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🏔️ Juneau, Alaska Travel Guide - Budget Edition 💰

Our docking time was 3-10 PM, and we were blessed with sunshine! ☀️ Following recommendations, we decided to explore downtown on foot. The area right off the ship is basically a tourist street filled with souvenir shops and jewelry stores - nothing too exciting 🛍️ Let me say this first: My only regret is not taking the helicopter tour to see the glaciers! 🚁 I truly believe that excursion would have been worth it ($500+ USD per person) for the breathtaking views and glacier hiking experience. While the cruise ship does sail by glaciers later, you'll be viewing them from a distance. The small boat excursion for closer glacier viewing costs $300+ per person, making the helicopter option actually more worthwhile. This is only available in Juneau, so I highly recommend doing it here instead of crowding on deck for distant views later! ❄️ Popular Juneau attractions include Mendenhall Glacier Park 🏞️. Many tour companies charge $70-80 per person for shuttle service, but that's a rip-off! You can easily take Lyft (around $40) or a local taxi (we paid $50). Important note: 📶 Signal is very weak at the park! Better arrange a pickup time with your driver at the rideshare area. I recommend allowing 2 hours to explore the trails and take photos 📸 We decided to take the bus to save money 🚌. Bus tickets accept cash only: $2 for adults, $1 for children. Some suggest buying tickets in advance on the Token Transit app, but it requires phone registration. Since I had no signal on the ship and didn't want to pay roaming charges, I exchanged CAD for USD at the cruise front desk (with a $4.5 service fee and poor exchange rate - probably nobody else comes to the US without any USD! 😅) You can take bus routes 3, 4, or 8. Route 8 is express and faster - I highly recommend it! The other routes make many stops and took us 50 minutes to reach Dredge Lake terminal. With the sun blazing ☀️ and weak AC, it got pretty hot! Note: Buses run hourly, and the last Route 8 departs at 6 PM ⏰ Board at Downtown Transit Center, get off at Dredge Lake Rd. From there, it's a 2.3 km (30-minute) walk to the park. The path is flat and easy for regular walkers 🚶‍♂️. Entry fee is $5 per person before 5 PM, free after (though they don't really check tickets 😅) #Travel #Alaska #Cruise #Juneau #BudgetTravel #GlacierAdventure

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John Smith
John Smith
5 months ago
John Smith
John Smith
5 months ago
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🏔️ Juneau, Alaska Travel Guide - Budget Edition 💰

Our docking time was 3-10 PM, and we were blessed with sunshine! ☀️ Following recommendations, we decided to explore downtown on foot. The area right off the ship is basically a tourist street filled with souvenir shops and jewelry stores - nothing too exciting 🛍️ Let me say this first: My only regret is not taking the helicopter tour to see the glaciers! 🚁 I truly believe that excursion would have been worth it ($500+ USD per person) for the breathtaking views and glacier hiking experience. While the cruise ship does sail by glaciers later, you'll be viewing them from a distance. The small boat excursion for closer glacier viewing costs $300+ per person, making the helicopter option actually more worthwhile. This is only available in Juneau, so I highly recommend doing it here instead of crowding on deck for distant views later! ❄️ Popular Juneau attractions include Mendenhall Glacier Park 🏞️. Many tour companies charge $70-80 per person for shuttle service, but that's a rip-off! You can easily take Lyft (around $40) or a local taxi (we paid $50). Important note: 📶 Signal is very weak at the park! Better arrange a pickup time with your driver at the rideshare area. I recommend allowing 2 hours to explore the trails and take photos 📸 We decided to take the bus to save money 🚌. Bus tickets accept cash only: $2 for adults, $1 for children. Some suggest buying tickets in advance on the Token Transit app, but it requires phone registration. Since I had no signal on the ship and didn't want to pay roaming charges, I exchanged CAD for USD at the cruise front desk (with a $4.5 service fee and poor exchange rate - probably nobody else comes to the US without any USD! 😅) You can take bus routes 3, 4, or 8. Route 8 is express and faster - I highly recommend it! The other routes make many stops and took us 50 minutes to reach Dredge Lake terminal. With the sun blazing ☀️ and weak AC, it got pretty hot! Note: Buses run hourly, and the last Route 8 departs at 6 PM ⏰ Board at Downtown Transit Center, get off at Dredge Lake Rd. From there, it's a 2.3 km (30-minute) walk to the park. The path is flat and easy for regular walkers 🚶‍♂️. Entry fee is $5 per person before 5 PM, free after (though they don't really check tickets 😅) #Travel #Alaska #Cruise #Juneau #BudgetTravel #GlacierAdventure

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