The first time I traveled via the Alaska State Ferry, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The online ticket booking website was not the smoothest transaction and I couldn’t find much marketing language about the ship or what to expect. But that didn’t stop me. As an adventurer at heart, I decided to take my maiden voyage from Juneau to Sitka.

A couple of things that I wish I would have known before my first trip:

1. Ferry departure / arrival locations: While the locals know exactly where the ferry disembarks and embarks, I had no idea. Silly mistake, I assumed that the ferry would arrive somewhere near each of the airports (the towns are tiny) or in the city center area where the cruise lines stop. They do not. Make sure to Google Map exactly where you need to be to catch the ferry.

2. Car Rentals: Several car rental places will pick up your rental at the ferry terminals. After calling the car rental companies multiple times (to make sure I wasn’t going to just leave the car at the terminal), I realized that this was a common thing for people to do. There’s even a drop box for rental car keys at most ferry terminals.

3. Lining Up to Embark: There was something that felt too easy about getting on the ferry. Around the time when we were to go on the ferry, a mess of cars and people seemed to nonchalantly line up. I had been scrambling around trying to find signs of where to get on the ferry or where my bags needed to be. It took a minute for me to realize that most people have taken the ferry before (again, several of the passengers were locals), and if you just follow their lead, there’s no stress involved. 

If you’re like most people I talk to, you’re wondering if you should brave the ferry or book a flight (most times people are considering a commercial airline flight).