bobabcd

We did the HAL excursion. Not worth the difference in price. Others walked up the day in port and purchased tickets without a problem. They also had the advantage of returning almost immediately rather than being stuck for the nearly 1.5 hours at the destination hotel. I won't go into details but that was not a great excursion.

Sit on the right leaving the station for the best views or the left on the return. Don't sit in the very front or the rear car because there is a stop midway with a great view but it is hard to get in and out from either extreme end of the train for that stop.

The views are worth the trip. The hotel was not worth the extra cost for the HAL excursion.

There is no transportation needed to get to the train as it is right next to the dock.