📅 Trip Dates: September 1–6
✈️ Flew Into: Juneau (JNU) from Chicago O’Hare, via Anchorage
🛏️ Base: Aspen Suites Hotel Juneau — near the airport, 15 min from downtown
🚗 Style: No car for four of five days — Uber, boats, and one floatplane
🥾 Focus: Glaciers by boat, air, and trail
💵 Rough Cost: ~$1,900 per person all-in [CONFIRM — see costs note at bottom]
Most people see Juneau from a cruise ship. We were curious what it’s like to just fly in and stay for a while, so that’s what we did: a 12:55am flight out of O’Hare, a sleepy connection in Anchorage, and we were in Juneau by 9:35 the next morning. Five days, one hotel, and — this surprised us — almost no need for a car.
Day 1 — Arrive, Eat, See a Glacier
The red-eye isn’t fun, but it gets you a full first day, which feels like a fair trade. We started at Donna’s Restaurant, a diner basically across the street from the airport — all-day breakfast, exactly what we needed.
Then we took an Uber to Mendenhall Glacier — about 15 minutes from the airport. And yes, Juneau has Uber; it worked great the entire trip, which is what made the whole no-car thing easy. The visitor center area gives you the classic glacier-and-lake view within a short walk of the drop-off, and the flat trail out to Nugget Falls adds roughly 45 minutes round trip. Two hours covers it comfortably. [CONFIRM: is that what you did — Nugget Falls? And roughly what the Uber cost, if you remember]
For dinner we just picked up groceries at Fred Meyer near the hotel. After a red-eye, cooking something simple in the room beats going out. We stayed all five nights at Aspen Suites Hotel Juneau, which is out by the airport rather than downtown — more on that below, but short version: it was fine, and the kitchen was worth it.
Good to know: the Mendenhall Visitor Center charges a small entry fee in summer ($5 when we checked) · Nugget Falls is flat and fine in regular shoes · Fred Meyer is the big grocery store in town, a few minutes from Aspen Suites.
Day 2 — Tracy Arm
This was a full day on the water, 8am to 6pm, with Adventure Bound Alaska — roughly 45 miles south down the length of Tracy Arm fjord to the Sawyer Glaciers, and about $190 per person for the day. We’d booked a smaller boat, and that turned out to matter: the bigger ships had to hang back in the ice, while ours got close enough to the glacier that we could actually touch the ice. There were harbor seals resting on the floes, and chunks of the glacier kept breaking off into the water — every few minutes, not a once-a-day event you wait around for.
Ten hours on a boat sounds like a lot. It went by fast.
Dinner was at Hangar on the Wharf, in an old seaplane hangar on the waterfront. Honestly? Great spot, forgettable food. Worth a beer and the view of floatplanes coming and going, but save your appetite.
Good to know: it’s noticeably colder out in the fjord than in town, even in early September — bring more layers than feel necessary · smaller boats get closer to the ice than the big ones · in September, booking a couple of weeks out was enough; peak summer fills earlier.
⚠️ 2026 update: A landslide in Tracy Arm in August 2025 changed access to the fjord. The big cruise lines are skipping it in 2026, and many day operators now run to neighboring Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier instead — a similar fjord-and-glacier day. Check the actual route with any operator before booking, and confirm their cancellation policy in writing.
Day 3 — Town, Then Whales
We took the morning slow and walked around downtown. [CONFIRM: anything worth naming — Red Dog Saloon, the Capitol, shops?]
At 3pm we went whale watching with Alaska Tales out of Statter Harbor in Auke Bay — a 20–25 minute ride north of downtown. The tour ran three and a half hours and cost us about $155 per person, and we saw a lot of whales. We weren’t exactly taking notes on species in the moment, but around Juneau in early September they were almost certainly humpbacks — hundreds of them feed here all summer, and sightings are reliable enough that most operators guarantee one. Going in September also meant smaller crowds, which we appreciated.
Dinner at Tracy’s King Crab Shack. It’s touristy, and it’s also just good. Get the crab bisque.
Good to know: humpback season runs May through September · an afternoon departure pairs well with a slow town morning · downtown itself is compact and walkable — no transport needed once you’re there.
Day 4 — The Floatplane Day
This was our one big splurge: the Taku Lodge Feast with Wings Airways. A floatplane picks you up right on the downtown waterfront, flies over five glaciers, and lands on the Taku River at a log lodge that’s been there since 1923. Lunch is salmon grilled over an alderwood fire, and there are short trails around the lodge if you want to walk a bit before flying back. [CONFIRM: did a black bear show up? They’re regulars.]
It was $820 for the two of us, which we went back and forth on for weeks. In the end: worth it. The flight alone would have been.
We had the afternoon free, so we hiked the Perseverance Trail, which starts on Basin Road just behind downtown — an old mining road that climbs gently up the valley for about three miles each way, with waterfalls along the route and fog drifting through the whole time. [CONFIRM: roughly how long it took you round trip] Afterward we had a drink at the Narrows, a small downtown bar that ended up being one of our favorite spots of the trip.
Good to know: the Taku trip is about a half-day commitment including check-in · Perseverance’s trailhead is walkable from downtown, no permit needed · the grade is gentle — it’s a former wagon road, not a scramble.
Day 5 — Plan B Day
We had a small-plane day trip to Glacier Bay booked for our last full day. The morning of, Alaska Seaplanes called: canceled for weather. That’s just September in Southeast Alaska — if your trip depends on a small plane, have a backup in mind.
Our backup: we rented a car at the airport — the counter’s right in baggage claim — for $134 for the day, the only car of the whole trip, and drove Juneau’s road system, which literally just ends about 40 miles out of town. We stopped at the National Shrine of St. Thérèse, a stone chapel on a little cove about twenty miles up the highway, free and open daily — and while we were standing on the shore, a whale surfaced just off the point. No tour, no ticket. Probably our favorite wildlife moment of the trip, on the day that was supposed to be a bust.
Back in town we checked out the Last Chance Mining Museum [CONFIRM: worth it?] and got s’mores at Captain’s S’more & Brew, a little food-truck stand downtown that does them on waffle cones. A good way to end a rainy driving day.
The canceled day ended up being one of the best ones, and the cheapest. Worth remembering when you’re tempted to schedule every hour.
Good to know: rental counters at JNU are right in baggage claim, cars on site · the drive to the end of the road and back is a relaxed half day with stops · a one-day rental covered everything the road system offers.
Day 6 — Heading Home
Juneau to Seattle to Chicago on the 7:10am. Home by dinner.
The Trip Map
Every stop from the five days, organized by day — including the boat route to Tracy Arm, the floatplane path to Taku Lodge, and the Glacier Bay trip that didn’t happen.
Where We Stayed
Aspen Suites Hotel Juneau — $942 for five nights, about $188 a night, booked through Expedia. It’s near the airport, not downtown, and that bothered us less than we expected. The rooms are real suites with kitchens, and Ubers into town were quick and cheap. The trade-off: you can’t walk home from a bar downtown. For us, the space and the kitchen won. [CONFIRM: anything else — breakfast? parking on the rental day?]
What I’d Do Differently
- Put the weather-dependent activity early in the trip, not at the end. We saved Glacier Bay for the last full day with no room to rebook. When it canceled, that was that. Flightseeing first; boat days later — those are easier to move.
- Bring real rain gear and hiking boots, even if you don’t plan to hike much. It drizzled most of the trip, we hadn’t packed for trails, and we left wishing we’d hiked more. Rain is just the default setting in Juneau — locals are out in it all the time, and with the right gear we would’ve been too.
Make It Shorter (or Longer)
Only have 3 days? Keep Tracy Arm and the floatplane — those are the trip. Land early on Day 1 and do Mendenhall that afternoon, fjord cruise Day 2, floatplane Day 3, fly home the next morning. You’d lose the whales and the road-system day, which isn’t ideal, but whale watching is the easiest piece to find elsewhere in Alaska. [CONFIRM these are the cuts you’d actually make]
Have a 6th day? Don’t add more activities — leave a buffer day. Put the weather-dependent stuff early and keep a day open behind it. Ours would have saved Glacier Bay.
Downloads
- Trip map (KML) — every stop from this post, organized by day → [LINK after uploading the .kml as a media file]
- Our trip planning template — the spreadsheet this trip was planned in (itinerary, budget, bookings, fare watch) → [LINK to the shared template]
FAQ
Can you visit Juneau without a cruise? Yes, and honestly we’d recommend it. Fly in — Alaska Airlines has daily nonstops from Seattle and Anchorage, and Delta flies the Seattle route seasonally. We mixed carriers (Alaska out, Delta home) purely on price; airline loyalty doesn’t buy you much on this route. You also get the town to yourself in the evenings after the ships leave.
Do you need a rental car in Juneau? Mostly no. We used Uber for five days without any trouble — airport, Mendenhall, downtown, Auke Bay. We rented a car for exactly one day to drive the road system, and one day was the right amount.
How do you get to Mendenhall Glacier without a car? Uber from downtown or the airport, about 15 minutes. There’s also a city bus that gets close, and paid glacier shuttles in summer.
Is September a good time to visit Juneau? It’s a trade-off. Expect highs in the low-to-mid 50s°F and drizzle or fog most days — we got plenty — but the fog honestly makes the fjords look better, the cruise crowds thin out, and the whales are still around. Bring a real rain jacket, not an umbrella.
Can you still cruise Tracy Arm? Access changed after an August 2025 landslide. Big cruise ships are skipping it in 2026, and many small-boat tours now go to Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier instead, which offers a similar experience. Confirm the route with your operator before you book.
How much does 5 days in Juneau cost? For the two of us: about $963 in flights from Chicago, $942 for the hotel, $134 for the one-day car rental, and roughly $1,510 in tours (Tracy Arm, whale watching, Taku Lodge). Call it $1,900 per person before food. The tours are most of the budget, but they’re also the trip. [CONFIRM ballpark food/Uber spend to firm this up]
Is the Taku Lodge floatplane worth it at $400+ per person? For us, yes — it was the most expensive thing we did and we’d do it again. You get the flight over five glaciers, the floatplane landing itself, a fresh salmon lunch somewhere you can’t reach any other way, and time to wander the trails around a hundred-year-old lodge. If you only splurge on one thing in Juneau, make it this.
Internal links: Acadia post (national-park trip type) once categories are set up.
Spokes this hub will feed (write after publishing, in this order):
- Do You Need a Rental Car in Juneau? — expands the Uber/one-day-rental answer
- Is the Taku Lodge Floatplane Worth It? — expands the FAQ verdict into a full honest review
- Tracy Arm vs. Endicott Arm After the 2025 Landslide — the timely one; write it soon, it has a news tailwind
- Visiting Juneau Without a Cruise: Flights, Costs & Logistics from the Lower 48