Alaska & Yukon 14 Day Fly-Drive
To book your fly-drive call 01509 618800
Prices start from £949pp

Alaska and the Yukon are one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses. Vast expanses of land and very few people mean that you can really get away from it all. As an example, the Yukon is larger than the whole of the UK and has a total population of 30,000, of which close to 20,000 live in the capital city, Whitehorse.

As you would expect, wildlife viewing is exceptional: bear, moose, caribou and eagles are regularly seen on land. At sea whale sightings are common, along with seals, sea otters and other marine creatures. A surprisingly varied and colourful history, largely based on the exploration for gold in the early days and more recently black gold (oil). The Alaska Highway was an epic construction during the last world war and you will at times travel this highway as part of the journey. Many places in Alaska are only connected by Alaska’s ferry system called The Alaska Marine Highway. Whatever you choose to do in the area, be sure of a great welcome and a spectacular time.

Day 1 - To Canada’s True North
Arrive in Whitehorse shortly before midnight. As you are entering the Land of the Midnight Sun, surprisingly it will be broad daylight on your arrival in Whitehorse. Pick up rental car, which will be with you for the next 14 days, and transfer to your local hotel in Whitehorse. Overnight in Whitehorse.

Day 2 - Preparing for your Trip
A day in the Whitehorse area, where you have the opportunity to visit the well equipped tourist centre and perhaps an opportunity to meet some of the local characters and dignitaries before you set out into the wilderness. The Yukon territory is the size of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland with a population of just over 30,000. You may care to visit the Beringia Museum that tells of the time pre-ice age when Alaska was joined to Russia. A fascinating museum conveniently located on the outskirts of Whitehorse. You will certainly appreciate the call of the wild in this area. Overnight in Whitehorse.

Day 3 - The Silver Trail
This morning you leave Whitehorse and head northwards towards Dawson City. Your overnight stay will be in Mayo at the start of the Silver Trail. Mayo has a very informative local museum and there is a 50 mile loop from Mayo right up into the working silver mine area and back. Most people don’t realise that more value in silver left the Yukon than gold, and this often left out area is full of outstanding scenic beauty and special interest. Overnight in Mayo.

Day 4 - Gold, Gold, Gold
This morning you travel through some spectacular country before you arrive in Dawson City, the site of the Gold Rush. Gold mining is still active today and in the afternoon you will have an opportunity to pan for gold in the area and perhaps make your fortune. Overnight in Dawson City.

Day 5 - Poets, Frantic Follies and Midnight Golf
A full day in and around the Dawson Creek area. An opportunity to visit the site of the working gold dredges and come back into town and hear the verses of the poet of the Yukon, Robert Service, being read by the interpreter in the town centre. As it gets later in the day visit the Follies Music Show and before retiring to bed perhaps a visit to Diamond Tooth Gerties Saloon and Gambling Hall. When you come out of there whatever time of the day or night it will still be daylight. Daylight enough, if you so desire, to have a round of golf on Dawson Creek’s golf course, even though it be 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning. Overnight Dawson City.

Day 6 - Top of the World Highway
You leave Dawson City to go across the Top of the World Highway into Alaska. This is bound to be one of the highlights of the trip. It is one of the most scenic roads in the world with outstanding scenery and a challenging drive. You will complete the immigration process into Alaska and return back into the Yukon later in the day when you cross into Beaver Creek for your overnight stay.

Day 7 - Kluane Park and a Gastronomic Experience
Today you will travel from Beaver Creek down through Kluane National Park to stay at Haines Junction. The hotel selected tonight is one of the best gastronomic experiences in the Yukon territory. The glaciers in Kluane National Park are some of the largest in North America and there is an opportunity to take a spectacular helicopter trip over the glaciers. Overnight in Haines Junction.

Day 8 - Eagles Galore
A shorter trip today from Haines Junction to Haines. You will cross back into Alaska. In Haines the opportunity to take part in the eagle float on the Chilkat River, where eagles fish for salmon within feet of you as you float through the reserve. The secret to this area is the warm water that keeps the Chilkat River free of ice in the wintertime. Without it the local population of eagles would have to travel south to be able to survive. Overnight in Haines.

Day 9 - Ferries & Trains
A short ferry journey today on the Alaska ferry system to the town of Skagway. Skagway was the start of the journey for many of the early explorers on the Gold Rush Trail. We suggest a trip on the Yukon & Whitepass Railroad today, the train that took many of the early settlers up the first hard pull from the sea to the plateau around Whitehorse. Overnight in Skagway.

Days - 10,11 & 12 Inn on the River or Lake
This morning further time to discover Skagway before you head back into the plateau and onwards into the Whitehorse area. We now have three nights for you, which may either be spent at Inn on the Lake, closer to Whitehorse, or Inn on the River, based 1 ½ hours away from Whitehorse on the Teslin River. These magnificent properties offer first class facilities, together with food and a wilderness experience. At the end of the holiday it gives you a good opportunity to have some R & R in a spectacular setting. (You have the option of staying all three nights in one location or combining both properties.)

Day 13 - Homeward Bound
All good things must come to an end and today you head back to Whitehorse, return your hire car and start your journey home arriving back mid afternoon on Day 14.


EXTENSION TO YOUR ITINERARY

It is possible on Day 9, using the Alaska Marine Highway, to extend your trip to Juneau, Alaska, which would allow you to visit Tracey Arm and Icy Straits. Detailed below is how this would fit in to the itinerary above.

New Day 9 - The Alaska Marine Highway
We travel today down to Juneau, the land locked capital of Alaska, arriving late in the afternoon. Juneau has a unique feel and one of the very few capital cities in the world to which you cannot drive. We would still suggest taking your car with you on the ferry as this ferry will return via Haines to Skagway later in the trip.

Whilst in Juneau there are two water based excursions that should not be missed. In our opinion Tracy Arm is the very best of the glaciers/fjords in Alaska. The entrance is very restricted and as such the large cruise liners cannot access this unique environment. Using a smaller ship from Juneau you will cruise the Gustineau Channel and Stephens Passage before entering Tracy Arm. A narrow fjord with massive cliffs provides a wealth of breathtaking sights. Watch out for mountain goats on the towering cliffs, seals on floating icebergs and calving glaciers as Sawyer Glacier comes into view. Return to Juneau for overnight stay.

New Day 11 - Whalewatching in Icy Straits & Glacier Bay
The option we suggest today is a whalewatching cruise in Icy Straits. Here the opportunity to view the great humpback whales in their feeding grounds. This is perhaps the greatest watchable concentration of humpback whales to be found anywhere in the accessible world. All this occurs at the entrance to Glacier Bay, probably Alaska’s best known glacier which provides a fitting end to this memorable day. Overnight in Juneau.

New Day 12 (Old Day 9) - Alaska’s Inside Passage & the Lynn Canal
This morning board the early morning ferry from Juneau and travel via Haines to Skagway. Skagway was the start point for the Klondike Gold Rush. It is still a lively town in summer with some good shops, great bars and restaurants. Overnight in Skagway. (You will then pick up the first itinerary at Day 10.)

Please ring 01509 618800 and we can provide you with a price for the above itinerary to include airfares, hotels, car hire and ferry journeys.

Recommended Wildlife and sightseeing options, which require pre-booking
1. Eagle float at Haines.
2. Tracy Arm excursion at Juneau.
3. Icy Straits excursion at Juneau.
4. Yukon & White Pass Railroad at Skagway.

We highly recommend that all these options are pre-booked and we would be pleased to do this on your behalf.

Please be aware that the above is a suggested itinerary and can be tailored to meet your individual needs. It demonstrates appropriate time over distance constraints as it is very easy to underestimate the distances involved in the area. Contrary to popular belief the road system is quite good, the vast majority of roads are paved and the only road on this itinerary that is not, is the Top of the World Highway, which in some ways adds to its appeal.

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