Excursions in Skagway

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I was on the Chilkoot tour, train up and van back.

 

Our van driver spotted a bear in the bushes on the opposite side of the road, did an u turn and parked for over 5 minutes for us to watch.

 

They picked us dockside in 16 seat van and took us to the train. We had the last coach so we were able to go out on the platform for great views. We had room to walk around inside the Coach.

 

Both Princess and Chilkoot stop at the same place for the chicken dinner lunch.

 

I talked to a couple from the Princess excursion at lunch and they did not enjoy the train ride as there were too many people in the coach.

[Coral]

 

I talked to a couple from the Princess excursion at lunch and they did not enjoy the train ride as there were too many people in the coach.

 

I think highly of Chilkoot and recommend them.

 

I have booked the train 2x with Princess and have never had a crowded train. The last time I booked with them, I even had the last car (which people often say the cruise lines never get).

 

I think highly of the combination tours and strongly recommend them. I am not going to say if you book with Princess, it will not be as good as I have had positive experiences with Princess tours in Alaska. We even stopped on the bus to watch a bear.

[shellgirl61]

On our second Alaska Cruise we were going to take the train. But, my sister and her husband had taken the train on their cruise and one of my best friends had also taken the train on their Alaska cruise. Neither one of them liked the train ride and told us not to take the train excursion. We decided to skip the train and took the bus up to the Yukon and back to Skagway. We really enjoyed it. Scenery was beautiful and we made lots of photo stops. I was glad we took the bus both ways. It was very foggy in the morning and we could not see anything on the trip to the Yukon. The afternoon was beautiful and sunny and the scenery was awesome. We even say a couple of bears on the side of the road eating dandelions. The bus driver pulled over for us to take pictures.

Hope you will have good weather on your excursion so you can see all the beautiful scenery.

[Coral]

On our second Alaska Cruise we were going to take the train. But, my sister and her husband had taken the train on their cruise and one of my best friends had also taken the train on their Alaska cruise. Neither one of them liked the train ride and told us not to take the train excursion..

 

I have seen a lot of people who are bored on the train ride back. Some fall asleep. Mostly the older generation but it is the same views both ways. Benefit of combo tour is different views.

 

I have also done the all day bus tour and enjoyed that also. Lots of options.

[BigGuy25]

The views from the train are great. But, the advantage of taking the van one way is that it makes several stops at places like Emerald Lake, Carcross, the Yukon Territory “photo op” sign, etc. Places you’d never see if you went both ways on the train.

[kylesmom94]

We rented a car and drove the route, a bit past Emerald Lake. A beautiful drive, not difficult, and we were able to get out of town before the buses. We enjoy stopping where we want to stop, on our own schedule. We had lunch at a little diner just off the road where we enjoyed talking to local people. And we still had time to explore town before returning to the ship.

 

Tom's Port Guides are helpful in planning.

 

where did you rent a car from? I think this might be something worth looking into sounds like a good day!

[Coral]

where did you rent a car from? I think this might be something worth looking into sounds like a good day!

 

I don't know who they booked with but I book with Avis. I believe there are Green Jeeps also.

 

Renting a car gives you lots of freedom.

[Dancing Shoes]

I am going with Avis. Green Jeep does offer a cd commentary, but their price is really high. You can download Murray's guide for about $5.00. I have seen a "free Murray's guide" on a road web site for driving the Yukon. It says it is not updated, and does not include pictures like going through Murray. There was another person who rented older cars, but they closed.