Dyea Dave in Skagway?

[Shirley C]

My parents and I travelled with dave on 26th may and we initially thot of coming back on the train but had such a blast travelling up with Dave that we decided to just stick with the van on the way down.

 

I did not expect a phone call from him as I am located in Singapore but he was very responsive when I emailed him.

 

best of all, unlike some tours that asked you to pay them first and if there is any cancellation, there is no refund, Dave doesn't expect to be paid until end of the tour. In fact, when we decided to drop of at the town area, we just pass the money to him and he doesn't even check to see if we paid him right. He even said if we happened to see any of his vans in town, just stopped them and anyone of them will gladly gave us a ride back to our dock...fabulous...go with Dave and you will not regret it

 

He also told us the same thing, and also told us that if we weren't happy at the end of the tour, we didn't have to pay him. Everyone paid him the fee plus a tip as we were more than satisfied! Two bears up close!

[mr green]

We were on the same tour, May 26 and it was great.

Regarding Dave's sister, I read the posts last fall, [as we were going to go with him then], and, his sister, got rave reviews, in many cases better than Dave himself. I met with her briefly last month, and she has quite a sense of humor.

 

john

[doe326]

Had a great tour with Dave on June 1. Would definitely go with him again. We rode up with him and then took the train back. Saw bears on the way up and back. Had great stops along the way. Plenty of time to take pictures and Dave gave a multitude of information. On the train ride back two other couples were with us that toured with Dave's sister. I asked how she was and both couples raved about her. Said she had a great sense of humour and was very knowledgeable about the areas we stopped at. Hope to make it back to Skagway again someday and that we can tour with Dave too.

[PugMom02]

Has anyone did a tour with Dyea Dave in Skagway? I can't seem to find any feedback from people that have gone on a tour with this guy.

 

 

I used Dave for a group of 8 adults in May. I have to say you can not go wrong with Dyea Dave. We got off the Rhapsody of the Sea and by the time we hit the parking lot he was there waiting for us in his new comfy bus. He was a lot of fun, he stopped anytime someone wanted a picture. He stopped to point out great photo ops. We went to Carcross and met a friend of his at the visitor center who is a First Nations woman. She got on the bus and gave us a bunch of brochures and talked a little about her people and history. She even sang us one of her native songs right on the bus. Dave was amazed, stated she had never done that before. We went all the way to Emerald Lake in the Yukon. With a stop at the Cinnamon Cache for lunch. It was great.

 

Down in Skagway he took us to the overlook and the cemetary. Another great thing about Dave is he doesn't feel like his job is done until you are back to dock. After our tour half our group was ready to go back to the ship and rest and the other half wanted to check out the town. He dropped us off but kept driving around until we were ready to go back to the ship and then picked us up off the street and took us back to the Dock.

 

I can not say enough great things about Dave. I highly recommend him to anyone while in Skagway.:D

[tjcox9]

We were with Dave on June 3 and had a great tour, including four black bears. He's a hoot!!! Great information and entertainment, for sure.

 

Someone earlier asked where people ate. He gave us a choice of the cinnamon roll place or the pie place. It made no difference to us and the others chose the pie place which is run by a Dutch lady who makes great pies. Nothing fancy at all, but soup and sandwiches were good and pie was great.

 

As for Dave's sister, we toured with her last year and just went to Dyea and found her to be quite a character as well. She loves to do the more off the main road tours as Dyea is. We had a great grizzly bear experience with her near the beginning of the Chilcoot Trail.

 

Both were great tours and we'd do both or either again!

[jku2]

We are going on the bus to Emerald lake on June 24th.

We were told by Dave that we will be on his new bus with Becky. Any info on Becky??

[frugaltravel]

We are going on the bus to Emerald lake on June 24th.

We were told by Dave that we will be on his new bus with Becky. Any info on Becky??

 

Yes, read the post right above yours :D

[jku2]

Yes, read the post right above yours :D

 

Dave's sister is named Kathy from reading this thread.

 

Becky is a girl from Fairbanks that is now working for Dave. I just wondered if anyone had her for a recent tour.

 

I haven't read any posts about Becky

[pizzalady1]

Dave's sister is named Kathy from reading this thread.

 

Becky is a girl from Fairbanks that is now working for Dave. I just wondered if anyone had her for a recent tour.

 

I haven't read any posts about Becky

 

There were several posts last year about Becky--everyone on her tours seemed to like her and enjoyed her tours. Maybe a search in this forum for "Beckly" may come up with something?

[momtwins]

We had Becky when we went two weeks ago and she is wonderful. We were given the choice half way through to go with Dave or stay with Becky and we chose Becky (not that we didn't think Dave would be good). Becky is so sweet and does all she can to make everyone happy. She has great stories and truly loves her job--well to her it isn't a job.

 

The tour with her was the highlight of our two week vacation. She would stop when anyone wanted and always took our picture for us. She was excited as we were seeing the sights as if it were the first time she had seen it. She even canceled an appointment she had that evening at 5:30 so we could stay out longer and stop at the cemetery and Reid falls.

 

I have no reservations about going with Becky and if I am ever there again I would request her. I feel as though I have a friend in Skagway.

 

My only advice is make sure you have enough cash to pay them and to eat lunch. We knew we had enough to pay them but didn't think about not being able to charge our lunch (we don't carry much cash).

 

Connie

[tjcox9]

And don't forget to carry your passport off the ship with you as you'll need it to cross into Canada.................Dave, and I'm sure Becky as well will ask you more than once before taking off if you have it.

[joecleveland]

My only advice is make sure you have enough cash to pay them and to eat lunch. We knew we had enough to pay them but didn't think about not being able to charge our lunch (we don't carry much cash). Connie

 

Connie, do you need to have Canadian Cash for the lunch or will they take US dollars? And about how much did lunch run?

[tracyvansmith]

Has anyone did a tour with Dyea Dave in Skagway? I can't seem to find any feedback from people that have gone on a tour with this guy.

 

I booked with him last year. He was great and I would go with him anytime.:D

[im4golf]

We are scheduled to go with Dyea Dave's sister called Ruth. DOes he have 2 sisters?

[Bridgeplayer1]

I just booked the Summit and Beyond tour for 4PM on June 29th with Dave as he is booked earlier in the day for the Emerald lake tour. I havn't seen too many comments on this one. Anyone take it?

[tjcox9]

Dave told us last week that one of his sisters passed away last August, so now there is only one.

[momtwins]

Connie, do you need to have Canadian Cash for the lunch or will they take US dollars? And about how much did lunch run?

 

They will take US dollars (funny I never even thought of that while we were there as I felt like I was still in US). For the two of us $20 was about right--we each had a sandwich, hubby had a drink (I did not just shared his) and we split a cinnamon roll which by the way was very good. I would allow at a minimum $10 per person but if you are a heavy eater maybe more.

 

All of this of course is assuming that you stop at the same place but having a little cash any where won't hurt.

 

Enjoy your trip from a fellow Buckeye.

 

Connie

[tjcox9]

Hubby and I shared a sandwich, each had a bowl of soup and shared a piece of yummy blueberry pie and no drinks - price was $20 for the two of us. As with the other place, it sounds like about $10 a person here as well as at the cinnamon bun place.

[betthemortgage]

After reading through 19 pages on this board, I decided to send an e-mail to Dave to hopefully get lucky and get a tour booked for my party of 4. In the TITLE of the e-mail, I included the DATE we'd be in Skagway, and the NUMBER of folks in our party. In the BODY of the e-mail, I included my HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER and the SHIP I'd be on.

 

Within 5 minutes of sending the e-mail, Dave gave me a call! We spoke for roughly 15 minutes. I was extremely fortunate to get booked on his tour given the close proximity to my sail date.

 

After talking with Dave, I get the feeling he gets an incredible amount of e-mails every day. I also think that your response time to your e-mail will get better if you place the DATE & NUMBER in your party in the TITLE and provide him with a telephone number. Like I said, he called me within 5 minutes.

 

He seemed extremely personable on the phone and took his time to answer all of my questions. I'm looking forward to meeting him for our tour.

 

I hope this information helps all the other prospective cruisers who might be thinking of this tour provider. :D

[tjcox9]

When on tour with Dave recently, he claims to be a Luddite and is going to take his cell phone out in the wild and shoot it in September. He admits his organizational and computer skills are limited. And with two buses and three "employees", one who uses his own Suburban, he mentioned that he needs to hire another person for communications and organizing.

 

He is a talker, for sure. You'll have a great day. Enjoy.

[happytrails42]

When on tour with Dave recently, he claims to be a Luddite and is going to take his cell phone out in the wild and shoot it in September. He admits his organizational and computer skills are limited. And with two buses and three "employees", one who uses his own Suburban, he mentioned that he needs to hire another person for communications and organizing.

 

He is a talker, for sure. You'll have a great day. Enjoy.

In my job, I am very well versed with organizing and communicating with all types of people ... however, I would be a little hesitate re the commute:p

 

We'll be w/Dave on July 6 and are so looking forward to it!

[5326jan]

He also told us the same thing, and also told us that if we weren't happy at the end of the tour, we didn't have to pay him. Everyone paid him the fee plus a tip as we were more than satisfied! Two bears up close!

 

We go in a couple weeks and I want to be sure to have enough for a tip. His fee is 69/pp... how much did you tip per person? Thanks!

[momtwins]

His fee varies as to when you booked so others may be paying something else.

 

We had Becky and tipped her $35 for two of us. I don't know if that is alot but she told us we were very generous but it was worth every penny.

[5326jan]

His fee varies as to when you booked so others may be paying something else.

 

We had Becky and tipped her $35 for two of us. I don't know if that is alot but she told us we were very generous but it was worth every penny.

 

 

That's exactly what I wanted to know. In this economy I want to be generous to those who work hard to provide good service!

[Cruisin2009]

Has anyone done Dave's Emerald Lake this tour with children? Ages 4 and 8? I'm wondering how they did on the tour... if they got bored, etc?