Help! Should we take Chilkoot 3.5 or 7.5 or 9 hour trip

[hamnerpac]

We don't want to spend our whole day traveling by bus, but don't want to miss anything great. Is Emerald Lake a "must do" or would the shorter trip give you a good taste of the scenery? We just can't decide!!!!

 

 

Diamond Princess Aug 14, 2009

Thanks in advance!

[jeff33436]

Hi-

We had the same dilemna, but ultimately decided that we didn't want to be tied up for 7 or 9 hours. After reading so many posts here about the Chilkoot 3.5 hour tour, it sounds like we will get lots of great scenery and the chance to see some wildlife. We're doing the train up and the bus down. The bus apparently makes several stops for pictures, etc. Then it gives you lots of time to explore around town.

 

I guess it's all about how much time you want to devote to the tour. For us, 3 hours is fine, plus we're doing so many other excursions in the other ports, that we don't want to overdose! lol

 

We leave this Friday.

 

Jeff

[vbmom87]

We don't want to spend our whole day traveling by bus, but don't want to miss anything great. Is Emerald Lake a "must do" or would the shorter trip give you a good taste of the scenery? We just can't decide!!!!

 

 

Diamond Princess Aug 14, 2009

Thanks in advance!

 

How much do you like scenery? If you love beautiful scenery in a very remote place, you will love the longer train tours. I highly recommend the 7 1/2 or the 9 hour. We did the 9 hour last summer, but scenery was our priority. We were not disappointed. We took the train up and a mini-bus with Chilkoot down the mountain. It was a highlight of our trip. I am not sure if the train tracks will be repaired in time for you to take the 9 hour tour.

 

If you like a little more active touring, then you might prefer taking some of the hiking trails in Skagway or the Glacier Safari Ship Excursion.

 

It really is all about what you enjoy. We all have different interests. Just because many people rave about an excursion does not mean you will enjoy it too. You have to know yourself and what kinds of things you enjoy in order to determine what might be worth it to you.

 

I

[compulady]

I'd go 7.5. We just are back from our trip and did the 7.5 hour reverse (bus out, train back from Fraser). 3.5 is too short, 9 would be ok but at 7.5 we had a bit of time to walk around Skagway, have a drink and look in museums and shops.

Emerald lake is pretty but it is just a 5 minute or so stop at a view point, you can't really explore much. We did the train back from Fraser which was very interesting.

 

We don't want to spend our whole day traveling by bus, but don't want to miss anything great. Is Emerald Lake a "must do" or would the shorter trip give you a good taste of the scenery? We just can't decide!!!!

 

 

Diamond Princess Aug 14, 2009

Thanks in advance!

[loves2cruz]

Last year we did the 71/2 hour trip and it was a wonderful day. The scenary is beautiful and it was a very pleasant and unrushed tour. Our driver was very very personable. He actually kept us out for approximately one extra hour after asking everyone on the tour if they would like to spend more time out and checking with them regarding their departure times.

[JSWalk]

Hi-

We had the same dilemna, but ultimately decided that we didn't want to be tied up for 7 or 9 hours. After reading so many posts here about the Chilkoot 3.5 hour tour, it sounds like we will get lots of great scenery and the chance to see some wildlife. We're doing the train up and the bus down. The bus apparently makes several stops for pictures, etc. Then it gives you lots of time to explore around town.

 

I guess it's all about how much time you want to devote to the tour. For us, 3 hours is fine, plus we're doing so many other excursions in the other ports, that we don't want to overdose! lol

 

We leave this Friday.

 

Jeff,

We are also booked on this tour in August. When you get back will you come back here and report how the excursion went for all of us that are in waiting? Thanks!:)

[poolwife]

Yes,please report back. I am considering the longer trip cause I want to go to Emerald Lake which is not on the shorter 3 1/2 hour trip.

[coffeyk]

I just did the 7.5 tour with Chillkoot in May. I loved it and was very pleased with the longer tour. While the visit at Emerald Lake is just about 5 minutes I was happy to see it. It is beautiful. We had 10 hours in Skagway so there was still more than enough time to see the town after the tour was over. In my opinion if I just look the 3.5 tour I would have gotten bored in town. Either that or I would have spent more money in a bar or on souviners. Go for the 7.5. The scenery is lovely! I wish I was returning.

[compulady]

The 3.5 is to Fraser and back, we saw bears on the bus after Fraser so I highly suggest the 7.5 the train ride from Fraser is over 2 hours so the 3.5 would be less than an hour on the bus with limited stops.

[poolwife]

I have read alot of rave reviews here about the 7 1/2 hour tour but I am wondering what thoughts there are on the 9 hour. What are the benefits of going on the 9 hour which goes to Lake Bennett and how is the Mulligan Stew for lunch vs. the BBQ lunch on the 7 1/2 hour trip. just curious about these things. Thank you.

[vbmom87]

I have read alot of rave reviews here about the 7 1/2 hour tour but I am wondering what thoughts there are on the 9 hour. What are the benefits of going on the 9 hour which goes to Lake Bennett and how is the Mulligan Stew for lunch vs. the BBQ lunch on the 7 1/2 hour trip. just curious about these things. Thank you.

 

I have only been on the 9 hour. We loved it. Since we had some fog near the Summit for about an hour, we were so glad we were on the longer tour so we had some extended time to see beautiful scenery. Bennett Lake is gorgeous. The area around it is preserved by the Park System (?). YOu are not allowed to touch any of the artifacts of the original gold miners. It was quite an interesting little walking tour we took. You go on your own, but we were told all about the artifacts. It was very interesting, and I am not one who is normally that interested in history.

 

I am a vegetarian so did not have the Stew, however, the other 4 people I was with really enjoyed it. What our bus driver told us was the meal on the 9 hour trip is more enjoyable because you have far fewer people eating at the same time. Now, I have no direct experience with this to actually compare, it is just what I was told. Although the dining room was set for more people, it was just our one train car that was eating at the time we arrived. It is an early lunch, so you don't need a huge breakfast.

 

All I can say is that if you love scenery, you can't go wrong. People who get bored with scenery, should definitely look for another activity.

[DaveOKC]

I am also considering just doing th 3.5 hour with Chillkoot. I will have my 85 year old Mom with us and although she gets around pretty good, I am afraid the 7.5 hour trip might be a bit much.

I have a question on which one to take though. I was thinking of taking the Noon train up and bus down. Our ship (HAL Volendam) is the only ship in port that day (Saturday) and the two tours they are offering are the 7.5 hour Yukon with Bus up at 8:30 AM and a White Pass RR only at 8:20 and 12:50 PM roundtrip by train (I understand this is a separate train from the one we would be taking on the Noon trip by Chillkoot since ours goes to Frasier, while the other goes to WHite Pass summit only. Considering all this, it seems to me that their will be few folks on out train up (the 8 hr bus/rail group will be taking our train back to Skagway). Am I missing something or is this a great plan?

We have 14 hours in port, so time is not a problem. Plus, this way we will not have to rush breakfast and still be back well before dinner.

Thoughts??

[JSWalk]

I am also considering just doing th 3.5 hour with Chillkoot. I will have my 85 year old Mom with us and although she gets around pretty good, I am afraid the 7.5 hour trip might be a bit much.

I have a question on which one to take though. I was thinking of taking the Noon train up and bus down. Our ship (HAL Volendam) is the only ship in port that day (Saturday) and the two tours they are offering are the 7.5 hour Yukon with Bus up at 8:30 AM and a White Pass RR only at 8:20 and 12:50 PM roundtrip by train (I understand this is a separate train from the one we would be taking on the Noon trip by Chillkoot since ours goes to Frasier, while the other goes to WHite Pass summit only. Considering all this, it seems to me that their will be few folks on out train up (the 8 hr bus/rail group will be taking our train back to Skagway). Am I missing something or is this a great plan?

We have 14 hours in port, so time is not a problem. Plus, this way we will not have to rush breakfast and still be back well before dinner.

Thoughts??

 

Dave,

This is exactly what we are doing, the noon train up and bus back. For the same reason you are thinking of it. There are 8 of us including my parents ( my dad will be 82 soon after the cruise) and we just thought that we would not have to rush in the morning and would still have plenty of time to explore Skagway when we returned. If they are tired they can go back to the ship. When do you sail? If one of us goes before the other we can report back here on how it went.

[DaveOKC]

JSWalk - I am not sailing until 9-16, so I bet you will be going first. Anything you report back would be great!

 

Do you know how much this tour cost? I emailed them today but have not heard back yet.

 

Do you think I am right about it not going to be very crowded?

 

DaveOKC

[vbmom87]

I am also considering just doing th 3.5 hour with Chillkoot. I will have my 85 year old Mom with us and although she gets around pretty good, I am afraid the 7.5 hour trip might be a bit much.

I have a question on which one to take though. I was thinking of taking the Noon train up and bus down. Our ship (HAL Volendam) is the only ship in port that day (Saturday) and the two tours they are offering are the 7.5 hour Yukon with Bus up at 8:30 AM and a White Pass RR only at 8:20 and 12:50 PM roundtrip by train (I understand this is a separate train from the one we would be taking on the Noon trip by Chillkoot since ours goes to Frasier, while the other goes to WHite Pass summit only. Considering all this, it seems to me that their will be few folks on out train up (the 8 hr bus/rail group will be taking our train back to Skagway). Am I missing something or is this a great plan?

We have 14 hours in port, so time is not a problem. Plus, this way we will not have to rush breakfast and still be back well before dinner.

Thoughts??

 

For those taking the trip to the Summit, my recommendation is to go around noon to allow time for the fog to lift. Some on this board says it makes no difference. However, our bus driver was a local and he said the later in the day you go, the better in terms of clearer weather. Of course, there are always exceptions depending on what kind of weather fronts could be coming through. You surely still could have low visibility later in the day. It is a matter of playing the odds. With elderly parents, I agree, that having a leisurely breakfast and not having to rush is probably a good idea.

 

Definitely take the train up and the bus down. If you go with a company like Chilkoot, your bus will be much smaller than the big tour buses the cruiseline will use. For elderly people, I think they would do better on the smaller buses. JMHO.

[JSWalk]

JSWalk - I am not sailing until 9-16, so I bet you will be going first. Anything you report back would be great!

 

Do you know how much this tour cost? I emailed them today but have not heard back yet.

 

Do you think I am right about it not going to be very crowded?

 

DaveOKC

 

I don't know about the crowded thing. I do know when I talked to them they said the 12:00 or is it 12:30 was the most popular time. I am going by memory I don't have the papers in front of me but I think it was in the neighbohood of $122.00 per person. It was not much less than booking through the cruise line. I did the private hoping it wouldn't be as crowded. But I will try to remember to post and let you know how it went when we return.

[JSWalk]

For those taking the trip to the Summit, my recommendation is to go around noon to allow time for the fog to lift. Some on this board says it makes no difference. However, our bus driver was a local and he said the later in the day you go, the better in terms of clearer weather. Of course, there are always exceptions depending on what kind of weather fronts could be coming through. You surely still could have low visibility later in the day. It is a matter of playing the odds. With elderly parents, I agree, that having a leisurely breakfast and not having to rush is probably a good idea.

 

Definitely take the train up and the bus down. If you go with a company like Chilkoot, your bus will be much smaller than the big tour buses the cruiseline will use. For elderly people, I think they would do better on the smaller buses. JMHO.

 

Thanks for your opinion. You have made me feel like a made the right choice.:D

[krogerlady]

Just got back last week and we took the 7 and 1/2 trip. It was fantastic!! Only 10 people in our group, plenty of room to move around in the train, and the stops on the way back in the tour bus were great. Saw bear twice!! The puppies were fun to play with and Emerald Lake is beyond words.

[charlesjoy]

Just got back last week and we took the 7 and 1/2 trip. It was fantastic!! Only 10 people in our group, plenty of room to move around in the train, and the stops on the way back in the tour bus were great. Saw bear twice!! The puppies were fun to play with and Emerald Lake is beyond words.

 

I agree, we took the same 7 and 1/2 tour with Chilkoot. It was not tiring at all and having a van was so much more comfortable than the bus. We also saw bears but not until we got off the train and on up further in the van. Emerald Lake was like the most beautiful picture I have ever seen. Almost unbelieveable. The barbcue lunch was also very good. We are in our 70's so I would not worry about tiring out for older folks. Train very comfortable, warm and clean restrooms. It was well worth the money and as far as Skayway the town, didn't find all that much to do. Just more shops.

[whale-watcher]

We opted for the 3.5 hour excursion (train up/van down). We were cruising with three kids plus my mom, and wanted to combine the rail trip (stunning) with other excursions to make the most of our port time (also opted for flightseeing and rock climbing). Seeing bears and Emerald lake was less important to us (we live on a bear-infested lake ;-).

 

There really are no wrong answers...all options are great, depending on your interests and priorities.

 

And as for weather...the morning we were there started out clear, and became progressively worse as the day progressed, so I would be pick the excursion time that works the best with your other touring plans.