Alaska Highlights
A tour for visitors to Alaska, the 49th state.
Land Tours
Alaska Wilderness Express Railroad White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad
Why visit Alaska?
Train Tours
Alaska Wilderness Express Railroad
Alaska's extensive railway system provides many options for tourists who love luxury. From Fairbanks, to Seward, these tours are in leather seats inside glass-domed cars for scenic views and photography from the second level. On the first level are full-service dining cars with great meals and desserts, wow! Diet before the trip, you'll gain a few pounds in the lap of luxury. They really cater to the cruise crowds and you get your money's worth. It is a very comfortable, and pampered trip to see the wilderness from afar. There are numerous reminders of just how wild and untamed the state is in places. Along the train route, houses are often sighted and the train is the inhabitants' only transportation to civilization and supplies. Some trains make local stops, but the express tourist trains have schedules to keep. Tourism is a major industry in Alaska, but not the only one.
White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad
Ride an open-air diesel train on the route that the gold miners took to the gold fields in 1898, only your tour is easier than their primitive trek on foot for six hundred miles up the mountains hoping to strike it rich. The train departs Skagway, Alaska and travels a forty-mile round trip to White Pass Summit, the U.S./Canadian border, for three and a half hours, round trip. The scenery is dazzling, but the gold miners were much too busy surviving to enjoy it. It is a beautiful, narrated excursion that tourists can appreciate and marvel that the gold miners did this journey on foot. Their trip continued much further north to the gold fields of the Yukon Territory. This tour goes to White Pass and returns to Skagway. The construction of this railway was no small feat. It begins at 0 feet elevation in Skagway and climbs to 2,865 feet elevation at the White Pass Summit through some very rugged terrain.
Motor Coach Tours
Land travel when visiting Alaska can include many bus excursions especially if you are part of a guided, touring group. If you like to avoid the vehicle rentals, GPS, or maps, and leave the driving to a veteran driver who knows where he is going, while you sit back and enjoy the experience, the coach is a very relaxing, comfortable, even luxurious experience. Tour groups keep the same bus for the excursions around the state and many of the cruise companies combine land/sea trips so that the tourist sees much of the countryside. They schedule side trips geared to locations of interest such as the Alaska Pipeline, Denali Park, Iditarod camps, gold mines, native culture center, and even entertaining restaurants.
It is easier to keep track of luggage when it is stored on the bus. A vacation is to leave the stress behind, so sit back, and let the tour company handle the stress. Enjoy the scenery or take a nap when necessary. The tour guide's narrative keeps you informed about locations, history, and interesting trivia about the state. Pay attention and take notes; sometimes they give a quiz and award prizes at the end of the tour! The motor coach is a very important vehicle when visiting Alaska if you want to see as much as possible during your vacation time.
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