• 3 Dinner (D)
• 6 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Fairbanks: Discover one of Alaska’s must-sees, the Northern Lights. Due to the combination of location directly beneath the Auroral Oval and unique geography that encourages stable, clear weather, Alaska’s Arctic is one of the best places in the world to view the Aurora Borealis. With everything taken care of, your location offers indoor heating and warm beverages, along with the option to step outside and be enchanted as the lights put on a show. 
• Explore the Interior and Arctic Alaska, celebrating Alaska residents and how they live at The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Centre. Made possible by a cross-organizational, multi-cultural partnership built on the values lived by the late Morris Thompson, a business leader who worked as a bridge between the local and Indigenous cultures. You’ll learn all about the history and seasonal flow of local lifestyles through world-class exhibits. It’s an immersive way to unlock the land, where the natural world changes with the change of the seasons and the life of the land.
• Fairbanks: Unlock Alaska Native cultures, natural wonders and the state’s diverse wildlife at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, the only research and teaching museum in Alaska. Explore 2,000 years of Alaska art through the museum’s exhibits introducing you to Alaska’s diverse wildlife, people and lands. You can even view original installations about Alaska’s dinosaurs and soak in views of the Alaska Range.  
• Fairbanks: Once isn’t enough – get ready for your second opportunity at a different location around Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights. You’ll love the chance to take in this must-see sight in Alaska from another vantage point. With a different location and day, you never know what spectacle may stretch across the sky. 
• Fairbanks: Get ready for picture-perfect winter scenery aboard the Aurora Car on your journey south to Denali National Park. While the Aurora Winter Train travels the same stretch of tracks as the summer Denali Star Train, this time of year you’re treated to the pristine snow in the winter wonderland of Alaska’s backcountry. From the comfort of a warm railcar, relax as large picture windows and onboard dining give you the opportunity to enjoy every second of your epic surroundings.  
• Denali National Park: Visit the Murie Science and Learning Centre, which acts as the Denali Visitor’s Centre in the wintertime. Discover the science and stewardship in Denali and other Alaskan national parks, watch the National Park Film, “Heartbeats of Denali” and unlock the local secrets of the park from a local ranger. You can even learn about the local trail conditions that are popular for skiers and snowshoers. 
• Talkeetna: Unlock the secrets of Talkeetna, a small Alaska community full of unique charm. Get out and explore on your own, learning how Talkeetna is also home to the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction in which 100% of the proceeds go towards their mission of donating to and raising awareness for the community’s women and children in need. 
• Anchorage: Unlock the world of the Arctic ungulate Musk Oxen at the Musk Ox Farm. Discover how the Musk Ox adapted by shedding their underwool, qiviut, in the spring. You’ll even get the chance to collect qiviut while viewing musk oxen and then create your own nesting ball or ornament to remember your time here. By making the fibre available to birds in the spring where you live, the birds will line their nests creating a cosy, warm, and luxurious environment for little fledglings. 

• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• Deluxe coach, and train travel
• Standard regional accommodation

Explore the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, where exhibits bring together the state’s art, wildlife, peoples and natural history. See works spanning thousands of years alongside displays that introduce Alaska’s prehistoric animals.

As a research and teaching museum, it offers a perspective on the region beyond its winter scenery. Its collections reveal connections between Alaska’s varied environments and the communities that have lived in them; on a clear day, look out towards the Alaska Range.

Trafalgar

Meet your fellow travellers over a welcome dinner in Fairbanks, the Interior Alaska city that serves as the starting point for this winter journey. Share a meal and raise a glass together as the group gathers for its first evening.

Fairbanks sits beneath the auroral oval, a region known for its opportunities to see the Northern Lights. The dinner offers a relaxed introduction to the people with whom you’ll explore Alaska’s landscapes and cultures.

Head out on two organised Northern Lights viewing excursions around Fairbanks, with different locations offering distinct vantage points. At one viewing location, indoor warmth and hot beverages provide a welcome retreat between opportunities to step outside and watch the sky.

Fairbanks lies beneath the auroral oval, where charged particles can create shifting curtains of green and other colours. Each night offers its own possibility, although aurora sightings depend on weather and solar activity and cannot be guaranteed.

Discover Fairbanks on an orientation tour with your Travel Director and visit the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center. Films, artwork, objects and life-sized dioramas introduce the communities and landscapes of Alaska’s Interior.

Move through exhibits shaped by the seasons, including a summer fish camp at Nuchalawoyya and an autumn scene featuring a grizzly bear. The displays show how changing conditions influence local ways of life, connecting Fairbanks’ cultural history with the land around it.

Ride the Alaska Railroad’s Aurora Winter Train from Fairbanks towards Denali, watching snow-covered backcountry unfold through large railcar windows. Settle into the warmth of the train as forests, rivers and broad Interior Alaska landscapes pass by.

This winter service follows a route also used by the summer Denali Star, but the snowy season gives it a different character. Clear conditions may reveal Denali above the Susitna River, while wildlife sightings, including moose, remain a matter of chance.

Visit the Murie Science and Learning Center, which serves as a visitor centre for Denali National Park during winter. Discover how researchers and park staff study and care for this vast protected landscape, and watch the park film Heartbeats of Denali.

A local ranger shares insight into Denali’s winter conditions and the science behind its ecosystems. The visit offers a closer understanding of the park when snow transforms its trails and mountains.

Learn night-sky photography tips from Aurora Dora, a photographer based in Talkeetna who has spent years pursuing the Northern Lights. At Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, hear her story and discover practical ways to frame and photograph the aurora.

The lodge’s deck offers another opportunity to look for the Aurora Borealis against Alaska’s winter sky and put her advice to use. This locally hosted encounter combines a photographer’s perspective with the excitement of watching for a natural display; sightings remain weather dependent.

Explore Palmer’s Musk Ox Farm with a Local Specialist and observe musk oxen, shaggy Ice Age survivors adapted to severe Arctic conditions. Learn how their dense coats protect them from the cold and why these animals remain such a distinctive part of northern wildlife.

Discover qiviut, the exceptionally soft underwool musk oxen shed in spring. You’ll have a chance to collect some fibre and make a small nesting ball or ornament, adding a hands-on element to the farm visit.

Visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage to learn about the traditional and contemporary cultures of Alaska’s Indigenous peoples. Explore exhibits, art, films and life-sized village sites representing different communities across the state.

Watch a Native Games presentation and consider the strength and skill associated with life in Alaska’s demanding environments. As a statewide centre dedicated to Alaska Native cultures, it offers an opportunity to hear and see how traditions continue to be practised and shared.

Travel the scenic Seward Byway towards Portage and visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center with a Local Specialist. Learn about the nonprofit centre’s work in wildlife care, rehabilitation, conservation and education.

Look for resident animals that may include moose, bears, lynx, foxes and owls while hearing about the challenges facing Alaska’s wildlife. The route provides a scenic setting for a visit focused on the animals that inhabit the state’s varied landscapes.

Explore Talkeetna’s winter surroundings on a three-hour snowshoeing tour, moving across snowy terrain at a pace that lets you take in the landscape. Snowshoes offer a practical way to experience the outdoors when trails and open ground lie beneath deep winter snow.

Listen to the quiet of the forest and see the marks winter leaves across the landscape. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, making it a choice for travellers who want active time outdoors.

See Denali National Park from the air on a flightseeing tour from the Talkeetna area. Take in views from your aircraft window as your pilot narrates the journey over Alaska’s mountainous landscape.

Flightseeing offers a perspective on the scale of the Alaska Range that is difficult to grasp from the ground. Views depend on flying conditions, particularly around Denali’s often cloud-covered summit. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover dog sledding and mushing on private trails near Talkeetna. Meet the dogs, learn about the bond between a musher and the team, and experience a tradition closely associated with travel across Alaska’s snowy terrain.

There is time to photograph the dogs and a replica of the Burled Arch, the Iditarod’s finish-line landmark. This Optional Experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour for travellers keen to explore Alaska’s sled-dog heritage.