Congratulations to the Lance Mackey Team
2008 Iditarod and Yukon Quest Champions!

For 2009, we are offering several unique ways to experience the last great race on earth! Learn all there is to know about the Iditarod on our fully guided 6-day tour. Your experienced tour guide will accompany you to each day's events, sharing their local knowledge and anecdotes. Take a "behind the scenes" tour of the Iditarod communications center and join the mushers pre-race banquet. See the race start downtown Anchorage and the restart in Wasilla, where you view the race up close and personal. You will also fly to the remote Skwentna checkpoint and sightsee Mt. McKinley, as well as tour the kennel of Iditarod veteran Vern Halter, where you will ride a dog sled of your own.

For those wanting to be a bit more involved and "hands-on", see our 5-day guided program in Anchorage.  If you want to follow the exciting race from start to finish, you want to read more about our 13-day guided program. Experience the excitement of the race conclusion with our 5 day guided program in Nome.

For those preferring to travel on their own, our Independent tour options includes a seven day tour with rental car to see the Iditarod events at your leisure - including a flight to the remote Finger Lake checkpoint.  If you prefer not to drive, or are also attending the Tour of Anchorage ski event, we have a four night tour for the race start, as well as a three night tour. All of these itineraries include a visit to the historic town of Seward,  for a Resurrection Bay Cruise (Seward was the starting point for the original dog sled serum run which the Iditarod commemorates), plus a visit to Vern Halters dog kennels.

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Guided Tour - Program #A
March 5 - March 10, 2009 (Five Nights - Tour 237A-CTA)

Day 01:  Thursday, March 5, 2009
Arrive in Anchorage today and transfer to your centrally located downtown hotel on own. Later this afternoon a information meeting will take place where you will meet your guide and your fellow travelers. In the evening we have reservations for the Iditarod Mushers Banquet where you will have a chance to talk to the mushers. Feel the excitement build as they draw starting positions for Saturday's race start! Overnight Anchorage.

Day 02:  Friday, March 6, 2009
Depart on a city tour of Anchorage this morning, including a "behind the scenes tour" of the Iditarod communications center. Your Alaskan tour continues as you travel south of Anchorage along Turnagain Arm to the mountain community of Girdwood where you will ride the Alyeska Resort Aerial Tramway. A seven-minute ride brings you to a viewing deck which provides breathtaking panoramic views of majestic mountains, hanging glaciers, sparkling streams, towering spruce, and an array of wildlife. The observation deck at the 2,300 foot level of Mt. Alyeska is a perfect place to enjoy the view and take advantage of the telescopes. After lunch (not included) your tour continues to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the shores of Cook Inlet in Portage. Overnight Anchorage.

Day 03:  Saturday, March 7, 2009
Race day! Watch the start of the race in downtown Anchorage. After watching the mushers and their sled dog teams take off, we will go flightseeing towards Mt. McKinley and stop at an official Iditarod checkpoint along the way. This flight takes you within six miles of McKinley's 20,320 ft. summit. Fly over the foothills of Denali to view the entire length of the Ruth Glacier, the Great Gorge (at over 9,000 feet, the worlds deepest) and the massive south face of McKinley. Along the route we will make a landing at Skwentna, the second checkpoint for Iditarod mushers when they depart Willow tomorrow. We will have an hour on the ground here to provide insider look at the activities that go on at a race checkpoint 86 miles from the race restart. This will be a beehive of activity with race volunteers positioning food bags and bales of straw for the racers. This is probably the biggest and busiest checkpoint on the trail because all of the teams hit here at once on the first night of the race. Our flights return to Lake Hood in Anchorage where we transfer to our hotel. Overnight Anchorage.

Day 04:  Sunday, March 8, 2009
We depart Anchorage this morning and travel north to the uniquely Alaskan "Northern Exposure" style town of Talkeetna. After a stop at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race headquarters and museum we will continue to the official Race Restart. At 2:00 pm, the mushers exit urban Alaska countryside for the great wilderness trek to Nome. Overnight Talkeetna

Day 05:  Monday, March 9, 2009
Today experience a full day of mushing knowledge and history before returning to Anchorage. We have an extended private visit with Iditarod veteran Vern Halter’s kennel. The presentation includes a demonstration of survival gear, explanations of dog care, mushing requirements, and an extended sled dog ride! Following will be a wilderness bonfire. Come prepared with your questions! Lunch is included. Overnight Anchorage

Day 06:  Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Departure from Anchorage, transfer on your own to meet your scheduled flights.

Professional Alaskan tour guide throughout. 5 nights accommodations including taxes.  Admission to the musher's banquet, Anchorage city tour, Ski plane flight seeing to Mt. McKinley with landing to see the Skwentna Iditarod race check point and full visit to Vern Halter's Dream a Dream Dog farm with dog sled ride. All other transportation as noted.

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Guided Tour - Program #B
March 6-10, 2010 (Four Nights - Tour 237B)

2009 Tour is Sold Out

This guided program is an introduction to the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Its focus is upon the excitement of the Race start and the Checkpoints on the South side of the Alaska Range of mountains up and to Rainy Pass.

Highlights include the opportunities to be a musher handler inside the chute at the Ceremonial Start, be a Race Volunteer/road crossing guard at the Official Start, visit the race kennel of an Iditarod Champion, mush your own dog team along a groomed trail, drive a snowmobile, visit Race checkpoints by ski plane and have a grand aerial tour of Mt. McKinley.

Day 01:  Saturday, March 6, 2010 - Race day in Anchorage
Today is the ceremonial start in Anchorage. You will be a musher handler within the race chute, where you will assist in the handling of a racing team. After the race start and lunch in downtown Anchorage, you will take a scenic ski plane flight over a nearby glacier before landing at the front door of the hotel. Overnight Wasilla.

Day 02: Sunday, March 7, 2010 - Race Restart / Official start:
Today's focus is on the Iditarod Re-start in Wasilla, where you will assist the race by manning a road crossing on the race trail. While manning the crossing, mushers will pass by within feet, even inches, of the group. After the last musher passes, you will enjoy a trailside lunch and then take a snowmobile ride before continuing on to Talkeetna. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 03: Monday, March 8, 2010 -  Aerial Tours:
Today you will experience Alaska and the Iditarod from the air! After a breathtaking flight around Mt. McKinley you will land mid-day to enjoy a trailside lunch prepared by your pilot/guides, and watch the mushers resting as they pass through the Finger Lake checkpoint on their way to Rainey Pass. Depending on weather, race progress and runway conditions, landings may be made at Skwentna, Finger Lake and/or Rainey Pass. Overnight Talkeenta.

Day 04: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - More Dog Mushing:
Today you will be introduced to dog mushing. After a kennel tour and comprehensive introduction to dog mushing, you will harness up and drive your own dog team along a groomed trail course. Enjoy a catered campfire lunch about mid-day. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 05: Wednesday March 10, 2010 - Departure:
After breakfast, you will be transferred back to Anchorage. Tour concludes.

RECOMMENDED: recommended is a pre and post night in Anchorage. Please book separately!

4 nights accommodation, meals, air transportation beginning and ending in Anchorage, Iditarod commemorative jacket and backpack, and excursions as mentioned above.

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Guided Tour - Program #C
 

March 7 - 19, 2009 (Twelve Nights - Tour 237C)

This guided program follows the entire 1,049 miles of the Iditarod Race Trail by ski plane. This 12 day, 12 night tour begins in Anchorage on the first Saturday in March and utilizes a small ski-plane to fly over the Iditarod trail sled dog race from checkpoint to checkpoint. While the focus is on the sled dog race, the overall experience provides a rich and detailed look at Alaska, its people and the local winter activities.

During the program, you will keep pace with the Race leaders and have the opportunity to visit multiple checkpoints each day. You will have hands-on experience mushing a dog team, fishing through the ice, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snow shoeing. The tour also includes a grand flight-seeing tour around Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America. This is the ultimate tour for the Iditarod enthusiast or for the adventurer seeking a unique expedition across regions of Alaska few will ever visit.

Day 01: March 7, 2009*
Today is the ceremonial start in Anchorage. You will be a musher handler within the race chute, where you will assist in the handling of a racing team. After the race start and lunch in downtown Anchorage, you will take a scenic ski plane flight over a nearby glacier before landing at the front door of the hotel. Overnight Wasilla.

Day 02: March 8, 2009
Today's focus is on the Iditarod Re-start in Wasilla, where you will assist the race by manning a road crossing on the race trail. While manning the crossing, mushers will pass by within feet, even inches, of the group. After the last musher passes, you will enjoy a trailside lunch and then take a snowmobile ride before continuing on to Talkeetna. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 03: March 9, 2009
Today you will experience Alaska and the Iditarod from the air! After a breathtaking flight around Mt. McKinley you will land mid-day to enjoy a trailside lunch prepared by your pilot/guides, and watch the mushers resting as they pass through the Finger Lake checkpoint on their way to Rainey Pass. Depending on weather, race progress and runway conditions, landings may be made at Skwentna, Finger Lake and/or Rainey Pass. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 04: March 10, 2009
Today, you will be introduced to dog mushing. After a kennel tour and comprehensive introduction to dog mushing, you will harness up and drive your own dog team along a groomed trail course. Enjoy a catered campfire lunch about mid-day. Overnight Talkeetna.

Day 05: March 11, 2009
Fly between Talkeetna and McGrath, landing at checkpoints en-route. Overnight McGrath.

Day 06: March 12, 2009
Fly from McGrath onward to the halfway checkpoints. Overnight McGrath.

Day 07: March 13, 2009
Fly from McGrath to Unalakleet, landing at checkpoints en-route. Overnight Unalakleet.

Day 08: March 14, 2009
Fly from Unalakleet to Yukon River checkpoints. Overnight Unalakleet.

Day 09: March 15, 2009
Fly from Unalakleet to Nome, landing at Norton Sound checkpoint en-route. Overnight Nome.

Day 10: March 16, 2009
Fly from Nome to White Mountain and Norton Sound Checkpoint. Overnight Nome.

Day 11: March 17, 2009
Watch winner and finalists mush into Nome and visit Safety Checkpoint by snowmobile or ski plane. Overnight Nome.

Day 12: March 18, 2009
Fly from Nome to an Eskimo Village. Enjoy an aerial tour of Seward Peninsula. Overnight Nome.

Day 13: March 19, 2009
Tour concludes in Nome*.

*RECOMMENDED: We highly recommend a pre-night in Anchorage, which we would be happy to arrange for you. Please let us know if you would like a pre-night and/or if you need assistance booking a flight from Nome to Fairbanks or Anchorage on Day 13.

12 nights accommodation**, meals, air transportation from Anchorage to Nome, commemorative gear bag and hat, and excursions as mentioned above.

**(based double occupancy; single travelers will have to share room with another traveler same gender.)

Meals or optional tours other than mentioned. Departure flight from Nome on Day 13. Gratuities.