Advice on White Pass & Yukon tour

[Dams]

We cannot find any openings for the Rail tour for our July Skagway port tour. We booked this early July cruise just 2 weeks ago and there are apparently 5 cruise ships in port on the same day. Chilkoot tours and Frontier are all full for the rail tour.

Our cruise line may have openings for the rail tour but it only goes to Fraser and then on to the suspension bridge. I see on this board, everyone recommends the longer tour to Yukon (Carcross/bennett Lake).

 

What do you advise between

1). Take what the cruiseline tour offers (Rail and bus tour upto suspension bridge). I do not think it actually goes into Yukon T but we can go on the Rail trip that most say not be missed.

2). Take a bus tour by one of the tour operators. Frontier has "Yukon Discovery Tour" I will have to check where all it goes.

3). Rent a car and DIY all the way to Carcross etc at my own pace. It will be cheaper (there are 5 of us in our group), though money is not an issue as this will be our only trip to Alaska for a long time. I like the fact we can do it on our pace (stop wherever we want, photo ops, rest rooms etc) though I, as the driver, may not enjoy it as much. Or is not that big of a deal?

[Cruise_More_Often]

We actually enjoyed our van trip (Chilkoot Charters) up to the Yukon much better than the railway trip back down. I think you should probably get a rental car and do it yourself. You can pull over to the side wherever you want. Watch for other cars along the side, as they have probably spotted a bear or other animal.

[L454S]

Wife and I did the White Pass rail on our first trip. Second time we rented a car and drove as far as Emerald Lake. The drive is a lot better IMHO, and a lot cheaper. We have Green Jeeps Rentals reserved for our upcoming trip, looking forward to it.

 

This is not a knock on the White Pass Rail, it was great. Just wanted to stop and go when we wanted.

[bonvoyagie]

I am a rail buff so the WP&Y is a must do - however if hearing about the history of the area and the RRs part in it is not important, then you can probably skip the train and either rent a car or do a van only trip - try Dyea Dave. However with 5 ships in port I would expect everyone to be full up as I have seen days where only 4 ships in port taxes the popular excursions. Who knows, at this point in time you may not even be able to rent a car. I know I have had my tour booked since christmas (it was a present:)). There might also be the RT summit tours still open on your cruise line - these were the most popular and simply go to the summit and return to Skagway - Fraser is about 7 miles beyond the summit. All trains to Fraser require a passport - the RT ones don't.

 

Good Luck

[Budget Queen]

I suggest you may want to confirm if there are any cars available? Any and all of these are good choices. At this point, you are going to have to choose, but usually the cruiselines does do, longer bus/train tours into the Yukon? What longest tours are listed?

[rdnpdx1]

Wife and I did the White Pass rail on our first trip. Second time we rented a car and drove as far as Emerald Lake. The drive is a lot better IMHO, and a lot cheaper. We have Green Jeeps Rentals reserved for our upcoming trip, looking forward to it.

 

This is not a knock on the White Pass Rail, it was great. Just wanted to stop and go when we wanted.

 

 

I agree. We rented a van from Avis for the day and the five of us went at our own pace to Emerald Lake and Carcross, stopping wherever we wanted on the way. We used Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway which was excellent and highly recommended. If you do rent a car, try to get to the Avis office early as a bit of a line formed before they opened at 8, and it is a good idea to be one of the early birds on the road for bear watching, etc.

[SweetP2]

We cannot find any openings for the Rail tour for our July Skagway port tour. We booked this early July cruise just 2 weeks ago and there are apparently 5 cruise ships in port on the same day. Chilkoot tours and Frontier are all full for the rail tour.

Our cruise line may have openings for the rail tour but it only goes to Fraser and then on to the suspension bridge. I see on this board, everyone recommends the longer tour to Yukon (Carcross/bennett Lake).

 

What do you advise between

1). Take what the cruiseline tour offers (Rail and bus tour upto suspension bridge). I do not think it actually goes into Yukon T but we can go on the Rail trip that most say not be missed.

2). Take a bus tour by one of the tour operators. Frontier has "Yukon Discovery Tour" I will have to check where all it goes.

3). Rent a car and DIY all the way to Carcross etc at my own pace. It will be cheaper (there are 5 of us in our group), though money is not an issue as this will be our only trip to Alaska for a long time. I like the fact we can do it on our pace (stop wherever we want, photo ops, rest rooms etc) though I, as the driver, may not enjoy it as much. Or is not that big of a deal?

 

Option 4) We have booked a Tour by Becky for 6 of us...she will drive us (SUV) to Emerald Lake and return. We did have the option to take the White Rail back, but we much prefer to have the ability to stop whenever we wish. Another option to consider.

 

SP

[mfloser]

Give Dyea Dave or Becky a try and ask if they can contact you if there are any cancellations--our bus ended up with 3 empty seats.

 

By the way, Becky used to drive for Dave but split out on her own a while ago. She and her son now run their own business. However, there is no animosity between them. Becky met our Dyea Dave tour bus at Fraser and waited with us for the train because our tour guide had to continue on with the rest of the tour.

[fleckle]

We cannot find any openings for the Rail tour for our July Skagway port tour. We booked this early July cruise just 2 weeks ago and there are apparently 5 cruise ships in port on the same day. Chilkoot tours and Frontier are all full for the rail tour.

Our cruise line may have openings for the rail tour but it only goes to Fraser and then on to the suspension bridge. I see on this board, everyone recommends the longer tour to Yukon (Carcross/bennett Lake).

 

What do you advise between

1). Take what the cruiseline tour offers (Rail and bus tour upto suspension bridge). I do not think it actually goes into Yukon T but we can go on the Rail trip that most say not be missed.

2). Take a bus tour by one of the tour operators. Frontier has "Yukon Discovery Tour" I will have to check where all it goes.

3). Rent a car and DIY all the way to Carcross etc at my own pace. It will be cheaper (there are 5 of us in our group), though money is not an issue as this will be our only trip to Alaska for a long time. I like the fact we can do it on our pace (stop wherever we want, photo ops, rest rooms etc) though I, as the driver, may not enjoy it as much. Or is not that big of a deal?

 

First book the rental car for the day to be sure you have it reserved.

IMHO, a van would be preferable for 5 people, if you can get one.

 

Order and print out a copy of Murray's guide to take along.

( Just google "murray's guide" )

 

If any in your group want to ride the train, you can try to get them one-way tickets to Fraser at the train depot in town.

The one-way cost is currently $82 adult and $41 child.

 

Sometimes you can get train tickets there even when the cruise ship's train tours are sold out.

 

Or you can try to order them in advance online. Here is a link.

 

Fraser One Way Train Service from Skagway, Alaska

 

 

The people in your party who are riding the train will board at the train depot in town.

 

(The people on the cruise who booked their train rides through the cruise line will board their train right down by the pier where their ship docks.)

 

The driver of your car should wait at the depot to be sure everyone in your party who is taking the train is on board, and also to take photos of them boarding the train, of course. :)

 

When the train leaves the station, you can begin your leisurely drive up to Fraser where you will wait for your passengers to get off.

There is a big parking lot at the Fraser station.

 

The driver has plenty of time for sightseeing and photo stops along the way because the drive is much faster than the train so you will arrive in Fraser long before the train does.

 

At Fraser, the train passengers get off and join you in the car or van.

You drive through the customs stop there, show your passports, and all of you continue together on the drive up to the Yukon, to Carcross and Emerald Lake, or however far you want to go.

 

Emerald Lake is typically the turn-around point for most cruise passengers.

 

You can trade off drivers if you wish, but it is such a relaxing, scenic drive with very light traffic for most of the way that even the driver gets plenty of sightseeing.

 

There are lots of pullouts, making it easy to pull over to let someone pass you and then continue on at your own pace if you want to drive slowly.

[fleckle]

One more thing -- if your driver wants to take the train ride too, that can also be done with the rental car-train combination, as long as you have a second driver in your party to drive the car back down from Fraser to Skagway.

 

That way some members of your party take the train northbound and others take it southbound.

It gives everyone in your party the chance to ride the train and also to have the complete road tour.

 

The only drawback to doing it that way is the time restriction, needing to get back to the Fraser train station in time to catch the southbound train.

 

If nobody in your party is catching the southbound train, then your schedule is much more flexible, the only constraint being to return the rental car in Skagway before the all-aboard time for your ship.

But since most cruise ships leave Skagway quite late, that is not a problem at all.

[Budget Queen]

One more thing -- if your driver wants to take the train ride too, that can also be done with the rental car-train combination, as long as you have a second driver in your party to drive the car back down from Fraser to Skagway.

 

QUOTE]

 

This is assuming that BOTH drivers have signed the contract as approved drivers. This is not an option if your driver is taking the first train out which is 8am. Would have to have a third adult- if 2 drivers are needed.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Give Dyea Dave or Becky a try and ask if they can contact you if there are any cancellations--our bus ended up with 3 empty seats.

 

By the way, Becky used to drive for Dave but split out on her own a while ago. She and her son now run their own business. However, there is no animosity between them. Becky met our Dyea Dave tour bus at Fraser and waited with us for the train because our tour guide had to continue on with the rest of the tour.

While we were waiting for others to arrive at the pickup point in Skagway for our Chilkoot Charters trip, our guide pointed out Dyea Dave, who was standing close to our van. He said Dyea Dave was a "legend" in Skagway and had trained most of the people giving tours there. He added that Dave trains his people very well and is very supportive when they decide to launch out on their own.

[indigosails]

If I had it to do over again, I would drive.

[fleckle]

One more thing -- if your driver wants to take the train ride too, that can also be done with the rental car-train combination, as long as you have a second driver in your party to drive the car back down from Fraser to Skagway.

 

QUOTE]

 

This is assuming that BOTH drivers have signed the contract as approved drivers. This is not an option if your driver is taking the first train out which is 8am. Would have to have a third adult- if 2 drivers are needed.

We used only two drivers. Asked at Avis office when renting the car and were told it was fine and done all the time. No problem at all.

 

No need for a third adult.

(Budget Queen, I don't understand why a third adult would be needed in any case since you only need one driver going up and one driver going down, if each is riding the train one way.

Otherwise, you would need only one adult who can drive.)

 

 

We did not take 8am train. Don't remember exactly what time, but know that it was later because we did some other things in town first.

 

I have the impression that your reference to the 8am train was in regard to the time that the Avis office opens so that both drivers would be there for renting the vehicle, but please correct me if I am wrong.

 

 

The last time we did it, I drove the car from Skagway up to Fraser while my son, the other driver, rode the train.

He took over the driving from Fraser on and drove the entire rest of the trip, up to Emerald Lake and back.

 

We love doing it that way, going at our own pace on our own schedule with the freedom to stop whenever and wherever we want along the way and change plans on impulse if we like.

None of the rush to hurry up because we need to meet the guide in 15 minutes.

 

Another plus is that after the trip you can shop or have dinner in town and leave your belongings locked up in the car instead of dragging them around with you.

 

Then at the end of the day, you can drive over to the pier to drop off all packages and passengers at the ship before returning the rental car.

This is especially handy if you have small children or anyone who has trouble walking in your party.

[Budget Queen]

We used only two drivers. Asked at Avis office when renting the car and were told it was fine and done all the time. No problem at all.

 

No need for a third adult.

(Budget Queen, I don't understand why a third adult would be needed in any case since you only need one driver going up and one driver going down, if each is riding the train one way.

Otherwise, you would need only one adult who can drive.)

 

 

We did not take 8am train. Don't remember exactly what time, but know that it was later because we did some other things in town first.

 

I have the impression that your reference to the 8am train was in regard to the time that the Avis office opens so that both drivers would be there for renting the vehicle, but please correct me if I am wrong.

 

 

The last time we did it, I drove the car from Skagway up to Fraser while my son, the other driver, rode the train.

He took over the driving from Fraser on and drove the entire rest of the trip, up to Emerald Lake and back.

 

We love doing it that way, going at our own pace on our own schedule with the freedom to stop whenever and wherever we want along the way and change plans on impulse if we like.

None of the rush to hurry up because we need to meet the guide in 15 minutes.

 

Another plus is that after the trip you can shop or have dinner in town and leave your belongings locked up in the car instead of dragging them around with you.

 

Then at the end of the day, you can drive over to the pier to drop off all packages and passengers at the ship before returning the rental car.

This is especially handy if you have small children or anyone who has trouble walking in your party.

 

Both drivers need to be on the contract. Your claim that it is "done all the time" would be hard pressed if there was a claim with damage. You really think they would pay for "anyone" involved in an accident, who was not on the initial rental? Have you been involved in any rental car claims??

[ChillKat]

We toured with Dyea Dave in May. We did the Emerald Lake tour with the train back from Fraser, that way we could experience both! And we enjoyed both parts of our tour very much! We booked with Dave (he is awesome!) several months ahead and also went ahead and booked our train ride because we didn't want it to fill up. Some on our tour tried to book the train that morning but it was booked up, and that was early in the season (although there were many empty seats on our train car??? ). But you never know when some will cancel so it's worth a try to book with a tour guide independently. Many have said that they liked their self tour in a rental if you can get one. Good luck, hope something is available for you-it is a beautiful trip!