Skagway (and Haines) Excursions

[Brewscruise]

Hi, we are travelling Northbound on the Diamond Princess early September 2007. We are taking a land tour in the Rockies before the cruise and will be spending two days on the Rocky Mountaineer. I have booked Whale watching in Juneau and a floatplane excursion in Ketchikan but am not sure what to book for Skagway. DH has Multiple Sclerosis, walks with a stick and tires quite easily. The White Pass Railway would be a good option but I think we might want to avoid more trains although of course the scenery would be quite different. I am looking at the excursion to Takshanuk Mountain Trail by 4x4. Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this would be good for us or any other suggestions? Thanks in anticipation! :)

[kruskat]

Hi Brewcruise,

 

Perhaps another scenic flight would work. I came across the following webpage listing trips out of Haines and Skagway that might be of interest.

 

k

[brunolvr]

Hi, we are travelling Northbound on the Diamond Princess early September 2007. We are taking a land tour in the Rockies before the cruise and will be spending two days on the Rocky Mountaineer. I have booked Whale watching in Juneau and a floatplane excursion in Ketchikan but am not sure what to book for Skagway. DH has Multiple Sclerosis, walks with a stick and tires quite easily. The White Pass Railway would be a good option but I think we might want to avoid more trains although of course the scenery would be quite different. I am looking at the excursion to Takshanuk Mountain Trail by 4x4. Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this would be good for us or any other suggestions? Thanks in anticipation! :)

We're doing the Takshanuk Mountain Trail 4x4 excursion on June 20th when we're in Skagway on the NCL Pearl. I can let you know all about it when we return!

 

Have you seen their website? http://takshanuktrail.com/

[Brewscruise]

Hi, kruskat and brunlolvr many thanks for your replies. I'm sure whatever we do it will be great! :D

[OnlyMe]

Hi, If your DD could manage a gentle, short walk you might like to try a water based activity like the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari. ... it was the absolute highlight of our trip in 2005 (and that trip included a glacier helicopter landing!). If you search the boards on this tour there are a lot of threads. There is a little walk involved but nothing strenuous. You get on a bus at the port where they take you to a catamaran. The catamaran trip is about an hour (if I remember correctly). You get off and then on to a bus. I think you only spend about 10 minutes on the bus and you get off and get 'kitted out' for the kayak. You walk slowly along a path to the kayaks where you get in. There are motors to do the hard work until you get to the glacier face and then paddles are used by the guide. It is an amazing experience!

 

You might want to speak with the company that organises the tours to see if your DD might be able to manage th walk between the bus and the water.

[kruskat]

Dear Brewscruise,

 

Opps! Forgot to enclose the webpage.

 

My mother read about this company in an Alaska magazine. I am sure the scenery would be beautiful, weather allowing.

 

www.flydrake.com

 

k

[M.Gardener]

Hi Brewscruise! I have MS, too (walk w/ my cane, tire easily, am 47) and was concerned about what I could manage for excursions. I took the White Pass train - the upgraded version - and it was beautiful! The wood seats are hard, though, so you might want to take some sort of cushion. The stairs up to the railway car were a bit steep, but they helped me with a smile.

I also did the gold panning (in the heated water). That one had a lot of stairs to climb in the processing plant, which I managed because I really wanted to see the machinery. There were no stairs if you didn't want to take that part of the tour. They bussed us there and back.

I'll be going on the MS Foundation cruise this year on June 8 to Alaska - should be fun! :rolleyes:

-Mary

[Brewscruise]

:D :D Thanks everyone for your input - it's helped a lot!