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In this great expanse of pure wilderness, majestic mountains, never-ending landscapes, and fascinating wildlife, this is the ultimate tour of Alaska & the Yukon! Ride the “Scenic Railway of the World” to Skagway, explore the rugged wilderness of Denali National Park, and discover the enticing history of native heritage. Enjoy a cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park, where you will witness dominating glaciers crashing into the sea and playful whales. Board a sternwheeler for a cruise on the Chena and Tanana Rivers in Fairbanks. Trace the trail of gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush, and follow in the paw steps of Alaska’s famous dogsledding huskies.
Anchorage (2 nights), Denali (2), Fairbanks (1), Tok (1), Dawson City (2), Whitehorse (3)
Highlights:
- Lumel Glassblowing workshop
- S.S. Klondike
- Diamond Tooth Gerties
- Dredge No. 4 guided tour
- Goldbottom Mine tour
- Sternwheeler Discovery River Cruise
- Palace Theater & Saloon show
- Denali Tundra Wilderness tour
- Alaska Native Heritage Centre
- Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise
- Kluane Park Visitor Centre
- Sheep Mountain Visitor Centre
- MacBride Museum
- Haa Shagóon Hídi at Carcross Tagish First Nation Cultural Centre
- White Pass Railway journey from Carcross to Skagway
Tour Includes:
- Private Mini-Coach Transportation
- Services of a Professional Tour Leader
- Group arrival and departure airport transfers
- Accommodation as listed (or similar based on availability)
- National Park Fees as Required Luggage Handling (1 bag per person where available)
- Meals listed (including customary gratuity) - 11 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 3 dinners
- Attractions & Activities as listed in itinerary
Tour does not include:
- Gratuities for Coach Driver and Tour Manager
- Items of a personal nature
- Meals & Attractions not listed
- Travel Insurance
- Airfare
In order to make each tour a special experience space is limited to 20 people. We encourage you to book early to avoid disappointment and for the best air fares.
Flights: Call us for flight and air fare information from your closest airport in Canada as we can often access flights not easily found on the Internet and offer alternatives.
Itinerary:
Day 1 - Friday, August 25/Anchorage: The Lakefront Anchorage – 2 nights
Arrive Anchorage Welcome to Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage. Set amid the coastal Chugach Mountains and located on the beautiful Cook Inlet, Anchorage is a stunning urban enclave surrounded by wilderness. Anchorage might appear at first glance to be a typical city, but upon closer exploration one discovers that the city’s 300,000 human residents share their space with an estimated 1,500 moose, not to mention bald eagles, bears, and beavers. King and silver salmon fill Ship Creek all summer long, drawing anglers to one of the world’s only urban salmon fisheries. The Alaska Railroad’s largest passenger depot is at the center of train travel, as it has been for more than a century. For access to spots beyond the reach of road or rail, a bustling seaplane base at Lake Hood has planes casting off from docks near hotels and homes.
Upon arrival we will transfer to our accommodation. Then we will discover the enticing history of Alaska at Anchorage’s famed cultural attraction, the Alaska Native Heritage Centre where we’ll enjoy a guided tour. Finally, we’ll enjoy a Welcome Dinner tonight to get better acquainted with our fellow travellers and Tour Leader.
Meals: Dinner
Day 2 - Saturday, August 26/Anchorage: The Lakefront Anchorage
This morning we will drive down to Seward where we board a cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park. Our cruise glides past seals, whales and puffins as we explore coastal rainforests, tidewater glaciers and remote Alaskan islands. We’ll also visit either Aialik Glacier or Holgate Glacier, and enjoy a light lunch onboard the ship. Experienced and engaging captains narrate the trip, so we walk away knowing a whole lot more about Kenai Fjords National Park and its wonders.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3 - Sunday, August 27/Denali: Denali Grizzly Bear Resort – 2 nights
Today we will explore the rugged wilderness of Denali National Park & Reserve on a narrated tour. Here we will marvel at the panoramic views of the famed Alaska Mountain Range, see wild animals large and small roam unfenced lands, living as they have for ages. Solitude, tranquility and wilderness await. Be sure to keep an eye out for wildlife as this tour offers a great opportunity to see grizzly bears, moose, caribou, and wolves.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4 - Monday, August 28/Denali: Denali Grizzly Bear Resort
Denali National Park & Preserve is the epitome of rugged wilderness. The park offers something for every traveler whether they’re looking for adventure or wildlife. Today is free for you to explore Denali however you like. Take the hotel’s Complimentary shuttle to Denali National Park where you can embark on any number of tours and activities, there’s everything from flightseeing to rafting, from hiking to ATV tours (own expense).
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 - Tuesday, August 29/Fairbanks: River’s Edge Resort – 1 night
Our destination today is Fairbanks. Here there are serious mountain ranges, pristine rivers and lakes, abundant wildlife and a certain poignant solitude that is found in few places on earth. Locals embrace the natural world and have created a vibrant river city in the far north. Fairbanks is known for its captivating sunrises and rich Alaskan Native culture. This afternoon we will board the Sternwheeler Discovery for an unforgettable cruise of the Chena and Tanana Rivers. During our river journey we will learn about the ancient Athabascan Indian culture as we tour the Chena Native Village. Tonight, we will enjoy a delicious baked salmon dinner, followed by an entertaining musical show at the Palace Theatre and Saloon.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - Wednesday, August 30/Tok: Young’s Motel – 1 night
Today we depart Fairbanks. Heading south, the Richardson Highway passes through stands of White birch and Black spruce, often photogenically close to the Tanana River. Soak up the raw beauty of the drive into the central Alaska Range, often paralleled by the Alaska pipeline. En-route we will make a short visit to the small Alaskan city of North Pole – an iconic and charming location. After our scenic route we will arrive in Tok, the trade center for several Athabascan Native villages. In the region around Tok one will see both wild and domestic flower gardens, log homes with sod and wildflower roofs, old fish wheels, historic mining equipment and log caches. This will be our home for the evening.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 7 - Thursday, August 31:Dawson City: Aurora Inn – 2 nights
Today we travel over the ‘Top of the World Highway’, an unforgettably breathtaking highway winding along the tops of mountains with panoramic views of Alaska and the Yukon. While most roads traveling through mountains wander through lower elevations highway winds along the top of the mountain range for a truly breathtaking drive, connecting Tok, Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon. We later arrive in Dawson City - once the capital city of Yukon. Today Dawson City is an eclectic and vibrant northern community on the banks of the Yukon River. This afternoon we will enjoy the sights of this enticing town steeped with Klondike Gold Rush history, featuring streets lined with vibrantly coloured store fronts. A base during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, the town has several preserved frontier-style buildings. Many of these are found in the Dawson Historical Complex. Tonight, we will visit Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Hall, Canada’s oldest casino featuring Dawson City’s famous can-can girls.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8 - Friday, September 01:Dawson City: Aurora Inn
Dawson City boasts a mixture of First Nations Heritage and Goldrush History blended with an active Gold Mining and Tourism Industry as well as a thriving Arts scene. Today we will explore some of this region’s Goldrush history. Our first stop is Dredge No. 4 to marvel at this gravel-eating 8-storey monster covering two-thirds of a football field. We’ll take a guided tour through the interior of this massive machine and discover the evolution of Placer mining-from early pioneers unearthing gold-bearing gravel by hand, to large scale corporate gold-digging machines forever altering the landscape. Next, we head to Goldbottom, a once thriving, sociable community that boasted a population of close to 5000 people during the hey-days of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. Here will explore the Millar family’s authentic gold mining operation. Then we’ll get to try panning for some gold ourselves in the water. This afternoon we’ll enjoy an interpretive tour of Dawson City. On this walking tour, a costumed guide will take us through buildings which have been meticulously refurbished to the Klondike era, and let us in on the most bizarre and unexpected happenings of the period.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 9 - Saturday, September 02:Whitehorse: The Raven Inn – 3 nights
We then head north on the peaceful Klondike Highway! This picturesque highway offers us plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities along the way, and our route takes us past the stunning Lake Laberge. At the Carmacks Interpretive Riverfront Boardwalk we will take in the scenery, stretch our legs and enjoy the views of the beautiful Five Finger Rapids. We later arrive in Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon. This afternoon we visit some of the local highlights, including Miles Canyon, perhaps the most dramatic natural feature near Whitehorse. The Whitehorse Fish Ladder and Dam is the world’s longest wooden fish ladder - which helps migrating Chinook (aka king) salmon on the final leg of their epic journey. Sitting proudly on the banks of the Yukon River we visit the S.S. Klondike Sternwheeler, paying tribute to an era before roads, when riverboats and rail linked the Yukon to the outside world. Finally, we will tour the MacBride Museum which illustrates, shares, and protects Yukon’s objects and stories.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10 - Sunday, September 03:Whitehorse: The Raven Inn
Today we travel to the dramatically beautiful Kluane National Park & Reserve, home of Canada’s highest mountain, Mount Logan (5,959 m). It's a land of mountains, icefields and valleys with a diverse plant and wildlife species. We will stop at Kluane Park Visitor Centre with its award-winning digital exhibits, engaging exhibit panels, and cultural artefacts. We will also make a visit to the Kluane Museum of Natural History and the Sheep Mountain Visitor Centre where we can catch a glimpse of the Dall sheep before returning to Whitehorse.
This evening we visit Lumel Studios, a diverse glassblowing studio with a social conscience, also known as the “Happiness Factory”. We’ll explore the gallery filled with Northern inspired creations. Then we’ll enjoy a live demonstration followed by a hands-on glassblowing workshop where we’ll each get to craft a small glass keepsake of our own!
Meals: Breakfast
Day 11 - Monday, September 04:Whitehorse: The Raven Inn
This morning we will drive south to the friendly community of Carcross within the Traditional Territory of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. Here we’ll visit the Haa Shagóon Hídi Learning Centre (the Ancestors’ house), guarded by eight towering totem poles to admire its unique art and learn more about the community’s storied history. After some time for lunch on your own, we will board a train journey to Skagway on the Yukon’s iconic White Pass & Yukon Railway, the same route that, long ago, thousands of people journeyed in search of their own gold fortune. The railroad winds around mountains and follows the historic Chilkoot Trail, the original Klondike trail. Sit back, relax and enjoy the views and historic commentary from the comfort of our vintage passenger coaches on “The Scenic Railway of the World”. You will likely fall in love with the quaint port village of Skagway, nestled into the harbour and full of gold rush history. After some time here to explore we will then travel back to Whitehorse.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12 - Tuesday, September 05:Whitehorse
Today after breakfast, say goodbye to the Yukon and your new friends as we transfer to Whitehorse International Airport to begin the journey home.
Meals: Breakfast
Singles wishing to share: We often get requests for single travellers wishing to share accommodation. If you are interested in traveling with a companion please let us know and we can try to match you up with a suitable traveling partner.
Transfers: To and from the airport to your hotel are included on the tour dates. Airport transfers can be arranged for a cost when you purchase extra nights before or after the vacation.
Insurance: Medical insurance is mandatory. Cancellation and trip interruption insurance is optional. Premiums depend on your age, the length of time away and the cost of your tour and insurance will be discussed and quoted at the time of booking.
Payment Schedule:
Tour Deposit: $300.00 per person.
Forms of Payment: Cheque, Visa and Master Card or by e-mail. Payments made by credit cards will be subject to a 3 percent processing fee. For information regarding e-mail payments contact your financial institution. It is easy and convenient.
Cancellation Policy: In the event that you have to cancel you must notify Discovery Tours immediately in writing. The following scale of charges will apply according to the date that notice is received. Air fare penalties may differ and will be discussed at the time of ticket purchase.
| Notification: | Penalty: |
| 65 days or more | Deposit Only |
| 64 to 30 days | 50% of Tour cost |
| 29 days or less | 100% |
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"Alaska Yukon Explorer 2023"
