Chilkoot Tours-Train first or Bus first

[CStorm]

We are booking the Chilkoot tour in Swagway Yukon Rail and Bus with Dogcart experience. I was leaning towards train first because I have a paranoia about something happening and us not getting back to the ship, that way we have an extra hour because it starts at 730. I think the train crashed? last year and people were stranded. I book all of my tours independently so I probably just need to have the faith we will get back on time. All things considered, which do you think is better the train first or the bus first or does it even matter?

 

Thanks!

[bonvoyagie]

I know that you are worried that you will miss the ship - and because you are on an independent tour they will not wait for you.

 

First if you are worried about the train, you should be equally worried about the rest of the journey by bus - far more could happen on the hy.

 

A couple of things to ease your mind - or not :D - the all aboard time is 1/2 hr before the published sail time - this partly to allow for late tours. The ship will not wait much longer than that - lots of factors here like how many people are missing - how long to the next port - all weigh into the captains decision on how long to wait. And sometimes they don't wait. The other thing to keep in mind is that the ship's tours are right there with you - if something blocks the hy or the train has an accident they are right there with you - so the ship would wait (or not). Chilkoot will get you to the next port if they cause you to miss your ship. You might miss a day however as some ships tour Glacier Bay right after Skagway and the next port may be days away.

 

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you :D

 

Now to answer your question about the train ride.

I actually prefer the uphill train ride - the ride is slightly less jerky as you are climbing the hill instead of trying to keep the brakes on. But the chances of it being foggy in the AM are greater than the PM.

[notus]

There's likely to be ship excursions in other cars on the train both ways. Our tour was up (to Bennett Lake) by van and back by train. There was thick, thick fog in the morning on the way up. Beautiful on the train back down.

[Budget Queen]

If you truly are taking the YUKON train, you don't have a choice on direction, only one direction per day.

 

IF you are referring to the Fraser/White Pass train route- this does NOT go into the Yukon.

 

As for direction- I've done both many times, Fog can and does happen ANY time. The "morning" mentions that are sometimes reported are myths. :) The views are also very different- in my opinion, depending on the direction. Equally scenic.

 

Take the earlier train, if you can't get past the "miss the ship" ideas. :)

[librarymom]

We just did bus up and train back with Chilkoot. We chose that direction mainly because we prefer starting an hour later at 830. The whole tour actually took 8 hours because construction made all of the buses late to the train. Chilkoot has one car on the train. The rest of the train is filled with cruise ship passengers, so don't worry. The ship won't leave missing a few hundred people. We had a great time on this trip.

[CStorm]

The rest of the train is filled with cruise ship passengers, so don't worry. The ship won't leave missing a few hundred people. We had a great time on this trip.

 

I knew there would be other cruise passengers on the excursion from everything I've read but I didn't put 2 and 2 together that the ship would try not to leave without them and we would essentially be with them. I'm feeling better already :D. I think I'm going with bus up, train back. That way I know I will be with other cruise passengers for the last leg of the tour. Not to mention, I like the extra hour to have a bite to eat.

[CStorm]

If you truly are taking the YUKON train, you don't have a choice on direction, only one direction per day.

 

IF you are referring to the Fraser/White Pass train route- this does NOT go into the Yukon.

 

 

Budget Queen, you know better than me what cruise I'm taking :). I'm just going with the name they call it online. Either way, I'm looking forward to it :D.

 

Thanks, as always!

[Budget Queen]

Budget Queen, you know better than me what cruise I'm taking :). I'm just going with the name they call it online. Either way, I'm looking forward to it :D.

 

Thanks, as always!

 

It's about details with some descriptions, which I try to, always, be clear on, with my answers. I do not want my information to lead to wrong assumptions. There are two different train distances, reason for my post.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Budget Queen

[TinCan782]

If you do the "Bennett Scenic Journey" it depends on what day of the week you are in port. Last July, we hit Skagway on a Wednesday and it was train up (all the way to Carcross). The next day, it would be bus up to Carcross and train back to Skagway. We did the trip via Chilkoot.

Edited May 31, 2015 by TinCan782

[xlxo]

First if you are worried about the train, you should be equally worried about the rest of the journey by bus - far more could happen on the hy.

 

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you :D

 

Now to answer your question about the train ride.

I actually prefer the uphill train ride - the ride is slightly less jerky as you are climbing the hill instead of trying to keep the brakes on. But the chances of it being foggy in the AM are greater than the PM.

I agree the road delays are more likely than train delays.

 

I prefer bus up and train down..... yes, to avoid the morning fog.

[emeraldcity]

I booked the bus first and then the train ... I like the extra hour that it gives me in the morning to have a more leisurely breakfast and then depart the ship after the big rush.

[Budget Queen]

I agree the road delays are more likely than train delays.

 

I prefer bus up and train down..... yes, to avoid the morning fog.

 

Not sure how many times you have done this trip (with the preference mention- sounds like at least twice) but I have experienced, afternoon fogged out trips. Last year I went up to Carcross 6 times, including a Lake Bennett train trip and Fraser train trip. 2 days had afternoon fog- with one of those fog in the morning (all day). I had 4 clear day trips. This has happened on earlier trips as well. Clear trip this year.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Budget Queen

[dz63]

I agree the road delays are more likely than train delays.

 

I prefer bus up and train down..... yes, to avoid the morning fog.

 

I was also wondering if it would be better to take the train or bus first. If it's foggy would the fog affect both the train and bus route...or does the train route tend to get more fog than the bus route?:confused:

[xlxo]

The bus or Klondike highway is on the West side of the canyon. The train travels on the East side of the canyon.

 

There is more to see on the East side of the canyon.... it's preferred to take that segment when it's clear.

 

The White Pass trail is only 12 inches wide.... visible only by train on the East side.

[LoriPhil]

We have taken Chilkoot Tours twice, both with bus up/train down and enjoyed it greatly. Booking it again for our cruise this spring.

[dz63]

The bus or Klondike highway is on the West side of the canyon. The train travels on the East side of the canyon.

 

There is more to see on the East side of the canyon.... it's preferred to take that segment when it's clear.

 

The White Pass trail is only 12 inches wide.... visible only by train on the East side.

 

Thanks so much for the clarification. This makes alot of sense and helps me to understand the difference between the train and bus route.

[sskate]

We had wanted to book the train first tour so that we can still have a bit more time to see the city before boarding the ship, but both train first tours organized by the cruise and Chilkoot were full ( it is noted that there wasn't even one booking for the bus first tour organized by cruise when the train first tour was full), so in the end, we booked the bus first tour.  We will be back to town at 5:00 pm, will the shops still open at that time?  How late do shops open?  We are going in May.  Also, how far is the town center from the train station and the dock?  Are there any transportation between the town centre and the dock?  Thank you so much.

[capriccio]

We've done the train up and bus down twice (once to Fraser and once to Emerald Lake) with Chilkoot.  Both times they had the last train car reserved for their passengers.  The scenery out the back viewing platform as we went up the mountain was incredible!

[Elvis1001]

Last June we did the Bennett Lake Excursion through Chilkoot and throughly enjoyed both bus and train portions. We chose bus first because it left later at 9:30 in the morning. Since we were unsure of what would be open when we returned we got off the ship around 7:30 and walked about 1/2 mile from the Ore Dock to the WP&Y train station and the Alaska T-shirt Company. Both places were already open (in June) so we did some shopping and returned to the ship to drop our packages before our 9:30 pickup time. At the end of a long 8-hour day we returned to Skagway about 5:30 with enough time to walk five blocks to Skagway Brewing for a Spruce Tip Blond Ale then walk maybe 3/4 mile back to our ship at the Ore Dock before our all aboard time (around 7:30 I think). So in June the shops were still open at 5:30, but also keep in mind your ship may leave earlier than ours did last June. Unfortunately I don't know what hours the shops keep in May.

Just FYI we were not assigned the last car on the train on our visit, we were assigned the second to last car. I think Chilkoot had two cars that day since our car was only the 18 passengers on our bus and there was another Chilkoot bus. Because our car was only half-full there was plenty of space on the open platforms at both ends of our car for those wishing to stand outside and take photo's from the train. I also had a long conversation with the brakeman on our train, who was hanging out in our car because there were so many empty seats. BTW the railroad does not let passengers walk between cars or change cars and the cars ahead of ours were nearly full. Anyway the bus and train portions are both spectacular.