Day 1 – Home to Anchorage
Fly to Anchorage today. Check into the Sheraton Anchorage for the next three nights. Relax, unpack, and join us for dinner at the unique Peanut Farm, dating back to 1958 on Campbell Creek.
Included Meals: Dinner
Hotel: Sheraton Anchorage (3 Nights)
Day 2 – Anchorage
This morning is yours to sleep in or explore a little on your own. Then we meet our coach driver/guide for a stop at the native Alaskan ULU Factory for an interesting knife demonstration and shopping. We’ll also visit the 25-acre Alaska Native Heritage Center and tour this museum devoted to the unique cultures and traditions that make up this great state. After another enjoyable day in Anchorage, you’ll have dinner and the evening on your own.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Day 3 – Anchorage
Today we take a day trip to Whittier, Alaska to experience Prince William Sound from the water’s perspective. Get ready for an adventure as we take a cruise with a naturalist guide who will help us spot bald eagles, common murres, cormorants, kittiwakes, and other various birds. Steller sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, orca & humpback whales, and porpoise are also common sights. Listen for the unmistakable rumbling of a calving glacier, waiting for the moment when a huge block of ice crashes into the sea. We will discover a waterfall & glaciers up-close! We enjoy a luncheon onboard. This will be a day you will long remember! We’ll head back to Anchorage tonight for our last overnight in the city.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 4 – Anchorage to Denali National Park
Head north with a stop at the Iditarod Trail Headquarters to learn about the “Last Great Race.” Motor in luxury on this beautiful drive to Denali National Park with several photo opportunities along the way. Journey into the grand interior giving you an idea of how vast the “last frontier” really is. We’ll stop for an included lunch along the way in Talkeetna before reaching our hotel nestled amongst the beautiful scenery and wilderness of Denali National Park. Join us this evening for an Alaskan Cabin Nite Dinner including entertainment.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Denali Park Village
Day 5 – Denali National Park to Fairbanks
Morning is the best time to see wildlife in the park, so off we go deep into Denali National Park on a Tundra Wildlife Tour. Keep in mind that you are entering a self contained undisturbed preserve and the animals are in their natural habitat. Truly an experience to remember as you may see your first wild grizzly bear, wolf, moose, or dall sheep. If weather permits, you may see Denali towering over 20,320 feet. Later this afternoon we’ll board the Wilderness Express Dome Train for some spectacular views as we travel to Fairbanks. Dinner is served aboard the train before we depart in Fairbanks for a two night stay.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Bear Lodge Resort (2 Nights)
Day 6 – Fairbanks
Board the Sternwheeler “Discovery” for an exciting cruise along the scenic Chena and Tanana Rivers. You’ll hear native guides share their unique culture and traditions at a recreated Athabascan Indian Camp. You’ll also see sled dog demonstrations. Lunch is at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge. Later visit the Gold Dredge 8 and learn about goldmining techniques and its colorful history. We’ve planned a photo opportunity at the Alaska Oil Pipeline.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7 – Fairbanks to Valdez, AK
Today is a travel day through the heart of Alaska as we make our way to a spectacular place that’s “untouched yet within reach,” Valdez for a two night stay.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Mountain Sky Hotel (2 Nights)
Day 8 – Valdez
After breakfast, take the day to explore on your own what Valdez has to offer! Located near the head of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound, Valdez is a mix of tidewater glaciers, rainforests, and the majestic Chugach Mountains. Valdez is the perfect destination if you are looking to step away from the typical and into the real Alaska. Valdez offers unparalleled natural scenery matched only by the abundant activities offered throughout the year. Valdez is also a hot spot for viewing brown and black bears. Valdez also hosts the Valdez Marine Terminal, which is the southernmost end of the 800- mile oil pipeline.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Day 9 – Valdez to Alyeska, AK
Today we’ll head out early for an adventure cruise across Prince William Sound to Whittier, aboard a narrated cruise through the sound. See beautiful glaciers, abundant wildlife and unprecedented scenery along the route. We’ll enjoy lunch on board. Once we arrive in Whittier, we’ll board our waiting motorcoach for the short drive to the lovely Hotel Alyeska, tucked amid the Chugach Mountains, for the night.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel: Hotel Alyeska Resort
Day 10 – Alyeska to Seward, AK
Today we travel to Seward along the Seward Highway where we’ll board our vessel for a half day cruise through the icy waters of Resurrection Bay where we might spot whales, puffins or otters. With the help of our guide on board, we’ll learn about the massive glaciers, the snowy mountains and the jagged cliffs along the way to Fox Island. Fox Island boasts rain forests and remote beaches. We’ll settle in for a wonderful lunch as we learn more about the island. Departing from our cruise today, we’ll check into our hotel for the next two nights in Seward.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Hotel: Seward Windsong (2 Nights)
Day 11 – Seward
Today we’ll explore more around Seward including the Sea Life Center Aquarium and the areas around Seward. Explore some of the dining establishments for lunch on your own in this breathtaking waterfront community that’s nestled between mountains and the ocean!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12 – Seward to Homer, AK
Enjoy your last breakfast in Seward before we hit the road again towards Homer, known as the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World. You’ll have the opportunity for an optional halibut fishing excursion if you’d like. (Make sure to let your R&J Tour Director know by June 1st if you’d like to reserve a fishing spot that day. Cost is approximately $300 -$325 per person, plus shipping fish home if you choose). If you prefer not to fish, there is much to explore in and around Homer.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Aspen Hotel
Day 13 – Homer to Anchorage
This morning, take some time to catch up on sleep, explore more of Homer, or just relax and take in the views before we begin our journey north to Anchorage and home. We’ll make a stop or two along the way, including the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and also enjoy a fabulous farewell dinner in Anchorage before we catch our overnight flight back home.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 14 – Arrive Home
Arrive bright & early to the MSP airport after a Grand Alaska Tour!
Flyaway Per Person Pricing Information
Flyaway Travel Protection Per Person
Travel Bucks
Deposit Due
Passport Needed
Tour Pace
Price Includes
Roundtrip airfare from MSP including baggage fees, all taxes & surcharges approx. $100 per person included, 25 Meals, all hotels & activities as stated in brochure, Expert Local Driver/Guides
07/07/2021 07/20/2021
Tour Map
Tour Highlights
Anchorage
Native American history at multiple venues!
Denali National Park
Morning is the best time to see wildlife in the park, so we travel deep into Denali National Park on a Tundra Wildlife Tour. Keep in mind that you are entering a self contained
undisturbed preserve and the animals are in their natural habitat. Truly an experience to remember as you may see your first wild grizzly bear, wolf, moose, or dall sheep. If weather permits, you may see Denali towering over 20,320 feet. Stay in the park. Travel in style aboard the Wilderness Express Railroad to Fairbanks in domed railcars for the best views! We’ll pan for gold and enjoy a sternwheeler cruise on the river.
Prince William Sound Cruise
We’ll cruise twice in the sound: First exploring the beauty and grandeur of breathtaking scenery, towering waterfalls, massive glaciers and wildlife such as: eagles, harbor seals, otters and whales. Rather than sailing from glacier to glacier, we stop at each one, floating among the icebergs, giving you plenty of time to take in Mother Nature’s glorious ice sculptures. Listen to the glaciers as they groan and crack, an indication that enormous sections of ice are about to calve off and splash into the bay! Later in the tour we’ll take an across-the-sound narrated cruise from Valdez as we journey to the Kenai Peninsula.
Kenai Peninsula
Drive along Turnagain Arm, a fjord of water which boasts some of the highest tide waters in the world, keeping an eye out for Beluga whales. Continue along one of America’s most scenic roads, the Seward Highway, to the lovely village of Seward. We’ll cruise Resurrection Bay and experience lunch on Fox Island before heading along the Sterling Highway to the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World, Homer, for more discovery & maybe a whole lot of fishing!
