1. How to Get to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau

    If visiting Juneau in Alaska then a trip to Mendenhall Glacier will more than likely be on your list of places to visit whilst there. There is usually the option of an organised tour which will always work out more expensive than touring independently. However your time at the Glacier itself will then be very limited – the day I visited there were some people on a tour who were given twenty minutes total which is not enough time by far to see most things.

    This blog post was written after my Alaskan cruise in June 2013. Since then the price for this bus journey is now $79 round trip making it incredibly expensive. The one cheap way to still visit the Mendenhall Glacier is to take the public bus and be dropped about a mile away from the glacier. If you do not mind the walk, this is a good option.

    There is however a very easy way to visit the Mendenhall Glacier and to make things even better, it works out much cheaper than the tours that are offered. The blue MGT Glacier Express bus picks up from just outside the entrance to the Mount Roberts Tramway. This is where most ships dock too. However if your ship arrives in Juneau at the AJ Dock (I sailed on the Disney Wonder which did) then there is a shuttle bus from that drops off right by the Tramway.

    To buy your bus tickets, head to one of the many booths which offer tours of Juneau. Look for the large white sign that says “Glacier Express $8 Each Way” – the booth is situated in the very centre of the row in this photo. I bought return tickets here to save buying them on the way back.

    MendenhallBusJuneau1

    When buying the tickets, they will let you know what time the next bus is due and point you in the direction of the bus stop which is located by the ticket booths. The bus really is blue in colour so it is very easy to spot so you do not need to worry about boarding the wrong bus. The journey takes about twenty minutes and goes direct to the Mendenhall Glacier with no stops along the way. The driver gave us a lot of information about Juneau itself as well as the return bus times.

    MendenhallBusJuneau2MendenhallBusJuneau3
    MendenhallBusJuneau4MendenhallBusJuneau5

    The bus will drop you off just across the road from the Visitor Center. At the Mendenhall Glacier, you only have to pay if you wish to go inside the Visitor Center – there is no charge to walk the trails or go to the photo points.

    You can read about my trip to the Mendenhall Glacier in this blog post.

    MendenhallBusJuneau6

    The bus picks up at the same place where it drops off on the other side of the road to the Visitor Center – you can see the bus stop in the last photo. I hope some of you will find this information useful – enjoy Juneau!

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    13 thoughts on “How to Get to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau”

    1. sherry

      I read that you paid $8.00 each way to get to the glacier. I just paid $94.00 rt for myself and my husband. MGT Glacier Express charges $45 pp. on their website. You must have gone many years ago.

      Sherry

      Reply ↓
      1. Nikki Post author

        Yes I visited Alaska in 2013 – and wow $94 for two people is a ridiculous amount of money compared to what it used to cost. Though I believe you can also now take the public bus for a couple of dollars each and be dropped about a mile away from the glacier – if you do not mind the walk, this is a good option.

        https://juneaucapitaltransit.org

        Reply ↓
      1. Nikki Post author

        Hi Jim. If you read the first paragraph in the post that I added last year – you’ll see that the price has changed slightly since 2013. It’s now $45 pp round trip now.

        Reply ↓
    3. Sam

      Thanks for the blog post with pictures, Nikki.

      Wow, so it has gone up 500% since 2013. The Mt Roberts tramway has doubled in a year too.

      Reply ↓
      1. Nikki Post author

        You’re welcome Sam. I keep losing track of the price changes as they keep going up. I’ll add updating this post to my list of things to do 🙂

        Reply ↓
    4. Bhavna Patel

      Hi Nikki

      I am visiting Juneau on a cruise June 2024. You mentioned a bus drop off a mile away from the glacier, costing only a couple of dollars. Do you know where I can catch this bus if I am at the cruise port please?

      Thank you
      Bav

      Reply ↓
      1. Nikki Post author

        Hi Bhavna I haven’t been to Juneau since 2013 but by looking at Google Maps, the closest bus stop to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Centre is here – the bus runs from Downtown Juneau every thirty minutes and it will be a 1.5 mile walk from the bus stop.

        Reply ↓
    6. Sulekha

      Thank You for the information Nikki. Has anyone taken the public bus recently? If yes, can you share how was the experience?

      Reply ↓

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