What to do in Skagway, Alaska While on Your Alaskan Cruise

Posted by David Porter on Thursday, August 18, 2011 · 10 Comments

Skagway, Alaska – There is perhaps no greater question on the lips of baby boomer Alaskan cruise travelers than what to do on their shore excursions. We were sailing aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Pearl (our cruise video), and thankfully had our questions answered ahead of time.

Prior to our visit, we asked the very same question of Buckwheat Donahue with the Skagway Convention and Visitors Bureau. Here are the things that he lined up for our day’s visit:

A nostalgic tour of the town with the Skagway Street Car Company.
Lunch at The Stowaway Cafe.
A short journey outside of town to the ghost town of Dyea.
A four-hour scenic journey aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad

There is absolutely no way to share this experience in words. Therefore, we have created a video of our own shore excursion experiences for you to enjoy.

As you can see, Skagway is set in a stunningly beautiful landscape and the town has provided a great many fun ways to explore the area. We greatly enjoyed our visit and we hope to return and spend much more time exploring this beautiful area.

Disclosure: Our Skagway experience was provided by the Skagway Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Skagway Street Car Company, the Stowaway Cafe, and the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Thank you! What an amazing experience!

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Category: Blog, Skagway · Tags: Alaska, Skagway

10 Comments on “What to do in Skagway, Alaska While on Your Alaskan Cruise”

Nancy & Shawn Power
August 19, 2011

We’ve been to Skagway a few times now (the last time on the Pearl as well) and you did some of the best of the best things to do…

…great tips & really nice video!! 🙂

Nancy & Shawn

Reply
- Jane
  April 23, 2012
  
  Since you have been to Skegway a few times, what would you recommend us do for the day? We have already scheduled a bike. train, white water rafting trip in the other stops. We are staying in Seward for a week and are going Halibut Fishing, Salmon fishing, and spending a day with a husky family….Skegway is so…..small….is there anything really great to do here? Or should we just chill on the ship?
  Appreciate you experience.
  Jane in Honolulu.
  
  Reply
  - David Porter
    April 24, 2012
    
    Hi Jane,
    
    I would perhaps look to compare the train experiences. I’m probably not familiar with your booked train experience, but we can very confidently say that the train experience in Skagway is remarkable!
    
    We also enjoyed the tour with the Skagway Street Car Company. Although these can be a bit corny at times, we both enjoyed having a local resident help us understand the history of Skagway as well as what life looks like today in this small, remote town.
    
    There’s also nice shopping and dining in town, but we tend to like to get out into creation and our trip to the ghost town of Dyea was stunning.
    
    So, I would recommend that you leave the ship and experience all the beauty that Skagway has to offer. 🙂
    
    Reply
Di
June 17, 2012

Hi,

This site has a weatlh of information. Thanks for maintaining. I was Wondering who you booked the excursion through. Could you provide a link.

Thanks

Reply
- David Porter
  June 19, 2012
  
  Hi there, we book all of our own travel directly through the destinations. In the case of our Alaskan cruise, you can book directly at https://www2.ncl.com/
  
  Reply
  - mary
    May 4, 2013
    
    i cannot find any tours through norwegian that get us a street car, a run to the ghost town and the scenic tour, they are all broken up… help me!
    
    Reply
Halie Lewis
May 13, 2015

I have been to skagway and we loved the little doughshop called Klondike Doughboy. It was a fun treat to stop by and enjoy. The people were very nice and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Reply
- David Porter
  May 13, 2015
  
  Halie,
  
  Thanks for sharing your comments! :yes:
  
  Reply
natti
May 1, 2017

Hi!

Thank you for this post. A question about the railroad – did you buy your own tickets from the station and take the trip on your own or did you sign up with a tour operator? I’m hoping you did it on your own because I have the following questions –

1. Did you take the train both directions? Is there a way to take the train one way and come back by road without signing up for a tour? I ask because I read that the narration on the train is the same in both directions and that seemed somewhat tedious to sit through twice. I also see on wpyr.com that they have one-way tickets but it’s not clear to me how to do the other direction.

2. Did you take the train all the way to Whitehorse? Are the stops en route long enough to explore the places it stops at for e.g. does it stop long enough at Carcross to go see Bennett Lake?

I can’t find a train schedule, only excursions which leads me to believe this is only a tourist thing and not really a public transportation option which means you most likely get on the train and stay on the train till you return. Is that correct?

Thank you for your assistance!
natti

Reply
- David Porter
  May 2, 2017
  
  Hi Natti,
  
  We bought the tickets on our own, and this journey (up and back) is a journey designed for tourists. You should think of this as a way to see the stunningly beautiful Alaskan back country and not a form of public transportation. Hope that helps. 😀
  
  Reply