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SDWT03 Trails of Alaska – Whittier Driving Holiday

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This 7-day self-drive tour explores the picturesque Kenai Peninsula and the heart of Alaska, combining wildlife, wilderness, glaciers, and Denali. Spend your first two nights in Cooper Landing or Kenai, with opportunities to fish for world-famous salmon in the Kenai and Russian Rivers, join a guided float trip, or fly to Katmai Coast or Lake Clark to see grizzly bears in their natural habitat. Continue north to Talkeetna through some of Alaska’s most scenic landscapes. From this charming town, join a flightseeing tour over Denali and its spectacular glaciers, icefalls, and rugged mountain peaks. Known as “The Great One,” Denali rises 20,310 feet and is the highest peak in North America. Continue to Denali National Park for a wilderness experience and the chance to see Alaska’s iconic wildlife, including caribou, moose, wolves, Dall sheep, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. The tour concludes in Fairbanks, where long summer days provide plenty of time to explore Alaska’s Arctic region, cross the Arctic Circle, or visit a remote Native village. Visit our complete Alaska Guide for helpful travel information and tips. We’re happy to customize this itinerary to suit your needs.

  • Itinerary

  • Prices & Dates

  • Attractions & Add-ons

  • Accommodation

  • Rental Car

  • Map

  • Tour Info & FAQ

  • Reviews

Whittier – Cooper Landing / Kenai ( Driving Distance: 70 miles | Overnight: Cooper Landing / Kenai )

Upon arrival in Whittier by ferry or cruise ship, your coach transfer takes you to Anchorage, with spectacular views of Prince William Sound, Turnagain Arm, and the surrounding mountains along the way. Pick up your rental car in Anchorage and begin your self-drive adventure. Follow the scenic Seward Highway toward Cooper Landing, located at the confluence of the Kenai and Russian Rivers. The area is renowned for some of Alaska’s best salmon fishing, with four species of salmon returning each year to their spawning grounds.Enjoy a scenic float trip along the Upper Kenai River, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Keep an eye out for moose, bald eagles, salmon, waterfowl, and bears as your guide navigates the river. Included: Kenai River Float Trip

Cooper Landing / Kenai ( Overnight: Cooper Landing / Kenai )

Choose among the many activities: Join guided half or full day salmon fishing trip on the Kenai or Russian River. Your fishing guide is expert in spinning, casting and fly fishing techniques on these waters. If you are more adventurous, join a thrilling Six-Mile Creek rafting tour instead. Prepare to get wet as the river runs thru three consecutive canyons; each more beautiful and more challenging than the last. If bear viewing is on your to-do list, then take a scenic flight across Cook Inlet to Katmai Coast / Lake Clark. It is one of the most densely populated brown bear areas in the world. Watch bears digging for clams, wandering the sedge grass, or nursing their young.

Cooper Landing – Talkeetna ( Driving Distance: 215 miles | Overnight: Talkeetna )

Your road journey continues on the scenic Seward Highway north towards Anchorage. Feel free to take a break at the designated photo stops to enjoy the panoramic views over Cook Inlet. Follow the George Parks Highway across the fertile Matanuska Valley. Because of the immense amount of summer sunlight, vegetables grow to incredible sizes. Arrive in Talkeetna, known as the base for climbing expeditions that challenge Mt. Denali. While at Talkeetna, join a flightseeing tour to the summit of Denali. Get a picture perfect view of the Kahiltna and Ruth Glacier with its Great Gorge - over 9.000 ft deep - as well as magnificent ice-falls. You will also see the Sheldon Amphitheatre - the largest of its kind in the world. Another highlight will be an adventurous glacier landing.

Talkeetna - Denali National Park ( Driving Distance: 160 miles | Overnight: Denali Village )

The journey from Talkeetna to Denali National Park offers a lot of possibilities of wildlife sightings. Even if you are not eagle eyed, a few cars stopped over somewhere means that there could be a possibility of wildlife spotting! Byers Lake on the way offers visitors the choice to rent a canoe or kayak. Once you cross Denali State Park, you'll arrive at Denali Village. The Denali Park office is your rich information chase and it provides details on ranger-naturalist programs, slide shows and sled dog demonstrations. Jeff King’s Husky Homestead Kennel is a very popular choice for a personal tour with four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King and his sled dogs. Visitors can also choose a rafting trip on the Nenana River as well as an ATV Tour in the backcountry adjacent to Denali National Park.

Denali National Park ( Overnight: Denali Village )

Denali National Park offers excellent wildlife viewing and spectacular sceneries. Pick up your tickets, board the bus and watch out for grizzly bears, moose, caribou, wolf and fox moving along the ridges and river beds. Your driver informs about the history of Denali National Park, its diverse wildlife and flora. Once an animal has been spotted the bus will stop that everyone can watch and take pictures. The bus turns around at Eielson Visitor Center - 66 miles one way/8 hours round trip. You can get off the bus anytime to go for a hike. Return to the Denali Park entrance anytime during the day. Optional: We can extend the transit bus tour to Wonder Lake or exchange to the Tundra Wilderness Tour, Kantishna Wilderness Trails or Backcountry Lodge Tour. Included: Denali Transit Bus to Eielson Visitor Center

Denali National Park – Fairbanks ( Driving Distance: 130 miles | Overnight: Fairbanks )

Join this morning the sled dog demonstration hosted by Denali Park Rangers or hike around the Denali Visitor Center. Start your drive on the Richardson Highway and stopover at Nenana. Residents of Nenana sponsor the Nenana Ice Classic, a nature-based lottery. It is a fundraising event in which individuals attempt to guess the exact time the Tanana River ice will break up. Once you get to dig into it more interesting details emerge! Arrive in Fairbanks, the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, which enjoys 24 hr of daylight during summer. This afternoon board the authentic Riverboat Discovery sternwheeler for a cruise along the Chena and Tanana rivers. Highlight is stopover at an Athabascan Indian Village, Susan Butcher's sled dog kennel and a floatplane take off & land.

Fairbanks

The allure of crossing the Arctic Circle becomes a possibility once you reach Fairbanks. Guided van tours along the Dalton Highway or flight tours to the Arctic Circle and Yukon River is a super popular choice. Join a bushplane flight to Fort Yukon to understand as well as experience how the Gwich'in Athabascan Natives live in "Bush" Alaska. As mentioned earlier Fairbanks becomes a hub for very many activities and the list keeps going on. Visiting Chena Hot Springs Resort can be added to the 'To-Do' List! Chena Hot Springs Resort offers a large indoor heated pool and a natural outdoor rock lake for relaxation. The on-site Aurora Ice Museum is a special attraction and was created from over 1,000 tons of ice and snow, all harvested at the resort.

Rates in US $ / per Person
Comfort Hotel Category Single Double Triple Quad Child
May 18 - May 31 $3118 $1701 $1286 $1075 $315
June 1 - August 31 $3697 $1990 $1479 $1220 $315
September 1 - September 13 $3118 $1701 $1286 $1075 $315
First Class Hotel Category Single Double Triple Quad Child
May 18 - May 31 $3469 $1876 $1398 $1160 $313
June 1 - August 31 $4310 $2310 $1687 $1376 $315
September 1 - September 13 $3658 $1984 $1470 $1213 $315

What’s included

6 Nights Comfort OR First-Class Accommodation

Hotel and State Taxes

7 Days Midsize Rental Car (For additional Upgrades and Extras Click Here)

Unlimited Free Mileage

Rental Car Licensing Fees

CFC, State & City Rental Car Sales Taxes

Coach Transfer Whittier to Anchorage 

2 hr Kenai River Float Trip

Denali Transit Bus Ticket to Eielson Visitor Center

Tour Documentation

Sightseeing Information

Tour Departures

Daily  from  May  18th  –  September  13th

Kenai: Bear Viewing Tour to Katmai Coast / Lake Clark

Your day tour starts with a spectacular floatplane flight across Cook Inlet. We pass Cape Douglas, a group of volcanic mountains which protrude into the mouth of Cook Inlet. We land at the mouth of a river that flows out of a large tidal area. In the early summer, the bears migrate to the coast for the mating season and feed on fresh, juicy sea grasses that sprout in the spring. It is not unusual to see 35 to 40 bears at one time and they can be as close as 50 yards. The Katmai coast is a very scenic place with great opportunities to take photos with 7,000 ft. snow covered mountain peaks as a backdrop.

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Cooper Landing: Salmon Fishing Trip on Kenai & Russian River

Join a half or full day of guided fishing on the world-famous Kenai River for salmon or trout - whether you're a novice or an avid angler. King Salmon are the largest of all species of Salmon, and it just so happens that the King Salmon entering the Kenai River are among the largest genetic strain of King Salmon in the WORLD! This means that there is always the possibility of catching the next world record, however, your chances of hooking into a fish in the 40, 50 or even 60lb are greater than any river or area in the pacific north west. Fish weighing in from the 30 to 60+ pound range (or larger of course) are what we are after. When a King bites you know it! The rod nearly snaps in half, and the force of that fish pulling on the line can make it seem nearly impossible to hold onto! After you set the hook and you have a good grip on the rod, sit down, tighten the strings and hold on because one of the most thrilling and electrifying tugs of war is about to begin on the end of your line.

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Cooper Landing: Six Mile Creek Whitewater Rafting Trip

For those seeking a bit of adrenalin pushing adventure, join us for the fun-filled day of exploration into the unspoiled Alaska wilderness that most travelers never see. Prepare to get wet as this pristine river runs thru three consecutive canyons; each more beautiful and more challenging than the last, with narrow routes, steep drops, beautiful pools and adrenaline pumping rapids all in a gorgeous semi-rain forest. Choose between two options: the two and half hour 2-canyon run with predominately class IV rapids or the four hour 3-canyon run which includes class V rapids; both offer hands-on participation in full paddle-boats or paddle-assist for increased maneuverability and power.

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Talkeetna: Denali Flightseeing Tour with optional Glacier Landing

The 1 hr Denali flightseeing tour takes you within six miles of Mt. Denali's summit. As your flight departs Talkeetna, you begin to notice 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. See the Sheldon Amphitheater, beautiful Ruth Glacier, and the Great Gorge (the world's deepest - almost 2 miles from top to bottom). Add a glacier landing to your flightseeing tour for a one-of-a-kind expedition. Passengers land usually at the 5600 foot level of the Ruth Glacier, located in the Sheldon Amphitheater. Other popular landing spots are the Kahiltna, the Pika, or the Eldridge glaciers. A glacier landing takes an additional 30 minutes (15 minutes of time exploring on foot and 15 minutes for landing and takeoff).

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Denali: Extend Denali Transit Bus Tour to Wonder Lake

The Denali Transit Bus is the official shuttle bus service into Denali National Park. The shuttle is best suited for those visitors who are seeking flexibility in their day trip into the Park and would like to have the option of getting off the bus to hike or explore on your own. Excellent hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities all along the Park Road. Created by retreating glaciers, Wonder Lake offers visitors stunning views of Mt. Denali and the Alaska Range, as weather permits. Along the Park Road, alder and willow carpeted hills are dotted with kettle ponds often frequented by waterfowl and other wildlife. Reflection Pond, an amazing photo stop on a clear day, requires you utilize the Kantishna Transit Bus or hike 2.5 miles from the Wonder Lake turnaround stop.

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Denali: Exchange Transit Bus Tour to Denali Backcountry Adventure Bus Tour

The Denali Backcountry Adventure Tour is another premier Denali Park Wildlife bus excursion. This full-day, 13-hour tour travels 95 miles in each direction to the Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna. You'll travel by private bus with a trained naturalist driver/guide giving interpretation along the way helping you search for bear, moose, caribou and other wildlife while pointing out the biology and geology of the region. Several photo and rest stops will be made. Snacks, drinks and lunch are provided. Lunch is served at the exclusive Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna. Lunch consists of a sandwich bar, soups, fruits, snacks, fresh baked goods and non-alcoholic drinks. After lunch try your luck at gold panning near the lodge or take a guided nature walk before returning to the Park entrance.

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Fairbanks: Guided Arctic Circle Van Tour

On this tour you will travel from Fairbanks along the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle in the Brooks Mountain Range. Enjoy the first-hand experience of the Earth’s northernmost circle of latitude in one of our climate-controlled vans. Here, in the summer, the sky is completely light for 24 hours a day! Travel along the famous Dalton Highway and spot wildlife (no guarantee) as you cross the Yukon River. When you arrive, learn about the area’s indigenous culture, take a walk with your guide, snap photos of the arctic landscape, and enjoy lunch amidst the incredible surroundings. You’ll take home an official Arctic Circle certificate to commemorate this amazing Alaska experience.

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Fairbanks: Arctic Circle Flightseeing Tour to Fort Yukon & the Yukon River

Experience a breathtaking tour of Fort Yukon by plane. Enjoy the 50 minute flight to For Yukon. Fly north over the Yukon River, across the Arctic Circle, thru the Brooks Mountain Range, and over the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Upon landing you will meet a local host who will take you around Fort Yukon by bus and share their home with you enlighten with facts about the area. The tour does make a stop at the Yukon River for a chance to get out and take pictures. Once the tour is over, you will have a return flight to Fairbanks where you'll receive an official certificate for crossing the Arctic Circle!

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Ivanka, NJ: I want to say thank you for lifetrip! To visit Alaska was my lifedream. Everything was fantastic, great accommodation, very clean! Absolutely wonderful nature! Every reservation you made for us was ready, without any problem. Your service was perfect and we will recommending you to our friends. In Cooper Landing, we joined a salmon river fishing trip. My wife and I had a great day on the water with guide Mike. Mike is everything you expect in a fishing guide -- knowledgeable, patient, friendly, and full of great stories. Our plan is to visit Alaska's Inside Passage, I hope with your organisation! I