Jump to content

HAL White Pass excursions


Beachfrog
 Share

Recommended Posts

Our group of eight will be in Alaska this June. :classic_biggrin:  We are wanting to do the Skagway White Pass train through the ship but cannot decide which one.  Can anyone help me out with this?  We are looking at the shorter trips (3-4 hours).  Would the round trip or the train/bus be better? 

White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad

White Pass Rail & Klondike Highway:  Multilingual

 

Other suggestions?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Beachfrog said:

Our group of eight will be in Alaska this June. :classic_biggrin:  We are wanting to do the Skagway White Pass train through the ship but cannot decide which one.  Can anyone help me out with this?  We are looking at the shorter trips (3-4 hours).  Would the round trip or the train/bus be better? 

White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad

White Pass Rail & Klondike Highway:  Multilingual

 

Other suggestions?

 

We have done both of these excursions and found both of them to be enjoyable.  However, if given the choice of one or the other, we would definitely do the round-trip train excursion, in the main because I found the bus portion of the other excursion a bit too scary for my tastes.  IMO you can't go wrong -  whichever you choose will be memorable.

Edited by avian777
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have also done both and enjoyed both.  Didn't find anything scary about the bus portion.

 

JMO -- I would do the round trip train -- after you get to the top -- passengers change sides of the train that they were sitting on -- gives everyone a chance to see everything.  This was the first excursion we did in Skayway many years ago and have done it 3 times.

 

This excursion gives you more time in Skagway to do a short excursion as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We found it best to read up on everything we could find about the Yukon Gold Rush. Then the ghosts of that intense time will greet you at every turn of the White Pass RR - agree - do it both ways. Appreciate how many had to do it by foot with huge packs to sustain them across the Yukon, only to arrive too late at the Dawson Gold Fields anyway. The National Park tourist center in town also does an excellent job giving the background of this story too.  This was far more than just a rail road trip for us -it was a trip back in time too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have done the Skagway mini bus which parallels  the train  ride  as we went into Canada & had to have our pass ports with us . Seems to us that it cost about 1/3  the cost of the train excursion   .I know we stopped a couple of times for bath  room breaks & we did see the Saw Toothed mountain peaks  .When we came back we stopped in the Skagway  museum . Then at the end we shopped .Had a great day in Skagway:classic_biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can highly recommend the VIP luxury car, if it's offered.  You usually can only book it through the cruise line.  It's pricier, but it was my favorite excursion on my cruise earlier this year.  We got drinks & snacks, sat in very comfy leather seats, and had a private guide who was excellent.  If you're looking for a splurge, definitely consider this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have done train up & back and train up/bus back (with a stop at a gold-rush show), and much preferred the bus back. Get to see a slightly different view on the way back, with one or more photo stops including the "Welcome to Alaska" sign.

 

Even with the show at the gold-panning village, we were back in plenty of time to have lunch in Skagway and do some shopping.

 

I would consider the luxury coach next time (2020)!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We enjoyed the train both ways, and this was one of our favorite excursions in Alaska... wonderful scenery, and great historical education... we can't even imagine what it was like to scale that route with pack animals "back in the day".

 

We were also incredibly fortunate to travel with some of the kindest and most interesting companions (strangers to us!) in our railcar for the round-trip journey, which put the experience over the top for us.  We hope others are as lucky -- enjoy the trip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2019 at 3:09 PM, bEwAbG said:

I can highly recommend the VIP luxury car, if it's offered.  You usually can only book it through the cruise line.  It's pricier, but it was my favorite excursion on my cruise earlier this year.  We got drinks & snacks, sat in very comfy leather seats, and had a private guide who was excellent.  If you're looking for a splurge, definitely consider this one.

 

We agree. A great experience. (Morning menu included mimosas, smoked salmon, quiche....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...