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Dyea Dave or Chillcott tours


fedexretiree
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We are looking at either Dyea Dave or Chillcott tours in Skagway for May 2018. We want to to the train 1 way and then see Emerald lake and all the sights by car/bus. Anyone have good or bad reviews about either would be helpful.

I spoke to Dyea Dave and he said that he goes to an "original" dog musher camp not one that is "staged" for tourists. Any help here would be great, thanks in advance

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I did a Dyea Dave tour to Emerald Lake in May '16. EXCELLENT! We had a great time. Dave picked us up at the boat about 7:45 AM, stopped at the train office for us to get our tickets for the return trip from Fraser then we were off. I talked to him a couple times during the winter while deciding what to do and he had lots of good info - he's a legit, actual resident of Skagway so I felt his opinion was pretty good. His suggestion was to take the afternoon train because of often hazy/foggy mornings that burn off by the afternoon - better for the scenery from the train instead of seeing nothing. In the van we were up and over the mountains rather quickly and into very nice weather for the rest of the day. One thing Dave does is no credit cards and no deposits. You pay AFTER the tour if you were satisfied. We made quite few short stops for pictures on the way to Emerald lake. We also stopped for lunch at Carcross. When Dave dropped us at the train back to town I tried to pay him then - nope! He said he'd pick us up at the train and I could pay him then. When we were back in Skagway he was right there waiting on us - he knew which car we were in so he was sitting right there when we stepped off the train. I wanted to go to the Harley shop for a t-shirt and my shipmate wanted to go to a rock shop - Dave dropped me off then took her on to the rock shop. I walked there from my stop and he was there visiting with the shop owners. I was finally able to pay him. Very personal service. I will be in Skagway again in May '18 too - I have had my Dave tour scheduled for a few months already. (y) P.S. I've not done a Chillcot tour...I've read good things about them too.

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I did a Dyea Dave tour to Emerald Lake in May '16. EXCELLENT! We had a great time. Dave picked us up at the boat about 7:45 AM, stopped at the train office for us to get our tickets for the return trip from Fraser then we were off. I talked to him a couple times during the winter while deciding what to do and he had lots of good info - he's a legit, actual resident of Skagway so I felt his opinion was pretty good. His suggestion was to take the afternoon train because of often hazy/foggy mornings that burn off by the afternoon - better for the scenery from the train instead of seeing nothing. In the van we were up and over the mountains rather quickly and into very nice weather for the rest of the day. One thing Dave does is no credit cards and no deposits. You pay AFTER the tour if you were satisfied. We made quite few short stops for pictures on the way to Emerald lake. We also stopped for lunch at Carcross. When Dave dropped us at the train back to town I tried to pay him then - nope! He said he'd pick us up at the train and I could pay him then. When we were back in Skagway he was right there waiting on us - he knew which car we were in so he was sitting right there when we stepped off the train. I wanted to go to the Harley shop for a t-shirt and my shipmate wanted to go to a rock shop - Dave dropped me off then took her on to the rock shop. I walked there from my stop and he was there visiting with the shop owners. I was finally able to pay him. Very personal service. I will be in Skagway again in May '18 too - I have had my Dave tour scheduled for a few months already. (y) P.S. I've not done a Chillcot tour...I've read good things about them too.

 

Thanks for the great info on this tour. I do have a few other questions. Did you stop at a dog musher camp and if so could you pet the dogs? Do we have to buy tickets for the train in advance or are their typically enough seats to come back from Fraser? Did the tour take you to the suspended bridge or any waterfalls?

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We used Chilkoot Tours in May of this year and were very happy. We did the bus up and train back just in case of fog and it worked out well. We stopped for lunch at the place with the dogs and did the dog cart ride and got to play with some of the puppies. Probably not a "real" musher, but we enjoyed it. The dogs looked happy as well.

 

As an FYI, the Dyea Dave buses were at all the same stops we did (other than possibly the sled dogs). Both tours use smaller buses, so they can stop for wildlife in places the full size buses can't. Both get high ratings, so it probably comes down to price and schedule as to which to choose.

 

 

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We used Chilkoot Tours in May of this year and were very happy. We did the bus up and train back just in case of fog and it worked out well. We stopped for lunch at the place with the dogs and did the dog cart ride and got to play with some of the puppies. Probably not a "real" musher, but we enjoyed it. The dogs looked happy as well.

 

As an FYI, the Dyea Dave buses were at all the same stops we did (other than possibly the sled dogs). Both tours use smaller buses, so they can stop for wildlife in places the full size buses can't. Both get high ratings, so it probably comes down to price and schedule as to which to choose.

 

 

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After researching the tours I booked Chilkoot for next June. I did book the train up and bus back but emailed them to see if I can change to bus up and train back due to possible fog that early. Sounds like a great tour.

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We used Chilkoot Tours in May of this year and were very happy. We did the bus up and train back just in case of fog and it worked out well. We stopped for lunch at the place with the dogs and did the dog cart ride and got to play with some of the puppies. Probably not a "real" musher, but we enjoyed it. The dogs looked happy as well.

 

As an FYI, the Dyea Dave buses were at all the same stops we did (other than possibly the sled dogs). Both tours use smaller buses, so they can stop for wildlife in places the full size buses can't. Both get high ratings, so it probably comes down to price and schedule as to which to choose

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Great thanks

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After researching the tours I booked Chilkoot for next June. I did book the train up and bus back but emailed them to see if I can change to bus up and train back due to possible fog that early. Sounds like a great tour.

 

Thanks for the reply...If I might ask why did you choose Chilkoot over Daves tour

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Thanks for the great info on this tour. I do have a few other questions. Did you stop at a dog musher camp and if so could you pet the dogs? Do we have to buy tickets for the train in advance or are their typically enough seats to come back from Fraser? Did the tour take you to the suspended bridge or any waterfalls?

 

We didn't stop at a musher camp - probably because nobody asked. (???) I've read on here where someone said he does stop at a camp. You can call (or send an email) and actually talk to him or his assistant - right now it's winter so they should be able to answer your questions. I bought the train tickets ahead because I didn't know if they'd sell out - I wanted to make sure everything was squared away and paid for when I left the house. There is a suspension bridge you cross that's unique (it's only suspended from one side) and we did see a small waterfall that was called Bridal Falls, I think. There's a walk-across suspension bridge somewhere along the way but it's not affiliated with Dave - it's independent and basically a created tourist attraction. I think it was closed when we were there in the 1st week of May last year. We were the only ship in Skagway that day so it was probably unlikely the train would have been sold out. You should be able to check the docking schedule for 2018 to see how busy your visit will be with other tourists. (Here's a link to it from October 13th: Alaska Cruise Ship Docking Calendar )

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Both operators come highly recommended here. We went with Chilkoot and had a great time. We did the bus up and the train back. Chilkoot takes care of the train ride for you and they have a designated car on the train. We went with them just because that seemed easier.

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Both operators come highly recommended here. We went with Chilkoot and had a great time. We did the bus up and the train back. Chilkoot takes care of the train ride for you and they have a designated car on the train. We went with them just because that seemed easier.

 

Thanks for this info. Leaning towards this just because they take care of the train portion. The day that we are there 3 other ships are in port and I sure don't want to stress about getting tickets. Was the train fully booked or did you have extra room in the car?

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Thanks for this info. Leaning towards this just because they take care of the train portion. The day that we are there 3 other ships are in port and I sure don't want to stress about getting tickets. Was the train fully booked or did you have extra room in the car?

Chilkoot has their own car so it was just those of us on the tour in that car. Be sure to sit on the right if you take the train back! :)

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