If you’re used to cruising in the Caribbean, shore excursion prices on your Alaska cruise might surprise you.
Want to take a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier to enjoy a dogsled ride? It’ll cost upward of $700 per person. Excited about an authentic Alaska fishing experience? That’s a $500-plus tour. A nearly three-hour scenic train ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad starts at more than $150 per traveler.
Why are tours so pricey? Alaska is not only a remote destination, where it costs more to fly in goods and materials, but also part of the U.S., where wages and tour insurance costs can be higher than in the islands. Plus, many Alaska excursions involve seaplanes, helicopters, specialized boats and other equipment that only add to the price of your onshore experience.
For many, an Alaska cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and many tours are worth the splurge. But you don’t have to spend money hand over fist in every port. Whether you want to balance your budget with a few cheaper days or you simply don’t have the resources to spend big every day of your vacation, you’ll want to seek out cheap or free things to do in Alaska’s cruise ports.
Luckily, you have plenty of options. I know because I’ve spent many a day exploring independently in Alaska’s ports. Plus, I consulted with Alaska’s tourism representatives to bring you a comprehensive list of free (and cheap) things to do in Alaska on a cruise.
Things to do in Skagway, Alaska, for free and cheap
Skagway is known for its gold rush history, but you don’t need a pricey tour to immerse yourself in the town’s storied past. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park has four free museums open to visitors, including the Visitor Center Museum (with interactive exhibits), the Moore House Museum (former home of the first family to live in Skagway, with two restored Victorian-era rooms), the Jeff. Smiths Parlor Museum (a former bar with a shady past) and the Mascot Saloon Museum (a restored gold rush saloon).
If you’re fully embracing the old-timey saloon vibe, you’ll want to belly up to the bar at the Red Onion Saloon. Once, it was Skagway’s signature bordello, but now it’s the place to sling back an Alaska-brewed beer or snack on apps and pizzas named after former good-time girls. For a reasonable 20 bucks a person, you can sign up for a Quickie Tour of the venue’s supposedly haunted brothel museum. Ghost sightings do not cost extra!
One of my favorite things to do in Skagway is stretch my legs on a hike, and there are several trailheads within easy walking distance of your cruise ship. Options include the Upper and Lower Dewey Falls, Reid Falls and Gold Rush Cemetery, and Icy Lake and Upper Reid Falls trails. The National Park Service kindly lists its hikes by distance from Skagway’s Historic District, as well as by level of difficulty. No guide is needed, and you don’t have to pay to access the trails.
Related: Alaska cruise guide: Best itineraries, planning tips and things to do
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Free things to do in Juneau, Alaska
Window shopping is a popular activity along the main streets by Juneau’s cruise docks, but you might be tempted to blow your budget on souvenirs. (Look for sales, especially during end-of-season sailings, if you want to buy gifts for less.)
You can pay $55 for an all-day pass up and down Juneau’s Goldbelt tram, or if you’re in good shape, you can hike from your ship to the top of the tram on the Mount Roberts Trail for free. I did this hike on my recent Alaska cruise; it’s not technical, but it is steep and can be muddy after a rainstorm. Make lots of noise because bears might be on the trail.
At the top, you can visit the Chilkat Theatre to watch a free movie about the region’s Tlingit people. If you’re too tired to hike back down, you can get a free ride back on the tram if you spend $20 in the gift shop.
Other hikes accessible from your ship include the Gold Creek Flume Trail and Perseverance Trail.
If a stroll through downtown is more your speed, self-guided tours of Juneau come free of charge. The Juneau Voices project features audio installations at 11 spots around town where you can learn about the city through the stories of Native Alaskans. Or grab a map from a tourist welcome center and follow this walking tour to see the city’s highlights.
You can also find a PDF guide to Juneau’s totem poles online.
Prefer to get your history and culture indoors (not a bad plan in Alaska with its temperamental climate)? Juneau offers a few museums with modest admission fees worth checking out.
The Juneau-Douglas City Museum offers a mix of permanent and temporary exhibits on the area’s history and art. Admission is $7, but you might need a cab if you’re not up for a 20-minute walk. You can also book an array of walking tours from the museum; the tour price includes museum admission and a gift shop discount.
Also, a 20-minute walk from the port is the Alaska State Museum, where you can learn about the cultures of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people. Admission is $14. For more on Native Alaskans and their cultures, visit Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Walter Soboleff Building ($7) and its gift shop of local art. Don’t miss its signature totem pole and handcrafted clan house.
Related: Alaska cruise mistakes you never want to make
Cheap and free things to do in Ketchikan, Alaska, from a cruise ship
Ketchikan is best known for its Creek Street Historic District, built on a wooden boardwalk above the salmon-filled Ketchikan Creek. Stroll for free by its historic buildings, shops and restaurants, or pay $10 to stop into Dolly’s House for a glimpse into the city’s former red-light district.
Not far from Creek Street, the Tongass Historical Museum and Totem Heritage Center will immerse you in the area’s history for a modest $6 fee (children and military are free). From there, you can embark on a self-guided, 1 1/2-mile Ketchikan Salmon Walk to learn of the fish’s impact on the town (and maybe even spot some, in season, at the Salmon Ladder). The walk will take you past the Totem Heritage Center (also $6, or get a combo ticket to both museums for $9), with its collection of 19th-century totem poles rescued from nearby islands.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can skip the tour and head out to the Saxman Native Village on your own. It’s 2 miles south of Ketchikan, and you can walk it, but for a few bucks, you can take a city bus there instead. It’s just $5 to wander the park on your own. You’ll find 25 replica totem poles, as well as Native carvers working on new poles using traditional techniques.
Things to do in Icy Strait Point, Alaska, for free or cheap
Icy Strait Point is a manufactured cruise port near the town of Hoonah. It was created to offer everything cruisers could possibly want in a port, so all the activities are planned to get you to part ways with your hard-earned cash. That said, there are still plenty of things to do in Icy Strait Point for free or cheap.
A free gondola ride transports visitors from one cruise pier area to the other. If the line is long or you’re afraid of heights, you can walk the same path on nature trails instead. Keep your eyes out for wildlife.
The port has tons of beach access, so you can wander Icy Strait’s shores, stop for scenic photos and look for marine life free of charge. At the Hoonah Cannery building, you can browse the exhibits of the Hoonah Packing Co. Cannery Museum, interspersed among the shops. Or, get tickets to the Native dance show for $20 per person at the on-site ticket booth.
From the cannery, it’s a 1 1/2-mile (roughly 30-minute) walk to Hoonah, an actual town where many of Icy Strait Point’s workers live and home to Alaska’s largest Tlingit village. You can also take an affordable $5 shuttle to town, where you can admire the totem poles and sip a local beer at Icy Strait Brewing.
Related: The best Alaska cruise shore excursions — from heli-hiking to whale watching
Things to do in Sitka, Alaska, for free or cheap
Sitka offers a compelling mix of Native Alaskan and Russian history and culture, and a self-guided tour of the key sites in town won’t cost you much (if anything at all).
You can get a free tour of the Russian Bishop’s House, an example of 19th-century architecture during Russia’s colonization of Sitka. Baranof Castle State Historic Site (Castle Hill) was occupied throughout the centuries by both Tlingit people and Russians. It’s fitting that it was the site chosen for the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the U.S. You can check out the views and the informative signs for free.
St. Michael Cathedral National Historic Landmark is an exact replica of the first Russian Orthodox church in the Americas. Because the site has an active congregation, visitors can view its collection of 17th-century religious artifacts for a limited time each day.
Museums with small admission fees include the Sitka History Museum (featuring exhibits on local history) and the Sheldon Jackson Museum (showcasing a collection of Alaska Native artifacts). If exploring old cemeteries is your thing, you’ll want to stop at the more than 200-year-old Sitka Russian Cemetery, with gravestones made from the ballast of Russian ships.
The Sitka National Historical Park’s visitor center and grounds (with walking trails and totem pole installations) are open to all, free of charge. It’s a scenic spot for an easy nature walk, or you can come inside to learn more about Sitka’s Russian and Tlingit cultures or join a ranger program.
You don’t need a tour to gawk at eagles, hawks, owls and falcons at the Alaska Raptor Center. Admission is $16, though it is a bit of a walk from downtown. Watch injured birds relearn how to fly, and take a stroll through the center’s forested grounds.
Finally, you can attend various dance performances at affordable ticket prices. The Alaska Storytellers dance show ($15) celebrates traditional and modern Russian dance, while the New Archangel Dancers performances highlight Russian folk dances. Or, step into a Tlingit clan house to enjoy the music, costumes and choreography of the Naa Kahidi Tlingit Dancers.
Bottom line
You don’t need to spend a fortune on tours to explore Alaska’s culture and history or enjoy its natural splendor. You’ll find plenty of free things to do in port on an Alaska cruise. However, I do encourage you to budget for a few tours, whether it’s to travel beyond the port area into Alaska’s wilderness or to immerse yourself in an activity, such as dog sledding, kayaking, whale or bear watching, or fishing. You won’t regret spending the money on amazing experiences and memories.
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