For our Skagway port day, we booked the Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion with Dogcart Experience with Chilkoot Charters & Tours. The excursion cost $235 for adults (13+) and $175 for kids (0-12). It included lunch, train tickets, dogcart ride, and pickup and drop-off at the dock.
The tour was a full day, lasting 7.5 hours. The tour was offered at two different times – the “train first” excursion left at 7:30 am and the “bus first” excursion left at 9:15 am. We chose the “bus first”, both because we liked the later start time and because we figured that the younger kids could sleep on the train ride home if they were tired after the long day.
We were picked up right at the end of the dock by Anne, our tour guide, and boarded their mini-bus. The bus seated 25 passengers, and we had 2-3 empty spots. I thought it was a good tour size; it was basically our family (13 people total) and 3 other smaller groups. The bus was clean and comfortable and everyone had plenty of space.
Our tour guide was fantastic. She was super knowledgeable about Alaska in general and Skagway in particular, and she clearly loved sharing stories about the area and its history. We all learned a lot from her. Skagway has a colorful past and she did a great job recounting the tales of the Gold Rush era.
In the “bus first” excursion option, you start with a drive from Skagway to the Yukon, including the following scenic/tourist stops:
- Brackett Wagon Road
- Pitchfork Falls
- Fraser, BC
- Log Cabin
- Tutshi Lake
- Welcome to Yukon sign
- Caribou Crossing
- Emerald Lake
- Carcross Desert
- Carcross Town
Note that their website lists a few other “points of interest” as part of this tour. Some are things we just drove by and Anne pointed out, and some are things that we didn’t have time to stop for. Because the return train is at a set time, sometimes stops have to be skipped to keep on schedule. For us, we missed the “Welcome to Alaska” sign, which would have been a neat photo opportunity but was not something I would have traded for one of our other stops. I thought Anne did a great job of timing and prioritizing the stops.
Caribou Crossing was the longest stop on the trip, but unfortunately it wasn’t long enough. We had about 1.25 hours, which wasn’t nearly enough to eat and see even half of what was offered there. We were rushed through our lunch to make it to our dogcart ride on time. After the ride, we only really had time left to play with the puppies. I was glad we were able to fit in the dogcart ride and the puppies because they were definitely our top priority, but it would have been nice to have had more time to explore, visit the museums, and pan for gold.
(Note that according to https://chilkootcharters.com/reservations/ the Yukon Bus and Train excursion is not offered with the dogcart ride for summer 2020. The dogcart ride can be purchased onsite but is no longer included in the tour. I would guess this is because they got feedback that the Caribou Crossing part of the tour was too rushed. I personally would have preferred if they had extended the tour (and would be willing to pay more), starting a half hour or hour earlier for the bus-first tour (and ending later for the train-first tour). Even though it was already a long day, I think all the stops were well worth it and additional stops and/or more time at Caribou Crossing would have been welcomed.)
The scenic stops along the way were really incredible. Skagway and the Yukon had a tough act to follow, coming the day after our scenic cruising to Dawes Glacier. But each stop on the excursion was more amazing than the one before. We saw many different landscapes and ecosystems, and it was such a fantastic snapshot of the incredible beauty of the area. We loved the bus portion of the trip. The stops were spaced out well so that we didn’t feel like we were stopping and getting off every 5 minutes or like we were stuck on the bus for long periods of time. It was perfect.
After our last stop in Carcross we returned to Fraser, BC to catch the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad back to Skagway. Our tour group had our own train car, which was wonderful. We had tons of room and every family could spread out in a different area of the train car. This was a huge advantage over other tour companies or self-guided tourists who were in more crowded cars.
Again, the scenery was stunning. After the long and busy day, it was so nice to be able to sit back and relax and watch the gorgeous landscapes go by. We had great views from inside and outside the car, as you could choose to watch inside through the huge picture windows or outside on the viewing platform. Whichever you choose, you are sure to be wowed by the scenery.
Anne met us back at the train station in Skagway and offered everyone a ride back to the port. We decided to stroll back through town on our own so we said our thank you’s and goodbye’s and headed on our way.
This excursion (or very similar) is offered both through the cruise lines and through other independent companies. We chose to book directly with Chilkoot Charters & Tours both because of the cost savings (over booking through the cruise line) and the more personalized experience. We had a small group and a fantastic tour guide. I had read tons of amazing reviews of the company and they lived up to every word of it. My only very minor complaint was feeling rushed at Caribou Crossing, but that did not detract at all from the overall experience. I had super high expectations of this excursion and it did not disappoint. A fantastic tour guide and amazing scenery make this a tour not to be missed.
(Follow the photo links on my Skagway page to read my detailed trip reports about each part of the excursion.)
