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This is just an example of one of our favorite Cruise Tours. We can and will find one that fits your dreams if this one does not!
Day 1: Fly to Anchorage. You may want to come in a day early as Anchorage is a beautiful city. See our Anchorage page for more info.
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Day 2: All aboard! You're climbing on the Alaska Railroad for a wonderful 8 hour trip to Denali National Park. This part of the railroad ride affords some of the best views of Denali itself and is a wonderful way to spend a day with nothing to do but take in the amazing Alaska scenery. Lunch and Dinner are available down stairs in the dining area.
Sometime around 4PM you'll arrive at Denali National Park and be taken by motor coach the mile and a half to the McKinley Chalets, your hotel for the next two nights. You'll have the rest of the day to float a river or fly around the mountain or any number of excursions that are available in the Denali area. Your Tour Director will have helped you choose what it is you're going to do either the day before or this morning on the train. These tour directors have a wealth of information so use them!!! Whatever you decide to do, you are in one of the most spectacular places on Earth so enjoy!
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Day 3: After a leisurely early morning, sometime around 10 or 10:30AM you'll get on your bus (and I do mean bus, this tour is run by the Park Service contractor, NOT Holland America) and head into Denali National Park for your Tundra Wilderness Tour. When we did this tour in June of 2008. We saw 14 Grizzly bears, I don't remember how many Caribou, a few Moose, a couple of Golden Eagles and a partridge in a pear tree… Just kidding about the partridge… We got to see the mountain in all it's glory from Stony Hill overlook and had an all around amazing day! I hope yours is that good!
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Day 4: Again, a relaxing morning, or a last chance to do a flightseeing trip or river float trip. Around 4PM you'll re-board the McKinley Explorer rail cars and head to Fairbanks.
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Day 5: Fairbanks. After a restful night at the Fairbanks Westmark Hotel, climb aboard one of Holland America's exclusive Explorer Motor coaches. These coaches have leather seats, first class domestic air leg room, 8 channel audio system and are awesome! Your day will start with a tour of Fairbanks itself. The Golden Heart City has lots of history and you'll be fascinated by the blend of urban culture and old trapper cabins within a few feet of each other. You'll see the Trans-Alaska pipeline just north of town and go to a Holland America exclusive, Gold Dredge #8 where you'll have lunch (included on most trips) and tour the dredge. After the tour you'll get the opportunity to pan for real gold! Almost everyone we know has gotten from $9.00 to $16.00 worth of gold out of the "pokes" they are given to pan. You'll understand why and how they do this when you're finished and you go into the gift store to have your find weighed up. They just happen to have wonderful little lockets and earrings and whatsits to put you gold in! I know it all sounds a little corny and touristy, but it's very well done and a truly educational and fun experience.
This afternoon you'll travel down the Alaska highway to Tok. You'll stop for a while at Rika's Roadhouse (great Buffalo Burgers!), see the actual end of the Alaska Highway then spend the night in Tok at the Westmark hotel where the Husky's outnumber the people.
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Day 6: A beautiful 150 mile or so drive along the Taylor Highway with a stop in Chicken makes for a great start to a wonderful day. After a 45 minute tour of Eagle with a "mock" trial you'll board a Holland America exclusive, The Yukon Queen for a 104 mile ride up the Yukon River to Dawson, YT. Along the way you'll cross the border into Canada (marked by two flags flying side by side along the river). You'll see Bald Eagles, maybe a black bear or a moose along the riverbank as you talk with the Captain up on the bridge. This is a great trip and one I look forward to every time! When you arrive in Dawson you'll be transported the few blocks to your hotel.
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Day 7: Extra Day in Dawson! Dawson is a treat. Holland America can take you to Tombstone Territorial Park if you'd like to see some true wilderness. Grizzly Bears, over 100 species of birds, Moose, Fox, the wildlife is abundant and the scenery is very special. There is nowhere on this planet you can experience QUIET like you can in Tombstone. There are times the quiet is disconcerting to those of us who live with noise so constantly we don't even hear it anymore…
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Day 8: Reboard the Explorer Coach for a 6 to 8 hour ride to Whitehorse. You'll stop in Minto for lunch right on the banks of the Yukon River. We say 6 to 8 hours because we're never sure how much wildlife we'll see on a given day and we stop whenever we can to take pictures.
That evening you'll attend The Frantic Follies, a rip roaring show in Whitehorse.
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Day 9: Extra Day in Whitehorse, go to Kluane (Kloo-ah-nee) National Park! Kluane is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a must see! Nature hikes, flightseeing, fishing or just hanging out, Kluane offers a ton of experiences from mild to wild! 5 of the tallest peaks in North America are in Kluane (the other 2 are in Denali!).
Spend the night back in Whitehorse.
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Day 10: Whitehorse to Skagway via Explorer Coach and The White Pass and Yukon Railway! This is a spectacular day!!! You'll leave Whitehorse for the short 70 mile drive to Carcross where you'll board the WP&Y RR. This trip is such a wonderful combination of history and scenery you'll enjoy every minute of it. You'll have lunch at Bennett Lake, then have a leisurely ride down to Skagway where you spend the night.
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Day 11: Skagway, then board your ship! Skagway is a fun town to tour. It is filled with Gold Rush history, great shopping and makes for a relaxed leisure day. That afternoon you'll board your ship and get ready to sail!
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Day 12: Scenic cruising Glacier Bay National Park. I could write all day about this but I already have on the Glacier Bay National Park page, so please go there for a full explanation of this day.
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Day 13: Ketchikan: Flightseeing or small boat cruising back into Misty Fjords National Park is an incredible way to spend your day. Neets Bay bear viewing is a wonderful trip. For those of you who want to do some fishing in Alaska, Ketchikan is a great choice. Full or half day combination Halibut and Salmon trips are available depending on the season, and you usually don't have to travel far from the small boat harbor to get to the fishing grounds.
Saxman Village and the Totem Bight Park there are a wonderful and interesting trip for Native culture.
Even if you do nothing but get off the ship and take a walk down Front Street Ketchikan is fun and has lots to offer.
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Day 14: Scenic cruising down the Inside Passage. A wonderful, relaxing day at sea. Remember, it's called the "Inside Passage" because of the barrier islands that keep the "Big" waters at bay. This is for the most part calm, scenic cruising.
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Day 15: This morning you dock in beautiful Vancouver BC, disembark the ship and fly home. Holland America makes the disembarkation process so painless. You are allowed to stay in your stateroom until your group is called. They determine which group you are in by your flight time or, if you have booked a side excursion, by that tours' departure time.
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That's our second cruise tour option.
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