Valdez port stop what to do.

[ST.ice]

I'm looking for any and all help on what to do in Valdez we have a port stop for 11 hrs.

[CruiserBruce]

If you have access to the 26 Glaciers tour, its awesome!

[Glaciers]

Look at doing a day cruise out to Columbia Glacier. We’ve been with Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises and had a wonderful trip.

[AKStafford]

Rent a car and explore is one option. The drive up to Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier is awesome. And then drive Dayville Road. Depending on when your trip is, you might see bears at Solomon Gulch Hatchery.

Another great choice is a cruise from Stan Stephens: https://www.stephenscruises.com/

Back in the day they used to offer tours of the Valdez Oil Terminal, but that stopped after 9/11. There's a couple of neat museums downtown.

You could also do a fishing charter.

And of course there's a ton of stuff listed here: https://www.valdezalaska.org/

[Northern Aurora]

Valdez is an interesting port stop.  The community is not nearly as touristy as so many of the SE ports frequented by cruise ships and is one of the seaside communities where Alaskans go for recreation in our own state.  

 

The community itself has an odd feel to it -- at least to me -- of being "over planned."  After the 1964 earthquake demolished it the community was moved to the present location.  After the quake a planner who had just received a master's degree in urban planning was hired to essentially design the community. In the residential communities you will see strips of land which look like undeveloped playgrounds which are actually snow dumps.

 

In any event we have taken a number of Stan Stephens day excursions through the years and they have been consistently excellent.  With 11 hours take the longest you can.

 

But the idea of renting a vehicle is also great.  Thompson pass is gorgeous even on a foggy day.   And you can walk out to Worthington Glacier.

[ST.ice]

50 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Valdez is an interesting port stop.  The community is not nearly as touristy as so many of the SE ports frequented by cruise ships and is one of the seaside communities where Alaskans go for recreation in our own state.  

 

The community itself has an odd feel to it -- at least to me -- of being "over planned."  After the 1964 earthquake demolished it the community was moved to the present location.  After the quake a planner who had just received a master's degree in urban planning was hired to essentially design the community. In the residential communities you will see strips of land which look like undeveloped playgrounds which are actually snow dumps.

 

In any event we have taken a number of Stan Stephens day excursions through the years and they have been consistently excellent.  With 11 hours take the longest you can.

 

But the idea of renting a vehicle is also great.  Thompson pass is gorgeous even on a foggy day.   And you can walk out to Worthington Glacier.

 

It looks as if the only rental car company is no longer in business. Does anyone know of a rental place in Valdez. How does the Stan Stephen tour compare to the Kenai boat tours.  

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

The community is not nearly as touristy as so many of the SE ports frequented by cruise ships and is one of the seaside communities where Alaskans go for recreation in our own state.

While it has been a few years since I was there (for the purpose of changing of connecting between ferries and staying overnight), as I recall there was nothing touristy. It was the end of the pipeline. Tourists went elsewhere.

[Northern Aurora]

4 hours ago, GTJ said:

While it has been a few years since I was there (for the purpose of changing of connecting between ferries and staying overnight), as I recall there was nothing touristy. It was the end of the pipeline. Tourists went elsewhere.

 

It is clear that I have been to Valdez many more times than GTJ has visited.  And part of the charm, at least for those of us who don't need to be in highly populated urban areas, is the fact that it is not "touristy."  I don't understand the comment that your visit "was the end of the pipeline. Tourists went elsewhere."  As someone who lived in Alaska during the pipeline construction era I don't recall tourists being drawn to the construction.  And Valdez rarely took cruise ships.

[Northern Aurora]

5 hours ago, ST.ice said:

 

It looks as if the only rental car company is no longer in business. Does anyone know of a rental place in Valdez. How does the Stan Stephen tour compare to the Kenai boat tours.  

 

Have you checked with various garage/car repair stations?  In small Alaskan communities sometimes they have used cars for day rentals.

 

My favorite vendor for Kenai Fjords National Park tours is Major Marine.  We also have done a number of day excursions using Stan Stephens.  Since the pandemic we haven't visited either Seward or Valdez.  

 

Both Major Marine and Stan Stephens' Charters have various sizes of vessels.  Both are quality companies with long standing excellent reputations.  Both have live narrated tours.   On the vessels used by both companies there is  more than adequate space to alternate between spending time inside and outside.  Both have food options.  I  would suggest that folks book the longest trip they can depending on the length of their port stop.  It is always something of the luck of the draw as to what wild life you will see on a particular trip, but we've always seen otters, whales, puffins and such on the trips with the occasional bear.

[GTJ]

14 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

It is clear that I have been to Valdez many more times than GTJ has visited. And part of the charm, at least for those of us who don't need to be in highly populated urban areas, is the fact that it is not "touristy." I don't understand the comment that your visit "was the end of the pipeline. Tourists went elsewhere." As someone who lived in Alaska during the pipeline construction era I don't recall tourists being drawn to the construction. And Valdez rarely took cruise ships.

Perhaps my words were misconstrued. I noted that an important Valdez aspect of Valdez is it being the southern terminus of the pipeline. I noted as well that tourists, for the most part, do not visit Valdez, the implication being that the southern terminus of the pipeline does not generate much tourism for Valdez. The pipeline does not generate much interest among most tourists, so they go elsewhere. I don't think that there's really any disagreement with these facts, but if there is, then please expand.

 

Many people don't particularly like visiting places where there are not substantial attractions (and which ultimately become tourist places). Others do like visiting places that are more ordinary, sometimes going places simply because they are there, and have their own distinct, even if understated, attraction. Valdez is in that second category. I despise tourist sites. Yes, it may be important to visit truly significant sights, and that may require enduring tourist sites, but I really dislike having to be with crowds of largely ignorant people who go to tourist sites because they have been told (through marketing) to go there. It is easy to identify those places in Alaska: they're on the itinerary for every mass market land tour. I appreciate places like Valdez that largely escape that tourist fate (notwithstanding that Princess does regularly schedule tours there), yet many others will deprecate the place because of it not being touristy.

Edited October 21, 2022 by GTJ

[cmmaxwell03]

I am wondering if anyone has information on an excursion called Landmarks of Valdez Harbor by Catamaran?  It is being offered from our cruise line but I cannot find any other information/details.

[quack2]

On 10/20/2022 at 9:20 AM, CruiserBruce said:

If you have access to the 26 Glaciers tour, its awesome!

Isn't that tour out of Whittier?

 

[AKStafford]

1 minute ago, quack2 said:

Isn't that tour out of Whittier?

 

Yep. It is.

[donaldsc]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:54 PM, ST.ice said:

 

It looks as if the only rental car company is no longer in business. Does anyone know of a rental place in Valdez. How does the Stan Stephen tour compare to the Kenai boat tours.  

 

On 10/20/2022 at 4:57 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Valdez is an interesting port stop.  The community is not nearly as touristy as so many of the SE ports frequented by cruise ships and is one of the seaside communities where Alaskans go for recreation in our own state.  

 

The community itself has an odd feel to it -- at least to me -- of being "over planned."  After the 1964 earthquake demolished it the community was moved to the present location.  After the quake a planner who had just received a master's degree in urban planning was hired to essentially design the community. In the residential communities you will see strips of land which look like undeveloped playgrounds which are actually snow dumps.

 

In any event we have taken a number of Stan Stephens day excursions through the years and they have been consistently excellent.  With 11 hours take the longest you can.

 

But the idea of renting a vehicle is also great.  Thompson pass is gorgeous even on a foggy day.   And you can walk out to Worthington Glacier.

 

I know that Northern Aurora knows this but there is a good reason for the snow dumps.   

 

 

Valdez, Alaska

Valdez can see as much as 325″ of snow annually and being surrounded by the Chugach Mountains definitely helps that snowfall total rise. The small town of 4,000 offers superb heli-skiing and deep-sea fishing that attracts tourists from all over the world.

 

DON

 

 

[wolfie11]

9 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

 

I know that Northern Aurora knows this but there is a good reason for the snow dumps.   

 

 

Valdez, Alaska

Valdez can see as much as 325″ of snow annually and being surrounded by the Chugach Mountains definitely helps that snowfall total rise. The small town of 4,000 offers superb heli-skiing and deep-sea fishing that attracts tourists from all over the world.

 

DON

 

 

Back in the day they had a drive in where they used to project movies onto a snow bank during the winter carnival.

 

If you live in Fairbanks, Valdez is where you go to do your halibut charter.

[Northern Aurora]

Hello Don:

 

Don and I have actually met.   Best  wishes to Carol.

 

There are snow dumps in a number of communities.  The snow dumps in Fairbanks have membranes so that chemicals in anti-freeze can mot contaminate runoff into rivers. The snow cannot be dumped directly onto the ice of the Chena River. The membranes are comparable to those used in landfills.

[quack2]

I read somewhere recently that the one car the Turo "agency" had in Valdez was totalled.

[donaldsc]

11 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

Hello Don:

 

Don and I have actually met.   Best  wishes to Carol.

 

There are snow dumps in a number of communities.  The snow dumps in Fairbanks have membranes so that chemicals in anti-freeze can mot contaminate runoff into rivers. The snow cannot be dumped directly onto the ice of the Chena River. The membranes are comparable to those used in landfills.

 

Thanks for the good wishes.  If I remember correctly it was on a cruise in Spain. 

 

We are still keeping busy cruising and visiting AK.  Our most recent cruise was on the  American Queen Voyages Ocean Victory - 150 passengers and Sitka to Vancouver.  A great cruise.  Got into lots of small towns and great fjords.  We have 2 more AK cruises scheduled.  We have a family tradition of taking our grandkids to AK when they turn 1 and w/o their parents.  These cruises are a hoot.   Covid delayed the last voyage but in 3 weeks we leave for AK with Leo on the Grand Princess.  Also a month or so back Carole realized that we have never done an early season cruise to AK so we booked a very early season cruise.  Should be a bit of a different AK experience. 

 

That should do it for AK for a while.  We did have a Hurtigruten cruise from Vancouver to Nome booked but Covid messed up that one and when AK cruising restarted they got very expensive.

 

Best to you and keep on cruising.

 

Don and Carole