Guest arrive Anchorage Alaska by 5pm, taxi to hotel. Welcome Dinner “The Bridge” Restaurant, included
Lodging Sheraton Anchorage Hotel

Today we rise early to take the scenic Alaska Railroad along Turnagain Arm and through the mountains to coastal Seward.  Upon arrival, we head immediately for a Kenai Fjords tour boat that will whisk us out to our island home for the night.  We will be welcomed out at Fox Island with a hearty BBQ salmon lunch and then the rest of the afternoon is yours to explore the island’s beaches or forest trails, relax, or join a kayak tour of the island (additional cost). Dinner tonight will be a gourmet dinner prepared by the Fox Island Wildernss Lodge's private chef.

We begin the day with a lovely breakfast cooked by the gourmet chef at Fox Island Lodge and then pack up and check out of our rooms.  For the rest of the day, we join Kenai Fjords Tours’ preeminent cruise out to remote Northwestern Fjord in Kenai Fjords National Park.  Keep your binoculars and cameras handy for sightings of puffins, sea otters, whales, and glaciers.

There are many interesting highlights on our route today beginning with Exit Glacier, which is only a few miles from our hotel.  Next we will stop in at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for an up close and personal view of some of Alaska’s most famous residents.  We will stop to stretch our legs and enjoy a scenic hike before continuing the drive along the dramatic scenery of Turnigan Arm (where the mountains spill into the sea).  We will pass through Anchorage and stop for a tasty dinner on our way up to alpine Hatcher Pass; you will want to sing your best Julie Andrews impression as these gorgeous hills come alive! 

Today we make the beautiful drive to Denali National Park.  If we are lucky enough to hit a rare clear day, we will enjoy amazing views of the Alaska Range and Mt. McKinley known as “Denali” or the ‘great one’ in Alaska.

Today we explore Denali on a wildlife safari bus tour with some free time in the morning.

The only way to explore Denali National Park is on these narrated school bus tours on the park’s gravel road.  Its not a plush ride, but this journey traverses the pristine tundra of the sub-arctic mountain wilderness of Denali.  Wildlife and Mt. McKinley sightings are never guaranteed, but caribou, Dall sheep, and grizzly bears are often seen from the bus.

This morning is free to allow you to conclude your exploration of the fabulous Denali region however you like.

“North to the Future” is the motto of the state of Alaska.  After lunch we head north to Fairbanks, Alaska’s Golden Heart City, the gold rush town that beat the odds.  We will visit the newly redesigned (imagine a white, Arctic version of the Guggenheim Bilbao) and highly acclaimed University of Alaska Museum of the North.  We will wrap up the evening and our adventure with a farewell dinner in Fairbanks

Guests fly home or take an optional scenic flight tour north of the Arctic Circle (Cost: $389/person; flight departs at 1pm and returns to Fairbanks about 6pm)

Guests can book extra nights at the Fairbanks Marriott for $204/night (including tax)