WHITE PASS RAIL/TRAIN OR BUS BACK DOWN

[sfjldj]

Interested in some feedback on the White Pass Railroad. We are planning to take the rail up the mountain and have seen some say it's best to take the bus back down rather than the train as you cover a little different path. Comments would be much appreciated. thanks.

[Coral]

I would do the train/bus combo.

 

The good thing about the bus part is that you can get off the bus and take pictures and you do go to areas that the train can not get to. Likewise, the train sees some scenary that the bus riders can not see.

[cpayne]

How long of a train ride is it to the top? How long of a bus ride is it back to the bottom? Can you tell me the cost of the bus ride back down? I've found information about the train ride, but not the bus.

 

Appreciate your help!

 

Cheri

[holton]

Depends on if you are a 'rail' buff.

My husband has done the trip 3 times and will be doing it again this summer with our kids.

Total time is 3 hours which gives you time to

do Skagway before or after. The museum next to the train depot is very interesting. You get a different view coming back...it is all beautiful!

[dooley123]

We did the bus ride up/train down combo. YOu do get to see some different scenery this way and you do get to stop with the bus to take pictures. Still, this trip (8 hours vs. 4 with train only) involved an awful lot of sitting. If I had to do it again, I would just book the train. That had the best scenery and was the most interesting.

[llhlam]

Is it possible to do the train yourself? Where is the train station located? What is the schedule? Thanks

[Yukon]

You can book the train yourself - if you book through the ship you load beside the ship, if you go independent the depot is 3-6 blocks away depending on which dock you're at. Full info can be seen at http://www.wpyr.com

 

Murray

[markanderinsmom]

If you do the train yourself, it won't be so crowded...they run two trains...one that goes up to the ships to get the pax and the other that goes from the station which is in town next to the shops...we walked to town, stopped at the station and bought tickets and then shopped until it was time for the train...we didn't have to walk back to the ship and it was less crowded. Sit on the left side of the train!

[sfjldj]

Thanks again for all the helpful information Murray. We are going to skip the bus back down and thanks to your input our Skagway adventure will be southeast tours pick up in skagway for drive out to horseback riding at emerald lake and then southeast will take us by van to Fraser rather than all the way back to skagway so that we can pick up the white pass train from Fraser back to summit and down to skagway. should be great and good combination of activites rather than taking southeast back to skagway and then doing the white pass up and down.

 

 

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Yukon:

You can book the train yourself - if you book through the ship you load beside the ship, if you go independent the depot is 3-6 blocks away depending on which dock you're at. Full info can be seen at http://www.wpyr.com

 

Murray<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[cpayne]

Were you able to just walk up to the train station and buy your tickets or do you recommend reservations? We have another excursion booked in the a.m. and depending on how worn out we are we may/may not do this tour in the afternoon. Hate to book in advance if we would decide not to go.

 

How far of a walk is it from the ship to the train station?

 

Also, can you bring snacks and drinks on the train?

 

Cheri

[Cruiser62]

Thanks for asking, Cheri. I also have the same questions. I was going to book the train trip through our cruise line, but now I'm re-thinking that.

 

Anyone have the answers?

Thanks!

[rxmurphy]

Originally posted by sfjldj:

Thanks again for all the helpful information Murray. We are going to skip the bus back down and thanks to your input our Skagway adventure will be southeast tours pick up in skagway for drive out to horseback riding at emerald lake and then southeast will take us by van to Fraser rather than all the way back to skagway so that we can pick up the white pass train from Fraser back to summit and down to skagway. should be great and good combination of activites rather than taking southeast back to skagway and then doing the white pass up and down.

 

 

Hi sfjldl,

 

do you know how long you anticipate the trip from Emerald to Fraser to be? and also how long train is from Fraser-summit-Skagway? We are planning a similar trip, but not sure if we can do it all as we are in Skagway only to 6PM on Sapphire Princess.

 

Thanks!!

 

 till happy hour on Sapphire!

 

[sfjldj]

we understand it will be about 2 hours with some stops to get from emerald lake to fraser to catch the 230 pm train which gets into skagway about 430. you can go to white pass website and email them as they are very quick to respond.

 

 

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rxmurphy:

Originally posted by sfjldj:

Thanks again for all the helpful information Murray. We are going to skip the bus back down and thanks to your input our Skagway adventure will be southeast tours pick up in skagway for drive out to horseback riding at emerald lake and then southeast will take us by van to Fraser rather than all the way back to skagway so that we can pick up the white pass train from Fraser back to summit and down to skagway. should be great and good combination of activites rather than taking southeast back to skagway and then doing the white pass up and down.

 

 

Hi sfjldl,

 

do you know how long you anticipate the trip from Emerald to Fraser to be? and also how long train is from Fraser-summit-Skagway? We are planning a similar trip, but not sure if we can do it all as we are in Skagway only to 6PM on Sapphire Princess.

 

Thanks!!

 

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=dc143c&cdt=2004;7;18;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800 _till happy hour on Sapphire!_

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[rxmurphy]

Thanks!!

 

 till happy hour on Sapphire!

 

[CaribbeanBound]

I recommend you rent a car or van instead.

 

Skagway: Rented a van for $75 from Avis which is located very close to the piers. We drove to Carcross, Yukon Territory, Canada (130 miles roundtrip). As it turned out, there’s really nothing in Carcross, but the trip was incredible. (It’s not the destination —– it’s the journey). There was almost no traffic at all. We saw but one bus, a truck, and maybe 2 dozen cars the entire trip. We saw bears, caribou, mountain goats and bald eagles. We saw snow capped mountains and crystal clear lakes, numerous water falls, sweeping valley and mountain views, raging rivers, the White Mountain Pass Train. We got back into town about 2pm and shopped.

[South Side Mo]

what was it like crossing the border into Canada - is that a big hassle? My husband wants to take the bus, because he figures it will be easier crossing into another country, I would much rather rent a car. I don't think it would be that big of a deal....he's such a worrywart.

[753951]

I am Canadian (not from the commercial) and crossed the US-Canada border at least 50 times. I have also traveled many countries on other continents. If there is one border that has "no hassle" policy (relatively speaking) then it must be US/Canada.

If your husband expects that no one is even going to look at him at the border then, yes, it's a hassle. They will ask you to show the documents (birth certificate or passport), maybe ask for the car registration/rental agreement. This is best case scenario and takes less than a minute.

They will probably ask you where are you going and how long are you going to stay there. This is most likely scenario, and it also takes about minute. You can expect "Welcome to Canada, and have a nice day/trip". That's it.

Less likely is that they will ask you to open the trunk and glance at it.

All in all, if you spend more than 2 minutes (assuming there's no lineup) and excahnge more than 5 sentences, consider it exception. And that happens rarely.

Now, if you have previous record, or your name and face are looking like someone thay are after, then ...

[South Side Mo]

753951 - thanks for the answer. That check going over the border sounds reasonable to me - you would think we were going into Russia the way my husband worries. He has never left the country before so he's not sure how it works, I really want to go to Emerald Lake, and the difference between a rental car $80 total, as opposed to a bus $160 pp is too much to ignore. Thanks.

[General Max]

We booked the Yukon and White Pass Summit Rail round trip because we wanted the specific 11:00 AM departure time. As our ship docks in Haines rather than Skagway, we also have to take a 35 minute catamoran trip from Haines to Skagway up the Lynn Canal.

 

General Max

 

08/27/2004 Ryndam Alaska

 

8/27/04 Ryndam Southbound from Seward