White Pass Railroad and Bike Tour or Chilkoot Charters?

[Mackie Mouse]

Hi all!

Wondering if anyone has tried these two particular Alaska excursions - I'm searching through the Alaska Excursions thread, but there is a lot there and it's not always easy to find specific excursions!

Option #1 - White Pass Railroad and Bike Tour through DCL (about $200 pp), about 4-4.5 hours long

Option #2 - Book the 7-hour Chilkoot Charters tour on our own (about $175 pp) which includes lunch and the sled dog puppy camp

Mainly, we're wondering what will be more up our alley. DH loves biking and thinks it will be fun to bike back down to Skagway and take in the scenery. I feel like the longer Chilkoot tour might be the better bang for our buck. Thoughts?

 

[lbgraves]

If you go for option 2, still book the White Pass summit excursion on your own. It was breathtaking!!! The train has both DCL guests in seperate cars, and people who booked directly through the station so you will get back to the ship at the same time. You just have to walk 5 minutes to the station. All cars drop you off at the dock.

 

[geffric]

I agree ..the train was spectacular..(sp) ..dont miss it!

 

[Mackie Mouse]

Sorry if it's not clear...Chilkoot Charters still includes the train! The train is pretty much my #1 must-do in Skagway!

 

[geffric]

sounds like a wonderful excursion..the sled dog camp is fun..where else can one pay to give the puppys their excersie..LOL

 

[Purdue Mouse]

The train bike tour is a great option. The train ascends into the mountains and ends in Frasier BC. It's a jumping off point for several excursion options such as glacier lake kayaking, biking back to Skagway (down hill), hiking or stay on the train back. Biking it is sooo worth it weather permitting. The views and photo ops of waterfalls and glaciers can only be compared to the Swiss Alps.

 

[lbgraves]

Didn't realize that. Based on the temperature you will likely have, I would go for the sledding. The thought of biking in winter coats isn't very appealing to me.

Also, regarding finding info on the specific excursions, you can open a thread then click on "search this thread" at the bar on the top right. You can then enter "Chilkoot" to see if anything has been posted about that particular excursion.

 

[meajuly5]

How strenuous is the biking?

 

[kcashner]

We booked Chilkoot privately. It was great. Our guide was SUPER. He found out the DD likes waterfalls and made a couple of extra stops at some for her.
Do budget a tip for the guide--this guy was well worth it!

 

[woody73]

. . . The train is pretty much my #1 must-do in Skagway!

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad was the highlight of our visit to Skagway.

Woody

 

[blu]

We did the train/bike thing 10 yrs ago with Holland America. It was the highlight of our cruise. However I will say the biking was more of a freefall on a bike. We stopped a couple of times for photo ops and to gather the group back up. But if DH is looking for a nice bike ride this barely qualifies. I personally would go for the other but I am also 10 yrs older now.

 

[TookTheRedOne]

I took the White Pass Railway back in '77 when it went all the way through to Whitehorse. Regardless of how far it goes, it is a MUST DO. The scenery is fantastic.

 

[Mackie Mouse]

We did the train/bike thing 10 yrs ago with Holland America. It was the highlight of our cruise. However I will say the biking was more of a freefall on a bike. We stopped a couple of times for photo ops and to gather the group back up. But if DH is looking for a nice bike ride this barely qualifies. I personally would go for the other but I am also 10 yrs older now.

Can you clarify "freefall on a bike"? The description on DCL's website seemed to indicate something a little more leisurely...that said, DH and I are both young and kidless at this point, so neither of us is afraid of something active.

 

[kcashner]

The way back is all down hill. Some of it is rather steeply downhill.

 

[jodical]

Have fun whatever you decide!

Just glad to hear the train will be a part of it either way - it is not to be missed!

 

[Mackie Mouse]

The way back is all down hill. Some of it is rather steeply downhill.

Is it manageable, or am I going to be saying, "Well...that waterfall was awfully nice, except for the part where I felt like I was going to go careening off the road and fall down it..."?

Also, for those who have done the Chilkoot trips - has making the excursion departure ever been an issue? I e-mailed them and they talk a good game about you having enough time to get to them, but 7:30 AM just feels like it'll be cutting it close.

 

[kcashner]

We did Chilkoot, and no trouble with the departure. I THINK this is the port with the little red roofed shelter...we got off the ship and went over to the shelter and within a few minutes, the guide drove up and identified himself. He had our paperwork and addressed us by name.

It is possible that I'm mixing up the ports, but I don't think so....in Juneau we walked over to the other area (a 5 minute walk) to meet up with the whale watching tour and we did Ketchikan on our own ...so Skagway had to be the little red shelter port.

 

[algae]

We did the bike part at the end of June 2012. We had a great time and would do it again. The weather was drizzly. Cloudy at the city level, but as the van drove up into the hills, the road became wet and drizzly. The tour people offered us raincoats, rainpants, knit caps and gloves to wear if we wanted them. If it's cold, at least get the gloves. Not sure I need the rest of the gear despite the drizzle.

It's basically down hill 95% of the time. There is one short up-hill that can be challenging unless you are regularly riding a bike now. A few in our group ended up walking the bike up the small incline. The remaining part is really flat into town.

As others say, the scenery is great without a piece of glass between you and the surroundings.

If you haven't ridden a bike within the past few months to a year, I would not recommend the biking. You are riding a bike down a mountain road along with cars, busses and vans with one lane in each direction. Being a mountain, one side of the road goes up the mountain and the other side goes down the mountain. Sometimes you are riding on the side that goes down the mountain. That can be enough to give people the willies without all the cars and busses zipping by. You ride in a group single file with no passing allowed. Not too fun if the person in front of you becomes scared and goes really, really slowly

 

[blu]

Can you clarify "freefall on a bike"? The description on DCL's website seemed to indicate something a little more leisurely...that said, DH and I are both young and kidless at this point, so neither of us is afraid of something active.

Freefall meaning very downhill. Almost no peddling, very much braking. If you have good brakepads, I did not.

 

[woody73]

Freefall meaning very downhill. Almost no peddling, very much braking. If you have good brakepads, I did not.

Oh my!

Woody