2 Weeks in Valdez

Seeing the wonderful scenery of Alaska, particularly the Wrangell and St Elias National Park.

Awesome! We loved every moment

Really liked our guide Ken,
He was full of knowledge, friendly and helpful. The highlight of our trip was either seeing three types of whales or walking a glacier. Both were spectacular. It was my first trip with explore and I would go with them again.

Our travel director, Kip, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about Alaska. Would like to have him as a tour director again.
The coach driver, Mike, was very nice. He always got us to our destination with no issues. He would drop us off and always be at our point of pick up when we were done "sight-seeing". We never had to wait on him. He usually had to wait on us.
All the places we stopped, the "cast of characters" as Kip referred to them, were all very personable. The Gold Sisters, the Dog Kennel trainer, All the boat captains for each boat ride, were all very good, and would hold your interest in what they had to say.
We really enjoyed our visit to the Gold Sister mining area. It was very educational and fun to pan for our own gold. The sisters were very personable. We got to meet the dog, Nugget. He boarded our bus holding his own gold pan! Not planned, but the dad of the Gold Sisters showed up, so we got to speak with him briefly.
The Dog Sled Kennel was educational. We learned quite a bit about how the dogs and mushers are prepared for their races. The dinner they held for us was very good. The daughter taking over for her dad was an excellent host. The highlight at the end was getting to hold the Alaskan Huskies! Too much cuteness!
The Riverboat ride was better than we thought it would be. This is where we first saw the Sled dog kennels and the owner spoke to us via microphone through the boat. We also saw the Athabaskan village from the boat as well as hear the Native representative on microphone on the boat.. We then de-boarded and learned from the Native Athabaskan people how they did things years ago.
The train ride was wonderful. The hostess was knowledgeable about Alaska and good at pointing out things we should see out the windows. Eating dinner on the train was a treat as well as the meal being very good.
One plus for me was going through North Pole, Alaska. I know this was not on the itinerary, but we stopped anyway and got to take photos at the big store with the giant Santa. Unfortunately we drove by too early and the store was not open. But that just gives me another reason to return. I have always wanted to go to North Pole, Alaska after seeing it on a TV show.
The glacier boat cruises were good. Two glacier cruises were included. Two cruises were too much since both seemed the same and the rides are quite long. Close to 5-6 hours. We did see more marine life on the second cruise which included, Dall porpoises, Orcas and Humpback whales. Sea Lions and the birds the Puffins.
As far as the hotels, the hotel in Anchorage was okay, but needs updating. The restaurant and menu has a lot to be desired.
The hotel in Valdez needs updating. It was old and worn out.
The toilet in our bathroom was not working as soon as we arrived. I told the front desk, but the toilet ended up overflowing before someone could fix it. We were two doors down from an exterior door. It was not a door anyone should go through except employees as there was no key entry for guest. Someone had taken silver electrical tape and taped the door lock down so "anyone" could easily go in and out of hotel. This was not safe for guest. We also had to listen to that door continually slam shut as people walked in and out. The breakfast buffet was not very good either.
Loved the hotel in Denali Park! Had a cabin like atmosphere, but was kept up enough that it seemed almost new. Love the view we had of the river right outside our room. The food in the restaurant was good and the breakfast buffet was very good.
The cottages in Fairbanks were cute, but not kept up as several of us in the tour had to call about no heat in our cabin. Being from the lower 48 and also AZ, we were freezing and to just offer us another blanket was not enough. It was too cold in the cottage to take off our coats, much less, take a shower. They decided to move us to another cottage. Which worked. The breakfast buffet was okay.
The tour was very good. I would also like to included, our tour was in the 30% of people to see Mt. Denali on a clear day.
Thank you for a great tour!

Trip was worth the money spent.

Some accommodations lack Trafalgar’s usual standards, but consideration should be made for the rustic nature of this amazing state.