Doing a Sapphire Princess cruise/land tour of AK end of July and wondering which Mendenhall Glacier tour is the best bang for the buck. We'd like to get as close as possible, but not spend a ton of $, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Take a shuttle bus from the ship to the town, and another shuttle to the glacier. You will see the same without overpaying. Unless you want to really walk on the glacier, then you need to pay for a helicopter tour.

Dayenu - Thanks for the info! Would you see just as much on the land tour as the float or canoe tours in the lake there?

We are doing sapphire too on August 1. What are doing for a shuttle from Anchorage to Whitter?//

Suzie, I don't know, never been on a canoe.

millsy5, Our cruise/land tour package includes Princess coach transfers to and from airports, train and lodge in Denali.

Dayenu, We decided to do the shuttles to the glacier and see how it goes. thanks

You might want to look at combo tours that includes Mendenhall. We did a Whale watching and Mendenhall combo with the Salmon bake a few years back.

You get the closest view with the canoe trip, the least view with the float trip. With the shuttle, the new Nugget Falls trail is open which brings you right up to the water falls, along the lake. The Photo Point trail is a superb view.

So yes, Mendenhall is worth a look IF you have the time. There is plenty else to consider which may be a better choice depending you your touring priorities.

Thanks for the advice on Mendenhall, BudgetQueen! BTW I've also appreciated all your comments and recommendations I've read on CruiseCritic!

We decided to take the bus to Mendenhall and hike around at our leisure. I'd rather take lots of photos instead of rowing a canoe anyway! So glad the Nugget Falls trail is open as well - lots more photo ops.

Sailing in 2 days - can hardly concentrate my last two days at work!