Skagway...Bus or Train?

[aharris]

Any advice on whether to do the bus or train up the white pass summit in skagway?

[Florida Beach]

:) We booked via Princess, one way via bus, coming back by train :)

[2tsquared]

If you enjoy doing things "on your own", try renting a car. We did last week while we were on the Summit southbound cruise. It was an incredible drive, and one that allowed us to stop where and when we wanted to. We used Avis; I believe there are one or 2 other car rental offices in town.

 

2tsquared

[Florida Beach]

If you enjoy doing things "on your own", try renting a car. We did last week while we were on the Summit southbound cruise. It was an incredible drive, and one that allowed us to stop where and when we wanted to. We used Avis; I believe there are one or 2 other car rental offices in town.

 

2tsquared

2tsquared,

Do you have a map or you just follow the scenery? Is the rental car office near the port or we have to take taxi to get there? I think I am going cancel the excursion with Princess since there will be 4 of us, and travel by car can save us a bunch of money.

 

Thanks for your time :)

[Yukon]

I have a mile-by-mile guide to the highway (with maps, and lots of pictures) posted at http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html

The car rental places are within walking distance of the docks - their contact info can be found at http://www.skagway.org/gettingaround.html#b

 

Murray

[barbarat]

We won't beable to rent a car (no driving license)

and don't want to spend all day on trip ( which I think train/bus combo is)

SO if either bus or train, what do you think is best for scenery and comfort

Thanks

[Florida Beach]

I booked the tour, without thinking about having to stay inside a vehicle a whole day :o I think the train would fit me better, so I can move around :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) The train.

 

We did this tour on our first Alaskan cruise many years ago and loved it. At that time it wasn't crowded - a couple of small ships in Skagway.

 

Just last summer we did the train trip again and loved it just as much as we did the first time. You can move around on the train. Once you get to the summit, those sitting on the port side move to the starboard and vise versa. And the back of the change so that no one is riding down backwards.

 

;)

[sarahjane]

We booked an excursion through RCI called Glacier Lake Kayak & Scenic Railway. It says you ride the train up the White Pass to Bernard Lake, then go kayaking there, then "drive" back to Skagway via the Klondike Hwy (I assume by bus or van). So you get to do both train & highway, plus go kayaking! It is 4 1/2 hours, though. But we'rer in Skagway from 7:30 am to 8:30 pm, so there's plenty of time!

I read somewhere here that you should sit on the LEFT side of the train going up for the best views. I hope everybody else doesn't know about that, too! Wouldn't want to have to FIGHT for the left side! heh, heh!!

have fun!

 

sarahjane

[LoneStar72]

SO if either bus or train, what do you think is best for scenery and comfort

The train, hands-down. First, it's an engineering "wonder of the world", and on a bus you won't get the experience of seeing and then travelling over tall trestles and a track literally carved into the side of mountains. In addition, you can get up, walk around, and go outside for better camera angles and view. Who needs to come back home with one more bus-ride under their belt, when you could have had the experience of one of the few remaining narrow-guage railroads still operating?

 

John

[Cruizer_J]

I would take the train. We took the round-trip train last year and really enjoyed it; I think that it has better views. This year, we took the bus up and the train back down; the bus gave us a different perspective, some different views and we enjoyed it, but I still prefer the train. If we ever go back, we'll probably rent a car and drive up. BTW:The left side of the train is the better side going up. :)

[Giantfan13]

Doing both sounds very interesting. Did you book this on your own, thru the cruise ship or played it by ear once you got into port???

[Cruizer_J]

Doing both sounds very interesting. Did you book this on your own, thru the cruise ship or played it by ear once you got into port???

In our case, we booked on the ship and, to be honest, intended to take the train round trip again, but we waited too late to get tickets and it was sold out, so we went for the bus/train package since it was still available. We didn't explore doing it independently, so can't offer any advice there.

[2tsquared]

2tsquared,

Do you have a map or you just follow the scenery? Is the rental car office near the port or we have to take taxi to get there? I think I am going cancel the excursion with Princess since there will be 4 of us, and travel by car can save us a bunch of money.

 

Thanks for your time :)

 

Florida Beach,

If you're looking to save money then the car is certainly a good way to go. We followed Yukon's MilePost guide (the messsage below your original one) and it is an outstanding tour guide.

 

Enjoy!

2tsquared

[Boo's Mom]

I would recommend the train...even though I have not experienced the bus. With the train, you can go outside the railcar....to the outside rail...and stand there and take pictures, without having a window between you and what you are photographing.

 

It did get rather chilly out there....bring a hat with you. ;)

[Vanisle]

I have booked the bus tour for my parents and myself but my

#1 choice would have been a car rental/drive .

For some reason and I use that term loosly as Canadians we are not allowed to drive a rental vechicle into the Yukon but I think that would be a real highlight of the trip if you do it.

[zimmerjulie]

We took the White Pass Railway/Bus/and Gold Rush Trail camp excursion last week in Skagway. It was ideal for us. It was only 4.75 hours in duration, which included the stop at the gold rush camp. We went at 11:45, so the outbound was the bus. Our guide was great and the bus was air conditioned, which was a BIG deal, as it was 83 degrees at the WP summit that day!

 

Our first stop was the "Liarsville" gold rush trail camp, which is a re-creation of the camp at the beginning of the trail to the Klondike gold. It was a lot of fun. The music was really neat and our bit of comedy was extra hilarious due to the "volunteer" chosen from the audience and how she played off the presentors. They also performed one of the gold rush poems written by Robert Service, then we panned for gold and had hot apple cider & cookies.

 

The train portion was GREAT too...beautiful vistas, nice narration, neat tunnels and bridges. I really saw the value in having the two modes, one way by train and one way by bus. It really let us get the best of both worlds. The railway is incredible and I would definitely recommend it, but round trip would probably have been a bit much for us, as the last 10 minutes of the trip we were ready for its conclusion. Could have been due to the heat, which was a bit draining on the historic train (read, no A/C).

 

I love these decisions where you win either way, but would definitely recommend the combo with the Liarsville stop, if you can get it. We booked through the cruise line, NCL.

[kimba595]

Murray - We are going to following your guide for the drive in Skagway and I was wondering how long it would take? I know that there is an answer to this question on the old posts, but I can't find it. Also, what's the weather been like lately? I'm afraid that with the good weather you've been having, it'll be terrible when we are there. Thanks in advance! Kim

[MWcruiser]

Last week we did the combination bus/train trip. This was the one excursion we booked through the cruise line, Princess. The bus was scheduled to go as far as Carcross and Caribou Landing, and we asked to go to Emerald Lake as we boarded the bus. The driver said he would if we had time. We actually left the dock 15 minutes early, as everyone who had signed up for this tour was already there. Wonder Lake was incredible!!

 

The scenery on the train ride back was also magnificent. The right side definitely offers the best view on the way down, and the entire trip back was narrated in our car. It was an extremely hot day, and the windows do not open. The only cooler place was on the platform between cars, and this is where we stood most of the trip back.

[MWcruiser]

Last week we did the combination bus/train trip. This was the one excursion we booked through the cruise line, Princess. The bus was scheduled to go as far as Carcross and Caribou Landing, and we asked to go to Emerald Lake as we boarded the bus. The driver said he would if we had time. We actually left the dock 15 minutes early, as everyone who had signed up for this tour was already there. Wonder Lake was incredible!!

 

The scenery on the train ride back was also magnificent. The right side definitely offers the best view on the way down, and the entire trip back was narrated in our car. It was an extremely hot day, and the windows do not open. The only cooler place was on the platform between cars, and this is where we stood most of the trip back.

 

If we go again, we will probably rent a car for the trip up the pass and into the Yukon, so we can stop where we want.

[Thoth]

Everybody I spoke with loved the train trip that I was part of last year. We took the train up to the White Pass and got on a bus at Frasier BC which took us back via Liersville Gold Rush Camp where we saw a show.

The White Pass railroad sure gets my recommendation!

[Coral]

I have done the train 2x and the bus 2x. Both are great but I give the edge to the bus because you go farther north. IF you can do the combination train and then bus ride to the Yukon - that is the ideal situation!

 

If you can rent a car and feel comfortable doing that - that will also be good (have not done this yet but would love to).

 

I prefer the bus to the train since the bus makes several stops and you can get out and take pictures.

[damerch]

We just got back on Sunday from our land/cruise tour. Record heat in Skagway. We took the bus up to Carcross and because we asked we also went a little further to Emerald Lake. Beautiful. We then got on the train at Fraser for the ride back to Skagway. It was great. The road and train seem to be on opposite mountains so the perspective is different. You get to see Bridal Falls from the train, but not the road. (a little from the road). I'd do this again in a heartbeat.....

[Yukon]

Kim - figure on at least 5 hours for the round trip from Carcross to Emerald Lake and back. It's only 150 miles but there's a LOT to see.

 

Murray

[gpearce]

We have done both the train trip and the rent a vehicle and drive trip. The train trip is wonderful and if it is your first time you should definitely take it. However the drive was great too. The scenery was beautiful and you could stop when you wanted. Emerald Lake was worth the drive up!! What a sight.

Thank you Murray for your wonderful guide. It was perfect for the trip and really aided us in seeing as much as possible. The only thing we didn't see was the bears.

Both trips show you the beautiful country around Skagway.

Gayle