Skagway - White Pass Railroad (8 hrs) or only upto Summit

[KK11]

There is the 8 hr train ride or the 2.5 hr to the summit ... is it worht the extra time to go all the way ???

[soupbones wife]

I'm wondering the same thing. Was going to book the shorter one as some friends went on it about 9 yrs. ago and DH doesn't want the long train ride. Will be waiting to see what others have to say.

[maren91]

Although I have not been to Alaska yet, after over a year of research on this board I finally ended up booking last week with Chikoot Charters for their 7-hour tour. You take the train to Fraser and then head all the way up to Emerald Lake via small van which the pictures I have seen are amazing. You also get lunch and make several stops along the way. I think you are getting the best of both worlds this way.

www.chilkootcharters.com/

[robinsegg]

The people on our cruise who did the Chilkoot charter really enjoyed it. Best of both worlds. Small buses for the bus portion, and better chance of seeing (and stopping for) wildlife.

[FritzG]

I keep reading wonderful reviews of the longer trip. I haven't seen anyone say they didn't love it. We took the shorter trip in early June, and we were totally unimpressed. It was a long, slow trip up to a turn around and back down again. Sure the scenery was beautiful but no more beautiful than anything we saw from the ship. I wish we had taken the longer trip.

[GORDONCHICK]

I wouldn't take the train up and back. We did the Chilkoot 7hr tour, and it was great. The motorcoach only held about 20, our tour guide/driver was great and personable. She pulled over when ever anyone asked her to, and was happy to do it. I would recommend Chilkoot without reservation.

[baron45]

As everyone else has said, the 7-hr train/bus combo far exceeds the 3.5 hr roundtrip train-only ride which could be boring.

 

I had originally reserved the short tour thru Princess but after reading all the reviews here, I'm glad I cancelled and booked the 7-hr trip directly thru Chilkoot. And the costs were only a $65 difference for twice the duration + lunch. It's a no-brainer.

[GORDONCHICK]

As everyone else has said, the 7-hr train/bus combo far exceeds the 3.5 hr roundtrip train-only ride which could be boring.

 

I had originally reserved the short tour thru Princess but after reading all the reviews here, I'm glad I cancelled and booked the 7-hr trip directly thru Chilkoot. And the costs were only a $65 difference for twice the duration + lunch. It's a no-brainer.

 

 

And a much better time!!!!!!!

[eaglewingks]

Was this the 7 hr. Yukon Rail & bus or the Yukon Rail, bus and dog sled? Also, could you tell me what it cost as it is not on the website.

[baron45]

Was this the 7 hr. Yukon Rail & bus or the Yukon Rail, bus and dog sled? Also, could you tell me what it cost as it is not on the website.

 

 

1) White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion

Duration: 3.5 Hours

Departure: 7:30AM & 12:00PM

Cost: $118.65 Adult $76.65 Child (12 & Under)

Itinerary: 1 3/4 hours on train to White Pass Summit & Fraser by train - Return to Skagway by bus (This tour operates in reverse order at 8:30AM & 1:00PM)

2) Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion

Duration: 7 Hours

Departure: 7:30AM

Cost: $174.30 Adult $114.45 Child (12 & Under)

Lunch: Caribou Crossing Trading Post/Yukon Wildlife Museum/Husky Puppy Camp/Lunch Included

Itinerary: Skagway/White Pass Summit /Fraser by train - 1 3/4 hours on train to Fraser, Fraser to Carcross & Emerald Lake and return to Skagway by bus

3) Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion With 15-Minute Dogsled Ride

Same as #2 above plus dogsled ride included in this package

Cost: $208.95 Adults $153.30 Child (12 & Under)

4) Skagway/Carcross Rail & Bus Excursion

Duration: 9 Hours

Departure: 7:30AM

Cost: $229 Adult $146 Child (12 & Under)

Lunch: Lake Bennett Train Depot dining hall/Parks Canada Interpretive Displays/Lunch Included

Itinerary: 2 1/2 hours on train to White Pass Summit, Fraser & Lake Bennett – 1 1/2 hours for lunch and layover at Lake Bennett – 2 hours by train to Carcross – Carcross to Emerald Lake and return to Skagway by bus

(This excursion operates in the reverse order on Wednesday and Sunday.)

Courtesy transportation is provided to and from all cruise ship docks in Skagway.

[eaglewingks]

Thanks so much for the info!

[littlegap]

There is the 8 hr train ride or the 2.5 hr to the summit ... is it worht the extra time to go all the way ???

 

 

We did this tour 2 weeks ago and the scenery is absolutely amazing. It is a bit long but worth it because we made it to Emerald Lake and then the ride down on the train was beautiful. We then stopped at Bennett Lake for lunch. One of the guides took us around the area and told us some facts and stories. This trip was worth it for the scenery and history. Chilkoot Charters were punctual and dropped people off where ever they asked.

[Sumy]

We wanted to do the longer one but our ship won't be in Skagway long enough, so we are doing the first Chilkoot tours option of the train up to frasier and the bus down, or vice versa.

 

Is it better to take the train up then the bus down, or the bus up and then the train down?

[rollie]

Does anyone know what is served for lunch? It's not a showstopper for us, but we have 8 people who may be joining us, and it may be a concern to some of them.

 

Thanks..................Rollie

[eaglewingks]

We recently returned from the July 30 cruise and this excursion was the highlight of the trip for me. I would have liked to have gone further on the train and then come back on the bus, but it was a great trip, however, we did not have kids with us. Lunch for us was chicken, cole slaw,rolls, beans. It was okay, but we were used to the great cruise ship food:D For us, this trip wasn't about the food.

[ACD5]

There is the 8 hr train ride or the 2.5 hr to the summit ... is it worht the extra time to go all the way ???

 

Want something different? Go to http://www.southeasttours.com. It has a wonderful bus tour up to Yukon (traveling pararellel to train tours) however; this includes a 2 hour horseback ride. I hadn't ridden in 10 years and did just fine. Two of the party were from Japan and had never been on a horse before. We made several stops for pictures, our bus narrator was fantastic, we had lunch, etc. I would highly recommend this tour. ;)

 

ACD5

[Aussie Gal]

We will be doing the 7 hours trip going by bus and returning by train. Can anyone tell me which side of the bus has the best view going up and which side on the train coming back has the best view.

 

Thanks.

 

Jennie

[JerseyJaguar]

When you do the bus and train how do you avoid having the bad seats both ways? So many people want to make sure they have the good seats, but as someone who travels alone I'm concerned I'll get pushed aside for decent seats both ways.

 

At least with the RT railway you're guaranteed a good seat one way.

[Yukon]

We will be doing the 7 hours trip going by bus and returning by train. Can anyone tell me which side of the bus has the best view going up and which side on the train coming back has the best view.

 

You want the RIGHT side of both the bus going up and the train down, Jennie. That's the right as you sit inside facing the front of the bus/train.

[Yukon]

When you do the bus and train how do you avoid having the bad seats both ways?

 

There is only one way - be assertive. Being early helps tremendously.

[rfbdorf]

Dang - the tour starts at 7:30 but the ship doesn't arrive until 7:00.

Oh - I just saw that they are not wheelchair-accessible. That's a showstopper for us. Bummer.

- Richard

[JerseyJaguar]

There is only one way - be assertive. Being early helps tremendously.

See, I'll do the RT Rail then because I don't feel like fighting old people and families for a decent seat, and don't want to have to push my way to what should be fair for all at the price they charge.

[Bella92]

We did the 7 hour train/bus trip, and getting good seats really isn't an issue if you book with Chilkoot Charters. There were only about 9 passengers in the train car. The bus ride also had extra seats, so you could pick which side without a problem.

 

Also, we were in the train car with the woman speaking over the intercom, so we could ask her questions and she would share other information that didn't go over the speakers!

 

As others have noted, on the bus ride, the drive stopped several times for wildlife, and we saw several bears. It is a long trip, but DEFINATELY worth it. For those interested, where we stopped for lunch, people could book a ride with the dogs in you are so inclined (we were happy just to play with the puppies, for free).

[labeachcomber]

We did the 3.5 hour tour, train up, bus down through Chilkoot. I've posted elsewhere that it just wasn't that great an experience. Not that it was Chilkoot's fault, we just didn't find the excursion all that breathtaking - whether you booked through the ship or through a private company.

 

For those concerned about where to sit - imaging the scenery is in the "middle" of the page. The railroad tracks go up the right side of the page, the highway runs along the left side of the page. If you are doing train "up" first, you'll want to be on the left side of the train car. (The train operators say they can't tell you where to sit, but it's pretty clear that they recommend the left side.) If you're taking the bus up first, you'll want to be on the right side of the bus. And then vice versa if you're going the opposite direction.

 

Perhaps we didn't enjoy it because there wasn't much to see. There was so much fog that on the train ride we really couldn't see much of anything. On the bus ride back, we stopped at a few waterfalls and such. But other than that it was pretty mundane. Was it worth the $137 per person plus an additional tip? Certainly not. That's more than we paid for our whale watching tour in Icy Strait Point. But we figured it's one of those things you "HAVE" to do when visiting Skagway. Next time if we ever come back, we'll know differently.

[Aussie Gal]

You want the RIGHT side of both the bus going up and the train down, Jennie. That's the right as you sit inside facing the front of the bus/train.

 

 

Yukon,

 

Thanks so much for that. As you probably realize we drive on the opposite side to you and I was having trouble working out which side we needed to sit to get the views.

 

We will be fine as long as we are on the RIGHT side of both the train and the bus facing the front! :o

 

Jennie