SPECTACULAR ALASKA WITH ALASKA CRUISE EXTENSION
Day 1 - Anchorage. Welcome to Anchorage! Meet your Tour Director this evening between 5 pm and 8 pm in the hotel reception area. Day 2 - Anchorage - Valdez. Meet your fellow traveling companions at this morning's welcome orientation. Travel through Palmer in the Matanuska Valley, where cabbages can grow to an amazing 70 pounds in the 24-hour daylight, up over Tahneta Pass with wonderful vistas of Matanuska and Worthington Glaciers. Stop at Bridal Veil Falls before arriving in the seaside port of Valdez, often referred to as the "Switzerland of Alaska." (B,D) Day 3 - Valdez. Cruise on Prince William Sound. Board your boat for a CRUISE on Prince William Sound and along the 3-mile face of Columbia Glacier, keeping a watchful eye out for wildlife, including seals, sea otters, birds, and even whales! Before returning to Valdez, see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal, where supertankers are loaded with crude oil from Prudhoe Bay. (B,L) Day 4 - Valdez - Delta Junction - Fairbanks. Great scenery all the way as you travel along the Richardson Highway. Stop at DELTA JUNCTION, a living history homestead with a museum, original roadhouse, and farm animals. Then, head west on the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks, the state's second-largest city. (B,D) Day 5 - Fairbanks. Visit the EL DORADO GOLD MINE, then ride the narrow-gauge railroad and head inside the mine's permafrost tunnel. Try your luck as you pan for gold. Later today, board the sternwheeler Discovery for a CRUISE on the Chena and Tanana Rivers with a stop at the Chena Indian Village to learn about Athabascan Native culture. You will also have the chance to meet Iditarod mushers and their famed dog teams to learn about breeding, training, and the big race! (B) Day 6 - Fairbanks - Denali National Park. Board the world-famous ALASKA RAILROAD for a journey through untamed wilderness. Today's ride ends at DENALI NATIONAL PARK, where North America's highest peak, 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, majestically dominates the park's 6 million acres. The afternoon is free. This evening, enjoy song, dance, and delicious food at the DENALI DINNER THEATER. (B,D) Day 7 - Denali National Park. Morning at leisure. Optional activities include a float trip down the Nenana River and a helicopter ride over the park. Then, dress comfortably for a WILDERNESS EXPEDITION into Denali National Park to seek out grizzly bear, caribou, moose, and more. (B) Day 8 - Denali National Park - Anchorage. Continue your exploration of Denali National Park as you head south toward Anchorage. Stop along the way at the IDITAROD HEADQUARTERS, home of the famous dogsled races. Upon arrival in Anchorage, take a CITY SIGHTSEEING TOUR. This evening, your Tour Director hosts a special farewell dinner. (B,D) Day 9 - Anchorage'Seward (Embarkation). (Sun.) After your CRUISE of KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK, transfer to the pier to embark on your Holland America cruise ship, the MS Statendam or MS Veendam. (B,L,D) Day 10 - Cruising: College Fjord. (Mon.) (B,L,D) Day 11 - Cruising: Glacier Bay. (Tue.) (B,L,D) Day 12 - Cruising: Haines. (Wed.) (B,L,D) Day 13 - Cruising: Juneau. (Thu.) (B,L,D) Day 14 - Cruising: Ketchikan. (Fri.) (B,L,D) Day 15 - Cruising: Inside Passage. (Sat.) (B,L,D) Day 16 - Vancouver (Disembarkation). (Sun.) The vacation ends this morning. Guests depart on individual schedules; airport transfers are provided. Please schedule flights after 11:30 am. (B) |
