Friday, March 29, 2024

SDR 08 Northern Alaska Self Drive Tour

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14 Days Northern Alaska and Dalton Highway Driving Tour
Travel the Dalton Highway to the Far North of Alaska. North America's most scenic and beautiful wilderness road leads you along the Alaska Pipeline, passed the Brooks Range to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay.

Day 1: Anchorage

Arrive in Anchorage during the day. Pick up your rental car and check in your hotel in downtown Anchorage. Spend the remaining afternoon to visit the sights of the Alaskan City, explore the busy downtown area or stroll along the coastal trail with splendid views of Mt. Denali and the "Sleeping Lady". We can arrange a guided city sightseeing tour upon request.

Day 2: Anchorage - Talkeetna

Leave Anchorage and drive north on the Parks Highway towards Matanuska Valley. Stopover at Talkeetna whose wilderness location at the base of Mt. Denali and at the confluence of three wild rivers makes an ideal center for outdoor enthusiasts, climbers, and tourists. The mountains, rivers, glaciers, and meadows in the area provide superb sightseeing, especially by air. Ask us for the different flightseeing trips offered to Mt. Denali including an optional glacier landing.

Day 3: Talkeetna - Denali

Your today's journey takes you across Broad Pass, one of the lowest summits along the North American mountain system. The pass feels very top-of-the-world with its alpine valleys and mountain peaks on either side. Continue to Denali Village at the border of Denali National Park.

Day 4: Denali National Park Wildlife Bus Tour

Today experience the wildlife and wonderful sceneries of Alaska's Denali National Park. In the morning drive to Denali Visitor Center where your wildlife tour begins. Pick up your pre-reserved tickets and explore the center if time allows. Board the bus, sit back, enjoy the scenery and look out for wildlife. Your driver informs you about the history of Denali National Park, its diverse wildlife and flora. Once a bear, caribou or another animal has been spotted the bus will stop that everyone can watch and take pictures. Your wildlife tour runs all the way to Eielson Visitor Center, a four hour drive or to Wonder Lake - on request. You can get off the bus anytime you wish and take a stroll, go hiking and enjoy Denali's unique landscape. By hand signal the next available bus will stop for you to get on. Return to Denali Village in the evening.

Day 5: Denali National Park - Fairbanks

Today leave Denali National Park and drive further north to Fairbanks. Stopover at Nenana, once a traditional gathering place for Athabascan Indian. Continue to Fairbanks the "Golden Heart City" where you can visit a former gold mine, cruise aboard a sternwheeler on the Chena River and view the Alaska Pipeline. Overnight in Fairbanks.

Day 6: Fairbanks - Fly to Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay (Escorted)

In the morning fly from Fairbanks north to Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay. You will be greeted by your local guide for a tour of the oil fields and the arctic ocean. View hundreds of waterfowl, caribou, bears and other wildlife native to the area. Finally, you will also have the chance to take a dip or a dive into the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, which is frozen 10 months of the year. Overnight in Deadhorse.

Day 7: Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay - Coldfoot (Escorted Van Tour)

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel for a guided tour south along the famed Dalton Highway. In the personalized comfort of the tour van, explore up close the amazing arctic tundra of the Arctic Coastal Plain and feel the veins of ice just beneath the surface. Continue across the Arctic Coastal Plain before climbing through the majestic Brooks Mountain Range and over the Continental Divide at Atigun Pass. Overnight at rustic Coldfoot.

Day 8: Coldfoot - Fairbanks (Escorted Van Tour)

Today your guide shows you the historic goldmining community of Wiseman. Afterwards cross over the Arctic Circle and receive an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate. Experience the mighty Yukon River and marvel at the majestic beauty of the northland's most famous waterway and learn of the river's storied past. Visit the Arctic Circle Trading Post situated in the rural community of Joy, Alaska. Complete your adventure with the return to Fairbanks and bid farewell to your guide and the group. Overnight Fairbanks.

Day 9: Fairbanks - Valdez

Heading south, the Richardson highway runs through stands of white birch and black spruce, often photogenically close to the Tanana River. Soake up the raw beauty of the drive into the central Alaska Range, often paralleled by the Alaska pipeline. Overnight near Copper Center with great views of the Wrangell Mountains. Visit the historic roadhouse in Copper Center before the Washington Glacier peeps into view. Arrive in Valdez, gateway to Alaska's Prince William Sound and southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

Day 10: Valdez

A favourite sightseeing tour is the boat cruise to the amazing icebergs of the Columbia Glacier. On board you have a chance to view Prince Williams Sound's abundant wildlife including a Sea Lion Haul-out and a bird sanctuary. Watch sea otters play in the water and learn about Valdez's mining history, oil business and the great earthquake. Overnight in Valdez.

Day 11: Valdez - Matanuska Glacier (near Palmer)

Leave Valdez and continue along the Glenn Highway towards Anchorage. You'll be treated to vistas of forested slopes, glacier-filled valleys and snowy peaks of the Mentasta and Wrangell mountain ranges. The road cuts through the fertile, crop-producing Matanuska Valley and passes right above the Matanuska Glacier. An excellent place to examine glacier-borne rocks and to peer down into crevices since the lower end of the glacier is relatively flat and easily clambered upon. Overnight in a Alaska Cabin, enjoying the mountain scenery from your private deck. You can watch Dall Sheep through a telescope or relax in the sauna or hot tub after a day of traveling or hiking.

Day 12: Matanuska Glacier - Hatcher Pass - Anchorage

Spend the day in the Hatcher Pass area and explore the Independence Mine. After about 13 miles of modern pavement, you'll negotiate some rough conditions up and over the mountains-peaking at Hatcher Pass. One of the highest, most spectacular, and wildest roadway in the state. The mountainous area is infectious with its grand vistas, and historical artifacts that remain scattered throughout the mountain ranges. Today cabins left from the Gold Rush still rest on the summit of the highest peaks to the lowest areas of the valley. Return to Anchorage.

Day 13: Anchorage

It is your last opportunity to shop for some souvenirs before catching your flight back home.

Services Included


  • 12 Nights Hotel Accommodation - Superior Category
  • Hotel Tax
  • 14 Days Compact Size Rental Car (Chevrolet Cobalt or similar)
  • Unlimited Free Mileage
  • Licensing Fee
  • Rental Car Taxes, Airport Tax & Fees
  • Air Fare from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay
  • Flight Tax, Security Fee, Fuel Surcharge
  • Guided tour of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields and Arctic Ocean
  • 2 Day Guided Van Tour Dalton Highway
  • Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate
  • Denali National Park Wildlife Shuttle Bus Tour to Eielson Visitor Center
  • Tour Documentation & Sightseeing Information

Departures: Daily from May 18 - September 03


Rates per Person in US$ Single Double Triple Quad
May 18 - May 31
$ 5090.00
$ 3060.00
$ 2680.00
$ 2310.00
June 01 - August 31
$ 6430.00
$ 3880.00
$ 3160.00
$ 2630.00
September 01 - September 03
$ 5090.00
$ 3060.00
$ 2680.00
$ 2310.00

Optional Upgrades & Additional Charges
Upgrade: Midsize Rental Car (Pontiac G6, Crysler Sebring or similar) $ 100.00
Upgrade: Fullsize Rental Car (Pontiac Grand Prix, Dodge Charger or similar) $ 140.00
Upgrade: 4x4 SUV Rental Car (Jeep Liberty, Chevrolet Trail Blazer or similar) $ 720.00
Upgrade: Mini Van (Chevrolet Uplander, Chevrolet Astro or similar) $ 720.00