On a recent cruise to several ports in Alaska, we stopped in Hoonah for a half-day disembarkment from the ship. While initially disappointed in the lack of activities and sights to visit to pass the time in this small town, our last-minute excursion through Hoonah ATV Tours ended up being one of the biggest highlights of our trip.
ATV-riding has become my husband and I's "thing" to do on each vacation we embark on. We've ridden through villages of the Dominican Republic and sped through the streams and backroads of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Needless to say, ATVing in Alaska was definitely on this trip's bucket list. However, my husband and I refuse to pay the irrationally high prices of port excursions available to book directly through the cruiseline. We quickly learned the ease and benefit of negotiating with local vendors (who offer the same, if not better, excursion at a significantly discounted rate) after stepping just a few feet away from the ship. This excursion was no exception to that and we were happy to support a local family-owned business.
After taking a $5 shuttle a mile or so into town, we were thrilled to see signage advertising local ATV rentals and immediately stopped to speak with Joe (the cool and friendly owner and manager of Hoonah ATV Tours). The price seriously couldn't be beat and we had to wait just a few minutes for the ATV we were going to rent to return from a previous customer. Joe walked us through utilizing the provided GPS to navigate to various sights around Hoonah and addressed any safety issues or concerns before Sam and I hit the road on our self-guided adventure for over an hour.
The ATV was easy to drive and we felt safe the entire time. There were so many different routes and roads to take and it was awesome to be able to create your own excursion as your time with the ATV is self-guided. You can select various "points of interest" to ride to by clicking on them on the GPS or simply ride around at your leisure. So many great photos were captured during our excursion as you encounter such incredible views of
Alaska and local wildlife and vegetation. We even stumbled across an awesome view of our cruise ship from several miles away.
I highly recommend renting through Hoonah ATV Tours and I have also promoted them to fellow cruises heading that way in the near future. This excursion is perfect for anyone - singles, couples, families, etc. - and it does not require much exertion. Plan to get a little dusty as the ATV is not fully enclosed and most of your trip is spent on dirt roads. However, that is all part of the fun and adventure (and it makes for great vacation photos). Be sure to book as soon as you get into town as the number of ATVs can be limited and it's a highly-coveted experience. Thank you Joe and Hoonah ATV Tours for the lifelong awesome vacation memories! read more