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ALASKA FAMILY EXPLORER
7 days, starts and ends in Anchorage
Click on the underlined tour name just above to download a detailed Tour Description Sheet
Family Fun and Adventure at Kenai Fjords National Park, Matanuska Glacier & Denali National Park!
Exceptional Wildlife & Glacier Viewing Opportunities and an Exciting Variety of Included and Optional Activities
2008 TOUR DATES & PRICES
ALASKA FAMILY EXPLORER 'Camp & Cabin'-based tours:
Tour Dates: June 22-28; July 6-12, July 26-August 1; August 1-7; August 17-23.
Additional tour dates are possible, please inquire
Tour Price: Adults: $1,150 Children under 18: $875
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ALASKA FAMILY EXPLORER Lodge-based tours
Tour Dates: August 10-16. Additional tour dates are possible, please inquire
Tour Price: Adults: $1,550. Children under 18: $1,175
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While our other tours are for adults only, the Alaska Family Explorer is specially designed with children (ages 10 and older) and families in mind. Highlighted by multi-day visits to Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks, and to the huge Matanuska Glacier, Alaska Family Explorer features a full time guide and excellent opportunities to view Alaskan wildlife and glaciers, as well as several fun and exciting included and optional activities that your family will remember forever.
We start the tour by heading south to the lush Kenai Peninsula and to the coastal community of Seward, gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park for a two-night stay. Here we will walk out to the gigantic Exit Glacier, and take a short hike through the coastal rainforest down to a beautiful beach. Optional activities include a fantastic wildlife and glacier-viewing cruise in the fjords of the national park, on the lookout for whales, sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, puffins, and more. A visit to the Alaska SeaLife Center; a salmon or halibut fishing charter; an easy 3-hour sea kayaking paddle; and even a helicopter-accessed dog-mushing trip on a glacier are additional optional activities available here. Like all the other activities on this trip, included or optional, no previous experience is necessary.
From Seward we'll head north to our lodge near the huge Matanuska Glacier, for a two-night stay. In addition to plenty of family time, there is an option to strap crampons onto your boots and venture out onto the blue glacier ice on a guided trek.
Next we head to Denali, one of the world's most spectacular national parks, for a two-night stay. Here you will ride on the park's wildlife-viewing shuttle bus, on the lookout for grizzly bears, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, wolves, foxes and more. There will also be optional opportunities here to go river rafting (white or calm water); to take a scenic flight to Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali, this is the highest peak in North America), and to hike.
On the final day of the tour we visit the famous Denali dogsled kennels in the morning before making the drive back to Anchorage. A final and highly recommended option is to board the Alaska Railroad for a beautiful train ride from Denali back to Anchorage (rather than driving), where the tour ends at ~6 pm (or 8 pm if you take the train).
Both 'Camp & Cabin' (C&C) and lodge-based versions of this tour are available (on different dates). Other than the nightly lodging, the itineraries of both versions of this 7-day, 6-night tour are identical. On the C&C version we will camp at established campgrounds four nights and stay in rooms at a beautifully set lodge two nights. The camping equipment we provide is top of the line, and easy to use, you need only bring sleeping bags and pads (or you can rent these from us). On the lodge version we spend six nights in comfortable lodges.
ACCOMMODATIONS
CAMP & CABIN-BASED TOURS: 7 days/ 6 nights: We stay in organized campgrounds four nights, and spend two nights indoors at the Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge (2 or 3 family members to a room; rooms feature one double and one twin bed). While camping we supply easy-to-erect four-person Eureka tents, which are perfect for two people and their luggage. Be sure to bring your own sleeping bag and insulated sleeping pad, or, with advance notice, you can rent these from us ($25 per bag and $10 per sleeping pad). Hot showers are available most days.
LODGE-BASED TOURS: 7 days/ 6 nights: All nights are spent in private rooms with private bathrooms at local lodges. Depending on how many are in your family, you may have one or more rooms, and this may vary from lodge to lodge depending on room configurations. Please let us know your preference at the time of your booking.
MEALS
CAMP & CABIN-BASED TOURS: All meals are included (except breakfast on the first morning and dinner on the last day), and are prepared by your guide in camp (or are taken at the lodge). We feature fresh, nutritious and tasty foods, multi-course meals, and large portions, often including homemade dutch oven deserts, barbecues, fresh fish and meat, salads, and more. Dinner is a highlight! Lunches are generally buffet-style picnics or brown bag meals that we carry with us on our hikes or other activities. Most special diets (and finicky eaters) can be catered to with advance notice, please list any dietary restrictions or preferences on your tour reservation form.
LODGE-BASED TOURS: All breakfasts and lunches (except breakfast on the first morning) are included in the tour price. Most breakfasts are either ordered off the regular menu or are served family style. Lunches are generally buffet-style picnics or brown bag meals that we carry with us on our hikes or other activities. Dinners on lodge-based tours are not included; these are taken either at our lodges or in local restaurants, and are paid for individually. Most special diets can be catered to with advance notice, please list any dietary restrictions or preferences on your tour reservation form.
LOOK AT ALL THAT'S INCLUDED
Denali National Park wildlife-viewing shuttle bus trip into the wilderness area of the park
Denali Dogsled Team Demonstration
Day Hiking: The amount, length and difficulty of the hiking is customized for each group. Beautiful!
Professional Guide: The friendly and capable services of a professional Get Up and Go! Tours guide
All Ground Transport, Anchorage to Anchorage
All Camping and Included Lodge Costs, as specified in the "Accommodations" section of this document
Meals, as specified in the "Meals" section of this document
Entrance fees to all national and state parks visited en route
All necessary camping gear, except your personal sleeping bag and ground pad (these are available for rent with advance notice: bags $25, pads $10/ tour)
Tour Pre-Departure Packet, including general tips, a packing list, arrival and Anchorage lodging information
NOT INCLUDED
Transport to or from Anchorage, where the trip starts & ends
Anchorage lodging, before or after the tour; we can help. See our Tour Pre-Departure Packet for details
Non-included meals (see "Meals") or alcoholic beverages
Optional activities (see below)
Personal expenses
Gratuities for your hard-working guide; see page 5 of our Tour Pre-Departure Packet for general tipping guidelines
Personal travel insurance; highly recommended. See our Tour Reservation Form for details
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES & PRICES
Calm or Whitewater River Rafting at Denali National Park (~$35-$95)
Horseback riding at Denali National Park (~$59-$159)
Flight-seeing to Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park (Adults: ~$325, Children <12: ~$162.50)
Glacier Trekking on the Matanuska Glacier (~$35-$70)
Sea Kayaking near Kenai Fjords National Park (~$59-$149)
Kenai Fjords National Park Wildlife & Glacier-Viewing Cruise: Don't miss it! (~$60-$129)
"Heli-Mushing": Helicopter-accessed sled dog mushing on a glacier: fly up and mush a team of real huskies! (~$435)
Alaska Sea Life Center entrance (~$15)
Alaska Railroad wilderness train trip from Anchorage to Denali National Park. ~$135; children 11 and under $68; or Gold Star luxury dome car service: ~$220; children 11 and under $110.
GET UP AND GO!
To reserve your place on any of our tours simply give us a call: 1.888.868.4147 or 1.907.245.0795 or email us at alaska@getupandgotours.com. Assuming availability, all you'll need to do to confirm your reservation is to complete our Tour Reservation Form and mail or fax it back to us with your $300 pp deposit ($500 for lodge-based tours); we accept personal checks, money orders, international wire transfers, Visa and Master Card. Thank you, we look forward to your visit!
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
"Dear Geoff, We had a wonderful and adventurous trip to Alaska. Thank you so much for assigning (guide) Amanda A. to us. Never could we have had a more fun, creative, and professional guide. We truly enjoyed her. She has the perfect personality for her job and she represents Get Up and Go! perfectly. She was informative
she just fit in with our crowd of ten beautifully. We appreciate her and are fully aware that Amanda enhanced our experience of Alaska.
"The itinerary was great-just our speed. You did a marvelous job setting things up for us. Thank you!
"The Alaskan Railroad was great too. We are so glad that we made arrangements thru Get Up and Go Tours-as we know how doing otherwise could have made or broken our trip.
"So Geoff, we will recommend your company to other friends from Oregon and beyond. Friends are already asking!
"Thank you again! Give our best to Amanda. Sincerely, Kathy & Bill Block (John and Matt too)." --Kathy & Bill Block
"Hi Geoff, I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful trip we had with Get Up and Go Tours! The trip was awesome, (your guide) Marci was the best, and everything worked out just as planned and hoped for (even better!). Our travelling companions were great, the kids all got along very well and it was an experience none of us will soon forget!
"Really, I just can't say enough about how smoothly everything went, from the campsites to the equipment, to the food, to Marci's activity suggestions and ability to make all the arrangements for us (sometimes on short notice!), to keeping her cool when trying to keep to some sort of a time schedule with 5 kids and 4 parents in tow! Thank you so much for everything. Please feel free to use me as a reference - I would love to share my enthusiasm with anyone wishing to learn more about this kind of travel in Alaska, particularly those travelling with children. It was just great! All the best," --Brenda Rich, Atlanta, GA
"The trip was awesome and I am pretty sure we wouldn't have changed anything for the things we did and the places we stayed. It was beyond our expectations. (Guide) Shaun did a great job and he was a perfect match for our family. You did a phenomenal job in setting up the trip. It was the best vacation we have ever had since we started doing our family adventure vacations with our kids. I would highly recommend it to anybody and you are welcome to use as a reference.
"Alaska in itself is awesome and breathtaking. Everything from the sky, mountains, glaciers, and water is incredible. Probably the highlight was the glaciers in Seward. Particularly the glacier cruise we took. All the places we stayed and the people who you work with at the different activities were excellent. Thank you so much." --Jim Barber and family, Indiana
"I would like to thank you and our tour guide Dave for a truly remarkable holiday. We had a tremendous time and have been very impressed by the efficiency and professional approach by your organisation. Dave looked after the two families extremely well. The 4 adults are now tempted to come back for a trip in Wrangell St Elias... We would definitely recommend Get Up And Go! Tours to others. With best wishes, The Wilkie Family." --Dr. Veronica Wilkie & family, England
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