Bennett Lake train/Bus too long for kids?

[bazan]

Hi

 

our family of 4 (kids @ 9 and 13) will be travelling to Alaska this Aug on the Bliss. We will be stopping at Skagway porting at 7am departing 5.30pm. Unfortunately the 3.5hr White Pass train/bus combo compatible to our cruise seem to be all sold out from all the tours operators that i can search through the internet. The only one available with the train seems to be the 7hrs Benett Lake train/Bus. I was even told if we want to do train for that day (Aug 22) directly book with WPR is sold out ... so no diy and have to join a tour. It is our first time to Alaska, so i think it is worthwhile to do the train rather than just touring around the small town. My worries and from my search results some people with kids think the 7 hrs journey is a little too long... esp with kids at my age. Any comments or suggestions ..? txs

 

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[TwinMamainMN]

Only you truly know your kids. We have kids that are 10, 10, and 6. They would like it for the first 30 minutes maybe, and then be bored. Our kids are too active and "on the move" to enjoy sitting in a seat or standing and looking out a window, especially for 7 hours. They LOVE nature and want to DO things to experience it, not just see it. This is why we booked a private our to Emerald Lake and Dog Sledding in Skagway. It will give us more opportunity to get out of a vehicle, explore/run around, and still see some amazing sights.

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

Obviously this is kid-dependent. But as a general statement, I would agree with you that it's too long for kids those ages. If they are really into scenery or trains or something, maybe you can get away with it... but that's a pretty expensive gamble...

 

Have you considered getting a car rental? Skagway has an Avis (?) and I've heard that driving the South Yukon Highway is lovely, and far more flexible than being stuck in a train/bus for 7.5 hours. If you get a car, you could also go as far as Emerald lake and back in well less time.

 

Just a thought.

[~*Lou*~]

It depends on your children. In 2015 with children aged 5 and 7, we did the 3.5 hr trip, bus up and train back. It was fine, the bus up was 90 mins but with about 3 stops for photos, it did not feel that long. And my children loved the train. But do pack food/snacks in your daypack.

 

In 2019 we will be back and children will be 9 and 11 yrs, we are definitely doing the longer trip. Its not 7 hrs non-stop sitting on the bus, or anything like 7 hrs sitting in the family car, which my children do struggle with.

 

Hope that helps

Lou