10 best things to do in Juneau Alaska from a cruise ship

Hi there!

Many cruise ships have all day in Juneau.

If this is you, this is quite nice, because you can do something in the morning, go back to the ship for lunch, and then go out and do something again in the afternoon and/or evening!

You can find some epic excursions to do in Juneau that can end up being the highlight of your cruise!

Juneau is also a great cruise port for hiking if you want a more budget-friendly option on your own that can also be a highlight of your cruise.

Cruise ships dock conveniently in downtown Juneau. You may walk a little more or less to get to the heart of downtown depending on where exactly your cruise ship is docked.

But whether you are on the major cruise lines of Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, or Cunard, you will be right near downtown! NCL also might be right downtown, but many times there are Norwegian cruise ships that are just a little further away.

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Now, I have been to Juneau 7 times by cruise ship, and here are the things to do in Juneau cruise port that you need to know about for one day in Juneau!

Juneau is most notable for being the cruise port that you can see a glacier from land on your own, and that’s the Mendenhall Glacier.

So, one of the most popular things to do in Juneau during a cruise is to go to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center.

This is in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area of Tongass National Forest. (Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States!)

Once at the visitor center, you can see the Mendenhall Glacier from across the lake.

And yes, you are seeing it from across the lake.

The important thing to know is that you cannot physically touch the glacier by going to the visitor center. It’s a bit of a distant view. (If you want to touch the Mendenhall Glacier, there is an epic helicopter tour for that. There’s another helicopter tour that goes to Herbert Glacier.)

From the visitor center, the most popular things to do are to take a short walk to Photo Point for another glacier viewpoint and to walk a leisurely trail to Nugget Falls.

👆 The easy Photo Point Trail to see Mendenhall Glacier. It’s a 5 minute walk from the visitor center.

👆 From the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, you can walk to Nugget Falls.

How to go to Mendenhall Glacier visitor center

The cheapest way to get to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center is to go by public bus. (I have found that google maps public transit option works well for this!)

But many people don’t want to do this, because the bus stop closest to the visitor center is not so close.

It will be about a mile walk from the bus stop to the visitor center. You can consider this a nice leisurely walk in Juneau!

Instead, there are tours that provide transportation to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center that are the Mendenhall Glacier shuttles. This is basically a drop-off and a pick-up.

For something like this, you’ll want to look at doing the Mendenhall Glacier express shuttle. This is basically transportation to get between the cruise port and visitor center.

One of the classic Mendenhall Glacier shuttles is the Blue Bus glacier express shuttle.

Another way to experience the glacier is by doing the Mendenhall Glacier canoe tour! This gets you a lot closer to the glacier than the visitor center. I also think you need to highly consider the Mendenhall Glacier ice adventure, which includes a canoe paddle towards the glacier, as well as a wilderness landing with a walk to a glacier lookout that again gets you much closer than the visitor center.

Another one of the most popular things to do in Juneau from a cruise ship is a whale watching tour.

Juneau is one of the best cruise ports for whale watching in Alaska. Summer is peak whale watching season.

That said, whales are wild, and there’s never any guarantee… THAT said, you have a very good chance to have a very fun experience! No matter what, a boat ride out on the water is a classic Alaska experience!

All Juneau whale watching tours start from Auke Bay.

The vast majority of whale watching tours have the best reviews, and that’s because they all have naturalists that are whale watching enthusiasts and Alaska experts! This means you really can’t go wrong with most whale watching tours.

Read the reviews for the best Juneau whale watching tours.

Again, there’s a combo tour so you can see the top 2 things that Juneau is known for with the popular Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching combo tour.

Is Juneau the only cruise port to do a whale watching tour?

No, Juneau is not the only cruise port to do a whale watching tour. Icy Strait Point is another very good cruise port for whale sightings.

So if you have other things you want to do in Juneau, you can do your whale watching tour in Icy Strait Point!

The reason you go to Alaska is to get epic views of glaciers! And one of the most epic flightseeing excursions you can do in Juneau is a seaplane tour over the massive Juneau icefield. You will get simply amazing views as you fly over the Juneau icefield. You’ll fly over several glaciers and you might even see blue ice.

👆 Fly over glaciers in Juneau!

How to book a Juneau seaplane tour

You can book the Five-Glacier Seaplane Exploration independently, you can look for it through your cruise line, and you can also book through viator or getyourguide.

Read the 5-glacier seaplane reviews.

See my pictures from the Juneau 5-glacier seaplane tour.

When doing any sort of flightseeing tour in Juneau (and anywhere in Alaska), it’s important to understand that these tours are weather-dependent. This means that it’s important to manage your expectations! It’s possible that the flightseeing tour in Juneau that you are most excited about may be canceled due to weather. Expect the worst and hope for the best! Weather conditions can change rapidly and you may end up with a last minute cancellation.

The joke among whale watching tour guides on the drive back from a whale watching tour… Oh look, there’s a whale!

Or maybe that was just my tour guide. 🤪

Well it’s not really a joke because you actually can see a whale… a whale statue that is. 🤪 This is Tahku the whale. On google maps it’s called the Whale Project.

This is an iconic statue in Juneau though, and it can be considered to be within walking distance from the cruise port. So if you have 2 hours or so before your back-on-board time, it’s worth having a walk over.

So you are guaranteed to see at least one breaching whale by going to see Tahku. 🤪

Depending on where your cruise ship is docked, it will be a 20 to 30 minute walk one way from the cruise port to the iconic Juneau whale statue fountain. So if you’re quick about it, you don’t actually need 2 hours. But it will give you time to slowly wander around! (map)

Tahku the whale is located in Overstreet Park, which is basically a small waterfront open area that you can walk around. (It is small, so don’t be expecting a big green park!)

When coming from downtown, the trail immediately leading to the whale statue is lined with totem poles. Once you’re at the whale fountain, you can walk around Tahku and take some creative pictures so it can actually look like a real whale jumping out of the water at first glance! (I wasn’t thinking about this at the time, so I didn’t really get pictures like this.)

More of walking through downtown from the cruise port

You can start off your walk to the whale statue by walking along the Juneau Seawalk.

This is the boardwalk you will naturally end up on as soon as you get off the cruise ship! And just by walking on the boardwalk, you will see totem poles.

So it’s really easy to see totem poles in Juneau! You actually don’t even need to try. The totem poles line the boardwalk! You can stop to read the informational signs to learn more about the meaning behind each of the totem poles.

Although you can see the downtown Juneau totem poles without even trying, if you want to be intentional about it, you can follow the downtown Juneau totem trail. (pdf)

You can also follow the trail to the Sealaska Heritage Native Alaskan exhibit. (map) There is an admission fee for the Sealaska Heritage Institute. See the current fees.

If you’re looking for a nice walk in downtown Juneau and you have 2 hours or so, you can making your walking route from the cruise ship to the Juneau whale statue, and then on your way back, take your time with totem poles!

DIY day/half day ideas: I went to the Juneau whale statue on my way back to the cruise port after I went to Douglas Island. First I did an easy beach walk in Juneau on Douglas Island which I got to by bus. (I saw jellyfish on the beach!) And then on the way back, I stopped off near the Douglas Island bridge, walked across the bridge, and then to Tahku the whale and the totem poles! And then from there, I headed to downtown and back to the cruise ship!

See more easy walking in Juneau.

Is Juneau the only cruise port to see totem poles?

No, Juneau is not the only cruise port where you can see totem poles. One of the best cruise ports to see totem poles is actually Ketchikan cruise port! There are lots of totem poles all around Ketchikan. Sitka is also a very good port to see them, you can do easy walking in Sitka to see totem poles. You can also make it a totem walk and see totem poles in Victoria!

NOTE AS OF MAY 2026: Check the official tram website to see if the tram is operating. There was an accident early in the cruise season and there is no definitive open date for summer 2026. The website is goldbelttram.com

The Goldbelt Tram is also called the Mount Roberts tramway.

The Mount Roberts tramway is another one of the most popular things to do in Juneau, and it will take you to a high point in Juneau.

The tram station is in a very convenient location. Depending on where exactly your cruise ship is docked, you might be just a few minutes (literally less than 5 minutes walk) from the tram station.

A lot of tours have the Goldebelt Tram as their meeting spot. So if you’re looking at a tour that says this, you can know that it’s in an easy location. And really, you can’t miss it, because you’ll see the tram going up and down!

So for the actual tram ride, you’ll take the tram up to the top. Once at the top, you can go for a short hike on one of the trails from the tram station. There’s also a trail that’s lined with totem poles, so this is a perfect spot to see totem poles in Juneau. You can also hike to the Father Brown Cross which will give you amazing views of Juneau’s mountains and waterway (Gastineau Channel that the cruise ship came down).

You can also just eat and drink with a view at the restaurant once you’re at the top. You’ll find Alaskan food and Alaskan beer.

To learn a bit about Native Alaskan culture, be sure to look for the Chilkat Theater where you can watch a short film. It’s free. Walk around and you might see someone actually carving a totem pole too. (When I went there was someone inside the building doing just that.)

If you’re going to Juneau during peak Alaska cruise season, there’s a chance the line for the tram will be really long going both ways.

See more things to do near the Juneau tram.

How to buy Mount Robert tram tickets

You can buy Mount Robert tram tickets through your cruise line, or you can buy a ticket on-site (expect a line), or you can buy a ticket through the official Goldbelt Tram website.

How to HIKE to the Mount Roberts tram station

The easy way to get to the Mount Roberts tram station at the top is by taking the tram that’s a few minutes walk from your cruise ship. But why get there the easy way when you can get there the harder way?! 🤣

Well actually there are 3 good reasons to hike the Mount Roberts Trail to the tram station!

The first good reason is because you want to do a rainforest hike! You can hike through a rainforest to get to the tram station!

The second good reason is because then you won’t have to deal with crowds or a line to take the tram near the cruise port! (Although you might have to deal with it later going down.)

The third good reason is because you’ll still take the tram, it will just be one way, and it will be cheaper! (It’s only cheaper to go one way if you take it down. Buying a ticket going up is the same price whether you go one way or round trip.)

So if all that sounds good to you, you want to hike the Mount Roberts Trail starting on Basin Road. (map)

This trail will take you straight to the tram station at the top! This is a solid hike. It’s pretty much all uphill.

It’s recommended to give yourself 1.5 hours on the trail itself.

And you’ll need to allocate extra time to get to the trailhead (you can walk 30 minutes – consider it part of your hike!), and you want to give yourself extra time to spend around the tram station as well.

See more about hiking the Mount Roberts Trail to the tram station… and more hiking in Alaska cruise ports.

The Taku Lodge excursion is 2 excursions in one! You get the epic Juneau icefield flightseeing tour and a salmon bake tour!

The seaplane tour you do is basically the same Juneau icefield seaplane tour mentioned earlier, but the Taku Lodge excursion comes with a water landing at Taku Lodge!

The Taku Lodge is now only operational for day trips, and it’s basically a lodge in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. There’s classic Southeast Alaskan forest on one side, and on the other side is the waterway with a view of a glacier.

Once your seaplane lands, you’ll have some time to walk around the grounds before the food is ready, so be sure to do this! There’s a trail you can take that goes along the water and winds into the forest. You’ll see moss-covered trees and more unusual looking trees. There’s waterfalls in the back too, although there might be a group walk after eating to go to that.

And then you’ll have a classic Alaskan-inspired meal. If you’re seated right, you can even eat with a view of a glacier!

How to book the Taku Lodge excursion

You can book the Taku Lodge Feast & Five-Glacier Seaplane Discovery independently, you can look for it through your cruise line, and you can also book through viator or getyourguide.

Read the Taku Lodge reviews.

See my pictures from the Taku Lodge excursion.

One of the most epic excursions you can do in Alaska is to experience a glacier through a helicopter tour with a glacier landing!

There are helicopter tours in Juneau that will allow you to walk on the glacier for an amazing glacier experience in Alaska.

The glacier and guided walk helicopter tour will take you on a flightseeing tour across Juneau to see a glacier and Alaskan wilderness from above, and then you will make a landing on the glacier. Then, you’ll do a walk across the glacier!

The dog sledding on a glacier helicopter tour will also allow you to have a flightseeing tour across the Alaskan wilderness and make a glacier landing. But this glacier landing is at a sled dog camp! You’ll have the chance to meet a real team of sled dogs in training, along with their musher (aka the sled dog trainer)!

The dog sledding season in Juneau is from mid-May to early September.

Is Juneau the only cruise port to do a glacier helicopter tour?

No, Juneau is not the only cruise port to do a glacier helicopter tour.

You can also do similar tours in Skagway cruise port. See my post about the best Skagway excursions for that.

Sled dog tours NOT on snow

Glacier sled dog tours are epic but expensive. If you want a cheaper way to have fun with sled dogs in training, then you will want to look at doing a dog sled camp in Juneau.

These types of dog sledding musher camps do not include a helicopter ride, they are not on a glacier, and they are not on snow… therefore they are cheaper!

You can go to this type of sled dog camp in Skagway too.

Juneau was once home to the largest gold mining operation of its time, and you can experience some of that history by visiting a former underground gold mine. You’ll walk through the tunnels to see how miners used to live and work.

To explore Juneau’s gold mining history on your own, you can head to the Last Chance Mining Museum by taking a long walk from the cruise port, go to Douglas Island by bus to walk the Treadwell Mine Historic Trail near Sandy Beach, or walk the Gold Creek Flume Trail for another long walk from the cruise port!

Last Chance Mining Museum: This is a small museum run by volunteers that’s hidden away on a hiking trail and requires a lot of walking to get to. You’ll walk up Basin Road. It also has limited hours, so be sure it’s open before you go. (Like, 2-5pm only on certain days.) It’s a $5 cash entry. (Reviews.) You can combine this with a hike on Perseverance Trail afterwards.

Treadwell Mine Historic Trail: This is an interpretive trail that has some ruins and informational posts to learn about Juneau’s history. It’s located on Douglas Island at Savikko, on the other side of the Gastineau Channel where the cruise ships dock. You can get to Savikko Park by bus using google maps (map). While you’re there, you can have a walk along Sandy Beach. I saw jellyfish washed up on shore! I also saw cruise ships sailing by too.

Gold Creek Flume Trail: This is more like a nature walk through the forest, and there’s an information sign along the trail about the history. You can make it a long walk from the cruise port, starting at the west trailhead on Evergreen Avenue (map). Once you get to the other side (Basin Road), you can walk back to the cruise ship, or you’ll can look for the Mount Roberts trailhead to hike through the forest to the top of the Goldbelt Tram, and then take the tram down to the cruise port.

Tracy’s King Crab Shack is one of the most popular restaurants in Juneau. Yes, the thing to eat at Tracy’s is king crab!

To do Tracy’s King Crab Shack the right way, it’s like the cost of an excursion. (The right way = getting the crab legs!) King crab is expensive! See the menu.

Or you can do it as an actual excursion too. There’s a Tracy’s King Crab Shack + whale watching combo tour.

Depending on where your cruise ship is docked, you might just be a few minutes walk from Tracy’s King Crab Shack. (Again, you might literally less than 5 minutes walk!)

This means that it’s easy for everyone to go to, and that can mean crowds and a long line.

There is also an alternate location for Tracy’s King Crab Shack that typically gets less foot traffic, so you might want to go there instead! It’s a 15 minute walk from the cruise ship, again depending on where you’re docked. (map) Afterwards, you can walk to Gold Creek Flume Trail.

You will pass by the secondary location of the crab shack on your way to Tahku the whale. So you can make a half day of it by going to the iconic whale fountain in Juneau, and then go eat the famous crab legs of Juneau! (map)

If you are a lighthouse enthusiast, then the Sentinel Island lighthouse tour is the best lighthouse tour to do during your Alaska cruise!

Being from Michigan, I’m a lighthouse enthusiast, so I was happy to do this tour! (There are said to be over 100 lighthouses in Michigan, more than any other state in the US, although I’ve been to nowhere near that!) I also did a lighthouse tour in Ketchikan, although that was a pass-by of a lighthouse from the boat, with no walking around the lighthouse.

With the Juneau lighthouse tour, it’s not only a visit to the lighthouse, but you can also do the must-do experience in Juneau of whale watching!

Sentinel Island is a small island, and you’ll take a boat to get there. That boat ride is on the same path as all the other whale watching boats in Juneau, so you won’t be missing out on a chance to see whales.

But your destination is a little further, and that’s to Sentinel Island where the lighthouse is located!

And once on the island (which you get on after the boat crew set up the floating pier!), you will get to walk around on a small Alaskan island and into the lighthouse.

You can also walk the short trail off to the side to go see the shoreline on the other side of the island. Ask your tour guide if there are blueberries that you can pick and eat!

Read the Juneau lighthouse tour reviews.

For a better visual of where many of these things are located in relation to the cruise port, see the Juneau cruise port map. (This also includes where your cruise ship will dock.)

Top 10 in more Alaska cruise ports: Best of Ketchikan | Best of Skagway

Things to do in other cruise ports: Icy Strait Point | Sitka | Victoria | Vancouver | Seattle

HAPPY DOING THINGS IN JUNEAU CRUISE PORT!