Rethinking a car rental in Juneau

[traveltime3400]

Our port time in Juneau is 2-9 pm. Our main goal is to visit Mendenhall Glacier, walk to Nugget Falls and maybe a bit more (if those areas reopen in time). We have free tickets to Mt Roberts Tramway (excursion credit covers our tickets), so we will do that too. Other than that, we will probably grab a meal somewhere. I would love to check out Eagle Beach but I looked at the driving time and I don't think that is realistic for our short port time.

 

The cost of the car is just slightly cheaper than taking the Blue bus (we are a family of 4). It seems like a slight hassle to get the car, fill up with gas at the end, turn it back in.....but I don't know what the waiting time is like for the bus - maybe that is worse. I am open to either option, so I would love some advise to maximize our short time.

 

Thank you!

[jeffbrig]

I'd at least consider the shuttle. When I was there last week, we waited maybe 10 minutes for the bus to take us to Mendenhall. When we were leaving, one had just pulled up. No wait. I imagine you'd spend more time getting and returning a car.

 

On the drive to Mendenhall, the driver provided some narration about the area, which was a plus.

 

For food, I've eaten at Tracy's crab shack on both of my stops in Juneau. Good stuff... It's just off the cruise ship docks.

[lmkucala]

We just got off our ship (Coral Princess) yesterday and we rented a car in Juneau. Our port time was 8am-9pm but we did a whale watch also. I believe we got back to the ship around 5:30 and we had plenty of time. Here is what we did to give you an idea of how long things took.

 

• 8am - got off ship and walked straight to car rental (15-20 minute walk depending on where your ship is docked.
  
• Drove straight to Mendenhall. Saw the glacier, did Nugget Falls trail, and another very short wooded trail while there.
  
• Drove to Eagle Beach - I think it was about a half hour or so from Mendenhall - there was some road construction going on that made it take a bit longer than it would normally.
  
• Quick stop at McDonalds.
  
• Met our whale watch tour at Auke Bay - I think we were there by noon.
  
• Whale watch was over at 2:30 - husband dropped us off at the ship to drop off
  
• Stopped at a grocery store for some soda to bring back to the ship, and got gas.
  
• Husband dropped us off at the pier to bring soda, etc. to the cabin, and we met him back at Mt. Roberts tram. Bought our tickets, rode the tram up, took a trail at the top up to the cross (beautiful views up there), rode the tram back down.
  
• Stopped in a couple of gift shops on the way back to ship.
  
• Back on ship around 5:30 or so.
  

 

For us it was definitely worth having the car given it was no more expensive than the bus (there were 3 of us).

 

Hope this helps you with your decision.

[Budget Queen]

Our port time in Juneau is 2-9 pm. Our main goal is to visit Mendenhall Glacier, walk to Nugget Falls and maybe a bit more (if those areas reopen in time). We have free tickets to Mt Roberts Tramway (excursion credit covers our tickets), so we will do that too. Other than that, we will probably grab a meal somewhere. I would love to check out Eagle Beach but I looked at the driving time and I don't think that is realistic for our short port time.

 

The cost of the car is just slightly cheaper than taking the Blue bus (we are a family of 4). It seems like a slight hassle to get the car, fill up with gas at the end, turn it back in.....but I don't know what the waiting time is like for the bus - maybe that is worse. I am open to either option, so I would love some advise to maximize our short time.

 

Thank you!

 

I usually pay less than $70 for my Juneau car rentals, so that cost is less than $120 Mendenhall admission/transportation costs for 4 people. I'm one that has rented cars many times from Juneau. It makes good use of my time and allows me a lot more freedom. An additional stop, especially with the kids is the hatchery. IF you happen to hit a run, there are more fish than water, sometimes. :) My recent trip in June, I spent about 3 hours at an overlook, with a humpback right on the shoreline. Incredible.

 

You might want to find out more what you can include and see if of interest to your group. Being organized and right off the ship when it clears, gives you a lot of potential time.

[sherryf]

We rented a car in Juneau last year. We went to the Shrine of St Therese, where we saw hundreds of salmon in the creek! We also stopped at Eagle Beach and went to the "end of the road". Nothing is really that far in Juneau.

 

You could pick up your car, go to Mendenhall, head out to any of the previously mentioned shops up the road, and see how much you have time for. Return your car when you are ready, and then have dinner at The Hangar, right across the street from Avis. After dinner, use your tram tickets, then head back to the ship.

[snoopy5386]

We are also renting a car in Juneau, actually 2, we have a group of 11 and it's way cheaper than all of us taking the shuttle. We also have a later port time 12:30-9:30 and my concern with the shuttle was that the last one generally runs around 6-7 pm, but there was no way to get an exact time for the last bus until the day of and the last busses are often very full. I didn't want to have to worry about rushing through mendenhall or not making the last bus so I booked the car.

[Glaciers]

We usually rent a car in Juneau as it really opens up options for exploring the area. It’s also one of the cheapest places to rent a car during the summer in SE Alaska. We had no problems last month when visiting Mendenhall Glacier and then also driving out to The Shrine of St. Therese and Eagle Beach where we saw a pair of black bears along the way and a humpback whale in the bay by the Shrine.

 

If renting from Juneau Car Rental that is located by the AJ Dock (about 1 mile from downtown) and if there is a cruise ship docked there, there will be a bus that transports passengers to/from the ship to the area at the tram. $4 per person. Or, a 15-20 minute walk each way. Juneau Car Rental is about one block from the AJ Dock. It’s easy for one person to get the car and then pick up the rest of the group back at the ship.

 

If you plan on exploring the downtown area, do this before or after the car rental. Parking can be an issue and you certainly won’t need the car for downtown.

[traveltime3400]

Thanks so much for the input! It seems to make sense to stick with my original plan. I am hoping to get a smaller car rental than what we have right now to save some money.

 

We dock right next to the car rental place, so there is no traveling time to pick up the car. I like the idea of Mendenhall + driving around 1st, drop off car then eat and do the tram. If the view is clear to the top of the tram when we first get there, I've heard we should do that first? I also wonder if Nugget Falls is more enjoyable later - will the crowds go down after the last bus?

 

Thanks again!

[Budget Queen]

Thanks so much for the input! It seems to make sense to stick with my original plan. I am hoping to get a smaller car rental than what we have right now to save some money.

 

We dock right next to the car rental place, so there is no traveling time to pick up the car. I like the idea of Mendenhall + driving around 1st, drop off car then eat and do the tram. If the view is clear to the top of the tram when we first get there, I've heard we should do that first? I also wonder if Nugget Falls is more enjoyable later - will the crowds go down after the last bus?

 

Thanks again!

 

Don't be concerned about "crowds" at Mendenhall, of no consequence. Descriptions make it sound like a NYC subway (where I am now :) ) .

[traveltime3400]

Good to know BQueen! If the weather is good, should we consider tram 1st?