Anchorage

Upon arrival in Anchorage, check in to your hotel in a prime downtown location. Get ready for a combined rail and motorcoach Alaska journey of a lifetime. Anchorage features dozens of parks and 122 miles of paved bike paths. Warmed by a maritime climate, you can spend the day salmon fishing at Ship Creek, hiking the nearby mountains, photographing glaciers and dining at a four-star restaurant. Within a 15-minute drive from downtown on the hillside is the tree-lined trailhead of Anchorage’s most popular hike, Flattop Mountain. A short floatplane ride opens up the possibility of almost any type adventure. That’s one reason why Anchorage’s Lake Hood is the world’s busiest floatplane base. Try some fresh Alaska seafood (Salmon, Halibut) for dinner in one of the many excellent restaurants around the hotel. Afterwards enjoy a stroll along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail with sweeping views over the inlet to Mt. Denali and Mt. Susitna aka: "Sleeping Lady". Overnight: Anchorage

Anchorage - Seward | Rail Tour

Board the legendary Alaska Railroad in Anchorage and depart for Seward at 6:45 AM. The tour offers incomparable vista of fjords, glaciers and mountains as you follow the Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm, then climb steeply through the coastal mountains to cross Moose Pass. Arrive in Seward at 11.05 AM. Like many communities in Southcentral Alaska, Seward began a new era of history in 1964 after the Good Friday Earthquake caused fires and tidal waves that destroyed 90 percent of the town. One of the only reminders of the natural disaster is in the public library where the slide show covering the earthquake, “Waves Over Seward,” is shown. Visit the Exit Glacier just north of town. This road-accessible glacier offers an impressive up-close view of the glacier along with information and hiking trails. The more adventurous may take a guided kayak trip and spend the afternoon paddling among sea otters. Overnight: Seward

Seward | Kenai Fjords National Park

The park covers an area of 669,984 acres (1,046.85 sq miles) on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska. The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States. Kenai Fjords National Park is named for the numerous fjords carved by glaciers moving down the mountains from the ice field. The field is the source of at least 38 glaciers, the largest of which is Bear Glacier. The park lies just to the west of Seward, a popular port for cruise ships. The remainder of the park is primarily accessible by boat. The fjords are glacial valleys that have been submerged below sea level by a combination of rising sea levels and land subsidence. Get ready for the full day narrated Kenai Fjords cruise (7 hrs) throughout the fascinating and beautiful Kenai Fjords National Park with abundant marine wildlife and massive tidewater glacier. The 120-mile cruise experience provides close-up views of two tidewater glaciers Holgate and Aialik Glaciers - the largest tidewater glaciers within the park which are actively "calving" glaciers and often massive chunks of ancient ice will plummet into the sea below. Get your camera ready and take pictures from a close distance !  Your cruise experience continues with a visit of the Chiswell Islands National Wildlife Refuge - an important marine bird sanctuary were millions of seabirds are nestling on nearly vertical islands. Last but not least, you see a small rookery of the endangered Steller Sea Lions. During the entire journey a uniformed National Park Ranger will host this cruise and provides information about the flora, fauna, geology and history of the park. He will also point out the many spectacular sights and provides answers on any questions you may have about the parks geology and wildlife. The tour provides some outstanding photo opportunities and the memories will last forever. Return to Seward and evening at leisure. Overnight: Seward.

Seward - Talkeetna | Motorcoach Tour

Board a comfortable motorcoach in Seward at 10:15 AM, stopover briefly in Anchorage and arrive around 5:30 PM in Talkeetna. Enjoy the views of snowcapped mountain ranges, pristine lakes, beautiful scenery and wildlife as you travel from Anchorage via Wasilla on the George Parks Highway to Talkeetna. Transfer to a downtown hotel or to a beautiful deluxe mountain lodge with breathtaking Alaska Range and Mt. Denali vistas. Remaining day at leisure in Talkeetna. Optional Tour: Take a flightseeing trip within 6-Miles of Denali's 20.320 ft summit and get a picture perfect view of the Kahiltna and Ruth Glacier with its Great Gorge - over 9.000 ft deep - as well as onto magnificent ice-falls. You will also see the Sheldon Amphitheatre - the largest of its kind in the world. During the tour you may catch also sights of mountain climbers attempting the "Great One". Another highlight will be an adventurous glacier landing. Overnight: Talkeetna

Talkeetna - Denali National Park | Rail Tour

Board the Alaska Railroad at the Talkeetna train station at 11:20 AM. Choose between the standard rail car or the glass-domed compartments with large panorama windows ensuring unobstructed views of the pristine scenery. Get the camera ready as the train crosses Hurricane Gulch Bridge, 300 feet above the creek. Arrival at Denali Village at 3:40 pm. Remaining day at leisure or for outdoor activities.  Optional Denali Scenic Float Trip: Enjoy a scenic float trip near the entrance of Denali National Park with a taste of whitewater rafting. This guided trip skirts the boundaries of Denali National Park down the glacier-fed Nenana River. Experience beautiful scenery and keep your eyes out for moose, sheep, caribou and bear, as you raft downstream 11 miles. The most scenic portion of the Nenana River gives you a thrilling, yet safe rafting. More adventurous guests have the option to continue with the Canyon Run! Get into real whitewater rafting as you hang on through thrilling rapids.

Denali National Park

Denali National Park provides excellent wildlife viewing and spectacular sceneries. Pick up your pre-reserved tickets and get familiar with the exhibitions at the center if time allows. Options: upgrade to the Kantishna Wilderness Trails, or Tundra Wildlife Tour. Board the bus, sit back and watch out for grizzly bears, moose, caribou, wolf and fox moving along the ridges and river beds or observe one of the 150 different bird species which inherit the park area. Your driver informs you about the history of Denali National Park, its diverse wildlife and flora. Once a bear, caribou or another animal has been spotted the bus will stop that everyone can watch and take pictures. Your tour turns around at Eielson Visitor Center - 66 miles into the park. We can extend the bus tour to Wonder Lake or Kantishna Roadhouse. You can get off the bus anytime you wish and take a stroll, go hiking and enjoy the landscape. Return to the Denali Park entrance anytime during the day. Overnight: Denali National Park

Denali National Park - Fairbanks | Rail Tour

Morning at leisure: visit a park ranger sled dog introduction, raft or float on the Nenana River or take a scenic flightseeing tour around the Alaska Range and see Mt. Denali. Transfer to the Denali Rail Depot. Leave Denali at 4:00 PM for the scenic rail journey north towards Nenana - known for the Alaska Ice Classics. Arrival around 8:00 PM. Fairbanks, known as the Golden Heart City of Alaska, is the gateway to the interior and features almost 24 hours of daylight during the summer months. Only 120 miles from the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks offers excellent year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. Local points of interest include the Alaska University Museum with the best statewide natural history collection, the lively Alaskaland and the authentic 20-mile sternwheeler cruise on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Overnight: Fairbanks.

Fairbanks - Coldfoot (Arctic Circle) | Flight

Fly from Fairbanks to Coldfoot - north of the Arctic Circle within the mighty Brooks Mountain Range. The flight provides an aerial view of the vast Alaska wilderness and the Alaska Pipeline. As Alaska’s visitors cross the Arctic Circle, legend has it that many pilots give the plane a slight “bump” letting passengers know they’ve crossed the legendary circle. Alaska’s Arctic is home to the Inupiat Eskimos, many who still live a subsistence lifestyle and still preserve their history verbally from generation to generation. The Far North is filled with a rich history and natural wonders, from the gold rush days of yore to the Gates of the Arctic. Optional: Koyokuk River Float - The North Fork of the Koyukuk flows south through a broad, glacially carved valley beside the Endicott Mountains in the Central Brooks Range. It is a clearwater river designated as " National Wild and Scenic River" and flows through dramatic peaks and through the "Gates of the Arctic" National Park. Overnight: Coldfoot

Coldfoot - Fairbanks | Van Tour

Coldfoot is located roughly 174 miles into the 414-mile Dalton Highway. The Dalton Highway is often called the “Haul Road” because it’s mostly used by truckers en route from the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks and points farther south. It has been made famous by the TV show “Ice Road Truckers,” and more people than ever are discovering its scenic beauty, wildlife and recreational opportunities. It is also one of Alaska’s most remote and challenging roads and it is mostly gravel. Cross the Arctic Circle and receive an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate. Explore up close the amazing arctic tundra and feel the veins of ice just beneath the surface as you travel along the Alaska Pipeline to the Yukon River and marvel at the majestic beauty of the northland's most famous waterway while learning of the river's storied past. Arrival in Fairbanks around midnight !! Overnight: Fairbanks

Fairbanks

In 1902, Felix Pedro found gold in the region and thousands of prospectors swarmed to the area in search of the “Mother lode.” Nearly a century later, Fairbanks (population 32 000) is the trade and transportation center for Interior and Far North Alaska. From mid-May through July, visitors can enjoy more than 20 hours of sunlight a day. Today you have the unique chance to join an arctic flight to Alaska's vast, road-less interior. Tour ends. Optional: Extend the tour and drive along the Chena Hot Springs road (watch out for moose!), go on a hiking trip and visit Chena. Here you can relax in the large heated indoor pool or the natural outdoor rock lake. Visit the Aurora Ice Museum and grant yourself to a "Appletini" beverage served in an ice glass.