Train or land tour to White Pass Summit?

[davy jones]

We want to decide between taking the train or road excursion to the White Pass Summit.  The "train" experience is not important to us, we are more interested in scenery and wildlife viewing.  

 

What are the pros and cons of each?

[Torfamm]

26 minutes ago, davy jones said:

We want to decide between taking the train or road excursion to the White Pass Summit.  The "train" experience is not important to us, we are more interested in scenery and wildlife viewing.  

 

What are the pros and cons of each?

The train is, in my opinion, more comfortable and gives you the opportunity to move around etc.  The road excursion makes photo stops.  There are tours that use the train in one direction and the road in the other. This one is very, very popular

https://chilkootcharters.com/bennett-scenic-journey/

[Mauidiver]

We did the road up and the train back. The bus ride was literally across the valley from the train, so we didn’t miss anything going that way.  Although the train ride was really pretty and a lot of fun, we didn’t feel we missed anything by only riding it one way.

[JimmyVWine]

58 minutes ago, davy jones said:

What are the pros and cons of each?

A van tour by land will be a smaller group with more frequent stops to stretch and take photos, and takes you 50 miles deeper into Canada and actually goes into the Yukon.  Take a look at a map and find Fraser.  That is where the train ends.  You can book a van tour that goes all the way to Carcross Desert and Emerald Lake, passing Lake Tutshi along the way.  The train is fun, but a land tour undeniably takes you to more places.

 

These are all places that you will see on land but not by train:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3 by JimmyVWine

[jean-lynd]

We are doing train up and bus back so we can have both experiences.

[startedwithamouse]

We did shuttle van up and train back. 

[JimmyVWine]

28 minutes ago, jean-lynd said:

We are doing train up and bus back so we can have both experiences.

Just be mindful that on some of the "train one way, bus the other" tours, the bus just retraces the path of the train from Fraser and does not travel any further north. But there are tours that provide vans that go to Emerald Lake and then back to Skagway, or vice versa, with the van taking you to Emerald Lake and then down to Fraser where you board the train to go back to Skagway.  I would definitely recommend one of those "best of both worlds" trips.   

Edited June 3 by JimmyVWine

[jean-lynd]

12 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Just be mindful that on some of the "train one way, bus the other" tours, the bus just retraces the path of the train from Fraser and does not travel any further north. But there are tours that provide vans that go to Emerald Lake and then back to Skagway, or vice versa, with the van taking you to Emerald Lake and then down to Fraser where you board the train to go back to Skagway.  I would definitely recommend one of those "best of both worlds" trips.   

We thought about that but we really don't want an 8 hour excursion.

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, jean-lynd said:

We thought about that but we really don't want an 8 hour excursion.

It is a long trip, no doubt about that. 

[royal3]

We have tried both. We actually like the van/bus tour better and found it to be a easy way to save a few dollars since all those Alaska excursions do add up very quickly. All Alaska is scenery, save the money for a better glacier experience maybe? 

[brucedodge]

FWIW, if you're a DIYer, you might consider renting a car (or van for a larger group) and drive it yourself.  We've done this three times.  You're in complete control of what you want to see and do,  Don't forget your passports.  Even though we're veteran travelers, we did forget once.  The US border crossing accepted our cruise cards (no medallions that time).  LOL. They'd seen it plenty of times.

[Wishing on a star]

We rented a car...  Drove up to see Emerald Lake and back.  (Reserve well in advance.)

Of course, you don't have the 'guided tour' experience.  But that was fine for us.

If one wants the tour experience, either train or van or both, make sure you go to Emerald lake.

Enjoy!

[Ken the cruiser]

We were just there (see Live From thread in my signature area). If you’re looking to see wildlife, I’d also suggest checking out the excursions that Princess offers in Haines, which includes a ferry ride to and from Skagway. We went on 2 of them,as we were on a B3B, and had an awesome time. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Also keep in mind...if you traverse into Canada (even though you're going to be coming back shortly) you will need your passport! The train does one excursion that only crosses and does a loop turn about 1/2 mile inside Canada, but it does not stop. You're considered a "captive audience" so you do not have to have a passport (unless it has changed very recently.)

[cruizingOmi]

to Everyone who used a Van tour, who was the provider and the to the Ones who rented a car/van which agency did you use, please.

[JimmyVWine]

58 minutes ago, cruizingOmi said:

to Everyone who used a Van tour, who was the provider and the to the Ones who rented a car/van which agency did you use, please.

We used Frontier Excursions and Adventures.

[royal3]

6 hours ago, cruizingOmi said:

to Everyone who used a Van tour, who was the provider and the to the Ones who rented a car/van which agency did you use, please.

We booked via Shore Excursions Group 

[gfkcruiser]

18 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

We used Frontier Excursions and Adventures.

We used them also a few years and had a great tour. 

[Wishing on a star]

It has been a while since we did this...  

I would go to the Ports of Call board, or the Alaska board over on Trip Advisor.

I do remember that there was one or two recommended local tour companies.

I might prefer to book directly when possible.

 

I am not sure about Frontier Excursions.

I will be booking an excursion thru Shore Excursions on a different cruise, as they offer more than the Princess excursion, and a better timeframe.

 

Same goes for rental cars.  I am not sure if there is more than one agency now.  A quick search will pull up the options.

We walked, 10 minutes or so from the ship, to the rental car office and waited for them to open so that we could be on our way.

Edited June 4 by Wishing on a star

[Kat915]

Chilkoot Charters is highly recommended. 

 

I used Avis a few times for car rental. 

[banditoo]

We recently did the Chilkoot Charters road and rail; small bus up as far as Emerald Lake, Yukon then caught train down from Fraser to Skagway. Both directions were great and scenic. The bus had a few stops enroute to look at scenery, wildlife and for the Welcome to the Yukon photo. Very well run and informative tour. I previously did the same with another tour operator who is no longer in business and it was equally great which is why we did it again.

[packedandready]

We're doing the 8 hr train to Bennett Lake. Information says there will be a motorcoach (bus) back. Is there a better side to sit on the bus for better scenery? 

[banditoo]

20 minutes ago, packedandready said:

We're doing the 8 hr train to Bennett Lake. Information says there will be a motorcoach (bus) back. Is there a better side to sit on the bus for better scenery? 

Going up by road, it is best to sit on the right side, coming down by road, the left is best. Going up by train the left is best and coming down by train the right is best. 

[wolfie11]

1 hour ago, packedandready said:

We're doing the 8 hr train to Bennett Lake. Information says there will be a motorcoach (bus) back. Is there a better side to sit on the bus for better scenery? 

Left.  Better scenery and possible bears eating dandelions on that side.