Itinerary
& Brochure Download
Day 1. Arrival,
greeting and relaxation after your arrival.
Arrive to Anchorage and meet your local guide at the
airport or at the cruise ship to be taken to your
comfortable hotel downtown Anchorage. Spend the night in
Anchorage. D
Day 2. All day scenic,
wildlife, and marine life adventure.
Prepare for a full day adventure, board your motorcoach
on your way to Seward. First, explore Anchorage with such
highlights as Alaska Native Heritage Center where you will
discover the rich native history and culture of Alaska, Lake
Hood airport (the largest float plane airport in the
world!), Alaska Wildberry Products (with a chocolate
fountain), and downtown Anchorage. Stop along the scenic
highway to see Beluga whales in the ocean and Dall Sheep on
the mountains. Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
for a chance to view all of the Alaska native animals –
bears, moose, caribou, elk, bison, musk ox, and fox. Arrive
to a charming town of Seward where you will have a hearty
Alaskan dinner and visit the Sealife Center – world class
marine life facility. Spend the night in Seward. B,L,D
Day 3. Dog Sledding
adventure and Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour – see the
whales, otters, seals, sea lions, puffins, and other sea
birds, glaciers and more mountains.
In the morning take a 2-hour tour ride in a wheeled sled
with famous Iditarod dog team, meet the mushers, dogs, and
learn about this exciting Alaskan dog race. This tour was
chosen as one of Alaska's Top Twenty Attractions. In the
afternoon, take an all day boat tour to the heart of Kenai
Fjords National Park, you will sail to the open ocean where
mountains soar a mile straight up from the water. Enjoy
views of whales and wildlife, piedmont glaciers, a
fully-narrated tour with accredited interpreters and
wildlife guide. Learn about the rich history of Resurrection
Bay while viewing the jagged cliffs, seabirds and marine
wildlife. Stop at the Fox Island for lunch which includes
grilled salmon and Prime Rib and explore
the "skipping stone" beach before cruising Resurrection Bay!
Overnight in Seward. B,L,D
Day 4. Whittier –
Valdez ferry transfer.
Board your coach and travel to a town of Whittier.
Whittier is a little port town built by the military during
World War II. Travel through the only road out of Whittier
which goes through the longest tunnel in North America:
three miles long. Here you will board Alaska ferry vessel
that will take you to Valdez via the incomparable beauty of
Prince William Sound. Arrive to Valdez in the late
afternoon. Valdez – a small town/port developed with the
1898 Klondike gold rush and then the end port of the Alaska
Pipeline. Have the evening to explore the town’s museums,
hikes, or just relaxation. Overnight Valdez. B,L,D
Day 5. Valdez – Copper
Center.
Board your coach to transfer to Copper Center situated
on Copper River which is a tiny Athabascan community with
rich history from the gold-rush time, when about 4,000
stampeders to the Klondike tried a virtually impossible
all-American route from Valdez over the glaciers of the
Wrangell-St. Elias region. Few made it, and hundreds who
died are buried in Copper Center. Take a 4-hour natural
history tour of the Copper River County. View Alaska
Pipeline, Copper River, Mt. Wrangell, a massive volcano.
Experience the boreal forest that remained pristine since
the retreat of the great glaciers 10,000 years ago. Your
guide will explain the geologic history, plants, animals,
and people that call this place home. In the evening have an
Alaskan dinner at the original lodge in Copper Center full
of Klondike history. Overnight Copper Center. B,L,D
Day 6. Copper River and
all-day wilderness adventure to the ghost towns of McCarthy
and Kennicott. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Take an all-day tour to the ghost towns of McCarthy and
Kennicott that were abruptly left behind by copper miners.
McCarty served the miners as a place to drink, gamble, and
relax on their rare days off. In Kennicott you will explore
the original powerhouse and 14-story mill buildings in the
middle of nowhere. After the tour of the ghost town fly over
the mountain peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, and wildlife of
the magnificent Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Overnight
Copper Center. B,L,D
Day 7. Copper Center -
Fairbanks. See the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Rika’s Roadhouse
and Landing, and Fairbanks.
Board your coach to head North to Fairbanks. Continue on
the Richardson Highway which was the first road to
Fairbanks. The Richardson Highway rises up and over the
Alaska Range on open tundra country, along the silver Alaska
pipeline, and at the edge of a series of alpine lakes. Stop
to see the Rika's Roadhouse & Landing at Big Delta State
Historical Park, serving Alaskans since 1904. This site is a
vivid scene of Alaska pioneer life with surviving
outbuildings, including telegraph cabins, a museum, a barn,
a vegetable garden, and livestock pens. On the way stop to
see the remarkable engineering feats of modern time –
Trans-Alaska Pipeline. This is one of the largest pipeline
systems in the world and the only way to get crude oil from
Alaska's North Slope fields to tankers waiting in Valdez.
Overnight in Fairbanks. B,L,D
Day 8. Explore
Fairbanks with its top rated Museum of the North and Gold
Dredge Tour. Transfer to Denali National Park.
In the morning take an informative tour about the famous
Gold Rush. Learn many details about the gold mining, see
actual footage of the dredges in operation, overview the
entire stripping, thawing, and dredging processes, view the
actual equipment used, pan for gold yourself, then enjoy a
hearty miners stew lunch. After the tour, Visit the University of Alaska Museum of
the North, which features Alaska’s art, and an extraordinary
natural history collection, see the state’s largest public
display of gold, Alaska Native games and dance, the new
addition to the museum offers a combination of grand shapes
of moving icebergs, see the amazing dynamic Aurora show that
captures the beauty of the northern lights and explains this
high-latitude phenomena from scientific and cultural
perspectives, and more. Then board your coach and transfer
to the magnificent Denali National Park that has the highest
peak in North America – Mt. McKinley. In the evening have
Alaskan dinner and enjoy a talented performance with great
storytelling, spirited music, and humor for your
unforgettable true-to-life Gold Rush tale of adventure in
early 1900s Alaska. Overnight Denali National Park. B,L,D
Day 9. Go into the
heart of the Denali National Park for an all day adventure.
This tour includes everything that you came to Alaska to
see: unlimited wildlife views, magnificent mountains,
pristine beauty of untouched Alaskan Interior. Learn about
Alaskan animals from expert naturalists, explore the
unspoiled tundra and forest, see amazing views of the “Great
One” – Denali, and the wildlife in their natural
environment. Overnight Denali National Park. B,L,D
Day 10. Denali National
park to a charming little town of Talkeetna via Alaska
Railroad. Jetboat tour of Alaskan wilderness.
In the morning board your train for view of your
lifetime. The track follows the serpentine banks of the
Susitna River. On clear days, more views of Mt. McKinley
emerge across the river presenting many chances for photos.
Black and brown bear frequent the sandbars and scuttle into
the brush as the train approaches. Next, the Indian River
Canyon is home to many beavers and beaver lodges can be seen
in the ponds along the way. The track climbs toward tree
line, first crossing Hurricane Gulch, the longest bridge on
the railroad just over 914 feet and 296 feet above Hurricane
Creek. The train moves into Broad Pass, at 2,363 feet it's
the highest point on the railroad, and where caribou migrate
through during the fall. Arrive to Talkeetna. On a sunny day
this actually is the best spot to view the magnificent
mountain McKinley. In the evening take a 2-hour tour on a
river jetboat, that is specifically designed to safely
navigate rivers in the Alaskan wilderness. Arrive at the
Safari sight where you will take a ¼ mile leisurely nature
walk and see a Dena’ina Indian Encampment. Visit an
authentic trapper’s cabin with its original furnishings and
view how trappers lived in "Bush" Alaska at the turn of the
century. Travel ten miles of river to view nesting bald
eagles, beaver activity, and moose and you just might see
black bear and grizzly bear roaming the shore. Overnight
Talkeetna. B,L,D
Day 11.
Talkeetna – Matanuska Glacier – Anchorage.
Board your coach to return to Anchorage. On the way stop
at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters. This is
internationally known 1,100-mile sled dog race to Nome that
takes place the first Saturday in March. You will learn all
about this race of endurance and character and see the
trophies and photos on display. Then proceed on to the next
stop – Musk Ox Farm, which started as a domestication
project to bring Musk Ox back to Alaska. You will see these
prehistoric-looking animals up close, learn about their
history, and find out about the use of qiviut, the
exceptionally soft wool of the musk ox. After the farm and
lunch prepare for the experience of your lifetime – Glacier
Hiking. This hike takes you on a magnificent Matanuska
Glacier, one of the few that is accessible by car and with a
short hike you will be standing on a river of ice. And
absolutely nothing compares to actually standing on the
Glacier. There is no experience required and gear is
provided. After the glacier hike proceed to Anchorage for a
quiet dinner and rest. Overnight in Anchorage. B,L,D
Day 12. Tour and
explore downtown Anchorage, tour ends.
Enjoy free time in Anchorage in the morning, self-tour
downtown Anchorage for endless gift shops, historical
places, and local coffee shops. Flight back home or transfer
to cruise ship in the afternoon. B
back to top
