Juneau Ferry punctuality and airport
Jan 2, 2009, 5:19 pm
#1
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Juneau Ferry punctuality and airport
I am planning a trip to Alaska. I have a few of questions about transportation options:
I am planning to take Alaska Ferry to Skagway and retrun.
Upon retruning to Juneau, I am considering catching a flight (approx 3 hours after arrival) to my next destination. Is this realistic? Are ferries on-time (generally?)?
Also, will it be practical to go from ferry terminal to airport? How much time does the trip take, what options are avaiable?
Thanks for your time and assistance.
ffm
I am planning to take Alaska Ferry to Skagway and retrun.
Upon retruning to Juneau, I am considering catching a flight (approx 3 hours after arrival) to my next destination. Is this realistic? Are ferries on-time (generally?)?
Also, will it be practical to go from ferry terminal to airport? How much time does the trip take, what options are avaiable?
Thanks for your time and assistance.
ffm
Last edited by ffmhoarder; Jan 2, 2009 at 5:20 pm Reason: typos
Jan 3, 2009, 7:00 am
#2
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I'm not familiar with the Southeast ferries, but in my (limited) experience with the Southcentral ferries (Valdez-Whittier), the boats generally do run on time. I'm not sure how often storms and rough waters get in the way of on-time performance, but the Inside Passage is pretty well protected and, while it rains a lot in the area, I don't think they get major storms very often.
Wikitravel mentions something about an MGT bus service that serves the AMHS terminal, the airport, and downtown. Might be worth looking into that further.
Wikitravel mentions something about an MGT bus service that serves the AMHS terminal, the airport, and downtown. Might be worth looking into that further.
Jan 4, 2009, 5:18 pm
#4
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I've made that connection in Juneau many times. Three hours should be plenty, and there are cabs that meet every incoming ferry in Juneau. JNU is only about a 10 minute drive from the ferry terminal.
95% of the time you can set your watch to the punctuality of the ferries. When there is some kind of delay, you are usually notified far in advance so it's not that hard to make alternate arrangements.
If you're traveling in summer than weather on the ferry system will be a non-issue.
95% of the time you can set your watch to the punctuality of the ferries. When there is some kind of delay, you are usually notified far in advance so it's not that hard to make alternate arrangements.
If you're traveling in summer than weather on the ferry system will be a non-issue.
Jan 5, 2009, 5:57 pm
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I don't know if we're talking about the same AMHS, but I would hardly state that I could set my watch by the punctuality of ferries in Southeast. My last job looked out on the ferry terminal, and PLENTY of times it was far from on time. The Southeast routes aren't so much affected by weather, but by tides. They really have to time it just so or it could mean delays of hours. (that's way you'll often see departures at 3 am). Three hours should be okay, but I would be far more comfortable with more time.
Jan 6, 2009, 2:58 am
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ferry timing
Appreciate the feed back and input.
I also now know why some ferries leave to HNS at an ungodly 4:30 AM hour.
I think I'll end up with roughly 4 hrs to make an AS connection. I think that should work.
Do they still have that tv channel that shows how foggy it can get? I think my flight might be the problem I'm not worrying about!
Thanks again
I also now know why some ferries leave to HNS at an ungodly 4:30 AM hour.
I think I'll end up with roughly 4 hrs to make an AS connection. I think that should work.
Do they still have that tv channel that shows how foggy it can get? I think my flight might be the problem I'm not worrying about!
Thanks again
Jan 6, 2009, 10:56 am
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If you decide to do it just have a backup plan in place and be ready to use it - living here, my experience is that the ferries are not as reliable and punctual as some are making them out to be. Summer with the day boat operating is better but there were numerous days when the ferry was late and the day boat has been out of service for a period of time each summer from hitting logs in the water and such. As for flights, fog is usually more of an issue in the fall, if you are here in the summer I wouldn't worry about it as much.
May 12, 2009, 12:14 pm
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May 12, 2009, 7:53 pm
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Ferry schedule revisions
Thanks for the update. This is the second substantial change/cancelation of JNU to SGY service in about a month or so.
Service changes have thrown a monkey wrench into my trip. Fortunately I've had some time to react and plan for alternatives. A combo of Ferry and Wings of Alaska.
Not too sure about small aircraft though on Wings. We'll see how it works out.
May 13, 2009, 9:15 am
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But Wings is VERY strict on their weight limits (I forget what they are but I had to pay a little excess baggage fee with all my camera equipment putting me overweight).
John
May 13, 2009, 11:19 am
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May 14, 2009, 8:07 pm
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May 15, 2009, 12:55 am
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Would it be practical to make 1 1/2 hour connection between the ferry and airport (or airport and ferry) in Juneau or Sitka? Seems like they would close enough, if a taxi is available, just don't know if the ferry's are typically that punctual.
May 15, 2009, 10:54 am
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I wouldn't attempt this unless I was prepeared to miss my flight and wait around for the next and I knew that the next flight had availability.