Itinerary

Arrive in Anchorage, pick up your hire car from the airport and drive to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure in Anchorage.

Highlights of the city include Alaska Heritage Museum with exhibitions on Alaska’s First Nations cultures, and Anchorage Museum, charting the state’s history and showcasing local artwork. There are some great hiking trails on the edge of the city, including the steep three-mile hike up Flattop Mountain for views of Chugach State Park.

Travel along the Seward Highway towards scenic Turnagain Arm, a body of water featuring the world’s second highest tides at over 10 metres. Keep an eye out for beluga whales in the bay and Dall sheep along the highway.

Arrive in the harbour town of Seward, named after the man who arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Seward has an idyllic location on Resurrection Bay, backed by towering mountains and gigantic glaciers.

Personalise your day in Seward by choosing from a selection of five excursions, one of which is included in your tour.

These include kayaking in Resurrection Bay, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and several Alaska state parks that offer abundant opportunities to hike.

Alternatively, go kayaking or canoeing on Bear Lake just outside Seward. Enjoy calm waters that are home for sockeye salmon. Eagles, loons, and bears are often seen on this excursion.

· 204km to Seward.

Spend another day in Seward and choose from optional excursions including kayaking and canoeing (details on day 2), or a Wilderness Dog Sled Ride from the Seavey Family Homestead. Meet the dogs, then mush on comfortable summer sleds for two miles through rainforest.
Another great option is the Exit Glacier Hike. This moderate hiking adventure takes you to Exit Glacier, a massive wall of blue ice descending the mountainside from the Harding Ice Field to the Resurrection River.

Alternatively, embark on a Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise. This 3.5-hour Kenai Fjords cruise offers plenty of wildlife viewing. Travel 55 miles (round-trip) along a rugged coastline, sail past Bear Glacier, close to sea lion colonies and seabird rookeries, and watch out for whales, sea otters, porpoises and eagles.

Continue your journey and follow the Sterling Highway, a designated scenic highway covering miles of spectacular landscapes of snow-capped mountains, deep ocean bluffs and active volcanoes including Mt. Iliamna, Redoubt and Augustine. There are also excellent salmon fishing opportunities along the Kenai River.
Arrive in Homer, known as the “Halibut Capital of the World”, a haven for anglers in a stunning location with incredible panoramic views of mountain ranges, glaciers and the famous Homer Spit jutting out into Kachemak Bay.
· 270km to Homer.

Use the day to explore the Homer area. Kayak to remote coves or take a scenic cruise and spot wildlife including whales, seals, sea otters and shorebirds.

If you’d love to observe brown bears up close, take an optional flightseeing tour to the Katmai coast. Katmai National Park is home to more than 2,000 Alaskan brown bears. Many of these remarkable animals gather in summer on Brooks River Falls to feed on summer salmon runs, so this one of the best spots in Alaska to watch bears from viewing decks. Katmai’s Valley of 10,000 Smokes is also fascinating to visit, a harsh but spectacular volcanic landscape.

Fly from scenic Homer across the Cook Inlet to either Katmai National Park or Lake Clark National Park to view brown bears, volcanoes, and glaciers. You’ll be accompanied by an experienced bush pilot as your guide. Land on a remote beach, just a short walk away from brown bears in their natural habitat. The best time to view bears is mid-May to mid-September.

This morning, drive north on the scenic Sterling and Seward Highways back towards Girdwood.

Along the way, admission is included to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which provides care and rehabilitation for injured and orphaned wildlife. Here you can safely get close to, observe and photograph some of Alaska’s largest land animals including moose, bison, elk, deer, caribou and bears.

Continuing to Girdwood, take an aerial tram up Alyeska Mountain for views of Turnagain Arm, seven hanging glaciers and the Chugach Mountains. At the base of the tram is your overnight accommodation at Alyeska Resort.

· 297km to Girdwood.

Drive north from Girdwood along scenic Turnagain Arm, travelling through Anchorage and agricultural Matanuska-Susitna Valley to Talkeetna. This small, picturesque town is located at the confluence of Talkeetna and Susitna rivers and serves as a base camp for Mt. Denali climbers. An early 20th century gold mining centre, the town has retained much of its early Alaskan culture.
· 241km to Talkeetna.

This morning, embark on a Wilderness Adventure Jet Boat tour. Enjoy majestic Mt. Denali and the great Alaska Range from a spectacular vantage point on the Susitna River. The folklore, artifacts and a panoramic view of Denali combine to make this a unique Alaskan river adventure.

After your jet boat tour, drive the Parks Highway north to Denali National Park through incredible forest and mountain landscapes.

· 257km to Denali National Park.

Continue exploring amazing Denali National Park and choose from a range of four excursions, one of which is included in your tour.

Ranked as one of the top Drives of a Lifetime by National Geographic Traveller magazine, the Denali Highway Jeep Excursion is a four-hour guided tour along a 217km gravel road, going off the beaten track to enjoy wonderful views of Denali, the Alaska Range, glaciers and wildlife.

The half-day Tundra Wilderness Tour offers incredible scenery, a narrated history of the park road and opportunities to view wildlife. Highlights include the craggy cliffside of Cathedral Mountain, Sable Pass and the East Fork River.

Alternatively, see Denali from above on a Summit Flightseeing tour from a small aircraft. Fly over the snow-covered peaks, jagged ridgelines and valleys carved by glaciers, passing within half a mile of the mountain.

Another great excursion is the Denali Glacier Landing, a helicopter trip to the massive Yanert Glacier. Soar over the rolling tundra, keeping an eye out for caribou, moose, bear and Dall sheep, before landing on the ice.

Continue on the George Parks Highway north to Fairbanks. Passing incredible forest and mountain landscapes, drive through the communities of Healy, Nenana and Ester, an old mining camp.
In the afternoon, climb aboard the Riverboat Discovery III for an unforgettable three-hour cruise into the Alaskan Interior, travelling on the Chena and Tanana Rivers on the only authentic sternwheeler riverboat in Alaska. This narrated tour provides background on the area’s natural history and the Athabascan Indian culture. Return to Fairbanks and your hotel.
· 198 km to Fairbanks.

Settle in for a day of driving through some of Alaska’s most diverse and dynamic landscapes on the Richardson Highway along Tanana River to the Delta Bison Sanctuary.

On reaching Copper Center, turn east to the small town of Chitina. Flying from Chitina is the best way to get to the McCarthy-Kennicott region and a flightseeing tour is included in your trip. On the way to McCarthy, fly past 4,996-metre Mt. Blackburn, over the Kennicott and Root Glaciers, past the Erie Mine and the Stairway Icefall.

· 498km to Chitina.

Spend the morning exploring the spectacular Root Glacier on a guided trail and ice hike.

The afternoon is free to visit the rustic nearby enclave of McCarthy. Don’t miss the Kennicott Mines National Historic Landmark, an early 20th century copper mine with a 14-storey mill, historic trails, exhibitions and restored buildings. Whitewater rafting down the Kennicott River is another popular excursion here.

Today fly back to Chitina by bush plane, enjoying fantastic views of the Wrangell Mountains.

From Chitina, continue south and enter the Chugach Mountains that ring the coast of Alaska from Prince William Sound. The Chugach National Forest is home to black bears, moose, Dall sheep and more than 200 bird species.

Arrive in Valdez, a picturesque harbour town with museums on indigenous and Gold Rush history. This is your base for exploring majestic Prince William Sound – 10,000 square miles of glaciers, inlets, islands and fjords surrounded by mountains and rainforest.

· 194 km to Valdez.

An unforgettable highlight of any trip to Alaska is watching huge chunks of ice crash from glaciers into the ocean. Today you will take a seven-hour Columbia Glacier Cruise from Valdez (lunch included).

A local captain and crew will guide you through Columbia Bay before arriving at the immense Columbia Glacier, the largest tidewater glacier in this part of Alaska. Look out for wildlife along the way including porpoises, puffins, sea lions and sea otters.

Today you will drive back north on the Richardson Highway with great views of the magnificent Wrangell Mountains as you return to Glennallen. Then follow the Glenn Highway towards Anchorage until you reach Sheep Mountain Lodge.
The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy scenic mountain views and activities in the area. There are over 20 km of trails near the lodge, perfect for discovering abundant birdlife and wildflowers.
· 309 km to Sheep Mountain Lodge.

Drive the Glenn Highway south to Anchorage. Highlights include the Independence Mine in beautiful Hatcher Pass, farming communities of the Mat-Su Valley and beautiful views of the Chugach Range.

Upon arrival in Anchorage, your Alaska self-drive adventure comes to an end. Drop off your car at the airport and take your flight home.

· 172 km to Anchorage.