Anybody Not Like White Pass Summit Trip

[MarieF4861]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of booking the 7.5 hour White Pass Summit (train and bus) Trip either through NCL or Chilkoot, but my daughter (not a kid) thinks it is too long and will be boring and uncomfortable. Any thoughts/feedback on this and/or ideas for a shorter tour?

 

Thanks.

Edited February 13, 2016 by MarieF4861

[Budget Queen]

Yep, I sure have seen regrets with taking these tours. They shouldn't have considered them to begin with. A lot of "must do" thinking.

 

It is not for everyone. Why not just split up? Your daughter has made it pretty clear, she is not interested. There are numerous alternatives to consider. Worse idea is to drag someone along who isn't interested.

[paul929207]

Also, it seems to me that there will not be fabulous scenery constantly for 7+ hours. You need to have other ways to occupy yourself. For instance, my wife & I will bring our kindles.

[Budget Queen]

Also, it seems to me that there will not be fabulous scenery constantly for 7+ hours. You need to have other ways to occupy yourself. For instance, my wife & I will bring our kindles.

 

Have you been there and taken these train/road combo tours?

Edited February 13, 2016 by Budget Queen

[Coral]

Also, it seems to me that there will not be fabulous scenery constantly for 7+ hours. You need to have other ways to occupy yourself. For instance, my wife & I will bring our kindles.

 

It actually is fabulous scenery for 7 hours. If you get a clear day, it is gorgeous.

[Coral]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of booking the 7.5 hour White Pass Summit (train and bus) Trip either through NCL or Chilkoot, but my daughter (not a kid) thinks it is too long and will be boring and uncomfortable. Any thoughts/feedback on this and/or ideas for a shorter tour?

 

Thanks.

 

I have seen a lot of people bored when they do the train RT. On the way back they fall asleep (mostly older people) as the scenery is the same. I think the combination of train and bus is great as the scenery is different and on the bus you get outside many times.

 

I don't find it boring or uncomfortable at all. It is quite fascinating. The scenery is gorgeous.

 

If you daughter is not interested - send her off to do something else. You go and enjoy it.

[CowPrincess]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of booking the 7.5 hour White Pass Summit (train and bus) Trip either through NCL or Chilkoot, but my daughter (not a kid) thinks it is too long and will be boring and uncomfortable. Any thoughts/feedback on this and/or ideas for a shorter tour?

 

Thanks.

 

Yep, I sure have seen regrets with taking these tours. They shouldn't have considered them to begin with. A lot of "must do" thinking.

 

It is not for everyone. Why not just split up? Your daughter has made it pretty clear, she is not interested. There are numerous alternatives to consider. Worse idea is to drag someone along who isn't interested.

 

Speaking on behalf of your daughter here :)

 

I have not done that trip, nor do I have any desire to do it :) I have back problems and can't stand the thought of 7 hours on a train.

 

Friends have tried to "guilt" me into doing it a couple of times. Why? I wasn't trying to force them to do something else. They went, I did my own thing.

 

So, if your daughter really doesn't want to do it, and will be okay doing something else while you do the train, go, enjoy, do it. :)

[Cornishpastyman1]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of booking the 7.5 hour White Pass Summit (train and bus) Trip either through NCL or Chilkoot, but my daughter (not a kid) thinks it is too long and will be boring and uncomfortable. Any thoughts/feedback on this and/or ideas for a shorter tour?

 

Thanks.

This is that tour. There's plenty of variety on the bus part, with lots of photo stops and the time at Carcross. I would say the maximum time spent in the bus was the final 40 minutes on the way home. I loved the day. All the best with whatever you decide to do, Tony

 

[YOUTUBE]3WSaRzt5N0Q[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]aFpz4AHOcUs[/YOUTUBE]

Edited February 13, 2016 by Cornishpastyman1

[Budget Queen]

I have seen a lot of people bored when they do the train RT. On the way back they fall asleep (mostly older people) as the scenery is the same. I think the combination of train and bus is great as the scenery is different and on the bus you get outside many times.

 

I don't find it boring or uncomfortable at all. It is quite fascinating. The scenery is gorgeous.

 

If you daughter is not interested - send her off to do something else. You go and enjoy it.

 

I've seen plenty of sleeping people on the shuttles as well.

 

I'm not of the agreement, that the scenery is the "same" on the round trip trains. If you were to take photos, of an area in both directions, you have very different angles and scenery. An example to think about is the Moore Bridge- very different views with the direction.

[peterm]

I've seen plenty of sleeping people on the shuttles as well.

 

I'm not of the agreement, that the scenery is the "same" on the round trip trains. If you were to take photos, of an area in both directions, you have very different angles and scenery. An example to think about is the Moore Bridge- very different views with the direction.

 

I already booked this tour with Chilkoot and know which side is the best on the train going up (Left) - but which side would you prefer for the bus ride back from Carcross to Skagway?

[Budget Queen]

I already booked this tour with Chilkoot and know which side is the best on the train going up (Left) - but which side would you prefer for the bus ride back from Carcross to Skagway?

 

Which train? If you are getting off in Fraser, sit on the right side of the shuttle, going to Lake Bennett via train, left side back to Skagway from Carcross.. Going to the Lake Bennett train, leaving Carcross, right side of bus from Skagway.

[MarieF4861]

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Tony - the video was helpful. I'm now looking at the Yukon Rail & Bus with Dog Cart Experience. Not sure how it differs - will have to compare. My thought is that the time with the dog carts may break things up a bit.

 

With regard to seating, I think I read that if the bus trip is first to sit on the right for both the bus and the train - is that correct?

 

Considered renting a car, but I'm afraid we may just end up driving around without really knowing what we are looking at. Also, looking at shorter tours.

 

Yes, we could go our separate ways, but I would really prefer doing something we could enjoy together. She loves to take pictures. She may end up liking it in the end.

[mapleleaves]

This is a photojournal where the traveler compares her train trip one year to her rental car experience another year.

For the car trip they purchased Murrays guide which lists the milepost number for points of interest. $5

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2078780

[Budget Queen]

 

Considered renting a car, but I'm afraid we may just end up driving around without really knowing what we are looking at. Also, looking at shorter tours.

 

.

 

There is only ONE road, the Klondike Highway. A Whitehorse resident has written and yearly updates a very detailed road guide. "Necessary" for first timers in my opinion.

 

I do recommend, setting your trip mileage when you start, as the mile markers, aren't always easily seen. :) Simple to stop and stay as long as you want at Caribou Crossing.

[TheCalicoCat]

We rode in a car (hired a Skagway local to drive) & enjoyed the drive. Stopped whenever we wanted, got out walked around, etc. The scenery is beautiful the whole way up & back. Even if you are seeing the same thing, the light changes, the clouds go away, it quits raining, etc.

 

I do not feel like we missed out by not taking the train, but that is us & we have done several tourist trains.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Tony - the video was helpful. I'm now looking at the Yukon Rail & Bus with Dog Cart Experience. Not sure how it differs - will have to compare. My thought is that the time with the dog carts may break things up a bit.

 

There was the Dog Cart option with our tour (with Chilkoot) but we declined. If it is the same one then you can watch the first bit of it. We had a few on our tour who did it, so we just waited, or spent a bit longer looking at the stuffed animals :) until they came back before going on to Emerald Lake etc.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Cornishpastyman1

[Coral]

Though - the first time I did this, it was extremely foggy and visability was almost zero. This was not a favorite trip. I then went back a few years later and had a beautiful sunny day and it was gorgeous.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Coral

[MarieF4861]

This is a photojournal where the traveler compares her train trip one year to her rental car experience another year.

For the car trip they purchased Murrays guide which lists the milepost number for points of interest. $5

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2078780

 

Thanks so much for posting this. The comparison is very helpful - especially with the pictures. Also another idea here is to take the 3 hour train and do something else in the afternoon.

[MarieF4861]

We rode in a car (hired a Skagway local to drive) & enjoyed the drive. Stopped whenever we wanted, got out walked around, etc. The scenery is beautiful the whole way up & back. Even if you are seeing the same thing, the light changes, the clouds go away, it quits raining, etc.

 

I do not feel like we missed out by not taking the train, but that is us & we have done several tourist trains.

 

Just curious as to how you found your guide. Was this something you prearranged?

[TheCalicoCat]

Just curious as to how you found your guide. Was this something you prearranged?

 

I found the guide by posting here on CC (Becky of Beyond Skagway) & yes, we did pre-arrange. www dot beyondskagwaytours dot com

 

Officially we chose her because she had a car seat & we were traveling with a 3.5 year old.

 

Not that I wouldn't recommend her anyway.

 

Dyea Dave & Chillkoot are other operations, but as I understand the have more people & as a consequence may not be able to stop as often or on your schedule. We also did not want a toddler having a melt-down happen on someone elses tour...;) He didn't, but you can't control that on a 7-ish hour outing.

Edited February 14, 2016 by TheCalicoCat

[Mailgirl]

Hello,

 

I am thinking of booking the 7.5 hour White Pass Summit (train and bus) Trip either through NCL or Chilkoot, but my daughter (not a kid) thinks it is too long and will be boring and uncomfortable. Any thoughts/feedback on this and/or ideas for a shorter tour?

 

Thanks.

 

I've done the train and rented a car. I downloaded Murray's guide and drove to Emerald lake. The drive was the best because you have areas you can pull off and take pictures and Murray's guide tells you where to stop. The train was okay, but after our pre-cruise

we were kinda over being on trains.