Dyea Dave or Rent a Car to Emerald Lake?

We will be in Skagway the end of July and I am trying to plan our day there. 4 adults on our first cruise to Alaska. I have read great reviews on Dyea Dave but have also seen some positive info about renting a car and driving on our own. I would love to hear some responses in comparison of the two. Which would you recommend.

The cost difference for each couple looks to only about about $40 more to do the tour with Dave.

I have rented a car twice. Once with 4 of us and once with 2 of us. Personally I liked being on my own schedule. When it was just 2 of us, we saw a black bear both on the way up and on the way down again. We could spend as much time as we wanted watching and photographing it. With the 4 of us, it ended up being quite a bit cheaper than the tour. But that was years ago.

There really is no "right" answer. I think whatever you and the group feel is best for you.

We used Dyea Dave last summer & thought it was a great excursion. One of the best we've had in our 2 trips to Alaska.

The best of both worlds would be to rent a car and have Dave drive you... :p

We rode with Dave last year in May and had a great time. The plus for him would be all the info he will tell you along the way about things you might otherwise never hear about or know. There was only four in our group (early May and only one ship in port) so we were able to kind of stop where we wanted for pictures without a problem - if there was more it might be an issue because of too many people wanting to stop too much. I know of two other groups on our ship who rented cars for the day and seemed to have a great time - one couple drove all the way to Whitehorse and went to Walmart to get a new suitcase for some reason. Since there really isn't much difference in the money it would be a decision of wanting to just sit back and relax with someone else driving and narrating or having full control. I'm going back next year and will have some friends with me who have never been before so I'm going to need to make this same decision. Either choice would be much, much better than being on one of the big buses that's completely packed full. Good luck!

The best of both worlds would be to rent a car and have Dave drive you... :p

 

We rode with Dave last year in May and had a great time. The plus for him would be all the info he will tell you along the way about things you might otherwise never hear about or know. There was only four in our group (early May and only one ship in port) so we were able to kind of stop where we wanted for pictures without a problem - if there was more it might be an issue because of too many people wanting to stop too much. I know of two other groups on our ship who rented cars for the day and seemed to have a great time - one couple drove all the way to Whitehorse and went to Walmart to get a new suitcase for some reason. Since there really isn't much difference in the money it would be a decision of wanting to just sit back and relax with someone else driving and narrating or having full control. I'm going back next year and will have some friends with me who have never been before so I'm going to need to make this same decision. Either choice would be much, much better than being on one of the big buses that's completely packed full. Good luck!

Hey I agree with SuperCrewBear, go with Dave!! He knows where everything is. He been in that are for 30 yrs or more. He's a good tour guide.

If you drive, be sure to take Murray's Guide with you - search Murray's guide Skagway, and you'll see his link. This guide has everything you'll need, including where there are bathrooms! As others have said, it's really a personal choice. I prefer to be on my own and make my own schedule, so we always rent a car in Skagway and drive to Emerald Lake.

We have also decided to rent a car. We like the idea of being able to stop whenever and wherever we want and for however long we want. We plan to get the Murray's guidebook. I looked at it just a little bit and it looks awesome.

We don't go until the last trip of 2018, but since I am a mega-planner I want everything planned well in advance!

We hired Becky of Beyond Skagway with Becky - for the best of both. She drove, but would stop whenever we asked. She even backed up so that I could get these photographs on the side of the road:

DSCF8210 by Amy S, on Flickr

DSCF8253 by Amy S, on Flickr

I have not hired Dave, but I'm not sure how able a large van on a schedule with a dozen or so different people (often on different ships) can stop randomly.