Icy Strait Point to Hoonah shuttle is easy! 🏔 Alaska cruise travel blog

Hi there!

One of the things you can do when you are in Icy Strait Point cruise port is to take the shuttle to the town of Hoonah.

Icy Strait Point is considered one of the best cruise ports for whale watching in Alaska.

So that’s what I did.

After the whale watching tour, the main thing I did was go from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah.

There are 2 main ways to get from Icy Strait Point cruise port to the town of Hoonah.

How to get from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah

• Hoonah town shuttle
• Hoonah Sea Walk

If you walk from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah, you’ll be walking a path that is directly alongside the same road that the shuttle bus takes to get to Hoonah town.

I walked from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah, and then I took the shuttle back.

I think it was a 20-30 minute walk.

How long does the Hoonah shuttle ride?

It will take around 5 minutes on the shuttle bus to get to Hoonah from Icy Strait Point.

How much does the shuttle to Hoonah cost?

The cost of the shuttle from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah is $5 for a round trip ticket.

Of course, prices can change! This is how it was when I went to Icy Strait Point and Hoonah in May 2023.

👆 How do you buy tickets for the Hoonah shuttle? You will buy Hoonah shuttle tickets from the ticket booth at Icy Strait Point.

What if you want a one-way ticket to Hoonah?

They don’t sell one-way tickets.

I was told I wouldn’t be able to buy the ticket on the shuttle in Hoonah.

Again, this could change, but this is how it was when I was there.

So if you want to walk to Hoonah, and take the shuttle back, then you will want to buy the shuttle ticket before you leave.

They only sell Hoonah shuttle tickets at the ticket booth in Icy Strait Point, and you can’t buy the shuttle tickets on the shuttle.

Inside the Hoonah shuttle bus

The Hoonah shuttle is basically an old school bus.

Should you go to Hoonah?

Walking through the town of Hoonah, I honestly felt like it could have been any regular small rural American town or street that you might drive through if you’re driving through rural America not on the highway… except it’s on the water I guess… and it has mountain views. 😆

So the highlight was the Hoonah Sea Walk, not particularly the town of Hoonah itself.

But if you want to see a small rural American town, then you may find it to be a nice way to have an easy-going day in Icy Strait Point by walking around.

When in Hoonah, I walked along the coast a little bit, and then I went to the Fisherman’s Daughter for fish tacos.

Apparently they are known for their halibut tacos, so try that!

Hoonah ambassador talk on Princess cruise ships

Similar to Princess naturalists, the Hoonah ambassador on a Princess cruise ship is an enrichment speaker to enhance your Alaska cruise.

The Hoonah ambassador will allow you to learn about Native Alaskan culture directly from a Native Alaskan.

On my Princess cruise ship, it was someone from the Native Alaskan Tlingit tribe who is a descendant of a high ranking member (chief!) of the Tlingits.

There was also special meaning because I heard the Tlingit tribe referenced a few times throughout my time in Alaska, so I had more of a basic familiarity with it!

In particular, you may hear about the Tlingit tribe on Glacier Bay National Park day.

So if you’re going to Icy Strait Point on a Princess cruise, then check the onboard cruise activities (aka journeyview on the Princess app or the Princess Patter paper version of entertainment) to see if there is a speaker session by a Hoonah ambassador.

More below about the shuttle to Hoonah!

🏔

And now…

Here’s a bit of what it will look like to take the Hoonah shuttle!

The Icy Strait Point cruise port is not difficult to navigate.

It is basically a cruise port that was made just for cruisers.

“Walking around” the Icy Strait Point cruise port basically is walking a boardwalk along the coastline… beautiful!

Depending on where your cruise ship docks, you might first want to take the Icy Strait Point gondola down to the Icy Strait Point boardwalk. Otherwise, you can just take the Icy Strait Point nature trail to get there too.

If your cruise ship docks at the spot that is near the boardwalk, well, basically you can walk straight there from the cruise ship.

👆 If you keep following the boardwalk along the coastline, you’ll get to the Crab House of Icy Strait Point. But to catch the Hoonah town shuttle, you’ll turn left. Just follow the signs for the town shuttle!

Then as you keep walking, you’ll first see the Icy Strait Point donut shack, and then beyond that will be the Hoonah shuttle ticket booth!

👆 You buy tickets for the Hoonah shuttle bus at the ticket booth. Off to the right is where you will go if you want to walk to Hoonah. You might want to start off walking this way a little bit anyway even if you’re taking the shuttle so that you can grab a Hoonah map before you go!

Once you have bought your Hoonah shuttle bus ticket, you will head to the shuttle bus stop to the left of the ticket booth.

And then you will get on the bus and go to Hoonah!

Hoonah to Icy Strait Point

If you’re taking the shuttle to Hoonah, you’ll know where to go to get the shuttle back to Icy Strait Point.

Otherwise, I was told to get the shuttle back to Icy Strait Point from in front of the Icy Strait Point brewery.

So that’s where I went when I was ready to go back to the cruise port.

👆 The red building is Icy Strait Brewing, which is near the Hoonah shuttle bus stop.

👆 The bus stop in Hoonah.

What if your original plan was to walk both ways, but when you get to Hoonah you decide you don’t want to walk back?

Well, the reality was that tickets were not checked when getting on the bus in Hoonah to go back to Icy Strait Point, for the bus I got on.

Of course, if you know in advance you will be taking the shuttle one-way from Hoonah to Icy Strait Point, you should buy the ticket before you go!

But in my personal opinion, I somehow doubt that the shuttle bus driver is going to deny you from getting on the bus…

If anything, there is a tip jar for the bus driver, so…

And that’s a bit about taking the Hoonah town shuttle!

Read about my Alaska cruises:

• Alaska cruise from Vancouver (with Icy Strait Point)
• Vancouver to Anchorage cruise

HAPPY HOONAH SHUTTLE BUS RIDE FROM ICY STRAIT POINT!