Aurora Train Travel in Fall and Winter

Anchorage Arrival

Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, nestled between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet. Offering an abundance of shopping, cultural attractions, and gourmet restaurants, Anchorage provides an excellent start to your vacation. Depending on your arrival, you may have time to take part in an optional tour such as local photo tour. Overnight in Anchorage.

Anchorage

Take a small group guided tour along Turnagain Arm, one of the most scenic drives in the state. Your tour starts with a scenic drive south along the Seward Highway. The guide will tell you all about this area and share personal knowledge of Alaska. You will visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where you will be introduced to Alaskan animals including moose, elk, caribou, owls and more! Depending on the time of the year, you may also travel to the ski town of Girdwood and Mt. Alyeska. Take in the spectacular views as you ride an aerial tram to the top of the mountain. As you travel back to Anchorage, keep your eyes open for Dall sheep and bald eagles. Overnight in Anchorage.

Package start dates between Oct 31 and Dec 12 include a 4-hour Wildlife Tour that only visits the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and that does not go to Girdwood due to the tram being closed during that time of the year.

Anchorage to Fairbanks

In the morning transfer to to the Anchorage train station on own. Board the famous Alaska Railroad in the morning and travel through beautiful Alaska’s winter landscape to Fairbanks. During the train ride, enjoy spectacular views of the Alaska Range and possibly even Denali (weather permitting). You will arrive in Fairbanks in the evening and transfer to the hotel via hotel courtesy shuttle. Overnight in Fairbanks.

Fairbanks

This afternoon, a narrated tour brings you to the highlights of Fairbanks. During the tour, you will visit the Morris Thompson Cultural Center where you will find great exhibits about Interior Alaska. Then stop at the Trans Alaska Pipeline where your guide will explain the astonishing engineering of the pipeline, the oil field in Prudhoe Bay, and the Alaska oil industry. From there, continue to the Museum of the North with its dramatic architecture and new exhibit galleries (when the Museum of the North is closed the tour will go to the Antique Auto Museum instead). And finally, you will stop by the Santa Claus house in the town of North Pole, Alaska.

Late in the evening, typically between 9:30pm and 10pm, you will be picked up for an aurora viewing tour. An approximate 45-minute drive will take you to an aurora viewing cabin. The cabin is designed especially for viewing the northern lights and located away from the city lights that can hinder aurora viewing. We recommend you dress warmly for this tour so you may view the northern lights from outdoor as well as the cabin. Hot beverages are provided and the cabin will have a bathroom or an outhouse facility. Your driver will return you to your hotel around 2:30am. Overnight in Fairbanks.

Fairbanks Departure

You may have time this morning to explore on your own, before meeting a hotel shuttle to the airport to meet your departing flight.