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DETAILED ITINERARY & RATE

LIMITED AVAILABILITY
Vehicles accomodate 2-13 guests per vehicle.
Small Groups up to 30 guests can book several vehicles.

FLEET VEHICLES
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Our luxury private transport service is customized with leather captains chairs, large bay windows, complete narration by escort & complimentary nonalcoholic beverages.

Our vehicles are limited to 8-13 adults for your sightseeing pleasure. Optional custom itineraries can be designed for your group based on availability. Our tours of Alaska are also ideal for senior & corporate travel.

Our "Family Packages" are designed with your children ages 5-15 in mind. Choosing from select dates, our AAU guides are also parents and are experienced environmental educators with the enthusiasm and skill to excite kids of all ages to explore and learn. "Family friendly vehicles"allow for educational entertainment via plasma screen TV/DVD. View our family adventure page for details regarding special family pricing and activity restrictions. Join other families in discovering Alaska together.

*RATES: Include accommodations, transportation, activities to include flight seeing, rafting, jet boat, etc. (unless stated as optional). Rates do not include meals, gratuities, alcoholic beverages, or optional activities not listed. Itinerary is subject to change at the discretion of the escort due to weather, road maintenance & time factors. Please review all terms and conditions prior to booking.

*DEPOSIT: 50% Deposit due at time of booking. 100% Final Payment due by Feb 15, 2013 or at time of booking if after Feb 15, 2013. Cancellations will incur a 100% penalty, no refunds are available. Travel insurance is highly recommended.

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DAY ONE - ANCHORAGE:
Upon arrival in Anchorage, meet your resident guide and traveling companions. Begin your adventure via private luxury transport service featuring leather captains chairs, 22’ plasma TV, and complimentary beverages.

As your Alaskan tour begins, today's focus is Alaska's Native history. Enjoy a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center where native games, sports, song & dance are performed by local natives. Representatives of many villages share their culture and ideas. Walk around the 20 acres facility featuring native homes as they exist in Alaskan villages.

Next continue north to the Matanuska Valley, the farming belt of Alaska and stop in at the native village of Eklutna. Enjoy the Russian Orthodox influenced Chapel and native influenced spirit houses, sharing their cultural traditions. Pass the Palmer Hay Flats and the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet where this tundra area is home to arctic wildlife and several species of birds. Arriving in Wasilla, enjoy comfortable accommodations adding a remote feel to your Alaskan tour and has all the creature comforts. A dinner stop will be provided at one of Wasilla’s finest restaurants offering exceptional views.

DAY TWO - CHICKALOON:
This morning brings one of the most dramatic drives in the state. As your Alaskan tour heads north to Chickaloon, the Knik Glacier reveals its full glory. The Matanuska River winds its way north beside us, cutting a cavern of beauty through the Matanuska Valley. As we arrive in Chickaloon, you will enjoy either a whitewater raft adventure or a slow float raft trip. The Glacier Run slow float raft trip is great for relaxed sightseeing and photo opportunities. This easily negotiable class II water makes it a great way to experience rafting and the great outdoors. Or choose to ride the rapids with a fun, exhilarating whitewater raft trip. After the raft trip, appetites should be huge, so off to the Sheep Mountain Lodge, where views of Dall sheep .

After an hour for lunch, it's off to glacier trekking. Discover the true beauty of glaciers up close & personal. Experience glacier walking or hiking and the natural history of the Matanuska Glacier. Enjoy the splendor of the "frozen river" as you walk out to a scenic lake hidden under the face of an ice fall. No experience is necessary to join in the fun! After the days fun this evening, a dinner stop is offered before returning to your chalet accommodations. (B)

DAY THREE - TALKEETNA:
Depart on your adventure to Denali National Park. Visit the Iditarod Race Headquarters for interactive moments with a dog sled team and puppies! Learn about the trail and race conditions these athletes endure. En route to Talkeetna, several scenic wildlife opportunities exist and we stop to observe offering a high powered scope for close-up views. Take in the beauty of Talkeetna, Alaska featuring your choice of one of the Alaska tour adventures below:

Denali Flightseeing & Glacier Landing: This magnificent flight takes you within six miles of Mt. McKinley's summit. As your flight departs Talkeetna, you begin to see how the last ice age has shaped the land. Moments later you enter a world of rugged high mountain peaks and wide glacier filled valleys. Listen as your pilot describes the natural wonders of Denali National Park. See the Sheldon Amphitheater, beautiful Ruth Glacier, and the Great Gorge (the world's deepest - almost 2 miles from top to bottom). "No visit is complete without this experience!" Land on the Sheldon Amphitheater glacier beneath Mt. McKinley. The aircraft are equipped with skis, floats, and voice activated headphones. Passengers, each with comfortable window seats, enjoy narration by an experienced pilot-guide highlighting points of interest including geology, wildlife, and history. Flight time is 1.5 hrs and includes a glacier landing. Upgrades for longer flights can be purchased.

2-Hour Riverboat Adventure: Your exciting trip will begin aboard the fifty-one passenger "Talkeetna Queen" as it whisks you into the heart of the wilderness in comfort. This is the most technologically advanced river jet boat in Alaska designed to safely navigate rivers that were previously inaccessible. It is glass-domed, environmentally controlled, and has an onboard restroom for your comfort. Upon arriving at our Safari sight you will take a 1/4 mile leisurely nature walk. You will visit an authentic trapper’s cabin and view how trappers lived in "Bush" Alaska at the turn of the century. Your experienced guide will display raw furs from the local area and demonstrate trapping methods. Naturalists will acquaint you with the wildflowers and plants that grow in abundance along the river system and you will learn about the edible plants that were used by the Native Indians for cooking and medicines. As you travel ten miles of river you will have opportunities to view nesting bald eagles, beaver activity, and moose and you just might see black bear and grizzly bear roaming the shore. Wildlife, folklore, artifacts and a panoramic view of Denali in the Alaska Range combine to make this an unforgettable Alaskan river adventure.

Continue on to Denali National Park late this afternoon. Evening dinner at your leisure. Overnight at Denali National Park. Hotel or Inn accommodations are determined based on your booking dates. (B)

DAY FOUR - DENALI NATIONAL PARK:
Everything about Denali National Park is big: the scenery, the mountains, the incredible beauty, and the animals. Early this morning, you will embark on the Denali Park Wildlife Alaskan Tour, an excellent way to spot the wildlife for which Alaska is so famous: moose, bear, wolves, caribou, dall sheep. It is a fascinating 6 to 8 hour motorcoach tour into the park. A snack and beverage are included. It is the only way to enter the park, as it is a preserve. So bring your camera and binoculars. Late this afternoon, relax and enjoy the park as you see fit. Evening rafting or shopping is optional.

This evening, relax and enjoy your evening at leisure. Or for a special treat, upgrade for only $75 per person to Alaska’s “Cabin Nite Dinner Theater”. Fannie Quigley and her group of unforgettable characters treat you to hilarious stories of the Gold Rush featuring foot-stompin', knee-slapping music. The all-you-can-eat, family style meal is sure to please. Feast on salmon, BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, sour dough rolls and tasty dessert. Overnight in Denali area. (B, L)

DAY FIVE - DENALI NATIONAL PARK:
Today is at your leisure in the Grand Denali National Park. Many guests prefer to enjoy the Visitor’s Center and all it has to offer. From Alaskan movies, guided ranger hikes, ranger talks, dog sled demonstrations, to shopping. Get out there and enjoy the great trail system in the park, starting at the Visitors Center. Discover the Muir Science Center and the great geology and wildlife of the park. A café is available right next to the Park Visitor Center as well as theater, Bookstore and more. Or choose to add an optional ATV 4-wheeler tour, a helicopter ride over the park, a raft adventure through the park, a horseback ride into the park.

This afternoon, after a great day, begin you journey back to the Matanuska Valley and back to your comfy accommodations. A dinner stop will be provided at a restaurant of group choice, along with DVD entertainment for a relaxing evening. Overnight in Wasilla. (B)

DAY SIX - KNIK GLACIER:
Rise & Shine, as the midnight sun never sets! Today experience spectacular views of Hatcher’s Pass and the Independence Gold Mine, built in the early 1900’s. Here try your hand at gold panning. We bring our own gold pans and just have fun trying the “real thing’. This is not a salted trough. On a sunny day, you will be amazed at the “color” in your pan. A park naturalist will share the history of the mine, as well as flora & fauna of the area. Hatcher Pass is a favorite of guests, for its beauty, wildflowers, berries and wildlife and the best photography in later summer! A lunch stop will be provided at the Hatcher Pass Lodge, with views of the surrounding area. Watch for marmot, ground squirrels and fox that are prolific in this area.

This afternoon's adventure will take you aboard an airboat ride to Lake George, the base of Knik Glacier. Lake George, an ice dammed lake was once responsible for floods of cataclysmic proportions. Knik Glacier, 28 miles long, 6 miles wide, and over 1000 feet thick, is one of Alaska's grandest natural attractions. Knik Glacier, born in the Pleistocene Glaciation period (the beginning of the Ice Age) 600,000 years ago, covered the Anchorage bowl and the entire Cook Inlet. Knik Glacier found its way to Hollywood and was featured in such movies as Star Trek V, Running Free, and numerous music videos and commercials. While it remains active, motion imperceptible to the naked eye, this glacier is in a constant state of change.

End your day at your Anchorage hotel for an evening of leisure. Located in Southcentral Alaska on the shores of Cook Inlet, the Municipality of Anchorage is a unique urban environment situated in the heart of the wilderness. There's a special mystique to Alaska. The name conjures up adventure, raw natural beauty -- glaciers, mountains and seas, unmatched the world around -- fascinating wildlife, a unique cultural heritage, and independent, pioneering people. Here you will find four-star restaurants and small cafes, an outstanding Museum of History and Art and a multitude of other fun activities. Enjoy downtown shopping at any of the artist hot spots, or relax and enjoy the nightlife of Anchorage, “the city of lights”. Infamous restaurants dot the downtown area and offer wonderful opportunities to enjoy fresh salmon to prime rib. Be sure to get to sleep early, as tomorrow is early to rise. (B)

DAY SEVEN - KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK:
Today experience a unique part of Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula! Ride the rail THAT IS AMONG THE MOST SPECTACULAR TRIPS IN THE WORLD. Travel through mountainous passes full of wonder, south to the port city of Seward. The train travels along the magnificent Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, through mountains and tunnels, over gorges, and within a mile of three majestic glaciers - Spencer, Bartlett and Trail.

This afternoons all inclusive adventure begins with a cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park, "Alaska's # 1 Wildlife and Glacier Cruise". These custom vessels have walk around viewing decks and inside seating with large picture windows for great viewing of the close-up glacier experience. Wildlife and marine life is abundant through out. Listen to narration provided by our experienced Captains and Crew. Kenai Fjords Tours’ wildlife and glacier cruises take you deep into the heart of Kenai Fjords National Park and an incredible abundance of marine and land-based wildlife –whales, porpoise, Steller sea lion, along with more than 80 different species of birds make Kenai Fjords National Park their home. Enjoy a diverse array of sights, from rugged coastline to emerging rainforests and calving glaciers. Lunch is included with your tour. Upon disembarking this evening, relax at you Seward accommodations. (B, L)

DAY EIGHT - SEWARD:
Today is your choice. Choose ONE: Activities one, two OR three are included in your tour.

1) Iditaride Dog Sled: Your adventure begins with a two-mile dog sled ride. Feel the power, excitement, and energy of our amazing sled dogs as they are harnessed to our comfortable wheeled sleds. The intrigue of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, also known as Alaska's Superbowl, comes alive as you mush through the Alaskan wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and along Box Canyon Creek.  Your Iditarod veteran guide will thrill and excite you with stories from the trail as you experience the raw power of 13 Iditarod sled dogs. Upon return to the kennel, tour our beautiful kennel facilities, laugh as a guest is dressed up as an Iditarod musher, and cuddle adorable husky puppies.

2) Exit Glacier Tour: Head out to Exit Glacier, a major attraction of Kenai Fjords National Park. Enjoy a short walk along the nature trail that takes you to the face of the glacial ice. Watch for mountain goats, moose or bear on the mountainside. During runs, see salmon swimming upstream to spawn. Exit Glacier flows from the 300-square-mile Harding Icefield, and visitors can approach the towering glacier face on a one-half mile easy grade footpath, accessible to all fitness levels. The glacier is one of several that branch downward from the Harding ice field - a massive field of ice spanning the peaks of several mountains. Exit Glacier flows from the ice field down through two mountains where it creates a small river from its glacial melt. Your short hike starts at the foot of the glacier and follows the glacier flank upwards for those who really get into the spirit of Alaska!

3) Sea Kayak Tour: This paddle is one of the Kayak Guides favorite half day paddles. The water taxi takes you to the eastern remote side of Resurrection Bay and lands in Humpy Cove. There, you will paddle around Orca Island area, and into magical rock gardens teaming with marine wildlife in them... lots of starfish... and other wildlife too! Kayakers will paddle to a salmon stream area, where there is a beautiful waterfall area cascading down pillow basalt formations that are absolutely gorgeous.... Starfish are everywhere... this calm cove is a beautiful emerald green and commonly seen here are sea lions, sea otters, mountain goats, and sometimes orca and humpback whales. Bald Eagles are common. From Orca Island and Humpy Cove we travel south to Kayaker's Cove, where we wait in a comfortable wilderness lodge/hostel for the water taxi to take us back to beautiful Lowell Point. This paddle is appropriate for any athletic ability. No experience is required.

This eveing, you will be wisked back to Anchorage by domed rail car with final photo opportunites and farewels to new friends. You adventure ends upon arrival in Anchorage and you can choose to fly home or add a night in "Anchor Town".

*Optional Bear Viewing Day Tour may be added. Additional night accommodation required. $795 pp plus $14 tax

INCLUDED IN THIS TOUR: