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Alaska:
Great Alaska Itineraries & Sample Trips
by Roger Sanders
Tour1 -South Central & Interior Alaska-The Great
Land of the North-Self guided tour via rental car or RV.
Day 1
Anchorage- Begin your journey in
Alaska’s largest city Anchorage.
Activities/Tours Options
Flight
seeing/Bear Viewing adventure over to Katmai.
Alaska Native Heritage Center,
the Anchorage Museum of History & Art or the Alaska Aviation Heritage
Museum.
Sleep Anchorage
Day 2
Anchorage-Denali-Get up early and hit the
road for a truly majestic drive via the Glenn Highway. Turn left and take the
Parks highway all the way to Denali National Park. Along the way there are
various activities to choose from.
Activities/Tours Options
ATV- Enjoy
a true Alaskan pastime at Eklutna just north of Anchorage.
Jet boat tour
through south side of Denali.
River Rafting
Flight Seeing- Have your
breath taken away with aerial views of Mt.
McKinley/Denali
Sleep:
Denali
Day 3
Denali National Park
Activities/Tours
Options
Take the Park service guided wilderness tour of Denali National
Park. Panoramic views of mountain ranges, rivers, lakes and glaciers provide
the backdrop as you look for bears, caribou, wolves, marmots, ptarmigan and
other animals. We recommend the full day tour to Wonder lake. Bag a lunch.
After the tour continue north to Fairbanks overnight.
Sleep: Fairbanks
 Day 4
Fairbanks
Activities/Tours Options
Start
the day on a riverboat cruise aboard a sternwheeler.
Gold Panning
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Visitor Center
Add-on Arctic-Take only one or
more extra days depending on the tour you choose. Visit Far North Alaska via a
guided group tour out of Fairbanks. Explore native culture and more.
Sleep:
North Pole
Day 5
North Pole--Kennicott/McCarthy
Head
south on the Richardson Highway and enjoy a spectacular drive. Spend the night
in Kennicott/McCarthy which lie in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias Park and
Preserve.
Activities/Tours Options
Visit the Santa Claus House in North
Pole where you can mail a letter from Santa.
Flight Seeing
Sleep:
Kennicott/McCarthy
Day 6
Kennicott/McCarthy-Valdez
After
spending the full day in Kennicott/McCarthy, head south to the seaside town of
Valdez the gateway to Price William Sound. Valdez is also known as “Little
Switzerland” because of the mountains that surround it. On the way, stop
at Worthington Glacier.
Sleep: Valdez
 Day 7
Valdez
Activities/Tours Options
Take a day boat cruise to Columbia
Glacier, the second largest tidewater glacier in North America.
Sea
Kayaking
Sleep: Valdez
Day 8 & 9
Seward
Access the Seward
Highway via the Alaska Marine Highway through Whittier. The Seward highway
heads south from Anchorage through the Kenai Peninsula. Head south to Seward.
Activities/Tours Options
Sea life Center
Full day Combo
Halibut/Salmon Charter. Either mail your catch home or take aboard the plane
when you fly home..
Exit Glacier
Horseback Riding
Sleep: Seward
Day 10
Anchorage
Return to Anchorage via the
Seward highway.
Add-on Remote Fly-out Lodge- By now you are pretty tired.
Why not before heading home spend a few days relaxing at a remote Alaskan lodge
and enjoy the real Alaska. You can do a little more fishing and perhaps even go
on an Alaska hunting adventure as well. This way you could have even more
memories to bring home.
Tour 2 -South Central- Anchorage & the Kenai
Peninsula-Self guided tour via rental car or RV.
Day 1
Anchorage- Begin your journey in
Alaska’s largest city Anchorage. That night head south to Seward via the
Seward Highway which is considered one of America's scenic
byways.
Activities/Tours Options
Flight seeing/Bear Viewing adventure
over to Katmai.
Sleep: Seward
Day 2
Seward
Activities/Tours Options
Sea life Center
Kenai Fjord boat tour-See a variety of sea life such as
sea lions, otters & puffins.
Full day Combo Halibut/Salmon Charter
(this will take an extra day in Seward)- Either mail your catch home or take
aboard the plane when you fly home..
Exit Glacier
Horseback Riding
Sleep: Seward
Day 3
Seward-Soldotna-Kenai
Drive through
the Chugach National Forest west to Soldotna, famous for Kenai River King
salmon, and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, home to Brown bears, moose and
other wildlife. Visit nearby Kenai, rich in history and culture, and tour the
Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Church, a National Historic Landmark.
Activities/Tours Options
Fishing-Russian River, Kenai River
Rafting
Sleep: Soldotna or Kenai
Day 4
Kenai-Homer
Take a morning drive south
along the bluffs of Cook Inlet, where sightings of beluga whales and seals are
common. At the end of the road you'll reach Homer, the Halibut Capital of the
world.
Sleep: Homer
Day 5
Homer
Activities/Tours Options
Full day Combo Halibut/Salmon Charter (this will take an extra day in
Seward)- Either mail your catch home or take aboard the plane when you fly
home..
Add-on fly to Kodiak Island, Alaska's Emerald Isle. Explore Kodiak's
magnificent coastal scenery by land and by sea, enjoy world-class sport
fishing, view Giant Kodiak brown bears which is the largest land carnivore,
marvel at the marine wildlife and birds and learn about Kodiak's rich Alutiiq
and Russian heritage.
Sleep: Homer
Day 6
Homer-Anchorage
Anchorage
Return
to Anchorage and fly home.
Add-on Remote Fly-out Lodge- By now you are
pretty tired. Why not before heading home spend a few days relaxing at a remote
Alaskan lodge and enjoy the real Alaska. You can do a little more fishing and
perhaps even go on an Alaska hunting adventure as well. This way you could have
even more memories to bring home.
Tour 3 -South Central- Best of the Mat-Su Valley-Self
guided tour via rental car or RV.
Day 1
Anchorage- Palmer
Drive 45 miles north to
Palmer via the Glenn Highway. An historic Midwestern style farm town in the
heart of the Valley. On the way turn on the Old Glenn Highway and head for
Butte.
Activities/Tours Options
On the way to the Valley-ATV- Enjoy a
true Alaskan pastime. At Eklutna just north of Anchorage.
Reindeer Farm
Grocery Shopping- Stop by Pyrahs Pioneer Peak farm in Butte and pick your
own vegetables.
Musk Ox Farm
Wolf Country-See real Alaskan wolves
Independence Mine State Historical Park
Sleep: Palmer
Day 2 & 3
Palmer - Paxton
Travel north on the
Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway to visit the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska's
largest road accessible glacier. In Paxton you are at the gateway to the Denali
highway. This is not a highway but a gravel road. This road which is 110 miles
has what many consider some of Alaska's most majestic scenery. This is the
remote Alaska you've been looking for.
Activities/Tours Options
Berry
Picking
Fishing- along the roadside streams
Hiking
Fantastic
wildlife viewing- If you listen at night there is a good chance you will hear
wolves.
Sleep: Campgrounds along the Denali Highway roadside.
Day 4
Denali Highway-Talkeetna
Drive to Talkeetna
Activities/Tours Options
Enjoy the many souvenir shops in Talkeetna.
Jet boat tour through south side of Denali.
Flight Seeing- Have your
breath taken away with aerial views of Mt. McKinley/Denali
Sleep:
Talkeetna
Day 5
Talkeetna to Anchorage
Drive to Wasilla then
drive to Anchorage.
Activities/Tours Options
Historic Dorothy Page
Museum in Wasilla.
Fishing-The Little or Big Susitna rivers
Iditarod
Headquarters-Take a real dog sled ride.
Add-on Remote Fly-out Lodge- By now
you are pretty tired. Why not before heading home spend a few days relaxing at
a remote Alaskan lodge and enjoy the real Alaska. You can do a little more
fishing and perhaps even go on an Alaska hunting adventure as well. This way
you could have even more memories to bring home.
Tour 4 -South Central- Mix & Match- Combine any of
or parts of the Self guided tours above with a Small Group Pre-Packaged or
Remote Lodge Vacation.
Money Saving Tip
What most self-guided vacationers do
today is a mix and match vacation. First they book a pre-packaged tour or a
remote lodge vacation the majority of their vacation. Then for the last few
days they will rent an RV or a rental car and just drive around taking in the
scenery.
Pre-Packaged Advantages - Very economical by the
inclusiveness of bundling packages such as wildlife viewing, flight seeing etc.
Small group environment. Guides are provided.
I have attempted to put together an online Alaskan
vacation planner. The goal of this site is to provide you with the tools to
plan your vacation yourself. I hope this article was helpful.
Alaska By Alaskans Alaska Adventure Vacation Guide
Visit
http://www.alaskabyalaskans.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Sanders
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