We use the best accommodations and we offer exclusive and private activities with "insider access" rarely offered or available with other tour operators.
Day 1: Anchorage, Alaska/Kenai Peninsula
You are met and transferred to your hotel for a welcome dinner with the official artist of the Iditarod Dogsled Race, Jon Van Zyle, and his wife Jona. Hotel Alyeska D
Day 2: Kenai Peninsula
Join the caretakers at the Alaska Sealife Center for hands-on activities that teach you about marine mammals and birds. Later, cruise the Kenai Fjords National Park to witness the crash of calving glaciers and perhaps see humpback whale, orca and sea lion at close range. Hotel Alyeska B L
Day 3: Kenai Peninsula
Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center en route to the Kenai River. An afternoon float trip runs through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and includes short stretches of mild rapids. Later, sit down to a barbecue dinner, followed by a riverside campfire and s'mores roast. Hotel Alyeska B D
Day 4: Kenai Peninsula/Redoubt Bay/ Talkeetna
Travel by charter flight over Cook Inlet to the Redoubt Bay Bear Sanctuary, where you board pontoon boats to observe bear feeding on spawning salmon in the creeks. Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge B L
Day 5: Talkeetna
Enjoy a morning salmon fishing trip, complete with a riverside picnic lunch. This afternoon walk with your guide through Talkeetna and visit the base for Mount McKinley climbers. Return to your lodge for an evening at leisure. Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge B L
Day 6: Talkeetna/Denali National Park
Participate in geocaching, an entertaining adventure game using hand-held GPS devices. Then board the Alaska Railroad Gold Star Dome Train to Denali National Park with spectacular scenery and an opportunity to glimpse wildlife en route. Grand Denali Lodge B D
Day 7: Denali National Park
Explore the heart of Denali National Park. Be on the lookout for moose, caribou and even grizzly as you travel deep into the backcountry to Kantishna. After lunch, pan for gold on Moose Creek in the historic Kantishna Mining District. Fly to the park entrance by bush plane for magnificent aerial views of Mount McKinley. Grand Denali Lodge B L
Day 8: Denali National Park/Anchorage
Continue your exploration of the Denali area on a hike and kayak trip around Byers Lake. Meet with four-time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser and receive a special introduction to his Alaskan husky dog team. Later, Martin hosts your farewell dinner, complete with campfire and story telling. Hotel Captain Cook B, D
Day 9: Anchorage
Board your homebound flight. B