Skagway: Renting a Car vs Train with Kids?

[Monica887]

I went with 8 and 11 year olds, and the 8yo was a very difficult traveler at that time. We rented a car and it was the best day of the trip. We went at our own pace. She loooved the sled dogs at Tutsi. They both loved the desert. The car rental company had lunch ready for us in a cooler in the car, so no stress about food. Drove out ot Emerald Lake, picked some points of interest from Murrays guide. 

 

Wayyyy cheaper than any excursion would have been and really a wonderful, beautiful family day. 

 

That said, I'm going back without the kids and will take the train, because I feel like I "should". I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery, but it was invaluable for all of us to be able to stop whenever we saw something of interest. 

[daisydawg]

On 10/7/2023 at 11:11 PM, Monica887 said:

I went with 8 and 11 year olds, and the 8yo was a very difficult traveler at that time. We rented a car and it was the best day of the trip. We went at our own pace. She loooved the sled dogs at Tutsi. They both loved the desert. The car rental company had lunch ready for us in a cooler in the car, so no stress about food. Drove out ot Emerald Lake, picked some points of interest from Murrays guide. 

 

Wayyyy cheaper than any excursion would have been and really a wonderful, beautiful family day. 

 

That said, I'm going back without the kids and will take the train, because I feel like I "should". I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery, but it was invaluable for all of us to be able to stop whenever we saw something of interest. 

Did you make a reservation in advance for the sled dogs at Tutsi? It says on the website that you don’t need to make a reservation, but I actually wouldn’t mind making one. We’re leaning towards renting a car when we’re there in July, but my mother-in-law really wants to do the sled dog cart (surprisingly). She’s in her late 70s, and this is a bucket list trip for her. She was asking me the other day if I had made a reservation yet for the sled dogs. Lol. Anyway, I don’t want to mess up and have her miss out on it.

[Monica887]

43 minutes ago, daisydawg said:

Did you make a reservation in advance for the sled dogs at Tutsi? It says on the website that you don’t need to make a reservation, but I actually wouldn’t mind making one. We’re leaning towards renting a car when we’re there in July, but my mother-in-law really wants to do the sled dog cart (surprisingly). She’s in her late 70s, and this is a bucket list trip for her. She was asking me the other day if I had made a reservation yet for the sled dogs. Lol. Anyway, I don’t want to mess up and have her miss out on it.

I didn't make a reservation. Partially because I was nervous about renting a car, and timing. But timing was fine and there really wasn't a way to get lost along the way. We did it on the way back, so we would know our time frame better and how long we could spend. 

 

There was no large bus tour or anything when we got there to make me feel like I needed a reservation. This was in the summer of 22, so of course YMMV. The venue was super low key. 

[daisydawg]

17 hours ago, Monica887 said:

I didn't make a reservation. Partially because I was nervous about renting a car, and timing. But timing was fine and there really wasn't a way to get lost along the way. We did it on the way back, so we would know our time frame better and how long we could spend. 

 

There was no large bus tour or anything when we got there to make me feel like I needed a reservation. This was in the summer of 22, so of course YMMV. The venue was super low key. 

Thanks! It looks like a good experience. My husband and father-in-law aren’t really interested in the sled dogs, but my mother-in-law and my teens are. So it seems like a good compromise to self-drive and stop at the sled dogs.

[Monica887]

55 minutes ago, daisydawg said:

Thanks! It looks like a good experience. My husband and father-in-law aren’t really interested in the sled dogs, but my mother-in-law and my teens are. So it seems like a good compromise to self-drive and stop at the sled dogs.

Yup. You don't have to do the sled ride, and (when I went) it was only $7 each to just hang out with the puppies. We mostly went for my animal loving 8 year old but all had fun. 

[MaryInAL]

I am interested in this idea of a car rental in Skagway, but how did you address the need for child safety seats?  The OP had a 5 yr, who would probably need a child seat.  I'll have 2 children that need seats.  Haven't ever done a rental car in that situation.  Thanks.

[sharon_pei]

maybe i m unnecessarily paranoid about small probability events, but i somehow feel it's better to do car rental on a south bound trip than north -- in case of any car problem on this long and remote route that prevents one from getting back on time to the cruise ship, southbound means getting to Juneau by oneself which is way easier and a smaller loss than if one has to skip glacier bay and fjord (2 full cruise days which are major attractions of this cruise journey) and get to Whittier all by oneself. I wouldn't want to take that chance being overly conservative. 

[wolfie11]

4 hours ago, sharon_pei said:

maybe i m unnecessarily paranoid about small probability events, but i somehow feel it's better to do car rental on a south bound trip than north -- in case of any car problem on this long and remote route that prevents one from getting back on time to the cruise ship, southbound means getting to Juneau by oneself which is way easier and a smaller loss than if one has to skip glacier bay and fjord (2 full cruise days which are major attractions of this cruise journey) and get to Whittier all by oneself. I wouldn't want to take that chance being overly conservative. 

You have a good point.  But not exactly remote.  There are dozens of buses as well as local traffic on this route every day. Not that I’m sure that any of the cruise line buses would stop for you, but the locals would.

[Coral]

5 hours ago, sharon_pei said:

maybe i m unnecessarily paranoid about small probability events, but i somehow feel it's better to do car rental on a south bound trip than north -- in case of any car problem on this long and remote route that prevents one from getting back on time to the cruise ship, southbound means getting to Juneau by oneself which is way easier and a smaller loss than if one has to skip glacier bay and fjord (2 full cruise days which are major attractions of this cruise journey) and get to Whittier all by oneself. I wouldn't want to take that chance being overly conservative. 

A number of years ago - we rented a car with Avis (a brand new car). There was a local agency that rented cars that I would never drive and looked questionable. They are no longer in business. We stopped at several stops with them (we had the same maps, on a similar time schedule). We did tell them, if their car broke down, we had their back. 

 

I agree with @wolfie11 that the road is well traveled and there are plenty of people (locals, other cruisers, private tours, possibly cruise line tours) who would stop and bring people to Skagway if there were car issues. The locals are fantastic in this area.  I would not let this stop you from going on your own.

[opshannon]

Murray's website is no longer around. I was wondering if anyone has a copy of the pdf that they could send my way. My wife and I are doing this drive in June and would love to follow his guide.

[Coral]

11 hours ago, opshannon said:

Murray's website is no longer around. I was wondering if anyone has a copy of the pdf that they could send my way. My wife and I are doing this drive in June and would love to follow his guide.

Murray's Guide Yukon.pdf

[opshannon]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

 

Thank you so much!

Edited March 24 by opshannon