4everluvDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2007
Looking at booking a tour with Chilkoot Charters & Tours in Skagway and was wondering if anyone has used them in the past. We are thinking of the Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion. Thanks for any input.
I have used Chilkoot and would highly recommend them! It was the best tour experience!! The smaller group made for a wonderful experience. We did the same excursion you are looking at, their Yukon Bus/Rail. If you can be up & off the ship early, I’d go with the option that does the rail first and bus second.Looking at booking a tour with Chilkoot Charters & Tours in Skagway and was wondering if anyone has used them in the past. We are thinking of the Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion. Thanks for any input.
What date are you doing this?I can’t give a review, but we booked with them for that exact tour. Like auntlynne said, they are almost exclusively positively reviewed - I felt very confident booking with them.
Thank you so much for your great review. We will definitely be booking this. Also, I was having a hard time deciding which order to do it but you made some great points.I have used Chilkoot and would highly recommend them! It was the best tour experience!! The smaller group made for a wonderful experience. We did the same excursion you are looking at, their Yukon Bus/Rail. If you can be up & off the ship early, I’d go with the option that does the rail first and bus second.
Smaller group was a huge plus - we had only 14 or 15 people. Their bus was one of those smaller hotel-type shuttles. We could and did make many more stops both up and back than the larger Disney & other ship tour busses.
Taking rail first got us into the lunch location about 15 minutes ahead of the bus first group and rhe bus-only tours.
Taking the rail first, you can get some great pictures off the back of the train looking at the harbor, town of Skagway, and the ship.
I don’t know if this has changed, but when we did their tour pre-Covid, Chilkoot guests got the last train car & Disney booked guests were in the second to last car. This means Chilkoot guests could be on the outside back platform with longer, unobstructed views off the back of the train and those curving pics of the engine up ahead.
The smaller bus allows for more flexibility on the stops. For example, on the way up, there was a large bus at the Welcome to Yukon sign, so we skipped it. We made the stop on the way back, when there were no other people there so no waiting for our family sign pics. We also could make other stops on the opposite side of the road, because the smaller bus could make those U-Turns across the road.
Coming back, with rail first and bus second, you are not tied to a timetable of having to make the train ride. This allowed us to make a couple of extra stops, to wait for and watch the train pass by in the canyon below, and to U-turn & spend 20 minutes watching a bear cub by the side of the road our driver had seen on prior days’ tours. Can’t do that with a large bus!
When getting back into town, we had the option of being dropped in the middle of town or back at the dock by the ship. Most of our bus opted for the middle of town, as we were back around 3:30pm and had time to walk back while visiting many of the shops in town. The town is small, it was not a long walk back & was nice after the bus, plus we were still back onboard for main dining if needed.
Enjoy your cruise!
We’ll be on the June 12 sailing (so I think Skagway is June 15 if I’m remembering correctly).What date are you doing this?
We will be on the May 29th. Have this tour booked with DCL but will be cancelling today and booking with Chilkoot. Have fun on your cruise.We’ll be on the June 12 sailing (so I think Skagway is June 15 if I’m remembering correctly).
Coming up so soon! You enjoy yours as wellWe will be on the May 29th. Have this tour booked with DCL but will be cancelling today and booking with Chilkoot. Have fun on your cruise.
Looking at booking a tour with Chilkoot Charters & Tours in Skagway and was wondering if anyone has used them in the past. We are thinking of the Yukon Rail & Bus Excursion. Thanks for any input.