Well, as I mentioned I haven't really been much in Anchorage during the summer time because hotels and car rentals are very expensive. I travel to Anchorage more during winter because it is cheaper and most of the tourist places are closed. Not sure how you feel about zoos but the Alaska Zoo is open and it has polar bears and grizzlies and brown bears and other Alaska animals like the moose and reindeer. Maggie, the elephant, moved to California last year and she was quite the celebrity of the zoo especially since she actually has an elephant treadmill!

This website helped me a lot whenever I plan a trip to Anchorage: www.anchorage.net.

Now about getting from Anchorage to Juneau, the best way is by plane. I mean you can get there using the ferry but that means driving from Anchorage to Haines and then taking the ferry from there. It takes about 8 hrs from Haines to Juneau via ferry. Or if you are lucky and the fast ferry is available, you can get to Juneau via Haines in about 4 hours.

By airplane, it takes 3-4 hours to get to Juneau. However, try as much as possible to get a non-stop flight because there are times when Alaska Airlines (the only airlines that fly to Juneau) make several stops in the smaller villages which can add hours to your flight time.

If you are renting a car, make sure you reserve it in advance because there's only a handful of rental car companies in Juneau and we get a lot of tourist during the days that you mentioned. The big cruise ship companies dock in Juneau and we get 10,000-30,000 visitors a day during the peak times. The normal population of Juneau without the tourists from the cruise ships is 30,000.

There is a good cruise ship company that caters more to individuals who like to experience nature and outdoors. It is called Cruise West and they do a really good tour of Glacier Bay NP. I think they even have a package that bundles Glacier Bay and Denali NP.

Here is the link to their website and that tour:
http://www.cruisewest.com/destinatio...acier_bay.aspx

If you decide to just stay in Juneau, there is the Mendenhall Glacier. I think it cost $10 roundtrip to go there (or free if you have your own car). You can hike to the waterfalls near the actual glacier but I think that is the closest you can go to the glacier unless you are in a kayak. Then there is the Mt. Roberts tramway where you can ride the tram ($25) up and hike from the tram stop all the way to the top of the mountain or if you really like hiking you can hike all the way from the bottom of the mountain to the tram stop near the top and you can ride the tram down for $5 or if you buy something from the gift shop or the restaurant that costs more than $5 then the ride down is free! Every year I buy a tram pass so that I can ride up and then hike down. It takes an hour to go down but I haven't tried going up (maybe this year :) ) There is a zip lining tour available near the ski resort (Eaglecrest) in Douglas Island which is just right across from Juneau.


If you are taking the ferry from Juneau to Bellingham make sure that you make the reservation way in advance because the dates you mentioned are considered peak days and the car deck and cabins usually get full pretty fast. A lot of college kids actually go back to the Continental US (or to us Alaskans we call it "Down South") around end of July to August for college (or to move).

If you are taking a car to the ferry make sure that you are there atleast 1.5-2 hrs before the departure time to make sure that you don't get stuck in the back of the ferry and have to wait for everyone else in front of you to get in their car and leave before you can actually exit the ferry.

Also keep an eye out for whales that like to show up frequently in the ferry terminal area. We saw 3 whales there last summer and they were hanging out for about an hour in the same area...it was pretty cool to see.


The ferry ride has stops in Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan before it gets to Bellingham. You can actually get out and explore but make sure you know when the ferry will leave the terminal and that you have your ticket with you prior to getting out of the ferry. Usually, ferry stops last an hour to two hours.

Usually, the ferry gets to Ketchikan at about 3-5 am so even if you are awake and ready to explore I don't think anything is open.

It is practical to bring snacks with you prior to boarding because snacks are a little bit spendy in the cafeteria. However, the food is good and are usually Alaskan stuff like salmon, halibut, cod etc.

I've taken the ferry from Juneau to Bellingham several times and it was a pretty good experience. The cabins are not so big but it has it's own shower, sink and toilet bowl. There are also communal showers and public restrooms all over the ferry. I suggest camera, binoculars and video cam to be handy in case a whale decides to go against the side of the ferry (happened during my 2nd trip) or the porpoises decide to show themselves a few feet away (1st trip). Occassionally, you can spot a bear by the shore as well. Although, here in Juneau there are plenty of bears and the first time I saw one was in the parking lot of Costco!

The time the ferry arrives in Bellingham varies as well. The most often I experienced was before 10 am and then there is the occassional after 1 pm. So taking your Las Vegas flight the day after is a good thing.

Hope that I am able to help. Sorry I wasn't able to give more info on Anchorage.