Juneau, Alaska - Mendenhall Glacier by Public Bus - What to Do on Your Day in Port

[@SyedBarey]

Most critics never contribute anything constructive to society. If you pay attention to the nay sayers, then wonderful videos like this would never be produced

[@PortMonkeys]

Thank You. We weren’t aware there was a problem. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@tymemclight2756]

That plant has thorns on it. It's called Devil's Club.

[@PortMonkeys]

Good thing we didn’t touch it. Thanks. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@Upperleftcoasttreelover]

I used to live in Juneau. MY IT HAS CHANGED 😢

[@PortMonkeys]

We were there about 30 years ago and we agree. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@jerfurt8501]

I’m a local and had a full-time job in downtown Juneau. After work I had to catch a bus home. The bus was always full of tourist and I had to stand up all the way home 45 minutes. I had to stand up 45 minutes on the bus so all these turns could sit down. I worked hard and sick me just sickened me!

[@PortMonkeys]

We had no idea this was an issue when we made the video. A lot of tourists want to visit Mendenhall but don’t want to spend $50-$100 each.

[@cooks128]

I get it, I grew up in seasonal ski town but money saved on things like transportation more then likely is going spent elsewhere Juneau. As local can you give some advice the renting E-bikes instead of using the city busses or the tour busses? We have our first cruise beginning of August 2025 would much prefer to rent a couple E-bikes as we love riding our analog bikes and thought to maximize our time to visit the glacier as well as use in town this might be a great idea or a very bad idea. My initial research is I can rent locally for 90 dollars each bike for for 8 hours, which I would prefer this over $90 per person for tour busses. The range for pedal assist E-bikes is around 80 miles....would this be sufficient to take from the port to the glacier visitor center, back to town and touring around town? Thank you in advance.

[@kaleilw]

Come to Juneau (where the infrastructure hasn't kept pace with the exploding number of tourists arriving by cruise ship and the coach buses crowd the streets and highways with overwhelming smog) to overload the city buses so that locals can't get to work on time. Sounds like a plan.

[@PortMonkeys]

We didn’t know that it was an issue. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@stephenbromirski5323]

There is also an elevator up to the visitor center.

[@PortMonkeys]

Yes, there is! Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@kegarner1012]

Thanks for this information. My cruise is not until Sept 2025, but I am beginning to determine that weather reports are only good for about 6 hrs. 🙂

[@PortMonkeys]

In almost every port, the weather report from the day before was inaccurate. It was supposed to be snowing in Glacier Bay, but it was sunny. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@richardshanelilly802]

We are going in September of 2025 to

[@jerryanngray7794]

Do not use the city busses Inn Juneau as a cheap way to see thee Glacier. PLEASE. When tourists get on the bus, the drivers are forced to leave people trying to get their kid to a sitter to get to work. Because the bus is full of tourists, people trying to get home after work, are left at stranded at the bus stops. People trying to get to dental appointments or doctor appointments, are left at the bus stop. A mother who had to go shopping is stuck at the bus stop. Let's hope she can still make it home before her kids get dropped off after a friend took them on an outing.

[@PortMonkeys]

When we took the city bus, we did not realize this was an issue. I would bus was not too crowded. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@HOlsen-xe1xy]

That sure was clear water in the pond.

[@PortMonkeys]

Yes, it was.

[@pumpkinoliveros4147]

Love your videos I will be going to juneau in 3 weeks and I also bought a gopro 12 and I'm new to it I have been playing with it but still confused and would like to know what settings you used for this video because it looks amazing. I don't want to mess up my memories of juneau. I've never flown before, so it's my first and probably my only trip I'll ever do, lol. I have to get things right the first time. Your videos have helped a lot. Thank you for sharing your beautiful trip.

[@PortMonkeys]

Hi, we use these settings most often on our GoPro: 1080P - 120 FPS - and the lens set to Linear + Horizon Leveling. Our newest GoPro is a 10. We are not familiar with the settings on a GoPro 12. We imagine they’re the same. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Our email is [e-mail]. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@stevemattson4863]

Big changes in the last ten years since I was there,wouldn’t be surprised if it isn’t closed soon.

[@GratefulEd907]

I saw something about not having cruise ships one day a week in the summer. So only 6 days a week. That could hurt the local economy a bit for sure

[@PortMonkeys]

It is very crowded when five ships are in port. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@keisha4620]

❤ thanks for sharing ☺️

[@PortMonkeys]

Our pleasure 😊 Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@JoBoehme-zu1fj]

I’ve lived in Juneau AK for 30 years. Our city has sold its soul to cruise tourism. Please do not ride our city bus, locals need it for basic daily transport. Please plan to pay for tours or rent a car for the day instead. Please know your cruise line’s pollution report card & don’t be surprised to see residents protesting against cruise ships’ air and water pollution record. Glacier flight seeing by helicopter creates incessant noise pollution over neighborhoods… hundreds a day. Whale watching tours are clogging our harbors, some days up to 80 commercial whale watching boats chase as few as 10 humpback whales. Juneau City Assembly allows overtourism and is rapidly degrading the experience for small ships and independent tourists. Please chose to be a responsible tourist in Juneau, AK.

[@PortMonkeys]

Why does Juneau allow it?

[@SuperGnarlyRadicalFireBall]

Please do not use the public bus in Juneau, its a small town that can barely handle tourists and many...and I mean MANY times locals are kicked off or not allowed on the local bus due to the amount of tourists using them.

[@gearlucy7433]

My friends are often kicked off and are unable to make it to work because of the tourists some of the bus drivers even slow down and pull over as if its a tourist coach LOL, people we have places to be!

[@PortMonkeys]

We had no idea. Locals should have priority.

[@scottklein2583]

Then don’t charge 80-90 dollars for a bus/shuttle ride to see Gods work. 180 dollars for 2 people. Not many people can afford this. Would you do it?

[@LisaMyers-j7l]

@@scottklein2583 If you can afford a cruise, you can afford a tour bus in ports. These locals are single parents, elders, folks trying to get to the low paying jobs that’s the only things standing between them and homelessness. Although go ahead. We locals amuse ourselves watching tourists staggering from the glacier to bus stop in pouring rain and roll our eyes at the decision to waste half your port day to save $40.

[@4X4OutdoorAdventures]

I live here and when I go to other places I use there public transportation.

[@BostonsRandJ]

Are there UBERS or taxis available?

[@PortMonkeys]

A taxi from Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area takes 23 min and costs $35 - $45 each way. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@Upperleftcoasttreelover]

Awww, you didn’t say anything about Romeo.

[@PortMonkeys]

Romeo?

[@Upperleftcoasttreelover]

@@PortMonkeys he was a lone black wolf that lived in the Mendenhall valley for several years (2003-2009) until poachers killed him :( I never saw him but many others did. However, one snowy, sunny February afternoon when I went walking at the glacier, I heard him howling 💚 I’ll never forget it! Anyway, the guys who did it were arrested and funds were raised to bring his body back “home” and it took a while but they eventually commissioned an artist/taxidermist to make him look as much like he did when he was alive and he now rests above the exit door as seen in your video ;) Such a sad story. He was such an important party of the ecology there and touched many lives, directly and indirectly.

[@PortMonkeys]

@@Upperleftcoasttreelover We added it to the description on our video post. We hope you don't mind we mentioned your comment in the post.

[@matthewchu8221]

Is there any washrooms nearby?

[@PortMonkeys]

Yes, in the visitor center. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@HOlsen-xe1xy]

A Costco with no pizza!!!!

[@PortMonkeys]

How sad for the people ofJuneau.

[@alvarohiguero]

Great videos . However you should try not to film other people, as they may not be interested in appearing in your videos also … it seems that you were narrating during the whole bus ride which can be annoying to other passengers. You should try to include that audio post production instead

[@PortMonkeys]

We try to not record any people in our videos, but sometimes they appear. We narrated for about a minute out of an hour long drive. Thank you for your comments and thank you for subscribing to our channel.

[@patrickcalabro4386]

Shut up! Your the worst type of person