Suggestions for Juneau

[momeason]

Do go Whale watching. We used Captain Larry...http://www.orcaenterprises.com. It was great. His next trip was not full and he gave us the opportunity to stay on for the next trip for another $50. I would not recommend booking thru the ship. Those boats are much bigger, carrying more than 100 passengers. Captain Larry usually takes 32 or less. Plenty of room. We thoroughly enjoyed it. If the weather is misty, you will probably see lots of whales so don't cancel if it isn't sunny. It is rarely sunny in Juneau.

The Mount Roberts Tram is not all that high. There are lots of pretty trails up there if you like to hike though. Decide on this one last minute. It is close to the ship. If the weather is nice and you have time, it is enjoyable. I would not rate it as a must-do.

Mendenhall Glacier. ... There are nice little trails with posted informative signs. You can stand on land and look at the glacier across a small expanse of water. There is a really nice visitor's center where you can learn a lot about glaciers. If the weather is nice, this also is a pleasant stop. There is a shuttle that runs regularly from near the cruise ship docks. It is $12 rt to go to the Mendenhall Glacier.

These are the 3 things we did on our day in Juneau. Whale watching was definitely the highlight. We glacier hiked on our independent land tour before our cruise started. We did not use a helicopter to get onto a glacier. Many passengers do the helicopter glacier landings with hikes or dogsledding in Juneau.

[OutdoorsPro]

The helicopters are great for people who can't hike that two miles to the glacier, but still want to experience the thrill of standing on very deep, relatively old ice. If you can handle a somewhat rugged two-mile hike through some very nice forest, that's a great trip and will save some serious bucks.

[momeason]

We did our glacier hike on Matanuska. It wasn't 2 miles to get up on Matanuska, but it is only for people who are able bodied and with some time on land. We used a whole day with the drive and the hike, but it was the best family fun we had during our 2 week trip. Our guide owns The Ascending Path Guide service. His summer business is Alyeska. He said the Matanuska Glacier is a little more interesting. Since we had a private tour, we stayed on the glacier for 3.5 hours.

I know a lot of people just cruise and their only option is the helicopter tour. Other people don't know glacier hikes are available without helicopter rides.