Is the town of Sitka accessible from the port?

[Beth and Bailey]

We'd like to just walk around the town.  Is it doable from the dock?  Any suggestions ?

[Aquahound]

No.  The dock is several miles away.  You'll need to ride the shuttle into town.  

[AKStafford]

It's about 5 1/2 miles from the cruise ship dock to downtown: https://goo.gl/maps/xhgoBVZvHSTrn3XHA

[Ashland]

Your cruise ship will offer a roundtrip shuttle (free) from the dock into town.

[Beth and Bailey]

Thanks for this information.    Is the town enjoyable to walk and spend time just seeing it?  We've done Alaska before with all the bells and whistles.. Looking for a scaled down vacation this trip and don't need the big ticket items. 

Any suggestions?

[Northern Aurora]

Actually, it is my understanding that the private company who owns the cruise dock and terminal outside of Sitka funds the free shuttle into downtown Sitka as an incentive.

 

Sitka is very walkable and a lovely town.  It has an "artsy" feel to it.  The shuttle from the cruise port will drop folks off at the Harrigan Centennial Center.  Across the street (at a diagonal) is the Russian Bishop's House.  It is an easy walk along the sea wall to the Sitka National Historical Park (which has a visitor's center) to visit the collection of historic totem poles.  On that walk folks pass the Sheldon Jackson Museum which is an axillary to the Alaska State Museum.  While Fortress of the Bear too far to walk the Raptor Center is also in walkable distance.  Just use google to find the Sitka visitor's bureau for a list of ideas

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Thanks for this information.    Is the town enjoyable to walk and spend time just seeing it?  We've done Alaska before with all the bells and whistles.. Looking for a scaled down vacation this trip and don't need the big ticket items. 

Any suggestions?

If you change your mind and would like to see the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor center there will be someone selling roundtrip transportation to both of these for $10.00pp. A small entrance fee will be charged at each venue. We did this option last September and it was great and still gave us plenty of time to walk through the city before taking the ship shuttle back to the port. Just something to consider.

[Beth and Bailey]

12 hours ago, Ashland said:

If you change your mind and would like to see the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor center there will be someone selling roundtrip transportation to both of these for $10.00pp. A small entrance fee will be charged at each venue. We did this option last September and it was great and still gave us plenty of time to walk through the city before taking the ship shuttle back to the port. Just something to consider.

So appreciate this!!...

[Beth and Bailey]

13 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

Actually, it is my understanding that the private company who owns the cruise dock and terminal outside of Sitka funds the free shuttle into downtown Sitka as an incentive.

 

Sitka is very walkable and a lovely town.  It has an "artsy" feel to it.  The shuttle from the cruise port will drop folks off at the Harrigan Centennial Center.  Across the street (at a diagonal) is the Russian Bishop's House.  It is an easy walk along the sea wall to the Sitka National Historical Park (which has a visitor's center) to visit the collection of historic totem poles.  On that walk folks pass the Sheldon Jackson Museum which is an axillary to the Alaska State Museum.  While Fortress of the Bear too far to walk the Raptor Center is also in walkable distance.  Just use google to find the Sitka visitor's bureau for a list of ideas

This is great news.  Just what we are looking to do!

[CanobieFan]

On 5/11/2023 at 8:11 PM, Northern Aurora said:

While Fortress of the Bear too far to walk the Raptor Center is also in walkable distance. 

Is Fortress honestly not walkable? I'm planning on the Raptor Center and wanna see the bears too. Uber/Taxi it is, I guess.

 

For reference, I walked from the port to Adastra Gardens when in Nassau. 5ish miles round trip no problem 

[new_cruiser]

I took the free shuttle into town. Then walked along the water to the Sitka National Historical Park, went to the Visitor Center (they had some artisans working on native crafts) folliwed by the totem pole hike. Then decided to backtrack to the Sheldon Museum instead of walking to the Raptor Center. 

 

I called a taxi from there which took me to the Raptor Center and came back to take me to the Fortress of the Bear and back to the ship. As a bonus, the taxi driver spotted whales in the inlet on the drive from the Fortress and we stopped briefly to watch them.

[naturelovergirl]

If you prefer being independent, you can also rent e-bikes from Kings E-bikes at the port and then bike into the town of Sitka instead of taking the shuttle.

That is our plan.

[FrankieJayIII]

14 minutes ago, naturelovergirl said:

If you prefer being independent, you can also rent e-bikes from Kings E-bikes at the port and then bike into the town of Sitka instead of taking the shuttle.

That is our plan.

This seems like a good idea for going to fortress of the bears, raptor, totem park and all the things we want to see?!

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

This seems like a good idea for going to fortress of the bears, raptor, totem park and all the things we want to see?!

Watch out for traffic on that road out to the Fortress of the Bear. Hope you enjoy what ever works best for you.

[traceytd]

Wow the E bikes are $120.00 per person per day. I can’t believe that. Ooooffff 😲

 

[FrankieJayIII]

yeah i didn't like that either but i did see that they rent them by the hour also..,. gonna check that out when i get there or just shuttle and uber.   

[naturelovergirl]

2 hours ago, traceytd said:

Wow the E bikes are $120.00 per person per day. I can’t believe that. Ooooffff 😲

 

We wanted the full-day since riding around to see nature and the history of the area, so it was fine for us- Alaska is expensive anyway. The e-bikes are more than just transportation for us- they will be our activity for the day.
But the website says you can rent by the hour on the day. Might be worth checking out when you arrive at the port.

[dman1]

Can you bring a scooter onto the bus that transports into the city?

[wolfie11]

2 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

yeah i didn't like that either but i did see that they rent them by the hour also..,. gonna check that out when i get there or just shuttle and uber.   

Ubers are very rare in small town Alaska.  Juneau and maybe Ketchikan.

[2206]

On 5/12/2023 at 9:37 AM, Beth and Bailey said:

So appreciate this!!...

The bus to Fortress of the Bears and the Raptor Centre is now $20.  We did it last week.  Each of the centres is $15 pp.  I would skip all of those options, and just take the free shuttle to Sitka and walk around.  It is a pretty little town.

[Coral]

I actually liked the Fortress of the Bears, Raptor Center and the park. I would do all 3 again.

[SightCRR]

Our favorite excursion to Sitika was the Sitka Great Adventure. It is pricy but great. Boat ride to trail head then hike to lake with kayaks and fire cooked hotdogs. Then back. Hike was steep but not to long. Great tour and just the two of us. Saw wild bear on the way back.  sightcrr. 

[FrankieJayIII]

where can i book that 

[SightCRR]

8 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

where can i book that 

Check with the cruise lines. The current HAL of 7May had it listed. Also check Lucky chance guide serviceSitka, alaska907-738-8233irmadiman@yahoo.com - Home We have been on lots of AK excursions and it tops the ones without helos. If you do a google map search on "Camp Coogan Bay"  it will show you where you go. sightcrr.