Dyea Dave in Skagway?

[kenish]

Those of yiou that have been each way with Dave/Train - did you feel the cost of the train ticket was worth it - is the scenery better from the train than the road.

Thanks

Des

 

We did van+train last summer. The scenery wasn't "better", but it was different. For most of the route between Skagway and the border, the road and track follow opposite sides of the same valley. The main thing about the train is it's a different experience and it's an engineering marvel if you have any interest in that aspect.

[airhose]

My husband and I have just completed an easy process of booking his van tour for our day in Skagway, when there is the potential of over 9000 cruise ship visitors. Glad to get out of there!! We'll be back the next week on our btb so do the sights of Skagway. Looking forward to our first AK cruise.:)

[pjfarkel]

My husband and I have just completed an easy process of booking his van tour for our day in Skagway, when there is the potential of over 9000 cruise ship visitors. Glad to get out of there!! We'll be back the next week on our btb so do the sights of Skagway. Looking forward to our first AK cruise.:)

Please post how your tour was. Are you doing the train at all? Thanks.

[pjfarkel]

Hi all - I just got off the phone with Dave. He called to reconfirm my dates. He suggests anyone who emails put the date they want the tour in Skagway in the SUBJECT line - which is what I always do so I don't get mixed up.

 

To confirm: You will need CASH only US $ to pay for the tour.

 

Dave will use his bank card at the diner to cover your lunch and then convert the CAN to US, which you will also pay him in CASH.

 

He suggests you get Canadian at the Vancouver airport if you want to buy a trinket or so in the Yukon gift shop.

 

We also discussed the fact that there are "shills" on the board that will post negative things - if you think someone is doing this, click their name and look at their other posts...you can usually tell.

 

From what I have read and weeded through, I am very happy with Dave and think this will be a fabulous tour, with or without the train - really depends on your budget and if historic trains are something you want to spend a lot to ride.

 

Happy trails to you!

[Driftwoodgal]

We are also booked with Dave in June. I did not consider the train trip, I was planning on going up and back with Dave.

 

Those of yiou that have been each way with Dave/Train - did you feel the cost of the train ticket was worth it - is the scenery better from the train than the road.

Thanks

Des

 

Des,

 

I rode up with Dave and then took the train back paying the additional money for the train. I thought it was well worth the money to ride in between the mountain passes and then being able to look from one mountain down to another. Views from the rail cars that you didn't have from the van. I found both of them different and special in their own way. It was great to have the option of buying our ticket on the day we arrived so we could have an idea of what the weather would be like. If we had ridden the train up in the morning we wouldn't have seen as much as we had in the afternoon. The independent tours have their own rail car, per the conductor, and are seperate from the ship tours. There was another car behind us that had a private tour that rode the train up part way, were dropped off, and then caught the train back. They had a 4 - 5 mile hike in the woods. Our train had to wait about 45 minutes for an injured hiker to make it back down to the train. Turned out that the lady injured was part of our CC group.

[Gypsy2]

Thanks so much for this post! I am sold - Dyea Dave it is. Our group of 12 are picture-a-holics and it always bothers me that on the big ship tours there isn't a lot of "pullover" time and just too many people.

 

Hi Faye it's Elaine from the Crown Princess, I just used Dave last week, for picture taking you will not be disappointed.

 

Elaine

[Steph123]

Hi Faye it's Elaine from the Crown Princess, I just used Dave last week, for picture taking you will not be disappointed.

 

Elaine

 

Did you meet Daves sister Ruth? I think that is who is going to do our tour. There are only 2 of us and are just doing a 2 hr tour to the summit. He did say her jokes are worse than his.:D Nancy

[2morrow]

Has anyone did a tour with Dyea Dave in Skagway? I can't seem to find any feedback from people that have gone on a tour with this guy.

 

We did a tour with Dyea Dave in Skagway in May. It was excellent. He was prompt and picked us up at the cruise ship terminal. Then we had a tour of the area and he drove us up to the end of the White Pass Train where we boarded it and took it back to the city. He met us at the end and toured us around town and to the graveyard and any where else we wanted to go. He was fun, friendly, personable and very funny. We all had a great day!!

Barb

[larmaro]

How much extra does it cost to do the train one way and Dave the other. I know Dave charges $60 with him both ways. When you take the train one way do you still get to see Emerald Lake? I got to talk to Dave last night but he was with a bunch of people who were sounding very excited. Dave said they seen Black, Brown and White bear that day. So I couldn't get a lot of details from him. Sounds like a fun guy.

[larmaro]

From the trouble I've had getting in touch with Dave I think he's busy enough that he doesn't need a shill. Anyway if anyone can tell me how much they paid to do the train one way and Dave the other I would appreciate it.

[Lookingforfacts]

Dave has the same price if he takes you one way or R/T. I think the one way train fare is around $90.

[pizzalady1]

The train is $81 from Skagway to Frasure, or the reverse. Dyea Dave is $60 plus lunch.

[StarTrkGeek]

How much extra does it cost to do the train one way and Dave the other. I know Dave charges $60 with him both ways. When you take the train one way do you still get to see Emerald Lake? I got to talk to Dave last night but he was with a bunch of people who were sounding very excited. Dave said they seen Black, Brown and White bear that day. So I couldn't get a lot of details from him. Sounds like a fun guy.

As another poster said, the train is $81 to Frasier. They are currently doing construction on the railroad north of Frasier, so you cannot take the train to Carcross or see Emerald Lake from the train. To see Emerald Lake or the Husky puppy camp at Carcross, you will need to go with Dyea Dave or another tour company that uses a van.

[Driftwoodgal]

We bought our ticket in town and paid $81 US for the return ticket from Fraser. Be sure to let Dave know that you are riding the train back, as there isn't a ticket booth in Fraser to buy tickets.

 

No bear for us......:( Maybe next time.

[mmcastro26]

Has anyone did a tour with Dyea Dave in Skagway? I can't seem to find any feedback from people that have gone on a tour with this guy.

 

We just did the tour with Dave in May and he was FANTASTIC!!!! We told him that we wanted to see a bear and he found us one. He even stopped on the side of the road so that we could watch the bear and take pictures (but he did tell us not to get out of the van). He said he paid extra for special "kodak windows" so there would be no reflection in the pictures and there is not a single reflection in any of my pictures. He is worth the $60 and Emerald lake is a must see.

[d-ray]

So to see if I understand, I can book the train to Fraiser on my own, which is how long? I can then book Dave for the way back? I do want to see Emerald Lake, is that further than Frasier? Help, I am so confused!! Well I have till May 2010 to figure out.

[flames9]

The train ends at Fraser. Its about a 1 hr 45 min train ride. Emerald lake is just past carcross yukon. from Fraser BC to Carcross it is about 45 miles. Just google carcross yukon and search on maps and you can see where it is in relation to skagway. Emerald lake itself was only a few minutes past carcross. And carcross used to be called caribou crossing!! And to confuse you more,lol there is a small tourist place just outside carcross that is called caribou city,lol If you go with a charter such as chilkoot, they stop their for dinner, and u can see the husky pups (if they have any) take a dog sled ride and vist their museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcross,_Yukon From reading the posts, I belive Dave Dyea stops in carcross for lunch

[flames9]

lol, yes it has, I meant Caribou crossing,lol School has warped my tiny male brain even more,lol

[Murrumba]

Can anybody tell me HOW I get in touch with Dyea Dave via email.

 

I have booked a tour with him several months ago, and he responded quickly. I have send two emails now to inform him that the Ryndam has changed it's days in Skagway (swop with Sitkar port day) until Sunday and I need to change my booking.

 

I looked up the Port schedule last night and am panicking as there are sooooooooo many ships into the ports each day. I don't know how the streets, let alone cafes and shops etc. will cope!!!! We can't afford too many of the excursions and Dyea Dave was one of the two that we had chosen for our tour leaving on the 3 July. We are going on the 14 day cruise but only go to Skagway once in the back to back.

What are the tricks for coping with the crowds? Where we come from we are not used to that many people.

[larmaro]

I think what you need to do is put you message in the subject line. Something like Help need to change my reservation on such and such a date. Seemingly he doesn't have time to read e-mail every day but will look at the subject lines.

[Murrumba]

I think what you need to do is put you message in the subject line. Something like Help need to change my reservation on such and such a date. Seemingly he doesn't have time to read e-mail every day but will look at the subject lines.

 

Thanks - I have just sent this off again with capital letters HELP Change of Itinerary. Hope he responds. I don't want to miss out on going with his tour.

Thanks again, appreciate your reply.:o

[pjfarkel]

Hi Faye it's Elaine from the Crown Princess, I just used Dave last week, for picture taking you will not be disappointed.

 

Elaine

Hi Elaine, good to hear from you! The "royals" board is still going strong. I just got back from Adventure of the Seas - So Carib - it was great. Loved St. Martin and the snorkeling at Buck Island off St. Croix was just incredible! If you still have my email, can you share you pics like you did with Bermuda? THANKS! Take care.

[wigwam12]

Can anybody tell me HOW I get in touch with Dyea Dave via email.

 

I have booked a tour with him several months ago, and he responded quickly. I have send two emails now.

 

I have a similar problem. I know he is sporadic with his emails but tried phoning [well Okay I got my BiL to do it as he lives in BC!] and he couldn't get through but couldn't even leave a voicemail as his inbox is full something:confused:

[budamom]

We just got back late last night - did a tour with Dyea Dave's company last Thursday (the 28th). Now, please note that I say

Dyea Dave's company, and not Dave.

 

It was an odd day for Skagway - the train wasn't running due to a boulder that landed on the tracks the day before (thank goodness nobody was hurt), so we ended up touring both ways with with Dave's new employee, Becky. We had planned to do the train one way, and Dave the other. We went to Emerald Lake, saw one moose and two bears (amazing!!!!).

 

While we enjoyed Becky and found her to be very friendly and accomodating, I have to say that we were disappointed not to be touring with Dave. I had read so much about him here on these boards and on Tripadvisor that I was really looking forward to spending a day listening to his stories. So, if you are wanting to tour with Dyea Dave, you might want to find some way to confirm that you will actually be in his van.

 

Just an FYI - Dave is very aware that he doesn't answer e-mails - he made several comments about it and about the ruckus it stirs up on the internet. This was during the 5 minutes that we actually got to spend in his van when he drove us back to the ship from town - we had Becky drop us in town after the tour to do some shopping, and we were having trouble getting a Smartbus back to the ship (all were full and people were shoving in line to get on despite the fact that we had an 80 year old man who was obviously unable to walk back to the ship). We found Dave around the corner, and he rescued us and drove us back to the ship - so all in all - the service was there, I was just disappointed about not doing the actual tour with him.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the tour.

[Murrumba]

We just got back late last night - did a tour with Dyea Dave's company last Thursday (the 28th). Now, please note that I say

Dyea Dave's company, and not Dave.

 

It was an odd day for Skagway - the train wasn't running due to a boulder that landed on the tracks the day before (thank goodness nobody was hurt), so we ended up touring both ways with with Dave's new employee, Becky. We had planned to do the train one way, and Dave the other. We went to Emerald Lake, saw one moose and two bears (amazing!!!!).

 

While we enjoyed Becky and found her to be very friendly and accomodating, I have to say that we were disappointed not to be touring with Dave. I had read so much about him here on these boards and on Tripadvisor that I was really looking forward to spending a day listening to his stories. So, if you are wanting to tour with Dyea Dave, you might want to find some way to confirm that you will actually be in his van.

 

Just an FYI - Dave is very aware that he doesn't answer e-mails - he made several comments about it and about the ruckus it stirs up on the internet. This was during the 5 minutes that we actually got to spend in his van when he drove us back to the ship from town - we had Becky drop us in town after the tour to do some shopping, and we were having trouble getting a Smartbus back to the ship (all were full and people were shoving in line to get on despite the fact that we had an 80 year old man who was obviously unable to walk back to the ship). We found Dave around the corner, and he rescued us and drove us back to the ship - so all in all - the service was there, I was just disappointed about not doing the actual tour with him.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the tour.

 

I have put further emails his way - still no response.

My questions therefore:

1. Was it good value given that Dave was not driving and giving what you thought you were paying for i.e. experience etc?

2. I am thinking of booking somewhere else independently if I can at this late stage. Did you hear reports from anybody else about good independent tours to Yukon, Emerald Lake?

 

Our ports got turned around by HAL (Swopped with Sitkar) and we are running out of time to organise something. HAL does not have any excursions listed for these days yet either.

 

Thanks for your help.:o