Skagway, short or long train trip

[cinnamon]

Can anyone tell me their experiences of either the short 3.5 hour trip by train or the longer one that goes up to Emerald Lake and takes over 7 hours.

 

Is the extra cost worthwhile?

 

We are looking at Chilkoot Charters or RCCL's own tours.

[luvlake]

We are taking the 7 hour trip with Chilkoot this summer. I did a search on the boards and read very good things about them. The price is $175.00 p/p which is very close to what the cruise line was wanting. We are looking forward to the personalized feeling of the trip and the beautiful scenery that is available.:)

 

That being said we took the train up and down in 2007 and had a wonderful time also. I think it depends on your interest and if 7 hours of scenery is what you want. In 2007 (with family) we did the train (3.5 hours), ate lunch and shopped in Skagway.

 

We decided since it is all adults (17 of us) this time and that the trip to the Yukon was so highly recommended that we would do the excursion through Chilkoot.

[vbmom87]

We did the 9 hour Carcross trip and can't say enough about it. You also go to Emerald Lake, but you see more beautiful scenery from the train, as you are on it longer.

[inkmahm]

We did the 9 hour Carcross trip and can't say enough about it. You also go to Emerald Lake, but you see more beautiful scenery from the train, as you are on it longer.

Ditto. If you have train buffs or gold rush buffs on the trip, take the longest tour that you can.

[melika091900]

we did the 3 hr one and it was kinda boring, nice scenery, but thats about it,

and bring snacks theres not snack cart or anything, they give you water, it was kinda silly since it takes you up and then you turn around and come back, it was a long ride, but good for my mom who uses a wheelchair, kinda boring for kids, we did see bears though..

 

 

just my thoughts,,,

[NMCRUISERS]

We enjoyed the shorter Steam Locomotive trip. It gave us time to enjoy the walking tour thru town...If only I'd had time to go to the Museum :)

[erin_cruisers]

Can anyone tell me their experiences of either the short 3.5 hour trip by train or the longer one that goes up to Emerald Lake and takes over 7 hours.

 

Is the extra cost worthwhile?

 

We are looking at Chilkoot Charters or RCCL's own tours.

 

We are taking the 7 hour trip with Chilkoot this summer. I did a search on the boards and read very good things about them. The price is $175.00 p/p which is very close to what the cruise line was wanting. We are looking forward to the personalized feeling of the trip and the beautiful scenery that is available.:)

 

That being said we took the train up and down in 2007 and had a wonderful time also. I think it depends on your interest and if 7 hours of scenery is what you want. In 2007 (with family) we did the train (3.5 hours), ate lunch and shopped in Skagway.

 

We decided since it is all adults (17 of us) this time and that the trip to the Yukon was so highly recommended that we would do the excursion through Chilkoot.

We are looking at the 7 hour Chilkoot excursion also.

But I think they offer two versions. One leaves at 7, and you take the train part-way up and meet the bus continuing on;

and the other leaves at 8 where you start off with the bus, and take the train part-way back.

Is one any better than the other?

 

To me, either one sounds better than the shorter 3 1/2 hour trip because of the visit to Emerald Lake, the Museum, Dog sled place, etc..

[luvlake]

Our confirmation says we are to meet the driver at 7:30 at the dock for the train up and then the bus. I'm not familiar with the other option. I do know I'm excited for another option for the train since we did the 3.5 hour train trip before. Of course anytime you can see and enjoy scenery in Alaska it is a good day!:)

[OleMissMom]

What are the cars like on the train? Are they the domed ones? Hubby wants to make sure he sees everything!

[luvlake]

The cars on the 3.5 train ride are very rustic. They do have a rest room but the seating is bench type. When you reach the top you will switch back rest so you are facing opposite direction for your ride down. There is room to walk around so you can stand at windows and you also will be able to walk outside for picture taking. They have a guide that will give you a narrative of the White Pass history. We as a family enjoyed this excursion.:)

 

The domed cars are on the Alaska Railroad.

[Costafox]

Hi Cinnamon!

 

We did the 7 hour combination bus/train trip with Chilkoot Charters on this same cruise last year.The ride up was fasincating with loads of snow and wonderful views, then we got picked up by mini coach and taken to Emerald Lake, lunch stop at Caribou Crossing and then back to Skagway stopping frequently for photo opportunities.

The advantage of booking with Chilkoot is that they have their own private carriage(s) on the train which tend to be not so crowded and the return trip is made in approx 20 seater mini coaches, with the driver happy to stop for photo opportunities upon request.

 

We had a wonderful day out - one of the many highlights of our trip - and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this excursion to anyone.

 

Best Wishes

 

Gill

[cinnamon]

Thanks for the replies, we are still mulling over the options.

[melika091900]

heres a pic of inside the train car , this was the wheelchair section , so just picture it with more seats..

 

[mzredhead]

What kind of seats are there on the 7 or 9 hour train trip?

[ginjer2911]

Has anyone taken the 9 hour trip that includes lunch at Lake Bennett? That is the one dh and I are considering, but it cost approx $50 more than the 7 hour trip. The 9 hour also doesn't have the dog sled camp as a part of it! Any info would be great!!!

[Yukon]

Has anyone taken the 9 hour trip that includes lunch at Lake Bennett? That is the one dh and I are considering, but it cost approx $50 more than the 7 hour trip. The 9 hour also doesn't have the dog sled camp as a part of it! Any info would be great!!!

 

The 9-hour is really for hard-core train nuts (like me). You get no "touring" time at the north end, as the train travels very slowly. BUT, seeing Bennett is a real treat if you have any interest in the Klondike Gold Rush, and Lake Bennett is gorgeous. You can see my photojournal of the inaugural trip (though in reverse) in May 2007 at http://www.railsnorth.com/carcross-skagway2007.html

 

Murray

[jkw2765]

Our confirmation says we are to meet the driver at 7:30 at the dock for the train up and then the bus. I'm not familiar with the other option. I do know I'm excited for another option for the train since we did the 3.5 hour train trip before. Of course anytime you can see and enjoy scenery in Alaska it is a good day!:)

 

Did you book your tour on your own or through the cruise lines? We are thinking about taking a train tour but the websites I have found refer me back to Princess. Thanks for the info, Jill

[knorrisb07]

it will be worthy it for trip to Emerald lake with the 7hr tour.

[luvlake]

Did you book your tour on your own or through the cruise lines? We are thinking about taking a train tour but the websites I have found refer me back to Princess. Thanks for the info, Jill

 

If you are doing just the 3.5 train ride, we made those reservations through the ship.

 

The 7 hour train up and trip to the Yukon by mini-bus was reserved through Chilkoot Charter and Tours. They can be found on the web.

Their price is $175.00 p/p.

[nothriver]

We haven't been yet, but are booked for the 9 hour trip through Chilkoot Charters and I'm really looking forward to this excursion. We aren't "train nuts" by any means but we live in the midwest with few opportunities for train travel, so the longer trip gives us more time to really enjoy the train. I understand that not all ships arrive in port early enough to do the 9 hour trip so check on your arrival before you book.

[NancyIL]

There are two shorter (~ 3.5-hour) train trips: the round-trip train to the summit and back, and the train to Fraser, BC (a few miles beyond the summit) with bus back. (Chilkoot Charters also offers bus to Fraser with return by train.) I originally booked the 3.5-hour rail/bus excursion with Chilkoot Charters for the afternoon - thinking I would spend the morning at the National Park Service Visitor Center and go on the Park Ranger walk of Skagway. I later decided that since we were in Skagway long enough to do the new 9-hour train/bus trip to Carcross - that's what we should do. Unfortunately, we couldn't do the longer train excursion the day we were in Skagway due to some washed-out train tracks, but we did the 7-hour rail/bus trip to the Yukon instead. If I am ever again in Skagway long enough for the rail/bus trip to Carcross, I'm going to give it another try. :)