Taxi to Mendenhall Glacier

[jenchamby]

Hello,

       Heading on a RCl Alaskan cruise in July.  We are looking at excursion options.  We want to go to Mendenhall Glacier but have read that a lot of passengers felt they didn’t get enough time there.  Several people recommended grabbing a cab.  Just wondering what people’s experiences were with cabs and or shuttle services.  And average costs

[Tapi]

We used the Glacier express shuttle, but it was a cluster...Too many people waiting to catch it and then packed like sardines once on the shuttle. I’d recommend a cab or different form of private transportation.  

[mapleleaves]

there are 2 shuttle companies and the RT price is close to $50pp.   How many ships are in port on your travel day?

Call the taxi companies and ask what their price will be for the 2019 season. Obviously a guesstimate since the cab is on a meter, but it's only a 20 minute ride so it will be close.  (please post the results for others). Perhaps you can find someone on your roll call to share the cost.  Phone numbers in this link:

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

 

Better yet, price a rental car for the day.  Allows you to do more exploring.  And if there are 3 or more of you, it's probably the same price as the shuttle but you'll get so much more for your money.   

 

[JohnGinPBG]

We took a public bu to Mendenhall and back last June. I can't recall but I don't think it was more than $40 RT pp, maybe less. It worked out great. We had 2 hours at Mendenhall, which was plenty. Skipped the visitor center and hiked the beach trail to Nugget Falls. Very picturesque. We were glad we did the on our own.

[Eaglecw]

21 hours ago, Tapi said:

We used the Glacier express shuttle, but it was a cluster...Too many people waiting to catch it and then packed like sardines once on the shuttle. I’d recommend a cab or different form of private transportation.  

I couldn't agree more. The Glacier Express shuttle white or blue bus that leaves from the parking lot at the Mt. Douglas tram are an absolute mess, it remained me of people trying to catch a bus leaving a third world country, an unorganized mess or cluster. I'd take the city bus https://www.traveljuneau.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here-and-around/public-transportation/ and walk the mile from the entrance before I'd ever ride the Glacier Express shuttle bus. Another option would be to rent a car in Juneau . I think you have more flexibility if you rent a car, there's a lot to see there in the Juneau area. I know I'll NEVER!! take another Blue or White bus again out to  Mendenhall Glacier, we go to Juneau every summer. 

[worldtraveller99]

We are booked onto a small boat (Jayleen's) whale watching trip in the morning. This will end at 2.30 pm approx. and she says she can drop us at a parking lot 1/2 mile from the Glacier Visitor's Center, and we can walk to Nugget Falls etc from there (if dry). So we would end up at the Visitors Centre with no taxi or bus booked. Would we be able to get back to the ship dock / Mt Roberts Tramway easily please? Or do you have to book a journey back in advance? I don't want to hire a car just for one journey!

[worldtraveller99]

PS Eaglecw, thank you for the public bus weblink, but I cannot work out where the bus stops are in terms of real roads and where to walk to find it, not their drawing of the lines with stop names which mean 0 to me?

[andreah100]

On 4/23/2019 at 6:59 AM, worldtraveller99 said:

We are booked onto a small boat (Jayleen's) whale watching trip in the morning. This will end at 2.30 pm approx. and she says she can drop us at a parking lot 1/2 mile from the Glacier Visitor's Center, and we can walk to Nugget Falls etc from there (if dry). So we would end up at the Visitors Centre with no taxi or bus booked. Would we be able to get back to the ship dock / Mt Roberts Tramway easily please? Or do you have to book a journey back in advance? I don't want to hire a car just for one journey!

Have you found any additional information about this yet? We're thinking of doing a similar thing...trying to get our excursion booked and hope to get to the glacier after our whale watching, so we would also need to be able to get back to the pier.

[worldtraveller99]

On 4/23/2019 at 1:01 AM, Eaglecw said:

I couldn't agree more. The Glacier Express shuttle white or blue bus that leaves from the parking lot at the Mt. Douglas tram are an absolute mess, it remained me of people trying to catch a bus leaving a third world country, an unorganized mess or cluster. I'd take the city bus https://www.traveljuneau.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here-and-around/public-transportation/ and walk the mile from the entrance before I'd ever ride the Glacier Express shuttle bus. Another option would be to rent a car in Juneau . I think you have more flexibility if you rent a car, there's a lot to see there in the Juneau area. I know I'll NEVER!! take another Blue or White bus again out to  Mendenhall Glacier, we go to Juneau every summer. 

No - I am hoping that Eaglecw will be able to give us a googlemap link to where to catch the public bus back - or maybe that there is a taxi rank at the Visitors Centre to get back? ?

[dfilpus]

Nearest public bus stop to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is at https://goo.gl/maps/Rb6z6BfaJ2zfFPjP7

It's a 1.5 mile walk on a wide sidewalk through woods with occasional views of the glacier.

[Eaglecw]

8 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

No - I am hoping that Eaglecw will be able to give us a googlemap link to where to catch the public bus back - or maybe that there is a taxi rank at the Visitors Centre to get back? ?

dfilpus is right it's a long walk 1/12 mile walk from the bus stop on the corner of Mendenhall Loop Road and Glacier Spur Road. You should be able to get a cab at the visitor center, getting back to town isn't a big problem. You enjoy Jayleen's whale watching trip, she does a nice job.

[mapleleaves]

1.5 miles sounds fine, unless it's a rainy windy day.

When I took the public bus we boarded downtown, so have no idea where you pick it up nr the pier.   Email the bus company.    As for when to disembark .... we asked the bus driver.

 

There is no taxi rank at Mendenhall.  You might luck out and grab a cab that is dropping off pax. But  take the phone numbers with you and call (at least 40 minutes ahead of pickup  time).  Better yet, I have one reserved.  IF there are a few ships in town, there will be thousands of people vying for those taxis.   Better yet, rent a car.  Share the cost with someone on your rollcall.

Edited April 26, 2019 by mapleleaves

[worldtraveller99]

I normally book everything to the minute before we even go on holiday. Our problem is I don't know exactly when we will get to the Glacier, nor how long I will take to get to Nugget Falls & back. Our UK phones may not even work out by the Falls?

 

I can see the churches and the roads on the Google link thank you dfilpus. By which street corner is the bus back to the Docks? Er and going which way please - north, south, east, west?

[worldtraveller99]

PS For anyone who has taken the public bus back - can you pay on the bus, and is that a mad scramble of thousands of people trying to get on, like the Shuttles?

[dfilpus]

2 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

I can see the churches and the roads on the Google link thank you dfilpus. By which street corner is the bus back to the Docks? Er and going which way please - north, south, east, west?

If you zoom in, you should see the bus stops in the very center of the map. They are Mendenhall Loop Road just west of Glacier Spur Road (the road to the Glacier). The bus stops are on the Mendenhall loop. Buses loop around the loop and then take Glacier Highway to/from downtown. Buses in both directions are heading downtown. Take the first bus you see. Pay fare on the bus.

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you very much dfilpus, we will do that.

[GenghisQuan]

Piggybacking on to this one, how easy is it to 1. catch a cab from the cruise port area to the glacier and 2. from the glacier to the back to the cruise port area? Is it necessary to reserve a cab ahead of time?

 

Thanks.