RogerTheShrubber All things you want to know about Alaska!

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I have my family cruise set for mid May, I have the whale watching tour set, but what I REALLY need to know is where I can get crab legs both king and snow in Juneau!

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Tracy's Crab Shack is right on the waterfront. It's probably the best place, though the Hanger on the Wharf has them too, as does the Twisted Fish. All are waterfront, downtown.



Tracy's has good crab. She's got her hand in a few businesses around here, one being a seafood processing plant so she has good, fresh stuff.

The Hanger has a sweet location. Has an outside deck for sunny days too. It's an old converted seaplane hanger (where a branch of Alaska Airlines started) and you can watch the float planes come in and take off.

Let me know and we can meet up. Weather is usually really good in May.

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We are there 5/16 whale tour should be done by 5:30 so a 7:00 dinner should be good. We can firm things up when it gets close.

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My wife is really pushing for an Alaskan excursion. I'm not into the cruise thing, so any must do's you can suggest for a land based vacation (places, towns, sights, etc), and minimum length of stay to do the trip justice?

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Sure. How long a trip?

Out of Juneau you can take a ferry or fly Glacier Bay, Sitka, Haines, Skagway in Southeast ALaska. Admiralty Island (bears) is 10 miles away by plane or boat. Tracy Arm Fjord is a day trip from Juneau.

Tracy Arm




Glacier Bay




Late July/August is best for bears. Whales are around all summer and easily spotted.

Anchorage is another good hub. Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, Denali are within a days drive or train ride. Homer, Seward and Talkeetna are worth visiting in this area.

You really wouldn't need a vehicle in Southeast, except maybe Juneau, or unless you want to drive the Alaska Hwy. I'd rent an RV in Anchorage, or take the train as much as possible.

I can give more specifics on towns, etc.

This is a trip I must plan, I have heard so many great things about Alaska and if I don't see the NL on the cruise (slim chance) I will schedule a trip there.

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was thinking a week, but looks like I might need to plan for longer?

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If you really want to see much, yeah. Different regions of the state are so varied. You could probably see quite a bit in south central via car or rv in a week. Go down to Seward, see Kenai fjords on a day boat, maybe get up to Denali. A week would be rushed just for those things

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Renting an RV? Easy access to hookups, pull-outs, etc on the road?

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Anchorage has rentals and the road system is RV friendly in that part of the state. The Denali Hwy is very underrated. The sweeping views of tundra and the Alaska range are incredible. Lots of caribou too

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China hot springs resort is a fantastic place to see the aurora if you fail on your cruise

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I don't mind a cold weather trip to see them, so I will plan it a peak time when I do.

Thank you for all the great info I am changing the title..

That's great, I missed the ice caves in Iceland so I would be down for that. Any dry suit diving that you know of during that time?

You should have quite a light show next week. Aurora forecast looks pretty strong midweek. I'm jealous

That's amazing. I need to make another trip up. Seems like October has been really active the last couple years