Skagway to Yukon: Train or Bus?

[Bostonjetset]

Heading to Alaska this August on Koningsdam with my mom. It’s her first time in Alaska and whilst I’ve been once before with my husband, our previous cruise had Sitka instead of Skagway. As such I want to take the chance to visit the Yukon Territory. I love the idea of the train but it’s $240pp. Doable price for us but is it really worth $80 more each than a bus excursion?  I’ve read scenery on both is amazing and we’d stop in Carcross YT on both. Has anyone done both and have a preference? Going to YT is priority along with great scenery. There is a cheaper train option that goes to White Pass summit without going to YT but not interested in that one.  

[donaldsc]

How expensive would a car rental be.  With a car you can stop wherever you want to.  Just remember that you all need passports to go into Canada.

 

DON

[DougH]

I usually either rent a car or do the bus trip with Chillkot charters. Last June they stopped at almost the same places I would have with the car

 The car rental used to be about $120-130 but last year was twice that. Chillkot is a nice option, you might try their train/bus combo. 

[Coral]

I would also suggest Chilkoot. Bus one way and train the other direction.

[Bostonjetset]

Thanks everyone. I checked out Chilkoot and their bus tour is a great price. However, the train is only $20 less than booking through the cruise ship and is one way on a bus. I believe the train tour through Holland America is train in both directions.  I’m still just as confused. Is the train worth $100 more than the bus or is the scenery just as good on the bus (or if renting a car)?  

[Bostonjetset]

5 hours ago, donaldsc said:

How expensive would a car rental be.  With a car you can stop wherever you want to.  Just remember that you all need passports to go into Canada.

 

DON

I didn’t check rental cars but I guess that’s a possibility too.
 

We fly into Vancouver so would have passports with us anyway. 

[Coral]

7 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

Thanks everyone. I checked out Chilkoot and their bus tour is a great price. However, the train is only $20 less than booking through the cruise ship and is one way on a bus. I believe the train tour through Holland America is train in both directions.  I’m still just as confused. Is the train worth $100 more than the bus or is the scenery just as good on the bus (or if renting a car)?  

The train and the bus provide different views. Both have benefits and that is why the combo tour is great. The benefit from the bus is that you get out several times for photos. The bus will often go places the train can't such as Emerald Lake. I have found commentary on bus better.

 

I would either do rental car or combination of train/bus through Chilkoot.

 

Honestly - I have seen some senior citizens fall asleep on the train. The view is the same up as it is down. That is why going one way with the bus is beneficial. You see different things and get a different perspective of the area.

 

I have done the train 2x, the bus 2x, car 2x and the combination car/bus 1x. The combination would be my recommendation for first time cruisers.

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

I didn’t check rental cars but I guess that’s a possibility too.
 

We fly into Vancouver so would have passports with us anyway. 

Avis Alaska is the main car company. I believe it is not available direct through Avis website so google Avis Alaska. There is also a jeep company.

[Mountaineer0313]

Neither. Rent a car and drive yourself. We've done it twice and it's fantastic.

[Bostonjetset]

1 hour ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

Neither. Rent a car and drive yourself. We've done it twice and it's fantastic.

I just checked Avis and it’s $300 to rent a car the day we are there. That’s a bit crazy. 😱

[don't-use-real-name]

7 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

I just checked Avis and it’s $300 to rent a car the day we are there. That’s a bit crazy. 😱

$300 is not all that bad - consider adding more than a solo guest i.e. $300 / 4 = $75.

Now that is getting downright competitive with train/bus excursion rates.

 

AND the independence of a DIY agenda.

 

[Bostonjetset]

3 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

$300 is not all that bad - consider adding more than a solo guest i.e. $300 / 4 = $75.

Now that is getting downright competitive with train/bus excursion rates.

 

AND the independence of a DIY agenda.

 

I agree for a family of 4 or 5 it would work out to far less money per person.  For just the two of us though, it's comparable in price to an organized bus excursion where someone else does the driving for you, provides lunch, and narrates/"guides" the experience.  I think we would probably get more out of it if someone is explaining stuff to us as we see it rather than one of us [likely me lol] driving for hours rather than relaxing and enjoying the scenery.  As such, I think a car rental is out for us.

[Mountaineer0313]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:30 PM, Bostonjetset said:

I just checked Avis and it’s $300 to rent a car the day we are there. That’s a bit crazy. 😱

 

lol, yep. We've done it twice. And we'll probably do it again this year when we're there.

[Mountaineer0313]

On 1/13/2023 at 11:52 PM, Bostonjetset said:

I agree for a family of 4 or 5 it would work out to far less money per person.  For just the two of us though, it's comparable in price to an organized bus excursion where someone else does the driving for you, provides lunch, and narrates/"guides" the experience.  I think we would probably get more out of it if someone is explaining stuff to us as we see it rather than one of us [likely me lol] driving for hours rather than relaxing and enjoying the scenery.  As such, I think a car rental is out for us.

 

It just depends on if you're the type of person who wants to sit on a bus with a bunch of other people or if you want to be able to pull over on a whim and look at the scenery. Because there's a lot. We added about 3 hours onto our drive just from stopping, then continued on past Emerald Lake and found Lewes Lake, which was absolutely beautiful. No way to get there by bus, as it's on a 4 x 4 trail out in the middle of absolute nowhere.

[mathed101]

4 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

 

It just depends on if you're the type of person who wants to sit on a bus with a bunch of other people or if you want to be able to pull over on a whim and look at the scenery. Because there's a lot. We added about 3 hours onto our drive just from stopping, then continued on past Emerald Lake and found Lewes Lake, which was absolutely beautiful. No way to get there by bus, as it's on a 4 x 4 trail out in the middle of absolute nowhere.

 

I totally agree with you! We rented a jeep in 2019 for 4 of us. The jeep company actually had a sightseeing tour book with information about each stop that you could read or listen to a CD. We were able to get out of town before all of the tour buses so we were ahead of them at each of the popular photo stops and we could stay as long we wanted. We drove up past Emerald Lake too and found Lewes Lake. It was an adventure and well worth the trip to see the beauty of both lakes. It was relaxing to go at our own pace and all by ourselves. In 2019 the rental, including taxes and fees, was only $303 but now it is $478!!  Still a decent deal but quite the jump in price.

[Mountaineer0313]

2 hours ago, mathed101 said:

2 hours ago, mathed101 said:

 

I totally agree with you! We rented a jeep in 2019 for 4 of us. The jeep company actually had a sightseeing tour book with information about each stop that you could read or listen to a CD. We were able to get out of town before all of the tour buses so we were ahead of them at each of the popular photo stops and we could stay as long we wanted. We drove up past Emerald Lake too and found Lewes Lake. It was an adventure and well worth the trip to see the beauty of both lakes. It was relaxing to go at our own pace and all by ourselves. In 2019 the rental, including taxes and fees, was only $303 but now it is $478!!  Still a decent deal but quite the jump in price.

In 2018 we rented a car from Avis but saw many side roads we wanted to take but in a regular car, didn’t do it. Last year we rented the jeep and it also had the binder with mile markers and the recording and a packed lunch. Really glad we went with the Jeep since a car definitely wouldn’t have made it to lewes lake. We stopped everywhere we wanted to, for as long as we wanted or just to snap a quick picture. It’s one of our favorite places. 

[Gia2cats]

We took a small bus trip to the Yukon during our first Alaskan cruise. The driver was a woman who was a special Ed teacher in a very small town in interior Alaska. She stopped numerous times during the trip. But the best part was listening to her stories about living and working in Alaska. And several years before our cruise, she competed in, and completed, the Iditarod. It was fascinating to listen to her. So there are wonderful experiences to be had in many ways.

[Dolphin Doug]

Alaskan here. The car rental people aren’t wrong, but the train/bus combo is a better deal. The driver misses all the good stuff; you can drive or sightsee but not do both. And you’re lacking any commentary, the train sees different things, and you can stand up, plus, trains are cool.

 

I’ve driven it half a dozen times, train once, bus once.
 

Next time rent a vehicle. You’ll get up White Pass that much faster and have more time in the Yukon, eh?

 

Dolphin Doug

[Bostonjetset]

3 hours ago, Dolphin Doug said:

Alaskan here. The car rental people aren’t wrong, but the train/bus combo is a better deal. The driver misses all the good stuff; you can drive or sightsee but not do both. And you’re lacking any commentary, the train sees different things, and you can stand up, plus, trains are cool.

 

I’ve driven it half a dozen times, train once, bus once.
 

Next time rent a vehicle. You’ll get up White Pass that much faster and have more time in the Yukon, eh?

 

Dolphin Doug

Thanks for the reply!  My mom has basically decided for us that it’ll be the train this time. Apparently numerous colleagues of hers have done it and all recommended. It’s not cheap but it’s cheaper than renting a car and like you said I don’t want to be the driver who misses everything haha. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Bostonjetset

[lobsternight]

We have driven the highway with truck and camper, nice trip.  Look at the HAL website as what appears to be the same train trip can be slightly different.  Just booked for our HAL trip in May. Bus picks you up at the dock, tour up highway is narrated with some Robert Service poems (recently met his granddaughter),  Stop at worlds smallest desert, lunch in Carcross, wildlife display (taxidermy), RCMP display, off to dog musher camp, train back to Skagway.  Seems like the best of everything. Think it was $240 each

[Cannuck]

On 1/12/2023 at 2:26 PM, Bostonjetset said:

Heading to Alaska this August on Koningsdam with my mom. It’s her first time in Alaska and whilst I’ve been once before with my husband, our previous cruise had Sitka instead of Skagway. As such I want to take the chance to visit the Yukon Territory. I love the idea of the train but it’s $240pp. Doable price for us but is it really worth $80 more each than a bus excursion?  I’ve read scenery on both is amazing and we’d stop in Carcross YT on both. Has anyone done both and have a preference? Going to YT is priority along with great scenery. There is a cheaper train option that goes to White Pass summit without going to YT but not interested in that one.  

Not sure where you are getting your price from but you can book direct for the train and it is $142USD

[lobsternight]

On 1/31/2023 at 3:39 PM, Cannuck said:

Not sure where you are getting your price from but you can book direct for the train and it is $142USD

We are doing the bus/train tour but DSIL and BF are joining us on the cruise now and they just booked though HAL for 2.5 hr trip that goes at least to Bennit BC.  Their cost was $149 through HAL. Need to look into it more, but Bennit is in the YT so it will be official.  Consider Carcross, charming stop

[Cannuck]

18 hours ago, lobsternight said:

We are doing the bus/train tour but DSIL and BF are joining us on the cruise now and they just booked though HAL for 2.5 hr trip that goes at least to Bennit BC.  Their cost was $149 through HAL. Need to look into it more, but Bennit is in the YT so it will be official.  Consider Carcross, charming stop

What is HAL?

[kayehall]

2 hours ago, Cannuck said:

What is HAL?

Holland America cruise line

[mskaufman]

Both, bus one way and train the other