Round trip bus to White Pass Summit?

[Look2Sea]

Any thoughts on Round trip bus to White Pass Summit.

 

I have heard that the train trip is amazing,

What makes the train more special than the bus?

Is it mainly the fact of riding on a train?

 

How does the bus trip compare? :confused:

Is it basically the same scenery?

[poet_tess@yahoo.com]

I haven't been there yet, but based on what I've read from others the train is worth it if you like/love trains. The route/scenery is the same. Even though my kids are 9 and 11 they will fall asleep on the train; they may fall asleep on the van tour also but at least it costs less. Based on that I booked a van tour to Carcross/Yukon. I like that we will have a narrated tour and get all the same scenery and possibly more stops for photos.

 

Margie

[Yukon]

Although the scenery is similar (the railway and the highway run up opposite sides of the same valley), there are significant differences - if trains, history or engineering interest you, you'll quickly see why the train has been the best-selling excursion in Alaska for most of the last century+. The album at http://www.railsnorth.com/steamex.html shows the train trip.

 

Cathy and I will be making the trip again tomorrow (the Carcross-Bennett section) to celebrate the incredible weather we're having. After many, many trips on the train we both still love it, and will be taking Cathy's parents on the entire Skagway-Carcross run when they come out from Ontario next month. :)

 

Murray

[oldengine]

Are there any steam engines left for use on the train or are they all Diesel locomotives?

[Yukon]

Are there any steam engines left for use on the train or are they all Diesel locomotives?

 

The steam locomotives run on Fridays and Sundays only - http://wpyr.com/schedule.html

[oldengine]

It would have been great, but our itinerary is Thursday 30 July. All the more important to enjoy your photos on http://www.railsnorth.com/steamex.html

 

To the OP, we are taking the coach up to Carcross and the train back from Fraser to Skagway.

[Lessa11]

Personally, I'd rather rent a car and stop at the sights that interest me. Of course that means I'll be buying Murray's book:D

[judee142]

We just returned from our cruise last week and we did a van tour to the Yukon through NCL. We liked it much better than the train we did last time we were in Alaska. We made lots of photo stops and saw bears, a moose, a porcupine, waterfalls and beautiful scenery up close. It was our favorite excursion.

[oldengine]

I'll be buying Murray's book:D

I bought the book, but the thought of a car breakdown and missing the boat paints gloomy pictures.

[Yukon]

I bought the book, but the thought of a car breakdown and missing the boat paints gloomy pictures.

 

Why would you think about things like that?? In my hundreds of trips up and down that highway I have never seen a car broken down (though I did help one guy who locked himself out of his rental SUV) - I have seen the odd tour bus broken down, though.

[LoriPhil]

We're on a B2B and will be in Skagway on a Thursday and Friday. What's the difference in experience if you travel with the steam vs the diesel?

 

Thanks!!

[krogerlady]

There seem to be a lot of options for the train excursions in Skagway, such as book with ship, book direct with WPYR or book with Chilkoot. I have seen references to the ships or Chilkoot having "their own cars" on the train, but please, could someone clarify, once and for all....does every one of these tours, with whoever, however, actually move on the same set of tracks with the same engine pulling the train? And if they use the steam engine two days of the week, does that mean if you are on any of the excurions, your car will be pulled by that steam engine? The train excursions are some of the most popular in Alaska, and you see so many posts about them, and, I am taking one, in fact, on a Sunday, so that's where my question came from.

"""The steam locomotives run on Fridays and Sundays only - http://wpyr.com/schedule.html """"

[Yukon]

I have seen references to the ships or Chilkoot having "their own cars" on the train, but please, could someone clarify, once and for all....does every one of these tours, with whoever, however, actually move on the same set of tracks with the same engine pulling the train?

 

There are many trains running each day. An individual ship may run 3 or 4 trains - independents are normally on separate trains, and the steam train is a separate run, booked specifically. There is only one set of tracks, though (except for a few "passing lanes").

[StarTrkGeek]

Any thoughts on Round trip bus to White Pass Summit.

 

I have heard that the train trip is amazing,

What makes the train more special than the bus?

Is it mainly the fact of riding on a train?

 

How does the bus trip compare? :confused:

Is it basically the same scenery?

Don't take a bus; take a van instead. The cruise lines sometimes use large touring buses that cannot make stops on the road, for photo opportunities.

 

For the train trip, use Chilkoot Tours. For the van trip, use Dyea Dave Tours.

[KRN]

5 years ago we did the "To the Summit" van tour through the cruise line. We had a 6 year old with us, so we wanted a shorter trip than the train. It was great! It was a minivan, we stopped many times, the driver/guide was interesting and informative. And it was very reasonable. We all enjoyed it (6-70 yrs old).

 

When we go back this summer we're going to go on the train to try something different.

 

Obviously I can't compare the two yet, but I can tell you the van was a good trip.

[StarTrkGeek]

5 years ago we did the "To the Summit" van tour through the cruise line. We had a 6 year old with us, so we wanted a shorter trip than the train. It was great! It was a minivan, we stopped many times, the driver/guide was interesting and informative. And it was very reasonable. We all enjoyed it (6-70 yrs old).

 

When we go back this summer we're going to go on the train to try something different.

 

Obviously I can't compare the two yet, but I can tell you the van was a good trip.

We also did "To the Summit" a couple of years ago, and loved it. However, it did not go into the Yukon, so we never got to see Emerald Lake or Caribou Crossing. I understand that the train tracks are currently being repaired, so the train from Skagway goes only as far as Frasier (about the same distance from Skagway as the "To the Summit" van trip).

[cruising Baje]

We just returned from our cruise last week and we did a van tour to the Yukon through NCL. We liked it much better than the train we did last time we were in Alaska. We made lots of photo stops and saw bears, a moose, a porcupine, waterfalls and beautiful scenery up close. It was our favorite excursion.

Hi Judee

 

Thanks for sharing. We will be going to Alaska on Norwegian Sun in July, and had considered this tour instead of the train. The one we looked at includes lunch as well.

 

Was it cheaper to book the tours before boarding the ship? We found this so on the Jade to the Medditteranean last year, so we were thinking of booking in advance.

 

Which tours did you take in Juneau and Ketchikan? Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Thanks again

 

Baje

[wvufan]

We rented a car per the suggestion of folks on this board. While I am sure that the train trip is also wonderful, and we will likely try it next time, the particular day we were there the train experienced a lot of fog.

 

We followed Murray's guide and had a spectacular day. We felt sorry for the folks on buses who didn't have the discretion to stop as we did for as long as we wanted. The bus would be our last choice of a way to experience that area. We rented through Avis and got an AARP rate.

 

The road is well maintained and travelled enough that you should not concern yourself about a breakdown and getting stranded.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[Paumavista]

Highly recommend just renting your own car and driving. The roads are great and the scenery spectacular. Plus you can keep to your own schedule and priorities. The cost for our family of 5 was obviously the cheapest tour option.

[judee142]

Baje,

We booked all our tours in advance so I'm not sure if the price goes up at all. Our price was $99 pp and it did include lunch at the Spirit Lodge. Soup, sandwich and dessert...very good.

In Juneau, we took the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watch quest which great. About an hour at Mendenhall then out on the boat. It was a cold and rainy day so we stayed in the warm cabin a lot. We did go out on deck when a mother and baby whale were spotted. I guess the baby was feeling a little frisky because it was jumping in and out of the water. What a treat.

In Ketchikan, we did the duck tour (it was okay, guide said it is a better tour later on in the season when there is more wildlife activity). Then we went to the lumberjack show which was a lot of fun. In Victoria, we just walked around..a very beautiful city.

Have a great trip.