather. We still had time to go to the visitors center and view a short movie and look around. I think we left the glacier around 2PM. Make sure you allow time for the return in case a bus is full and you have to wait for the next bus to arrive. Don't buy a round trip ticket. If you buy a one way ticket you can board either the blue bus or the white bus on the return and pay the bus driver. A tip I discovered from other CC members.

[world_traveler_et]

What time does you excursion start for the Helicopter tour and dog sledding?

 

You will also what to find out what time the park closes at Mendenhall Glacier.

 

Also google MGT for the "blue" bus hours and Juneau Tours for the "White" bus hours of operation. If the buses stop service before you want to return you can set up a reservation with one of the cab companies to pick you up at the Glacier. This must be done in advance because there are no cabs waiting at the Glacier.