Skagway: reccos for non-train excursion?

I know everyone raves about bus/train, but I don't think it's a good choice for us. I could sit on a cruise balcony all day, but get way too restless inside a plane, train or auto for any extended length of time. It's why we avoid long plane & car trips. :D

We'll be in Skagway next May from 6am-815pm. Has anyone enjoyed a more active excursion here? (I plan on researching TRs, but would also love to hear from anyone who may like to share their opinion.)

For context, it's our 2nd port, following Juneau (whale watching & hiking.) Glacier Bay after Skagway, then kayaking in Ketchican.

We love outdoors, wildlife, and almost any water or land activity (w/exception of fishing) Enjoy snorkeling, horseback riding, etc.

Any suggestions are most appreciated!:)

What do you mean by "I plan on researching TRs"

What do you mean by "I plan on researching TRs"

I'm guessing Trip Reports...

And we did the Glacier Wilderness Safari, it's in my trip report. It was a lot of fun! Some hiking, a little canoe boating, after like a 90 minute boat ride to get there. We got to walk on the glacier there. It was really neat!!

I also liked the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari and this one:

http://oceanraftalaska.com/

What do you mean by "I plan on researching TRs"

Hi Eaglecw: I meant Trip Reports...typing fast and was too lazy to spell out :)

I'm guessing Trip Reports...

 

And we did the Glacier Wilderness Safari, it's in my trip report. It was a lot of fun! Some hiking, a little canoe boating, after like a 90 minute boat ride to get there. We got to walk on the glacier there. It was really neat!!

Thanks, Cindy: I will definitely read your report.

I also liked the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari and this one:

http://oceanraftalaska.com/

Thanks for your suggestions - appreciate it!

Thanks, Cindy: I will definitely read your report.

You're welcome! I can't remember if my photos are in that or not. I had used Photobucket in the past, and they stopped allowing them on here.

This is what it's like...

The boats you travel on....

The landscape is beautiful!

Canoeing up to the glacier...

And us on the glacier...

Researching now for our 2nd (my 3rd) AK cruise. Our first trip to Skagway, we did the free historic tour with the rangers and LOVED it. Even in terrible weather! (worst weather of our entire cruise - it was sleeting in Skagway)

https://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/walking-tours.htm

[we don't go to Skagway on our upcoming Sept cruise...]

As described in my June 2016 trip report, I enjoyed a hike, bike, and float with Sockeye Cycling and Skagway Float Tours, followed by a tour of the Red Onion and a hike up to Lower Dewey Lake.

Cindy - gorgeous pics. Thanks for sharing. And thank you everyone who posted links - will be reviewing them all this weekend. Some great ideas here. :D

Researching now for our 2nd (my 3rd) AK cruise. Our first trip to Skagway, we did the free historic tour with the rangers and LOVED it. Even in terrible weather! (worst weather of our entire cruise - it was sleeting in Skagway)

 

https://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/walking-tours.htm

I sure do love the price, given what the other excursions and time in Seattle will cost us. :eek:

Which one did you do? Or did you go on several?

given what the other excursions and time in Seattle will cost us. :eek:

Yeah, our advice to others who have said they want to do Alaska is to do what you want. I know many people go more than once, but a lot of people (us included) really don't want to go back. We did the things we wanted to do, saw amazing things, but it's expensive and there's so many other things we want to see. Of course, the Alaska excursions were about the same as just our airfare for 3 to Europe last summer! ;p And like you, we did time in Seattle as well, 4 days pre-cruise. Compared to the cheap Caribbean ones, it's a lot to take in. But we loved everything we did on our cruise! We walked on glaciers, flew in a helicopter onto one of them, saw all sorts of wildlife, watching calving glaciers, and saw a ton of things in Seattle. It was a great trip!

Which one did you do? Or did you go on several?

I'm not sure there were that many options when we did our tour - it was quite a few years back (2007?) We had history & stories - about the gold rush mostly, I guess? But moreso who moved to Skagway....

On our first (and only so far) trip to Alaska we did a ship excursion that involved a ferry ride to Haines and a guided hike in the National Forest there. We enjoyed it a lot, especially as there was only one other couple along! On our stop in Skagway coming up in 2 weeks we are going to spend the day doing the walking tour of town, visiting the museums, hopefully getting to the cemetary and Reid Falls. Keeping it cheap, but may have to try some local cuisine and beers!

Sent from my SM-G930R6 using Forums mobile app

Yeah, our advice to others who have said they want to do Alaska is to do what you want. I know many people go more than once, but a lot of people (us included) really don't want to go back. We did the things we wanted to do, saw amazing things, but it's expensive and there's so many other things we want to see. Of course, the Alaska excursions were about the same as just our airfare for 3 to Europe last summer! ;p And like you, we did time in Seattle as well, 4 days pre-cruise. Compared to the cheap Caribbean ones, it's a lot to take in. But we loved everything we did on our cruise! We walked on glaciers, flew in a helicopter onto one of them, saw all sorts of wildlife, watching calving glaciers, and saw a ton of things in Seattle. It was a great trip!

Sure sounds like you did it right! Looking fwd to reading your TR.:) Glad to hear you had such a great time on a Seattle RT in particular. We just don't have the time to do a 1 way + land. So many on the boards advise against this RT itinerary, in favor of a longer, more costly Vancouver RT departure or one ways + land. So especially love reading positive Seattle RT reports.

I'm not sure there were that many options when we did our tour - it was quite a few years back (2007?) We had history & stories - about the gold rush mostly, I guess? But moreso who moved to Skagway....

Sounds like their Gold Rush 101 - that one sounded good to me too! They have some others that sound interesting also. Nice thing is that they're all short, so seems like one could potentially do several if the times work out. Thanks again!

On our first (and only so far) trip to Alaska we did a ship excursion that involved a ferry ride to Haines and a guided hike in the National Forest there. We enjoyed it a lot, especially as there was only one other couple along! On our stop in Skagway coming up in 2 weeks we are going to spend the day doing the walking tour of town, visiting the museums, hopefully getting to the cemetary and Reid Falls. Keeping it cheap, but may have to try some local cuisine and beers!

 

Sent from my SM-G930R6 using Forums mobile app

Thanks Mary/Rick: you lucked out - practically a private tour! Thanks for your recommendation. :)

We only spent an afternoon in Skagway as weather in the morning when ship docked was awful. However, things settled down after lunch and here is what we did, for a minimal expenditure.. Purchased bus ticket on the local smart-bus and hopped off at railroad terminus. Walked up road behind terminus to Gold Rush Cemetery. (Really neat place with tombstones of some infamous early residents !). Behind the cemetery is a trail that leads to very pretty Lower Reid Falls. Enjoyed the area for a while, then caught bus back to town. Can't recall if we needed our National Park Pass or not when we visited the National Park Gold Rush Museum (very interesting). At the museum and where we signed up for their ranger-led walking tour of the city which was very informative.

Sure sounds like you did it right! Looking fwd to reading your TR.:) Glad to hear you had such a great time on a Seattle RT in particular. We just don't have the time to do a 1 way + land. So many on the boards advise against this RT itinerary, in favor of a longer, more costly Vancouver RT departure or one ways + land. So especially love reading positive Seattle RT reports.

No, we loved our RT cruise! It was a great time and we saw so many things! We loved it!! My parents did the Princess cruise/land one, and they enjoyed it. But that's only 2 people, we're three!

We wandered around Skagway just to see the town, but after lunch had a short hike up part of The Chilkoot Trail. The guides were super knowledgeable about the local flora and pointed out all the different things one can eat in the forest! The hike itself wasn't long or particularly difficult, but it was nice to get out and move around. When the hike part was finished, we had a float down the Taiya River in a rubber raft. It was really fun and we saw some gorgeous scenery as well as many eagles along the way. At the end there was a snack of some sort before we were driven back to Skagway and dropped off. We really enjoyed the afternoon. We learned a lot from the guides and there were only 4 of us on this trip, so it was very personal. We found it through Alaska Shore Excursions: Skagway.

We only spent an afternoon in Skagway as weather in the morning when ship docked was awful. However, things settled down after lunch and here is what we did, for a minimal expenditure.. Purchased bus ticket on the local smart-bus and hopped off at railroad terminus. Walked up road behind terminus to Gold Rush Cemetery. (Really neat place with tombstones of some infamous early residents !). Behind the cemetery is a trail that leads to very pretty Lower Reid Falls. Enjoyed the area for a while, then caught bus back to town. Can't recall if we needed our National Park Pass or not when we visited the National Park Gold Rush Museum (very interesting). At the museum and where we signed up for their ranger-led walking tour of the city which was very informative.

Nice! I'm definitely going to plan on reserving one or more of the ranger led tours. They sound really interesting.

We wandered around Skagway just to see the town, but after lunch had a short hike up part of The Chilkoot Trail. The guides were super knowledgeable about the local flora and pointed out all the different things one can eat in the forest! The hike itself wasn't long or particularly difficult, but it was nice to get out and move around. When the hike part was finished, we had a float down the Taiya River in a rubber raft. It was really fun and we saw some gorgeous scenery as well as many eagles along the way. At the end there was a snack of some sort before we were driven back to Skagway and dropped off. We really enjoyed the afternoon. We learned a lot from the guides and there were only 4 of us on this trip, so it was very personal. We found it through Alaska Shore Excursions: Skagway.

The getting up and moving around part is exactly what I need - I've seen the train/bus trip pics and they look so beautiful, but I'd go stir-crazy sitting inside a vehicle that long. Love the idea of floating down the river... thanks for sharing your experience.:)