My gosh, this has been a fun couple of days. On Sunday evening we flew from Frankfurt to Whitehorse on Condor. This blog is all about points and the journey portion of travel, so obviously my quick trip to Whitehorse was motivated by Condor’s intriguing seasonal, once weekly flight between the two markets.
Continue reading: Impressions Of Whitehorse, Yukon
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@ Miro -- They actually have permanent immigration officers because they also have flights to Alaska. There were just three of them, and they were super friendly.
Does having Starbucks , Tim Horton’s etc make a developed city? Likely a tourist city and hence has tourist infrastructure. Development is a different think altogether.
Yes, DO go see the Northern Lights! They are absolutely worth it - but be prepared to travel, and wait. Suggest you do it with a chasing lights company - they will identify the right place with little light pollution, and no one else to disturb you. Also do it with other people, as it helps to pass the time, and makes it loads of fun. Oh, and a little something to imbibe to keep you warm helps.
Here's my review of our trip to Tromsø in Norway to see the lights https://www.2paxfly.com/2016/07/10/the-chase-to-see-the-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-from-tromso-norway/
Many years ago, I saw the Northern Lights from my window on a flight from SEA to LHR. They were beautiful. And the snow had a purple hue.
So many Americans don't know the beauty of their own national parks. Met so many who have never ventured out of 100 miles of their center of mass at that point in their life.
And these were Democrats. You expect Republicans to be stupid, low IQ, inbred, married to their own sisters kind of people. But even some Democrats are very sheltered.
Canadian cities are measured by how many Tim Hortons they have instead of how many people.
@Lucky- I’m curious whether it’s called ‘Yukon’ or ‘The Yukon’ locally.
Great pics. Thanks for sharing a bit of this small corner of the world.
Also, it should be noted that another good way to arrive at YXY is to book an Aeroplan redemption ex YVR. It’s just 7500 points each way. For now...
Lucky, I mean this in good fun: If 36% is your definition of "very good odds" you must love visiting casinos?
First Nations may have similar coloring, but they are about as Filipino as Van Laack pajamas.
Multiple comments have accused Lucky of confusing First nations residents as Filipino, without doing the research themselves. Quick google search shows that Whitehorse has a Filipino population of about 1000 (and about 4000 First Nations)
I am an Alaskan born citizen of the US and have been to Whitehorse Yukon Territory several times. Coming in from Juneau Alaska. The sled dogs are treated well and are part of the culture. I am married to a Filipina. Lots of Filipinos in Alaska and Canada as a whole. Glad you could spend a little time in our neck of the woods.
Filipinos are very popular as "guest workers"....good English, work hard, get along well with everyone and usually jolly to boot.
It's nice to see them thriving in Canada and probably well treated, unlike in those cesspits in the Middle East/Gulf .
If returning to Whitehorse, try taking the Greyhound bus (it's fine, there's only a handful of tourists on them) to the Alaska border and then take the train from the border down to Skagway. It's a lot of fun and the bus and train are timed to sync with one another. The bus driver even stops along the way at scenic spots and lets passengers get off to walk around and take photos. There's a lot of extra time padded into the bus ride to allow for this. Make sure to sit on the right side of the train when going to Skagway and the left when taking the train from Skagway back to Canada in order to enjoy the best views.
@Debit, I get your point, but this article is about the beautiful Canadian scenery, not American National Parks
@debit please go dry your tears from the 2016 election somewhere else. You are boring and redundant.
Nick,
I was referencing lucky's new found but fairly late enthusiasm for beautiful Canada and how it is common in the USA.
@2PAXFLY I have actually managed to see the Northern Lights twice: The first was vivid, flying from CYVR-EDDF. The second was very faint, I actually didn't bother watching them for too long, flying from Seattle to Frankfurt
I would also encourage you to ride the train (White Pass and Yukon) between Skagway and Carcross -- Carcross is considerably closer to Whitehorse so a shorter bus ride to/from Whitehorse.
Also we know how you flew into YXY but how did you fly out of YXY?
Canada has a number of policies to lure both citizens and, if they can’t get those, immigrants, to its more remote towns and cities. Few years back, new immigrants to cities like Toronto were suing the government for the unspoken ‘no Canadian experience’ bar to getting that critical first job and a young English lady I know, married to a Toronto native, struggled, with her husband, to get jobs that paid enough to meet the high living costs.
They latched on to a government scheme to move to a remote 30C in summer, -30 with seven feet of snow in winter city in a central/west province and have thrived. Both were helped into jobs, she training as a teacher, and things like electricity are subsidised.
They’re staying put.
"Whitehorse had at least three Starbucks locations, at least three Tim Hortons, a Walmart, and most major international chains." How sad.
The Whitehorse-Skagway route is just beautiful. Lots of good camping and hiking possibilities along the way, in addition to the unique scenery (the finger lakes, the Carcross desert) and wildlife watching possibilities.
Every September, there's a road relay race from Skagway up to Whitehorse. Called the Klondike, it retraces the route miners took in 1898. About 200 teams of 10 runners each do it, and folks up here (SE Alaska) train all summer for it, as the legs range in distance from 5.5 miles all the way up to 16 miles. The shorter legs tend to have pretty huge elevation gains. The race starts at 6 PM, so most folks run in the middle of the night. It's a delirious, drunken affair, and ends with a huge party up in Whitehorse. If you're looking for a real regional oddity, check it out. This past year's race just wrapped. During the weekend I saw a brown bear and two cubs and probably the best northern lights show I've seen - a solid hour of dancing bands and spirals, including reds and purples.
I'm amazed that you've never seen the Northern Lights in all of your travels! I lucked out a couple years ago on an Alaska cruise over Labor Day weekend...it was breathtaking and I could have watched the light dance for hours. I'm actually going to KEF in December as a pre-birthday trip to hopefully see the Aurora there!
Geoff said "
“Whitehorse had at least three Starbucks locations, at least three Tim Hortons, a Walmart, and most major international chains.” How sad."
Why is that sad.? Those businesses employ people just like any other establishment. Canadiens need affordable places to shop and eat. I get my coffee at Starbucks every day. They employee college students, veterans and retirees. A pleasant place to go
Have seen the aurora on two separate flights from SFO to DXB. The first time I tried to take a picture and Emirates FAs chuckled at me. They were however, kind enough to make sure all lights were out in F cabin to give me best view of the aurora. Really spectacular in the air, can only imagine what it must look like on the ground when whole sky is lit up!
Is there no electricity in the far North? Why is it so tough to see northern lighting?