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Alaska Upgraded Family Adventure
9 days, Anchorage to Anchorage
Itinerary
Day 1Anchorage
Arrive in time to meet your fellow travelers for a welcome gathering this evening. Your arrival transfer is included.
Please keep in mind, a lot of what there is to see and do in Alaska is weather-dependent. We give our CEOs the opportunity to adjust the schedule as needed based on weather.
Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting
The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you’re back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, your CEO will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.
Arrival Transfer
You will be transferred from the airport to your start hotel.
Day 2Anchorage/Seward
Travel down the scenic Seward Highway, past Turnagain Arm, where one of the largest bore tides in the world surges a massive wave into the waterway each day. Continue to Seward for a visit to the famed Alaska SeaLife Center. The afternoon is free to explore Seward; or opt for adventure in the Alaskan wilderness while hiking, kayaking, or even dogsledding across a glacier!
Private Vehicle
Sit back and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of your private vehicle from Anchorage to Seward. The drive will take you along the winding road along the Turnagain Arm waterway.
Free Time
Enjoy some time to explore this coastal town, go hiking or kayaking.
Alaska SeaLife Center
On the shores of the scenic town of Seward sits the renowned Alaska SeaLife Center, Alaska’s premier public aquarium. This esteemed marine science facility offers a combined focus on research, wildlife rehabilitation, and educating the public. Enjoy a visit to the centre with your CEO.
Optional Activities - Day 2 HideShow
Helicopter & Dog Sledding on a Glacier
519USD per personTake a helicopter ride over Seward and Godwin Glacier for breathtaking views that can only be seen from the air. Fly amongst the mountains and witness snow-capped peaks before landing on a glacier for a dog sled ride.
Kayaking on Resurrection Bay
109USD per personGet out on the water with a guided kayak of Resurrection Bay. Paddle along the coastline while learning about the flora and fauna as well as the history of the region. Enjoy some snacks and stretch your legs on a trek through a coastal rainforest before making your way back to the dock.
Hike to Exit Glacier
Head out on an amazing hike to view Exit Glacier. The Glacier Overlook Trail is a well maintained trail which provides views of Exit Glacier. Follow this moderately strenuous 2.2 mile loop trail to the Exit Glacier Overlook and view the glacier in its own glacially carved valley.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 3Seward
Board a catamaran for a cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park, where nearly 40 glaciers flow down coastal mountains, forging icy pathways into the sea. Our boat takes us to the exit ramp for one of these massive ice sheets, where we may see—and hear—great chunks of ice fall straight into the water. Kenai is also a wildlife-lover’s paradise, home to orcas and humpbacks, puffins, porpoises, and much more.
Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise
Cruise through the glacial waters of Kenai Fjords National Park on a large catamaran hosted and narrated by a National Park Ranger. See three different kinds of glaciers, including a piedmont glacier, several cirque glaciers and an active calving tidewater glacier. Take time to look for wildlife in the sky and surrounding waters as you learn about the region. Keep an eye out for Humpback Whales, Orcas, Dall’s Porpoise, Harbor Seals, puffins, sea otters, sea lions, and more.
Free Time
Enjoy a free morning to relax or tour the town.
Optional Activities - Day 3 HideShow
Helicopter & Dog Sledding on a Glacier
519USD per personTake a helicopter ride over Seward and Godwin Glacier for breathtaking views that can only be seen from the air. Fly amongst the mountains and witness snow-capped peaks before landing on a glacier for a dog sled ride.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 4Seward/Talkeetna
On our journey back north, we’ll stop to explore the wilds surrounding the mountain town of Girdwood. Make your way along a winding boardwalk through the northernmost rainforest in North America; then board a hand-operated tram and take turns pulling your family along a rope strung high above a rushing river. Later, ride the gondola up Mount Alyeska for a look at hanging glaciers clinging to high mountain cliffs. Continue to Talkeetna, a quirky town that welcomes many a mountaineer hoping to conquer Denali’s lofty summit.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Lower Winner Creek Trail Hike
Get out and stretch on Lower Winner Creek trail, hiking to Winner Creek. Enjoy North America's northernmost rainforest before circling back to the starting point.
Mt Alyeska Aerial Tram
Take a scenic tram ride to the top of Mt Alyeska. Enjoy the view of the Trunagain Arm, glaciers, mountain ranges, and even bear and moose if we're lucky. Take in the panoramic scenery from the top, where on a clear day, the view is as far as the eye can see. Opt to enjoy lunch at the top or head back down.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 5Talkeetna/Denali National Park and Preserve
As we travel toward Denali National Park, we get ever closer to Denali—or “the great one”—North America’s highest peak. Even among the soaring summits of the Alaska Range, Denali dominates the horizon. Meet a field educator at the Denali Education Center to learn about the surrounding ecosystems and the native people who have survived in these harsh conditions for centuries. This afternoon, we’ll travel to the home of a true Alaskan hero, Jeff King, who has won the grueling, 998-mile Iditarod dogsledding race four times! Snuggle a husky puppy and watch grown champion sled dogs go through their summer training routine.
Please remember that due to the remoteness of the Denali area, the accommodation is simple, but allows you access to one of the most stunning wildlife areas in Alaska.
Denali Family Lunch and Lecture
Visit the Denali Education Center for lunch and an overview of the park and its ecosystem Listen to stories about the park’s history and culture, as well as characteristics of its subarctic ecosystem. Learn about the complex geology here and how First Nations people have survived for generations in one of the most formidable climates on the planet.
Husky Homestead
Head to Husky Homestead to learn about the Iditarod traditions in the demanding Alaskan wilderness. Get a behind the scenes view of the champion sled dogs during their summer training. Hear tales about the people who live in this unforgiving terrain year-round and the heroic huskies that help them survive.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 6Denali National Park and Preserve
This morning, venture into the heart of Denali National Park and Preserve on a wildlife safari. The park’s incredible creatures stand out against the sparse landscape, and a drive along the park road is often the best way to see them. As we drive to the Eielson Visitor Center, make it your mission to spot Denali’s “big five:” grizzly bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and elusive wolves. The return trip to our hotel offers another chance for wildlife-viewing.
Scenic Shuttle to East Fork Bridge (Mile 43)
Depart early to explore Denali National Park. Take the shuttle bus to the East Fork Bridge at (Mile 43) and back, getting deeper into the heart of the park. The journey takes approximately 6 hours and shows off the stunning wilderness of Denali.
Denali National Park Visit
Spend the day exploring Denali National Park. The area is well-known for its diversity of wildlife and Denali, the highest peak in North America, formerly called Mt McKinley. There are 39 species of mammals, 167 species of birds, 10 species of fish, and one species of amphibian known in Denali. Summer is a time for raising the young and preparing for migration, hibernation, or survival during the winter and, with a little luck, we witness it all. Discover the dynamic glaciated landscape providing large rivers, countless lakes and ponds, and unique landforms which form the foundation of the ecosystems that thrive in Denali.
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 7Denali National Park and Preserve
This morning, meet up with an Alaska resident to hear all about life in America’s northernmost state. Then set off for a hike with a naturalist guide from the Denali Education Center. Enjoy a free afternoon to relax, or opt to fly above Denali’s soaring summit on a helicopter flight-seeing excursion.
Free Time
Spend the afternoon exploring Denali NP – with so much to see and do, your options are endless!
Denali Presentation and Hike
Living next to the highest mountain in North America requires intense planning and preparation, and even then it's no easy feat. Learn how people live in this remote region, some without running water, and over a hundred miles from the closest grocery store. Meet a year-round resident of Denali and ask questions about surviving in a region with eight months of winter. Then head out on a guided hike to take in the awe-inspiring beauty of the Denali wilderness.
Optional Activities - Day 7 HideShow
Denali Hiking
Use any of the hiking trails around the park to enjoy the rugged beauty of Denali National Park. If the weather is clear, look up to see Denali (formerly named Mt McKinley) towering overhead. Some of the most popular trails are the Mount Healy overlook trail and Horseshoe Lake trail.
The Mount Healy trail allows hikers to travel part of the way up Mount Healy which overlooks the entrance area to the park. Even though it is one of the steepest trails in Denali the effort is well worth it. You will walk steadily through spruce forest before encountering the switchbacks that will have you above the tree-line in no time. The official trail ends at the overlook with great views to the south where you can choose to continue to the true peak of Mount Healy or you can turn back. Please note that this trail is not a loop.
The Horseshoe Lake trail is a rather popular loop hike that attracts quite a few people, so you certainly won’t be the only one out there. As you follow this well developed trail down to the lake you will pass the overlook which gives you a gorgeous panoramic view of the Nenana river often referred to as “Glitter Gulch” right outside the park. You will also be able to see the surrounding mountains towering in the distance. Once you arrive at the lake stay on the lookout for full-racked bull moose as this can be a popular spot for them to cool off during the summer months. This hike is truly a great starter trail in the area that will get you a bit more acquainted with the beauty of Denali National Park.
Denali Scenic Flight with Optional Glacier Landing
220-420USD per personTake to the skies for a bird's eye view of the spectacular grandeur. Get a better view of the mountains, glaciers, and wilderness from a few thousand feet up.
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 8Denali National Park and Preserve/Anchorage
Enjoy a free morning to get in a final hike or an optional scenic river float before setting out on our drive back to Anchorage. Join the group for a farewell dinner this evening.
Free Time
Enjoy a final morning in Denali to take in some final sights.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle between Denali National Park and Anchorage.
Optional Activities - Day 8 HideShow
Rafting on the Nenana River- McKinley Scenic Run
72-97USD per personGuided by expert leaders, float through Class I-III rapids as you raft past spectacular scenery. Keep an eye out for moose, bear and more as you pass through the great Alaskan wilderness.
Denali Scenic Flight with Optional Glacier Landing
220-420USD per personTake to the skies for a bird's eye view of the spectacular grandeur. Get a better view of the mountains, glaciers, and wilderness from a few thousand feet up.
Meals included:
Breakfast | DinnerDay 9Anchorage
Depart at any time.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.