14 Days / Jun-Jul, From $9,195
Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Photo Safari
Day 1: Fairbanks, Alaska
Meet in Fairbanks, a modern city that retains its frontier flavor with pioneer saloons, paddle wheelers and outlying mining camps.
Days 2 - 4: Denali – Kantishna
Denali National Park – larger than the state of Massachusetts -- is one of the world’s great wilderness preserves. Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America, towers over the tundra and taiga below, habitat for wolves, grizzlies, moose and caribou. From our lodge based approximately 90 miles inside the park, we have time and space to encounter the wilderness. Hiking, nature walks, biking, fishing and optional flightseeing are available. Early morning and evening offer excellent opportunities to see and photograph wildlife in the lodge environs. If we’re lucky and the skies are clear, the views and photo opportunities of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding region are incredible.
Days 5 - 6: Denali / Girdwood
Depart Denali by train on a journey through Alaska’s rugged interior, over Broad Pass and along the Susitna River to Wasilla. From here we drive south to Alyeska Resort, Alaska’s premier ski area that is replete with summer activities, too. Set in a lush glacial valley in the Chugach Range near the coast, Alyeska offers nature and luxury in tandem. Streamside trails lined with wildflowers beckon at the base, or board the tram to the summit, where you may choose to dine at Seven Glaciers, a five-star restaurant with vistas of the ice-bound peaks and Turnagain Arm far below. On Day 6 we'll explore & photograph the area's scenic splendors on a gentle float trip, rafting the Placer River into iceberg-choked Spencer Lake, then return to Girdwood.
Day 7: Fox Island
Fox Island, a private island bordering the Kenai Fjords, reveals the pristine side of Alaska most visitors miss, providing accommodations for just 18 guests in comfortable beachfront cabins. The region is famed for sea kayaking, and an easy paddling trip may unveil some of the area’s prolific marine life.
Day 8: Kenai Fjords – Private Yacht
Today we cruise through a land where the ice age still lingers. Keep your camera ready, as our small yacht allows us to approach wildlife more intimately, and Kenai Fjords National Park provides unparalleled opportunities for viewing humpback and orca whales, porpoises, sea otters and a large colony of puffins. Here, glaciers pour into the sea, and we may observe and photograph icebergs calving with a crash. Overnight in Seward, on Resurrection Bay.
Day 9: Kenai Peninsula / Anchorage
The mountain ranges of the Kenai Peninsula rise one after another on our drive to Anchorage. Time permitting, we’ll stop at Exit Glacier for a close-up look, and the opportunity to photograph this active river of ice. We spend the night in Anchorage.
Days 10 & 11: Brooks Falls – Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park is home to the world’s largest population of brown bears. We fly by small plane to King Salmon, then by floatplane to world-renowned Brooks Lodge, one of the best places to view & photograph these coastal grizzlies in their natural habitat. From the safety of platforms built over Brooks Falls, we observe and photograph this classic spectacle up close, as the bears fish vigorously for salmon swimming upstream to spawn.
Day 12: Katmai / Anchorage
We continue our bear viewing activities in Katmai this morning, returning to Anchorage late in the afternoon.
Day 13: Anchorage & Surroundings
Today our photo leader, who has intimate knowledge of the area, will take us in search of wildlife and photo opportunities in the spectacular environs surrounding Anchorage.
Day 14: Anchorage / Home
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flights home.
Meet in Fairbanks, a modern city that retains its frontier flavor with pioneer saloons, paddle wheelers and outlying mining camps.
Days 2 - 4: Denali – Kantishna
Denali National Park – larger than the state of Massachusetts -- is one of the world’s great wilderness preserves. Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America, towers over the tundra and taiga below, habitat for wolves, grizzlies, moose and caribou. From our lodge based approximately 90 miles inside the park, we have time and space to encounter the wilderness. Hiking, nature walks, biking, fishing and optional flightseeing are available. Early morning and evening offer excellent opportunities to see and photograph wildlife in the lodge environs. If we’re lucky and the skies are clear, the views and photo opportunities of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding region are incredible.
Days 5 - 6: Denali / Girdwood
Depart Denali by train on a journey through Alaska’s rugged interior, over Broad Pass and along the Susitna River to Wasilla. From here we drive south to Alyeska Resort, Alaska’s premier ski area that is replete with summer activities, too. Set in a lush glacial valley in the Chugach Range near the coast, Alyeska offers nature and luxury in tandem. Streamside trails lined with wildflowers beckon at the base, or board the tram to the summit, where you may choose to dine at Seven Glaciers, a five-star restaurant with vistas of the ice-bound peaks and Turnagain Arm far below. On Day 6 we'll explore & photograph the area's scenic splendors on a gentle float trip, rafting the Placer River into iceberg-choked Spencer Lake, then return to Girdwood.
Day 7: Fox Island
Fox Island, a private island bordering the Kenai Fjords, reveals the pristine side of Alaska most visitors miss, providing accommodations for just 18 guests in comfortable beachfront cabins. The region is famed for sea kayaking, and an easy paddling trip may unveil some of the area’s prolific marine life.
Day 8: Kenai Fjords – Private Yacht
Today we cruise through a land where the ice age still lingers. Keep your camera ready, as our small yacht allows us to approach wildlife more intimately, and Kenai Fjords National Park provides unparalleled opportunities for viewing humpback and orca whales, porpoises, sea otters and a large colony of puffins. Here, glaciers pour into the sea, and we may observe and photograph icebergs calving with a crash. Overnight in Seward, on Resurrection Bay.
Day 9: Kenai Peninsula / Anchorage
The mountain ranges of the Kenai Peninsula rise one after another on our drive to Anchorage. Time permitting, we’ll stop at Exit Glacier for a close-up look, and the opportunity to photograph this active river of ice. We spend the night in Anchorage.
Days 10 & 11: Brooks Falls – Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park is home to the world’s largest population of brown bears. We fly by small plane to King Salmon, then by floatplane to world-renowned Brooks Lodge, one of the best places to view & photograph these coastal grizzlies in their natural habitat. From the safety of platforms built over Brooks Falls, we observe and photograph this classic spectacle up close, as the bears fish vigorously for salmon swimming upstream to spawn.
Day 12: Katmai / Anchorage
We continue our bear viewing activities in Katmai this morning, returning to Anchorage late in the afternoon.
Day 13: Anchorage & Surroundings
Today our photo leader, who has intimate knowledge of the area, will take us in search of wildlife and photo opportunities in the spectacular environs surrounding Anchorage.
Day 14: Anchorage / Home
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flights home.
