Where our clients are planning to go this year - Alaska! We offer various customizable itineraries across Alaska. Here is just one example. To book your next WORRY FREE ADVENTURE send us an email to info@familytc.com The Alaska Experience - 8 day tour
Day 1: Anchorage: Arrive in Anchorage and transfer to the hotel via courtesy shuttle. The rest of the day is free to wander around and explore this pleasant city and its shops. The hotel is located only ten minutes from the downtown shopping area. The hotel also offers a health club, pool and whirlpool for your convenience to help you unwind from your long flight up to Alaska.
Day 2: Anchorage to Seward: At 9 a.m. you will meet your guide and your fellow travelers in the lobby of your hotel. We will have a pre-trip meeting before heading out. After our meeting we will board our comfortable van and travel south along the edge of the Turnagain Arm on the Seward Parkway. This road is considered to be America’s most beautiful and scenic road, crossing mountain passes and majestic valleys. Along the way we will try to spot moose, eagles and other wildlife. On our way we will stop and visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a facility that rehabilitates injured or orphaned Alaskan animals. After our visit to the Conservation Center, we will then continue south down the mountainous Kenai Peninsula towards Seward. We will arrive in Seward by mid afternoon where we will stay in Seward. Later this afternoon we can take an optional hike to Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield. Exit Glacier is the only glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park that it is accessible by foot.
Day 3: Kenai Fjords National Park: At 11:30a.m. we will board a sightseeing vessel to explore the wonders of Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park. Learn about and experience this glacially carved region known for its tidewater glaciers, spectacular scenery, steep cliffs, and rich waters abundant with wildlife. This six hour tour will explore the heart of Kenai Fjords National Park. The tour includes a visit to a tidewater glacier where we will search for marine wildlife including sea otters, puffins and many other bird species, steller sea lions, harbor seals and whales. During the second part of the tour, a deli style lunch will be served while the exploration continues! The evening will be spent in Seward.
Day 4: Seward: After breakfast we will visit the Alaska Sea Life Center, a world class marine science facility. The center serves as a regional stranding center and it is equipped to rehabilitate sick, stranded and injured marine mammals and birds. Go nose-to-glass with many of the creatures you will only see from a distance on a cruise. This one of a kind research, rehabilitation and education facility lets you observe marine research as it’s being conducted. Watch seabirds, sea lions and harbor seals in their naturalistic habitats. After the tour, you will have a free day to enjoy local activities and shopping around Seward. At 6pm we will rail back to Anchorage aboard the Alaska Railroad. Enjoy a pleasant dinner in the dinning car viewing scenery along this route that is about as breathtaking as it gets. We will arrive in Anchorage at 10:15 pm and we will take you to your hotel. Overnight in Anchorage.
Day 5: Anchorage to Talkeetna: After breakfast, we will begin our journey north. Along the way, we will stop at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, and listen to fascinating stories about Alaska’s native cultures and get an insightful perspective into traditional native ways of life. Later, we continue north through the Chugach State Park to Talkeetna, a classic Alaskan small town with lots of history and tales about mountaineers and bush pilots. We will arrive this afternoon in Talkeetna. Head into town to visit this historical town and its local shops or sit back and relax the rest of the afternoon. You can take a stroll to the River taking in the views of the Alaska Range, including the highest mountain in North America, Denali. The sunsets from here are always spectacular.
Day 6: Talkeetna: This morning you will have breakfast overlooking the great Alaska Range. After breakfast we will take an Alaska Wilderness Tour which offers a narrated tour of Historic Talkeetna and a rare opportunity to visit an original and remote Alaskan Homestead, 5 miles north of Talkeetna. In 1959 the DeVore family traded the comforts of their Michigan home for the harsh conditions of Alaskan homesteading. Dennis DeVore takes you back to yesterday on this fascinating and very unique tour of the "Old Family Homestead", accessible only by trail. During this "Talkeetna Alaskan Adventure", guests will enjoy a scenic ride driving their own ATV. You will view the original cabin and various implements and tools used, to learn how early day pioneers survived living in the wilderness of Alaska. Next, it is on to a lunch at Dennis' personal cabin on Wiggle Creek, on the back quarter of the homestead. After lunch you may choose to gold pan on Wiggle Creek, relax with a game of horseshoes, croquette, or berry picking (depending on the season). The fresh air, the silent serenity of the forest, and the murmur of Wiggle Creek takes you a million miles away. Weather permitting, you will have an excellent opportunity to capture photos of Denali and wildlife. Lunch is included.
Later this afternoon you can take an optional scenic flight over Denali and the Alaska Range (see below). This is considered to be the greatest flight on Earth! You’ll talk about this flight forever! This magnificent flight takes you around Denali, the Sheldon Amphitheater and the Great Gorge.
Day 7: Talkeetna to Anchorage: After breakfast this morning we will board our transport van and head back down to Anchorage. We will stop in Willow, the home of the Iditarod Headquarters. Take a sled ride on an exiting trail that winds and circles through stands of paper birch, spruce trees and wonderful Alaskan wildflowers. You will experience this thrilling trail ride with a pack of sled dogs. Afterwards, visit the museum and the gift shop. The rest of the afternoon is free to do last minute shopping and dining before heading back home.
Day 8: Depart Anchorage.