Yukon Expedition & White Pass Scenic Railway or JUST the Scenic Railway

[srhonda61]

I'll be on the Crown Princess, Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver and I'm trying to choose between the two excursions above. The first one involves traveling the Klondike Highway by motorcoach, over the White Pass Summit, into Canada's Yukon in addition to the White Pass Scenic Railway. It also includes lunch and shopping. This one is also 8 hrs in duration as opposed to 3.5 hours with just the railway.

 

I'm wondering if anybody has done either one or could recommend one over the other.

 

Any other recommendations would also be very welcome. We will be flying into Anchorage and have to make our way over to Whittier. We're thinking of coming in a few days early to explore that area a little. Any suggestions on what would be reasonable driving distance? The other ports which I still haven't planned yet are Juneau and Ketchikan. Although I've already started my research and am considering whale watching in Juneau and Flightseeing to Misty Fjords. Of course, price will be a consideration. I don't expect budget travel on this trip, but I would definitely be interested in good suggestions which may not be the typical higher priced choices. This will be our first time in Alaska and we'd like to treat it as though it's our last because we have no idea if we'll ever get back there.

 

Looking forward to as many suggestions as I can get. :)

Edited February 22, 2014 by srhonda61

[Kamloops50]

I'll be on the Crown Princess, Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver and I'm trying to choose between the two excursions above. The first one involves traveling the Klondike Highway by motorcoach, over the White Pass Summit, into Canada's Yukon in addition to the White Pass Scenic Railway. It also includes lunch and shopping. This one is also 8 hrs in duration as opposed to 3.5 hours with just the railway.

 

I'm wondering if anybody has done either one or could recommend one over the other.

 

Any other recommendations would also be very welcome. We will be flying into Anchorage and have to make our way over to Whittier. We're thinking of coming in a few days early to explore that area a little. Any suggestions on what would be reasonable driving distance? The other ports which I still haven't planned yet are Juneau and Ketchikan. Although I've already started my research and am considering whale watching in Juneau and Flightseeing to Misty Fjords. Of course, price will be a consideration. I don't expect budget travel on this trip, but I would definitely be interested in good suggestions which may not be the typical higher priced choices. This will be our first time in Alaska and we'd like to treat it as though it's our last because we have no idea if we'll ever get back there.

 

Looking forward to as many suggestions as I can get. :)

 

Go for the longer tour. You'll see more and a different view on the bus /train combo. The Yukon is totally different from Alaska. If you go to Emerald Lake , they might also stop at the Carcross Desert. We are doing a trip to the Yukon to see my wife's family. We are definately going to drive Carcross and try to drive all the way to Skagway for the day , maybe overnight.

[AKStafford]

We will be flying into Anchorage and have to make our way over to Whittier. We're thinking of coming in a few days early to explore that area a little. Any suggestions on what would be reasonable driving distance?

You have a lot of options, and the more days you can add in, the more you can do...

There's Seward with Exit Glacier, Alaska Sealife Center and Kenai Fjords wildlife cruises

There's the Portage/Girdwood/Whittier area with Portage Glacier, Byron Glacier, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Alyeska Resort, Crow Creek Mine,

Portage Valley, and Prince William Sound glacier cruises.

Or you could go north of Anchorage. There's the Matanuska Glacier, Knik Glacier, McKinley flightseeing trips out of Talkeetna, Hatcher's Pass, Independence Mine, the Iditarod Headquarters, Eklutna Lake.

[sherryf]

I'll be on the Crown Princess, Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver and I'm trying to choose between the two excursions above. The first one involves traveling the Klondike Highway by motorcoach, over the White Pass Summit, into Canada's Yukon in addition to the White Pass Scenic Railway. It also includes lunch and shopping. This one is also 8 hrs in duration as opposed to 3.5 hours with just the railway.

 

I'm wondering if anybody has done either one or could recommend one over the other.

 

I've done both, as well as the Lake Bennett train/bus combo and also rented a car and did the drive ourselves. Each option has pros and cons. My favorite was the Lake Bennett tour. We did not do our tours through the cruise line but booked with Chilkoot Charters instead. The price is slightly less, but the big advantage is smaller group sizes and more personalized tour.

 

One thing to consider is whether there is anything else you would like to do in Skagway. If you take the shorter tour, what will you do the rest of the day? Most cruises have a full day in Skagway, so if you only do a 3.5 hour tour, you may not be making the most of your time in port. It seems a waste, if it may be your only trip to Alaska.

[Kamloops50]

Take the shorter one in the morning then take another one in the afternoon.

 

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[srhonda61]

Sherryf, I actually have considered Chilkoot Tours and will probably go with that, both the bus and the train combo.

 

My main concern right now is that I keep reading people's plans of a land tour before the cruise and Dinali National Park.

 

When I saw the prices of hotels in Anchorage, it scared me off. We booked one night in Anchorage and then the bus tour to Whittier the next day. That's the same day that the cruise starts.

 

We also plan to stay a week in Vancouver and go to Okanagan Valley, Whistler, Victoria, and Stanley Park at the end of our cruise, so I just couldn't absorb the added cost of more time in Alaska.

 

Now I feel like we'll be missing a lot. I did, however, plan a 7 day southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver at the end of June/beginning of July....I believe that was a good choice. But did I leave out too much, or will we see enough? I'm also planning on booking really nice excursions in Juneau and Ketchikan....whale watching and flightseeing....

 

I'd like some opinions on this plan. Should I feel badly that I'm skipping the land tour in Alaska? I already booked the flight to Anchorage. :confused:

Edited February 26, 2014 by srhonda61