White Pass excursion questions

[new2cruise]

We're trying to decide which tour to take with the White Pass Railroad. We know that we would like to take the railroad one way and the bus the other. Here are my questions:

1. Any benefit to taking the bus up first or the train up first?

2. There seems to be many different options on where you can get off and turn around and go back. We're thinking of going all the way to Emerald Lake. What have been your experiences with this part of the trip?

3. We're looking at both Dyea Dave's and Chilkoot tours. If we go as far as Emerald Lake, Dyea Dave charges $79 per person and then you have to book the train portion yourself for an additional $89 for a total of $168. Chilkoot charges $190 per person and books the train for you. Also, from Chilkoot's web site "While at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, a piping hot BBQ chicken lunch with coleslaw, baked potato and all-you-can-eat cake donuts awaits you as well as “FREE ADMISSION” to the Yukon Wildlife Museum. Visit an authentic dog musher camp and enjoy “FREE ADMISSION” to pet the husky puppies! Upon your return to Skagway you will be entertained by professional guides with their amusing stories of local lore and captivating tales of the Gold Rush Era." Dyea Dave doesn't mention any of this, so I assume it is not included. Is any of this worth the extra $22?

4. Also looking at Chilkoot's Bennett's Scenic Journey for $234. Has anyone done both that and their Yukon Bus and Rail Excursion to compare those two?

5. Any other thoughts on Dyea Dave and Chilkoot would be appreciated!

Thank you!

[Stevi]

I did the Bennett Lake tour this past summer and we as in I and the rest of my party really enjoyed it. You spend more time on the train and are taken to a deserted mining town and given the chance to explore it. We weren’t originally booked on that tour. We actually were booked on the shorter train ride and were offered this while we were cruising. We booked through the tour office on the ship. Unlike the cheaper tour we got a box lunch that we ate on the train on the way to Bennett Lake. If I were to do it again I would without hesitation. We were a small group and that was really nice too. I’m not a fan of feeling like cattle being herded from one place to another. What you don’t get to see is the wildlife exhibit or the huskies. We had awesome tour guides for both parts of the trip. On the way home in the bus the driver/guide made many stops for photo ops and was very happy to take photos of people and really made sure that everyone had a great time. He was probably the best bus driver/ tour guide that I have had in a long time. He felt that he wasn’t doing his job if you didn’t learn something about Alaska and have a great time doing it. He did a great job of connecting what you saw from the train and what you were seeing from the bus. While I can’t compare the tow I can certainly recommend the Bennett Lake tour.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Becoming]

I chose Chilkoot and was well pleased. We had 18 people on a tour bus that held about 25 passengers. Seems like we made a dozen stops on the van going up to Emerald Lake. We then had the included lunch was good and you can sit inside or outside. The Wildlife Museum is impressive with many animals. We wrapped up this stop with watching the animals and huskies pulling the carts. The train ride is under 2 hours which to me was just right. Enough time to enjoy the train but not so long as to get boring. Our driver gave us the option of where we wanted to leave the van. I chose to be dropped off downtown. I then walked through the downtown area and back to the ship.

 

Enjoy Alaska!

 

Patti

[JT1962]

We did the bus / train combo to Emerald Lake with Chilkoot in May and enjoyed it. We did the lunch and dog sled option and thought it was worth it.

 

We chose the bus first with the theory that there may be more chance of fog in the mornings that might limit views from the train. It worked out well for us, but there is no guarantee it will be that way for you. There is no scientific evidence of this theory and others have reported fog in the afternoon.

 

One advantage to the bus first (and independent vs ship excursion) seemed to be that we made it to some of the most popular stops for photos (border crossing signs, etc) before the ship tours and crowds arrived.

 

We saw the Dyea Dave buses at most every stop, other than Caribou Crossing, so the tours are very similar. It is a great tour and you can't go wrong with either company.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bUU]

I thought I read somewhere that there's no guarantee that is specific Excursion will have bus first or train first ... that they could change it as they wish.

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[JT1962]

I thought I read somewhere that there's no guarantee that is specific Excursion will have bus first or train first ... that they could change it as they wish.

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

 

 

 

On the tour we chose you could choose train first or bus first, based in the time the tour left. I just checked Chilkoot's website and the Yukon Bus / Rail Combo Tour shows 7:30 Bus First 8:30 Train First. It may not apply for every day or every type of tour.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[wolfie11]

Bennett Lake is my favorite. I do it as a shore excursion from the ship. If you have an early start time (8am'ish) you are taking the train as it is much slower than the bus. If your start time is later by an hour or so, bus is first. You could try changing your ticket to the earlier or later start time depending on what you want to do first. I've done both ways and have no preference.

[xlxo]

On my trips.... I did bus first and train back. The afternoon sun helps to burn it off.

 

Of course, there are others who have seen the opposite.

[dinibo]

I am also pretty curious about this topic. Has anyone done both to compare? We are currently booked with Dave but are considering if it may be worth switching.

[olemissreb]

We did Chilkoot, train first and bus back. They picked us up in one of the buses to take us to the train and we got one of the last 2 cars on the train. It rained all the way up, but the scenery was still spectacular. It was also pretty neat because being seated in the back gave you a view of the front of the train as it was going over and around some of the bridges/curves. When we got into Canada, we disembarked the train and got on a bus driven by Stanley (a female) and she was terrific! We made a couple of stops that the big cruise buses couldn't even think about going to. When we got to the "Welcome to the Yukon" sign, there was a big cruise bus so we bypassed it and instead got pictures as we were heading back to Skagway. We just acted like we were entering Yukon. The whole time we were on the bus in Canada, the sun was shining and it was beautiful at Emerald Lake - it was so green and our pictures just didn't do it justice. Just before we got to the border, it got really foggy and the rain started again. Stanley did ask where we wanted to be dropped off and about half the bus got dropped off in downtown and my family decided on getting dropped off at the ship. Walking around downtown with my youngest son on crutches in the rain just wasn't a good idea! :) All in all, I would go with Chilkoot again in a heartbeat.

[Eaglecw]

We’ve done them all. My favorite is the bus up to Emerald Lake, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, looking around the museum and the Husky puppies are always cute. Then down to Fraser to catch the train back to Skagway. We’ve done this trip many times. Sometimes we go up with Dyea Dave, Dyea Dave puts on a really good trip, if you see something and want to stop they'll stop when you say you want to stop, we really have enjoyed going with him. Sometimes we'll rent a car and drive up ourselves. If you decide to take the bus take the bus in the morning, it can be foggy in the valley and sit on the right side of the bus for the best views, same with the train coming down sit on the right side. We like to alternate from one operator to another. I think this year we are going to do the Bennett Lake excursion from the ship.

[dinibo]

We’ve done them all. My favorite is the bus up to Emerald Lake, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, looking around the museum and the Husky puppies are always cute. Then down to Fraser to catch the train back to Skagway. We’ve done this trip many times. Sometimes we go up with Dyea Dave, Dyea Dave puts on a really good trip, if you see something and want to stop they'll stop when you say you want to stop, we really have enjoyed going with him. Sometimes we'll rent a car and drive up ourselves. If you decide to take the bus take the bus in the morning, it can be foggy in the valley and sit on the right side of the bus for the best views, same with the train coming down sit on the right side. We like to alternate from one operator to another. I think this year we are going to do the Bennett Lake excursion from the ship.

 

Glad to hear you like them both! Are there any big differences you can think of other than Dave being willing to stop?

[jules_goldcoaster]

We’ve done them all. My favorite is the bus up to Emerald Lake, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, looking around the museum and the Husky puppies are always cute. Then down to Fraser to catch the train back to Skagway. We’ve done this trip many times. Sometimes we go up with Dyea Dave, Dyea Dave puts on a really good trip, if you see something and want to stop they'll stop when you say you want to stop, we really have enjoyed going with him. Sometimes we'll rent a car and drive up ourselves. If you decide to take the bus take the bus in the morning, it can be foggy in the valley and sit on the right side of the bus for the best views, same with the train coming down sit on the right side. We like to alternate from one operator to another. I think this year we are going to do the Bennett Lake excursion from the ship.

 

I'm trying to choose between the 2. I'm booking from Australia and when I go to the train website the date I want is blocked out (26th September). Not sure how to book without phoning, which is expensive from here! Did you book prior to the trip or just get your ticket at Fraser when you went with Dyea Dave? Which husky experience was the best as I have read they go to different camps? Was lunch included with both tour companies? How did the food compare? I've leaning towards Chilkoot for the ease of booking, but could easily change. I want to do a dog cart if possible but also want to play with the puppies as I will be missing my 2 dogs by this time!