Train Ride Comparison

[RBAlbany]

Trying to make the best use of time and money on Alaska cruise. Our land portion (Princess) includes the train ride from Denali to Whittier. Thinking strongly of train/van through Chilkoot in Skagway. That would be a lot of time on a train. Are the rides different enough to warrant both?

[gpb11]

On our HAL cruise in June we did both the WPYR Bennett Lake / Carcross trip out of Skagway as well as the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali.

 

The two are distinctly different not only in terms of the trains themselves but also in terms of the geography you're riding through.

 

If I had to pick one over the other I'd pick WPYR, but enjoyed doing both.

[zqvol]

Trying to make the best use of time and money on Alaska cruise. Our land portion (Princess) includes the train ride from Denali to Whittier. Thinking strongly of train/van through Chilkoot in Skagway. That would be a lot of time on a train. Are the rides different enough to warrant both?

 

IMO they are. The ride from Denali to Whittier is on a very modern train, whereas the cars on the train out of Skagway are old style, and narrow gauge. Very different experience.

[jimsig]

Have not done the Denali to Whittier train but did the White Pass RR trip to Carcross with the van back to Skagway. We booked through Chiilkoot Charters and would not hesitate to book through them again. It was a great trip with spectacular views. If you want to see some pics and read about the Carcross Train Trip I have a trip report to give you an idea of what you will see.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2379752&page=3

Edited August 12, 2016 by jimsig

[donaldsc]

On our HAL cruise in June we did both the WPYR Bennett Lake / Carcross trip out of Skagway as well as the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali.

 

The two are distinctly different not only in terms of the trains themselves but also in terms of the geography you're riding through.

 

If I had to pick one over the other I'd pick WPYR, but enjoyed doing both.

 

There is no comparison between the Skagway railroad and the Alaska Anchorage to Denali train. The Skagway railroad was sort of fun. I would do it again.

 

The Anchorage to Denali train trip was awful - I hated every minute of it. It was boring. You wasted time that you could spend in Denali. You could not stop and watch the few bits of interesting scenery on the trip. The train trip soured me on all distance tourist train trips forever.

 

DON