panecott

I'm starting to plan my second trip to Alaska and want to focus on the Inside Passage on the State Ferry System, and the Yukon by train. I can take 2-3 weeks and was thinking about early - mid May to avoid crowds. I like to explore and travel leisurely.

The official State of Alaska website suggests an 8 day itinerary beginning in Ketchikan and ending in Skagway, with overnight stops along the way: Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Gustavus, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Haines, Skagway.

Has anyone done a similar itinerary? Is one night sufficient in each town, or do some merit more than one night?

The sample itinerary lists a lot of things to do in each town. Would stopping in every town be repetitious, and would it be better to skip some and spend more time in others? Is it necessary to make advance reservations on the ferries and in the towns, or will there likely be availability in May? Is May a good time to go, weatherwise? I don't mind the cold.

After the Inside Passage, I'd like to take the train to British Columbia.

There seem to be two excursions: the White Pass Summit Excursion - 40 mi, RT, or the Yukon Adventure that is 68 miles and goes to Carcross , which would require an overnight stay.

Has anyone done either or both of these? Do they travel along the same route for a while or do they take different routes? Any comments/info would be appreciated. TIA.

Cranachin

The two train excursions follow the same route - the one to Carcross just goes farther. There is not a whole lot at Carcross, though! I think you would have to stay in Whitehorse. Be sure you have your passport or passport card to visit Canada.

If you do the train round trip, you take exactly the same route back that you did going up. If you go one way by bus and the other by train, the routes are slightly different.

panecott

Thank you, Cranachin.
Have you done the train/bus trip? Would you recommend it or is RT by train preferable?

explorenorth

You can actually do the train to Carcross and back to Skagway by bus the same day - ie http://www.chilkootcharters.com/carcross.htm

While early May can be quite cold, we typically get a dramatic warming about May 20th - from then through mid-June is typically both warm and dry.

Stopping in every town would not likely be repetitious - each community has its own unique personality. You could very easily justify 2 nights (at least) in each of them.

Murray

panecott

Thanks for the info, Murray, including about the weather. I'll keep that in mind.

I've sent for a hard copy of the ferry schedules b/c the online schedules are a bit hard to follow -- but I'm getting the impression that the ferries don't run on a daily basis from town to town.

Do you think the type of itinerary I described would be easy to put together? Do you think cabin reservations are necessary at that time of year?

Also, do you know if there are any days when cruise ships do not dock in Skagway? I don't think I'd like to do that Yukon excursion with a trainload of cruisers.

Cranachin

It's the rare day that no cruise ships are docked in Skagway. The day that is likely to be least crowded is Sunday (often 1 or even 0 ships in port).

The 2011 calendar is not out yet, but one will be published at http://www.skagway.com/cruiseshipcalendar.html eventually. In the meantime, you can have a look at the 2010 calendar. It lists not only the cruise ships but also the times they are in port.

We did the train trip one-way as part of a Holland America cruisetour, so I can't really help you there. We took a tour bus from Whitehorse and made a stop in Carcross (and there really isn't a whole lot to see there!). We boarded the train in Fraser, BC, at mile 27.7 from Skagway. By way of comparison, the White Pass Summit is at mile 20.4, and Carcross, YT, is at mile 67.5.

One advantage of taking the train one way and the bus the other is that the road and railroad are on opposite side of the river, so you get two different perspectives.

It was quite chilly when we were there in mid-August. It was also quite foggy, so that we saw very little of the scenery outside the train for much of the ride - and by that I mean the part from the beginning, when we were in the mountains (so perhaps I should say we were in the clouds, not the fog). It didn't clear up until we descended below a certain elevation, so we saw more scenery during the latter portion of the ride.

explorenorth

The Carcross train is only done with the support of Holland America - the vast majority of passengers are transferring from a HAL ship to a HAL land tour. When no HAL ships are at Skagway to disembark pasengers for those tours, the Carcross train doesn't run. In 2011 it runs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays - http://wpyr.com/yukonadventure.html The independent operators that join in have a separate car on the train, though their passengers do eat with the cruisers at Bennett - http://www.railsnorth.com/images/ben...hall-2219.html

explorenorth

I'm not as adaptable as I once was, so would make reservations for the ferry - otherwise you could ened up sleeping in a chair. It will take some thought to put it together but it's certainly doable.

Skagway is a bit different than most of Southeast Alaska, with a dry July, but a wet August day is no surprise, and can be expected in September. http://www.youralaskacruise.com/cruise-weather.html#sgy

china_cat

I have seen the 2011 cruise ship calenders. Its here:

http://www.claalaska.com/schedules2011.html

Cranachin

If you want to take the steam train instead of the diesel one, they run only on Mondays and Fridays and do not start until May 20 (but skip May 23). The diesel ones start May 6.

http://www.wpyr.com/brochures/english.html

dfrostnh

When we visited late one July, we were lucky to get cabin reservations on the ferry (plus we were bringing a car) in March. The lounge chairs on the fantail heated sleeping area were fully claimed. Some people slept in the small theater (comfy chairs). I was told a lot of people make reservations as soon as they start taking them in January/late December? If you are planning 2011, you might need to decide quickly.

We departed in Skagway, staying two nights because cruise ships were in town and it was difficult to get tickets on the train ride. Again, something you should reserve ahead of time. The bad part was late in the afternoon it turned foggy so we missed a lot of the scenery. Depending on when the ferry arrives in a port and the next one departs, you might want to stay two nights in a town. Although mobbed during the day, Skagway streets emptied when the cruise passengers went back to their ships for supper.

Check to see if you can get to Haines from Skagway via water taxi. I thought this was an option. One we didn't take because we were in a hurry to get to our final destination.

panecott

Thank you for all these replies and links, everyone. It is all very helpful.

I was planning to go in May b/c I thought there would be fewer crowds. Is this a wrong assumption? Is there a big difference in crowds between May and July or August?

Any particular time when the weather in the Inside Passage is generally at its best?

Cranachin, what is the difference between the steam and diesel trains, aside from the obvious?

explorenorth

May does have noticeably smaller crowds.

Late May and early June gives the most sunshine - http://www.youralaskacruise.com/cruise-weather.html

The steam train run does a run-by photo op but other than that it's the same as the diesel runs.

panecott

Thanks, Murray. It sounds like May will suit my needs and wants. Good weather, fewer crowds.

Cranachin

Glad Murray could help you - I did the diesel train, so I wasn't sure.

panecott

Thanks, Cranachin. I appreciate everyone's help.