Alaska
Basics about an Alaska Vacation
There are five vacation regions that make up Alaska. They are Inside Passage, South Central, Southwest, Interior, and Arctic.
You can check the average weather for these regions on the internet. Viking Travel website offers a lot of good information especially on the Alaskan Ferry system. It is well worth including in your vacation research.
The Alaska Travel Industry Association website Official State of Alaska Vacation and Travel Information is a good place to start. It seems to be a little bias towards locations and activities that pay for advertisements. Nonetheless it is a great place to start planning and collection information on your Alaskan vacation. I would look at their itineraries as starting points then do some more research.
The vacation season runs from mid-May through September, you should make your logging and transportation reservations 8 to 12 months in advance as because things sell out earlier than lower 48 states. Ideally have your car and lodging locked down no later than 10 months in advance.
Tip: Discount hotel booking site such as Expedia.com and Booking.com have access to limited numbers of rooms and normally but not every time offer a little better rates than going directly to the hotels reservation department. But if you want a specific hotel that the discount hotel booking sites say are sold out, go directly to the hotel's reservation department sometimes they have rooms available when discount hotel booking site do not.
Best time to visit Inland Passage is May or June with Southcentral June through August. Late May early June is the best time as Alaska is in bloom that time of the year and tourism is just beginning. Days are 17 hours long but light rain can occur anytime.
Do it yourself using the Alaska Marine Highway System Information
They use a dynamic pricing system which is to say the fuller the ferry the more it cost you to book your passage. I know that is interesting way of doing business. But because you will have a set schedule based on your hotel bookings this will not be much of an issue for you. You may call 1800 642 006 for more information.
You can book your passage by using their booking site Alaska Marine Highway System. Two people can travel from Juneau, Haines, Skagway and back to Juneau for a little over $300.
If you are taking a car, your costs will for ferry travel will more than double. For transporting a midsize SUV from Juneau, Haines, Skagway round trip will cost a little over $400 in addition to passenger costs.
The big hit comes when you rent a car. If you rented one, make sure to reserve it as early as you can. Reserving early from one of the big companies, you should expect to pay around $60 to $100 per day. If you wait and reserve it less 4 months in advance you should expect to pay $150 or more per day.
There are smaller companies connected with a hotel that you could reserve a car when you book your room. That way you do not have to pay the ferry to haul a car around with you. For example, you do not need a car for Skagway it is a small town and most of what you want to see. In Juneau it is reach the main locations by local transportation so I would not bother with a car in those locations.
You can book everything just like you were on a cruise ship. The only thing a car allows you is more freedom. I do recommend a car for Haines however there are few available to rent there. So reserve one early. Local transportation which includes Bus, Uber or Taxi is very good the Juneau and Ketchikan.
Remember to do a little homework and book early.
Alaska Inland Passage
Most people dream of seeing Alaska's Inland Passage. You can do it a three of ways (drive, cruise, Alaskan Ferry system) and we have taken a cruise and used the ferry system.
I strongly believe the Inland Passage is best done using the Alaskan Ferry system. You may choose to rent motor vehicle or rely on Uber or Taxis at each location.
Why you should use the Alaskan Ferry system rather than a cruise ship? A cruise ship will normally stop at three Inland Passage cities (Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan,) with a total time in port of time of around 26 hours out of the 168 hours you have during an average 7 day cruise. While Ketchikan is a good stop Haines is a better one for seeing wildlife.
In 2022 dollars, 2 people can have a 9 day vacation using the Alaskan Ferry system for less than $2,400. This includes transportation, lodging and food. They will be 216 hours on vacation and less than 20 of those hours will be on the water.
Sample 13 day Inland Passage plan using the Alaskan Ferry system.
Will the Ferry system save you money over booking a cruise? Most likely it will not but it will allow you more shore time to visit some really terrify locations after the cruise ships leave when they are less crowed.
The four major towns (Skagway, Juneau, Haines and Ketchikan) in the Inland Passage can all be reached by using the Alaskan Inland Ferry system. Three are easy enough to reach in a one week vacation. including Ketchikan will add one day transportation plus a couple of days looking around. Ketchikan to Juneau is a 18 hour boat ride with a couple of stops along the way.
Most cruise ships stop at Ketchikan and not at Haines but if you want to see wildlife then Haines and the Kroschel Wildlife park is a must stop.
If I had to make a choice between taking the WhitePass train trip and visiting Krochel Wildlife Park I would take a fast ferry to Haines and visit Kroschel Wildlife Park.
Juneau Area
Thinking about Juneau
Juneau is always a stop for the Cruise ships. If you use the ferry system and do not visit Ketchikan, Juneau will be your arrival and departure location. Both of these locations have full sized Airports where the others do not.
Make sure you have a map. If you do not have transportation, make sure you have a bus route map. There is nothing in Juneau that you cannot do on your own.
Mount Roberts Tramway, Overstreet Park & downtown Juneau: The view from the top of the Mount Roberts Tramway is impressive, but there is not much up there but the view and some hiking trails. Is it worth a trip up yes if you have the time. You may also include visiting Juneau's local museums. The big draws are Mendenhall Glacier, Glacier Gardens and a Tracy Arm day trip.
Overstreet Park is worth the trip especially if the salmon are running as the park is beside a creek which they swim upstream in. If you are on foot take a Pedicab they are available at the cruise ship dock or look them up on the internet.
Tip: If you check some local car rental locations you will be able to rent a car for a day or more for less than the cost of getting two people to the Glacier using a tour company. Just reserve your rental before the summer season stars. If you are on a cruise ship make sure to have them pickup and drop off at the cruise ship docks.
To get to the Glacier using public transportation, Route No. 3 or No. 4 both will drop you off directly in front of the entrance to Glacier Gardens which you will want to visit anyway( bust stop Gastineau Humane Society/Glacier Gardens). When done you can take an Uber from there to the Mendenhall Glacier as they are just 5 miles apart.
Mendenhall Glacier State Park & Glacier Gardens: A visit to both Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Gardens fit nicely into the same day. A few hours or 1/2 day is enough time to view Glacier Gardens. You can use the rest of the day to visit the Mendenhall Glacier so it is a natural one day adventure.
Another way to get there is Glacier Shuttle is a convenient but a little pricey. Service is from Mt Roberts tramway to the visitors center and normally runs every 30 mins.
Tracy Arm Glacier day trip: This is not inexpensive but if you want to see glaciers up close it is well worth the cost. The Adventure Bound travel is a company that has two boats that make this trip. There are others so check the on the internet.
All the boat tours take somewhere between 8 and 11 hours. With the 45-to-55-foot boats you will get closer to shore and have a chance to see everything up closers. Take a good bridge camera with you with optical zoom so you can reach out and get some great pictures. If there is wildlife on the bank or swimming these tours will normally bring you in so you can get a closer view.
A really important thing is remember is that you are on the water. The water temperature is in the low 30's you will have low 30 degree breeze blowing when you are outside and it will be really cold. So dress accordingly and be prepared for it. Gloves, scarf and hat make a much nicer trip out of the journey.
Things I have not done that may be of interest to you: Alaska State Museum, Juneau-Douglas City Museum.
For a night time, the Viking Lounge sounds like an interesting place.
You know there is not much going on in Juneau when McDonald’s is listed as the spot for late-night dining.
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Juneau Downtown and Mt Roberts
Glacier Gardens and Mendenhall Glacier
Haines Area
When we were in Haines, cruise ships only stopped once a week. Now, as I understand it, multiple ships stop there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It never hurts to find out when cruise ships are in; the fewer in when you are there, the better. When we were there, we had some cruise ship passengers come in from Skagway on the fast ferry to go to The Kroschel Wildlife Center. It is also called Kroschel Films.
I know that things have changed now that cruise ships dock in Haines twice a week. Check the cruise ship schedule and keep it in mind when arranging your stop.
We staid in Haines for a few days going to Kroschel Films Wildlife Center and taking a fast ferry to Skagway for one day. We also had time to take a raft trip to Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and visit local museums. Hanes is a jumping off point for a lot of multi-day trips into Alaska's rivers system.
Note: When we were in Haines (early 2000s) you need a car as there were no car rentals or taxis available. Now there seems to be taxi, rental cars, and UBER or Lyft available. If that is the case (please check it out as things change) you may not need a car to enjoy what Haines has to offer.
In and around Haines
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Kroschel Films Wildlife Center: The park requires reservations but is a do not miss once in a lifetime place. You will see and get up close to most of the wildlife Alaska has to offer.
We did not have reservations and showed up after the last tour of the day. We did not even realize there were tour restrictions. They asked us to come back the next day and we told them we could not as this was the last day in Haines. There were 4 of us and Steve said they could not give us a complete tour because some of the animals would not be available but they would show us what they could. It turned out to be a wonderful experience for the four of us.
Make sure you have a reservations.
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Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve: There are two ways to visit this area. By car and taking a boat or rafting ride down the Chilkat river. There are a number of providers at different cost for the river ride. For our trip through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve we choose a company that had smaller rafts available they were 4 to 8 person rafts Chilkat Guides. This is a links to other river guides for you to review.
We only saw a few eagles as the Salmon were not running and therefore they were not on the river feeding. The good side of things is there are eagles everywhere you go.
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Skagway
Skagway Fast Ferry: The trip takes only 45 breathtaking minutes. The round trip tickets are reasonable ($70-$80 per person). Advance reservations are recommended when cruse ships are in port at Haines to guarantee specific departure times and dates. Tickets can also be purchased on-board, subject to availability. Schedules can change, so be sure to check current schedules on Haines Skagway Fast Ferry.
If you are doing the Inland Passage yourself, Haines is a good place to stay. We kept our hotel room and made a day trip to Skagway. This saved us the time and trouble of relocating. Relocation I have found always takes 2 or 3 hours. Unless you are spending more than one day in Skagway you do not want to relocate. f you choose to do stay in Skagway then take a day trip to visit the Kroschel Films Wildlife Center in Haines.
Skagway Shore Tours website has some good information on it. While it has not been kept up to date as the latest information when I viewed it was dated 2016 that made it 5 years out of date. However it does provide some timeless information you will want to view. If you choose to cruise one bit of information is a must read "8 Things Your Cruise Ship Won't Tell You About Shore Excursions"
When in Skagway you must take at least take the short trip on the White Pass & Yukon Railway or you are missing a big part of why you are in Skagway. Then do not for get to stroll through the town visiting the shops and take in the corny but fun Days of 98 show. The show is devoted to one of the area's most notorious outlaws. The Days of '98 Show is all about the wild times of Soapy Smith. Make sure to have your camera so you can have pictures with the actors.
This is a good site in that I agree with over 3/4th of what it says so I'm including a link to it "10 Free or Cheep Things for you to do in Skagway".
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Ketchikan
In my opinion the only way to explore Ketchikan is to rent a car. We were on a cruise when we stopped here. What a difference it made in our stop compared to most other passengers was the mobility a rented car provides. We picked it up and dropped it off at the Dock. The added mobility allowed us to leisurely stroll through Totem Bright State Historical Park, attend the Great American Lumberjack show, explore the shops on Creek Street and to go Bear watching.
Cruise ship excursions would never allowed the time to do all of these things.
The top things to do in my book are:
- Totem Bright State Historical Park and if you want to view more Potlatch Totem Park
- Great American Lumberjack Show
- Creek Street
I do not typically list businesses, but this is an exception for dockside pickup and drop-off:
Tongrass Car Rentals does dockside rentals check a few others out to make sure you are getting the deal you want.
Things to do in Ketchikan
Totem Bight State Historical Park presents Native Alaskan culture. In 1938, the U.S. Forest Service through use of the Civilian Conservation hired skilled carvers from among the older, indigenous population to salvage and reconstruct totem poles from within the forests. The process trained a new generation in an ancient tradition and preserved or duplicating Totem poles that would have been lost forever.
Potlatch Totem Park private park next to Totem Bight State Historical Park which you may want to visit also if time permits.
Both Parks are wonderful but are located 10 miles north of downtown Ketchikan and could be time consuming to visit using public transportation.
Saxman Native Village is the close in location to visit several Totem poles but in my book does not compare to the Totem Bright State or Potlatch Totem parks.
The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show This was fun. It is within walking distance of the cruise ship port and every ship offers this as one of their excursions. It is one hour long and with three to five shows each day.
Creek Street was the former red-light district currently turned into an arts and craft and museum area close is and within walking distance.
Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is maintained by the City of Ketchikan. There are several totem poles on display here and admission is free.
Tongass National Forest. If you are a hiker this is something you will want to do if you are doing a multy day stop here.
Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary is about fifteen minutes south of Ketchikan and is also located in the Tongass National Forest. The drive to this to the rainforest is spectacular. It is a hiking visit that offers a number of opportunities to view bald eagles and black bears from a safe distance.
The visitor center has a historic sawmill, native-carved totem poles, and offers a view the Alaska Raptor Center’s birds of prey exhibit.
One of the few Close to town Bear watching location is Herring Cove or the fish hatchery which is across the road from the cove both are best viewed morning or evening which eliminates the best viewing times for people that are on cruises.
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What would be my Inland Passage plan using the Ferry System?
Inland Passage: (if you only have a week you will have to skip Ketchikan and fly into Juneau) This plan is for 13 days that leaves you an extra day to exstend your stop anywhere you would like.
Fly into Ketchikan then ferry to Juneau, Haines, Skagway and back to Juneau for a flight home.
Keep in mind in June Sunrise is around 4:00 am with sunset around 10:00 pm. All the cities are small and easy to get around in the city. Only in Haines are there places that are difficult to reach, and you will need some type of ground transportation to visit them. You can get by with public transportation, taxi or Uber in the rest of the cities.
Little more detail
- Friday
- Fly into Ketchikan arriving Friday evening
- local transportation to hotel
- if I pickup a car that day then in the evening run out to Herring Cove or the fish hatchery and see if there are any bears
- if no car pick something local attraction or just relax it is a vacation after all
- Saturday
- Pickup a car Sometime in the morning
- Visit downtown Ketchikan taking in Lumber Jack show, Creek Street, and any downtown attractions you want.
- Take a run out to Herring Cove or the fish hatchery and see if there are any bears
- Sunday
- Visit the two totem pole parks (Totem Bright State Historical Park and Potlatch Totem Park) anything else you have on your list or just take a drive
- Monday
- Drop the car off and go to the ferry landing
- Depart Ketchikan on the Kennicott at 11am
- You may want to get a cabin or just sleep in your chair if you choose to not get a cabin It may be to your benefit to book a hotel for Monday night in Juneau tell them you will not be there until Tuesday morning but want a room available.
- Tuesday
- Arrive Juneau at 7:00am go your hotel and at least drop off your baggage
- Get some breakfast
- Make this an easy day at Overstreet Park, Mt Roberts, and local downtown sites or shopping.
- Wednesday
- Mendenhall Glacier State Park
- Glacier Gardens
- Thursday
- Tracy Arm Glacier Day Trip
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Monday
- Depart Juneau for Haines at 8:00am and arrive Haines at 12:45 pm
- Things you will want to do:
- Krochel Films Wildlife Center—You must have reservations. Do not expect to be able to visit the Wildlife Center unless you have made reservations a month or so in advance. You may be lucky like we were and get a last-minute tour, but do not count on it. You need to call to find out when you can get a tour and how long it will be. Allow yourself at least one hour to find it. The roads are not marked as well as they should be.
- You can make Skagway a day trip, just fast ferry over and back.
- Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve – you can raft it or drive to it and stop at the overlooks alongside the road. We did the rafting.
- New things that sound interesting but were not there when we were
- Hammer Museum
- Haines Brewing Company or Port Chilkoot Distillery
- Fast ferry to Skagway for the day. These are what I would visit in order:
- Ride the White Pass & Yukon Railway
- Take in the Days of 98 show if it is offered at a time you can attend.
- Visit the shops
- Red Onion Brothel Tour
- City Museum and Sculpture Garden (they are next to each other)
- Note If you choose to stay overnight, you will not have to catch the fast ferry to Haines until early afternoon.
- Tuesday
- Enjoy your last day in Haines or Skagway
- Catch the Ferry to Juneau at 4:15pm with an arrival in Juneau at 9:00pm
- Stay over night
- Wednesday
- Fly out of Juneau home or on to other adventure in Alaska
