Zipline better in alaska?

[cigarboo]

I was set on doing the grizzly bear zipline in skagway, because of all the great reviews on tripadvisor. We are 3 adults and 4 tweens(14,13,13,11). Thought it would be more fun and exciting than the train ride, but now I'm thinking maybe we should do stuff more unique to alaska, which means perhaps we should reconsider the train. I am afraid the 4 kids would get really bored looking at scenery for 3hrs.

 

My question is, is zip lining "better" in alaska than any other place? We've never zip lined before and thought doing it in Alaska might make it special. Locally, I can do zip lining for $50-70p/p, over alligators and what not. Not sure if I would actually have a better experience in alaska, or just paying a lot more.

 

Since zip lining is in every port, is there one better than the other? For anyone who has done grizzly falls in skagway, is there something special? Or do all zip line excursions get high ratings because it's fun, regardless of where you zip?

[sherryf]

Personally, I'm afraid of heights and will probably never go ziplining, but I've never really understood why people go all the way to Alaska and then go ziplining instead of doing something more "Alaska". Maybe I just don't understand it because I've never done it.

 

Then again, I can see why you would think your teens might be bored on the train. There's a lot of history to be seen and learned on the train ride, but if that isn't of interest to them, they might not enjoy it.

 

We are taking 4 teens/young adults this summer. (15, 18, 18 and 21) Our plan in Skagway is to rent a minivan and drive into the Yukon. We will stop at Caribou Crossing because my daughter really wants to see puppies. We'll go at our own pace and stop where the kids want to stop. My husband and I did the drive a couple of years ago, and were lucky enough to see 3 bears that day, so we hope we might get to see some good wildlife this time too.

 

I've seen a lot of good reviews about the Ocean Raft tour (http://oceanraftalaska.com/) but I couldn't talk my kids into it. Maybe it's adventurous enough for your kids while still being "Alaskan".

[donaldsc]

I have never zip lined but it seems to me that you do zip lining for the quality of the zip line and not for what you zip line over.

 

I also agree with the previous post that it does not make sense to go to AK and then do something that you can do anywhere. If you are in AK, do something that is unique to AK.

 

DON

[evandbob]

Whenever I've zip lined, in the Caribbean or Central America, I was only able to see the big picture of flying over the river or forest or being next to a volcano, but I rarely could see the details like birds or a nest in a tree.

 

I think zip lining is its own experience, and the adrenal rush comes from the sense of speed, not the scenery. It really didn't matter to me where I was when going 50 mph through the air suspended on cables. JMO.

[azrose]

I did zip lining in AK on our first cruise....I always wanted to try it....and thought it would be better to try it in the USA with somewhat safety regulations :D:D The zipping was fun...the rope bridges, not so much :eek:

[cigarboo]

I appreciate all your input and after taking them into consideration, will go with a combo rail and bus to white pass summit. I can always do ziplining close to home. Don't want to miss the must do's since I'll likely not return to alaska for a very long time.

[isaiahsnana]

Ziplining is on my daughter's bucket list, so we are doing the train trip early in the day with all three grandsons, then daughter is taking the oldest grandson (10 y/o) on the afternoon grizzly bear zip! So it is possible to do both on the same day.

[cigarboo]

Since we are a party of 7, 1 excursion per day will already be tight on the budget, so doing 2 would definitely be a no go for us. Although it would be really cool to zipline in alaska, i found a nice place locally to zipline at a fraction of the cost of the alaska ones. If after that, if the kids really want to do it in alaska, I might change our plans. Still don't think I could swing both the zipline and the train, unless we do nothing at the other ports.

[wiiCruz2]

We did the Ziprider Zipline in Icy Strait Point. It was a 45 minute bus ride to the zipline, then a 90 second ride back down to the ship. ... really quite fun, and if your ship stops at Icy Strait Pt, there is not a lot else to do there. Here is a video of our experience

[kpgibbs]

We did zip lining in Ketchican. So much fun. We saw so many eagles....close up. One line ended on a platform in the water. Eagle were catching fish right by us. It's in the rain forest and so pretty.