21 Day Ultimate Iditarod Tour Itinerary

Itinerary
Day One Tuesday : Guests arrive and check into the Anchorage Hilton Hotel.
Day Two Wednesday : Introductory group meeting at 12:00 in the Hilton lobby before leaving for the Alaska Mushing School. Today is one of the highlights of this tour as you will learn about dog mushing from the experts and then ride the runners on an exhilarating 6 mile trail ! This is always one of the highlights of the tour and an experience clients never forget.(Dinner)
Day Three Thursday : Scenic ride along Turnagain Arm to the Alaska Wildlife Center and Alyeska Ski Resort, including a tram ride up Mount Alyeska. Clients can book optional activities such as downhill or cross-country skiing, flight seeing by plane or helicopter, snowmobiling, exploring the village of Girdwood or just enjoying the hotel amenities. In the afternoon we will head back to Anchorage and attend the Musher's Banquet in the evening. (Dinner)
Day Four Friday : Morning visit to the Lakefront Hotel for clients who have signed up for dog handler certification training. Clients are free for dinner and we will meet for an evening trip to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. (Lunch)
Day Five Saturday: Iditarod excitement clicks into high gear today with the ceremonial Race start in Anchorage. We will get an early start and watch the mushers unload their teams in the staging area and later join the crowds cheering on their favorite mushers as they race down 4th Ave. Later in the afternoon we will watch the Running of the Reindeer down 4th Avenue followed by a group dinner. Many of our clients have participated in this event and loved it.(Dinner)
Day Six Sunday : Morning departure to the Iditarod Museum and the official restart of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Willow This is the highlight of the tour as we watch the teams begin their 1000 mile trip through some of the most remote country in North America. (Dinner)
Day Seven Monday : Today we fly to the community of McGrath on the Kuskokwim River. Once we arrive in McGrath, we will have the opportunity to explore the town of McGrath and meet a lot of interesting and friendly people as we walk around. Clients can book optional activities such as snowmobiling and dogmushing during any of the free days in McGrath. (Dinner)
Day Eight Tuesday: Today we will fly to the Athabaskan community of Nikolai and watch as the lead mushers come in from their gruelling travels through the Alaska Range and the Farewell Burn. Nikolai is a great place to watch the musher's care for their dogs and experience a little bit of life in a remote Native village. In the late afternoon we will return to McGrath and spend the evening watching the lead mushers come into the McGrath checkpoint. (Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Nine Wednesday : Today is a free day in McGrath with teams entering and leaving McGrath. We will organize an exploratory hike to Old Town McGrath for those wishing to see the original location of McGrath.(Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Ten Thursday : Another free day in McGrath with teams entering and leaving McGrath. Many of our clients book optional activities such as snowmobiling or dog mushing and explore the surrounding area.(Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Eleven Friday : Today we leave McGrath and return to Anchorage. Lodging Anchorage provided. (Continental Breakfast)
Day Twelve Saturday : Welcome to the Bering Sea and historic Nome Alaska! Clients arrive into historic Nome Alaska on their own flights. Tour leader will be there to meet you at the airport and bring you to your accommodation. Famous for the Nome Gold Rush of 1898 that saw the population balloon to over 10,000, this rugged town of 3,500 on the coast of Norton Sound is still a magnet for the adventurous and those with gold fever. Even during the winter, evidence of active gold mining can be seen out on the frozen sea where underwater exploration takes place under the sea ice. Clients will be on their own for meals today.
Day Thirteen Sunday : Breakfast at the Mini Convention Center at the end of Front Street. We will get a feel for the history of Nome on a guided Discover Nome Tour. We will begin getting familiar with the dogs of the Iditarod by taking a 30-minute dog mushing excursion with The Dog Lot Kennels. Timing will be determined once you arrive in Nome. (Breakfast, Dinner at one of the restaurants in Nome)
Day Fourteen Monday : Morning check in at Bering Air for our flight to the checkpoint of Unalakleet, the first village the mushers will stop at on the coast of Norton Sound. This is a breathtaking flight that crosses the frozen waters of Norton Sound and broad expanses of treeless tundra. Unalakleet lies on the border of the Inupiaq speaking Eskimos of Northern Alaska and the Yupik speaking Eskimos that live south of Unalakleet and along the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. With a population of less than 1,000 people, it is a perfect place to experience a bit of life in a coastal Eskimo village. We will enjoy lunch at Peace on Earth for some of Alaska’s best pizza and will fly back to Nome in the afternoon. (CB, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Fifteen Tuesday : Today is the day that the Nome party usually clicks into high gear as the leaders approach the finish line. Clients will continue to go dog mushing in groups of 2 at a time. Later in the afternoon we will visit the Nome Museum and listen to an informative talk about the history of the Iditarod with Howard Farley. Howard was one of the organizers of the Iditarod Race and one of the first mushers to run the race. Dinner at one of the restaurants in Nome. Late evening or early Wednesday morning is when the 1st musher usually arrives in (CB, Dinner)
Day Sixteen Wednesday : Now that you have watched the finest dog teams complete the most grueling race in the world, you will be excited and primed for your dog mushing excursion with The Dog Lot Kennel. Here is an opportunity to see sled dogs up close, watch how experienced dog handlers interact with the dogs and appreciated how fast and powerful a team of sled dogs are as you negotiate the winding, icy trail with your team handler. During the rest of the day we will continue to observe and welcome the lead mushers as they pass under the Burl Archon Front Street and complete their Iditarod adventure. Besides watching the mushers cross the finish line at the Burl Arch, we willl also hike out on the sea ice along the Iditarod Trail outside of town to observe the dog teams as they come into town and head up the ice chute from the Bering Sea to Front Street. (Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Seventeen Thursday : Today we will take a scenic helicopter ride to the Safety Roadhouse checkpoint. This 90-minute ride along the coast gives us more opportunities to view the mushers heading to Nome along the Iditarod trail. (CB, Lunch, Dinner)
Day Eighteen Friday : We will get a feel for the history of Nome by visiting the Nome Museum and the Cultural Center. Clients will continue cheering arriving dog teams as they cross the finish line.(CB, Dinner)
Day Nineteen Saturday : Saturday is a free day to schedule any activities we might have missed due to schedule changes. Clients can also schedule optional activities such as participating in the Bering Ice Golf Classic, definitely the most unusual and challenging course you will ever play. Mushers will still be arriving into
Day Twenty Sunday : We will attend the Iditarod Finishers’ and Awards Banquet. The banquet recognizes mushers for their accomplishments during the race. This is a great opportunity to get a more personal understanding of the mushers and their experiences along the trail. You will hear fantastic stories as the mushers tell their tales from the race. (CB, Dinner)
Day Twenty One Monday : Clients return to Anchorage on their own flights. (Continental Breakfast)

21 Day Ultimate Iditarod Tour Itinerary

Itinerary

3 time returning client Chrissie Davies: