Haines or Skagway

Skagway and take the train ride.

Haines and take the Ferry to Skagway. If only one town, then Skagway. I don't remember there being that much interesting to see in Haines. JMHO

Skagway is the place to see. For the best prices on tee shirts, etc. go all the way down to the end of the main street to the Shirt Store.
Take in the Days of 98 Soapy Smith Show... amateur show, but fun.

Skagway and the train.

haines go salmon fishing up the inlet see bears relax

Both have stunning scenery on the drive in and out.
The highway to Skagway is busier as it winds in and out of craggy mountain ledges.
The highway to Haines is quieter and has you driving along mountain passes with tundra for scenery.

Skagway is typical tourist town, catering to cruise passengers.
Haines is typical coastal working town.

The White Pass & Yukon Route train is an interesting daytrip from Skagway.
It can also be taken from Whitehorse (combined with a bus portion).

Taking the ferry from Haines to Skagway is a good option. Costs about the same as buying fuel for your vehicle to drive to Skagway.

I agree with taking the highway down to Haines and the ferry across to Skagway. It is a short ferry ride across and it gives a whole different experience to your trip. One day overnight was plenty for us in Haines, Skagway has more to do.

My vote would be to drive into Haines and then ride the ferry over to Skagway. That is what we did in our 2011 trip. It was actually cheaper to go to Haines and ferry to Skagway then driving into and out of Skagway. If you are lucky and can catch the daytime ferry, the 1 hour ride is wonderfull. Loading and unloading is a breeze, just follow the crew instructions as they have done this more than a few times.

Now then, keep in mind that Skagway is a cruise ship town. There will most likely be 4-5 cruise ships there at any given time. It's kind of interesting to see all the lemmings heading back to the ships in the late afternoon just before they all leave and a new bunch will dock in the morning.

Keith

akguy wrote:
Ok, leaving this Great Land on the 27th of August, can only do one town. Would like to hear if it should be Skagway or Haines? Thanks Mike

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Not sure what you mean by "leaving this Great Land", but if that means you are driving back via either the Alcan or Cassiar I would agree that you drive to Haines and ferry boat to Skagway. Then drive back to Whitehorse, YT. However, unless you have $100 ,per person, you do not need, I would forget the train ride. IMHO not worth it.
Soapy Smith is good. Lots of good shopping. Cruise ships leave early in evening so town is empty.

When in Alaska and Canada, we stayed for a week in Haines at the Oceanside CG. Right on the water and next to downtown. Tight back-in spaces but great views and nice folks running the place. Take the ferry over to Skagway if you like. We enjoyed Haines for the laid back atmosphere and there are lots of things to do there. Cruise ships do come in a couple of times a week, but nothing like Skagway.

While in Haines, the wife and I were not totally certain just how we were going to journey south. The ride into Haines, like Sue said was beautiful, as is leaving from Skagway. What we did was to take the Alaska ferry system to Prince Rupert, BC, which stops for several days each at Juneau, Sitka and ketchican. It was expensive but great.