Experience Alaska Over 12 Days

Itinerary

• Day 1 -

  Arrive in Anchorage on your own and check in at the Hotel Captain Cook, your home for a night, located in the heart of downtown Anchorage.

  Settle down, take in the landscape, and brace yourself for a long, eventful holiday.

  Meals Included: None

• Day 2 -

  After breakfast, meet with your guide at the hotel lobby for introductions and an orientation session at 8AM.

  Start your three-hour drive south from Anchorage through Turnagain Pass, to Seward.

  Take an hour to settle down in Seward at the Harborview Inn, your home for the next two nights.

  Head into Kenai Fjords National Park for the start of your hike along the astounding Harding Ice field Trail.

  Head back to the inn, where the guides prepare a celebratory wild Alaskan salmon bake, on the shores of Resurrection Bay.

  Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

• Day 3 -

  After an early breakfast, head to the harbour to prepare for a saltwater adventure in the Kenai Fjords National Park.

  On Resurrection Bay, look out for sea otters, whales, sea lions, eagles, puffins, bears, and mountain goats, all of which inhabit this amazing coastal national park.

  In the afternoon, you could choose to visit the Alaska Sea life Center, Alaska’s only public aquarium and ocean wildlife rescue center.

  In the evening, toast the brilliance of the day at one of Seward’s many restaurant options, most of which are within walking distance of your hotel.

  Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

• Day 4 -

  Begin the day with a 1.5-hour drive to Whittier, along the Seward Highway.

  Stop off along the way, at Portage Glacier Visitor Center, before you enter Alaska’s longest tunnel, which is your gateway to Whittier.

  Board the Alaska State Ferry for the cruise to Valdez, crossing the Prince William Sound and going past Black Legged Kittiwake Rookeries and large tidewater glaciers.

  Stay overnight at the Valdez Harbor Inn, located in downtown Valdez.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 5 -

  Spend the day kayaking in Shoup Bay.

  Based on the timing of the tides, the trip will begin with an orientation by sea kayaking pros, followed by a 25-minute water-taxi ride down the Valdez Arm and into Shoup Bay.

  Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch

• Day 6 -

  After breakfast, begin your scenic drive along the Richardson Highway from Valdez to the little town of Chitina.

  Break for a short hike and picnic near Worthington Glacier, a natural history landmark, that tumbles from the Chugach Mountains.

  From Chitina, load into bush planes for your 40-minute flight through the Wrangell Mountains and the historic town of McCarthy.

  Transfer from the airstrip to the famous Kennicott Glacier Lodge, where you will spend the next two nights.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 7 -

  Enjoy a cosy family-style breakfast and fuel up for another day’s adventure.

  Join the St. Elias Alpine Guides for an interpretive walk through the historic Kennicott Copper Mill.

  Strap on a pair of crampons and head to the Root Glacier for four hours of glacier hiking.

  The hike is suitable for beginners, kids, and experts, because the beauty of the trail cannot be matched anywhere else, even if its intensity levels can be topped.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 8 -

  Take a bush flight back to Chitina. Get there by noon and continue your journey north-west along the Glenn Highway.

  Check in at either the Sheep Mountain Lodge or the Majestic Valley Lodge.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 9 -

  After breakfast, continue along the Glenn Highway, past the Matanuska Glacier and through the Matanuska/Susitna Valleys.

  Stop along the way for a picnic in Denali State Park and, if the weather permits, your first view of Denali or Mt. McKinley.

  Make your way to one of the local eateries in the evening, for a dinner with your fellow travellers.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 10 -

  After an early breakfast, board the park shuttle bus for the 60-mile ride through the heart of Denali National Park to the Eielson Visitor Center.

  The park road is closed to regular traffic after the initial 15 miles, so the shuttle is the only way to visit the interiors of the park.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 11 -

  Spend the first half of the day rafting on the Nenana River, assisted by the professional guides at Denali Outdoor Center.

  The rest of your day is yours to spend as you please.

  You could explore more of the park and its facilities or take an optional “flightseeing” trip around Mt. McKinley.

  Celebrate your last evening enjoying Denali’s best pizza and craft brewery.

  Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

• Day 12 -

  After a leisurely morning enjoy the sights of McKinley village for a last time, board the Alaska Railroad’s Denali Star for an eight-hour rail cruise back to Anchorage.

  Get on your homebound flight later in the day.

  Meals Included: None