Family Fun and Adventure

at Kenai Fjords National Park, Matanuska Glacier & Denali National Park!
Exceptional Wildlife & Glacier-Viewing Opportunities and an Exciting Variety of Included and Optional Activities!

9-day Lodge-based adventures for families with children 10+ (or younger on select departures*, please inquire).
Starts and Ends in Anchorage

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2024 TOUR DATES & PRICES

ALASKA FAMILY EXPLORER Lodge-based tours.
2024 Tour Dates: June 12-20, June 23-July 1, August 2-10; August 16-24, 2024. Additional and custom tour dates are possible, please call or email to discuss.
Tour Price: Adults: $2,695 + local sales tax. Children 15 and under: $1,695 + local sales tax
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ALASKA FAMILY EXPLORER

While our other tours are for adults and mature teens only, our 9-day Alaska Family Explorer is specially designed with active children (ages 10 and older, or younger on select and private trips, please inquire) and adventurous families in mind. Highlighted by multi-day visits to Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks, and to the Matanuska Glacier area, as well as the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) and Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), Alaska Family Explorer features a full time professional guide, exceptional opportunities to view Alaskan wildlife and glaciers, as well as several fun and exciting included and optional activities that your family is sure to love and will remember forever!

We start the tour by heading south along dramatic Turnagain Arm toward the beautiful Kenai Peninsula. An included visit to the fantastic Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center affords great, close-up views of Alaskan wildlife, including bears. From here it’s on to the lush Kenai Peninsula and to the coastal community of Seward, gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park for a three-night stay at our charming lakefront cabins.

Here we will visit the Alaska SeaLife Center, walk out to the dramatic Exit Glacier, and take a short hike through the coastal rain forest down to a pristine beach.

Optional activities available in Seward include a fantastic whale, wildlife and glacier-viewing cruise in the fjords of the national park, on the lookout for orcas, humpbacks, porpoises, sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, puffins, and more. A salmon fishing charter; an easy 3-hour sea kayaking paddle; and even a helicopter-accessed dog-mushing trip on a glacier, are additional, fun optional activities available here.

Like all the other activities on this trip, included or optional, no previous experience is necessary to participate in any activity.

From Seward we’ll head northeast to our beautifully set lodge near the huge Matanuska Glacier, for a two-night stay. In addition to plenty of family time, there is a highly recommended option to strap crampons onto your boots and venture out onto the blue glacier ice on a guided glacier trek, or even try an introductory ice-climbing course. An exhilarating zip-line course is yet another exciting option.

Next we head to Denali, one of the world’s most iconic national parks, for a three-night stay. Here you will ride on the park’s wildlife-viewing shuttle bus, on the lookout for grizzly bears, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, wolves, foxes and more. There will also be optional opportunities at Denali to go river rafting (whitewater or calm); to tour the sled dog racing kennels of a local mushing family (and go for a ride!), to take a scenic flight to Mt. Denali (the highest peak in North America), and to hike.

On the ninth and final day of the tour we visit the famous Denali dogsled kennels in the morning before making the drive back to Anchorage, where the tour ends at ~6 pm. A final and highly recommended option is to forego the drive, and instead board the Alaska Railroad for a beautiful wilderness train ride from Denali back to Anchorage (~8 pm arrival in Anchorage).

ACCOMMODATIONS

LODGE-BASED TOURS: 9 days/8 nights: All nights are spent in private rooms with private bathrooms at beautifully situated local lodges, two to four family members per room/cabin. Additional rooms may be available if more privacy is desired (at additional cost), please inquire early in the reservation process if you’re interested in this.

We’re proud of our small, friendly, locally owner-operated lodges! Non-corporate and without the hordes of cruise ship passengers found at many local lodges, especially near the national parks, these charming lodges, cabins and rooms all have great outdoor areas and views! Fire rings, picnic tables, gazebos, and beautiful locations make these comfortable lodgings a great place for family fun and a tour highlight!

CAMP & CABIN-BASED TOURS: 9 days/ 8 nights: Private trips only, please inquire if interested

MEALS

LODGE-BASED TOURS: All breakfasts and lunches (except breakfast on the first morning), and four dinners are included in the tour price. Most breakfasts are either ordered off the regular menu or are served family style. Lunches are generally buffet-style picnics or brown bag meals that we carry with us on our hikes or other activities. Non-included meals are taken either at our lodges or in local restaurants, and are paid for locally.

Note: Vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, lactose-free, and some other special diets can be catered to with advance notice. Please list any dietary restrictions or preferences on your Tour Reservation Form.

LOOK AT ALL THAT’S INCLUDED

• Professional Guide: The friendly and capable services of a professional Get Up and Go! Tours guide
• All Ground Transport, Anchorage to Anchorage (an Alaska Railroad trip from Denali back to Anchorage is a recommended optional activity)
• All Included Lodges, Cabins and/or Rooms, as specified in the “Accommodations” section, above
• Most Meals, as specified in the “Meals” section, above
• Entrance & User Fees to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Alaska SeaLife Center, to Matanuska Glacier Park, and to all National Parks and Alaska State Parks visited en route
• Denali National Park Wildlife-Viewing Shuttle Bus Trip into the wilderness area of the park
• Denali Dogsled Team Demonstration
• Day Hiking: The amount, length and difficulty of the hiking is customized for each group. Beautiful!
• Alaska Tour Pre-Departure Packet, including general tips, a packing list, arrival and Anchorage lodging information

NOT INCLUDED

• Transport to and from Anchorage, where the trip starts & ends
• Anchorage Lodging, before or after the tour; we can help. See our Alaska Tour Pre-Departure Packet for details
• Non-Included Meals (see “Meals,” above), and adult beverages
• Optional Activities (see below)
• Personal Expenses
• Gratuities for your hard-working guides; see page 5 of our Alaska Tour Pre-Departure Packet for general tipping guidelines
• Personal Travel Insurance; highly recommended. See our Tour Reservation Form for details
• Child Care of any sort; you are always responsible for the care, safety, and supervision of your children

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES & PRICES*

• 6-hour Kenai Fjords National Park Wildlife & Glacier-Viewing Cruise: Don’t miss it! ($178 + local sales tax, $6 fuel surcharge & $3.50 port fee; Children <11: half price)
• Sea Kayaking near Kenai Fjords National Park ($125 + local sales tax)
• Deep-Sea Fishing Charter: (Salmon or halibut, whole or half-day: $220-$450+ plus local sales tax)
• “Heli-Mushing”: Helicopter-accessed sled dog mushing on a glacier: Fly up and mush a team of real huskies! (Adults ~$599; Children <12 ~$549). $150 more for passengers weighing 250 lbs+.
• Sled Dog rides & demo (dog demo & wheeled cart ride with racing sled dogs, not on the snow; ~$90 adults, $80 children 11 and younger)
• Glacier Trekking on the Matanuska Glacier ($115).
• Introductory Ice Climbing Course on Matanuska Glacier ($225, minimum age 12)
• Zip-line Rides, near Matanuska Glacier (Adults: $99; Children ages 8-11: $79; minimum weight 70 lbs; maximum weight 235 lbs, 42″ hip size). Select dates, only.
• Calm or Whitewater River Rafting at Denali National Park (Adults: $130; Children age 11 and under: $80; float trip, only)
• Flight-seeing to Denali, North America’s tallest peak (20,320′), in Denali National Park (Adults: ~$495-$525 + tax, Children <12: half price)
• Alaska Railroad Wilderness Train Trip from Anchorage to Denali National Park. $193; children 11 and under $97; or Gold Star luxury dome car service: $373; children 11 and under $215 (Gold Star includes two dining car meals, snacks, and beverages). 7+ hours. Highly recommended! If you wish to take the train trip, please let us know ASAP so we can book it for you, as it often sells out.

*Optional activity prices are set by our local partner companies and are subject to change. Credit cards accepted. Please book through us in advance.

GET UP AND GO!

To reserve your place on any of our tours simply give us a call: 1.888.868.4147 or 1.907.245.0795 or email us at alaska@getupandgotours.com. Assuming availability, all you’ll need to do to confirm your reservation is to complete our Tour Reservation Form and scan and email, mail, or fax it back to us with your $500 pp/tour deposit. We accept personal checks, money orders, international wire transfers, Visa, Master Card, and AMEX. Thank you, we look forward to your visit!

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

“Hey Geoff, Just back from a FANTASTIC week on your tour, we just wanted to offer our praise and gratitude while the experience is fresh. From start to finish it was an excellent trip, beginning with the talents and approach of Dave and Terrance, continuing with the superb itinerary, owing also to our compatibility with the Starr family, and including all of the intangible, unpredictable, unplanned, and value-added aspects of the overall Get Up and Go! Alaska Family Explorer experience.
“A few items of note:
-Dave’s cooking was extraordinary – tasty, plenty, timely
-He and Terrance handled each person/experience with utmost patience and professionalism
-They added much with their vast knowledge of Alaska, flora, fauna, people, places, etc.
-The itinerary was perfect – diverse, great mix of places and activities
-Pace was just right – keeping good and busy doing fun stuff, with some downtime as well
-OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES were wonderful mix and we enjoyed each of them so much
-No frills, and yet no corners cut – we were comfortable without cushy, just what we came for
-So much more…hikes!-glaciers-campgrounds-LODGE!!!-laughs…
“It’s late now, and we are still tired from all of the fun and excitement of the trip, and we are catching an early shuttle to the airport to fly home, so I will end this with a plan to write more specifics when I have more time. Suffice to say that we are very satisfied customers, would happily provide testimonials and talk to potential clients and recommend this trip HIGHLY, and we’ll tell Trip Advisor and others about our great experience from start to finish…
“(Did we mention that we took your advice and flew in to Juneau and hiked there and then took the ferry up to Haines and had a wonderful time there? Thanks for adding value in that way.)
“BRAVO! And thanks again to you and the others for everything that made this a memorable and truly positive summer vacation.
“Be well and stay in touch. Gratefully,” –Doug Gertner, Maggie Miller, Jordy Gertner, Colorado

“Dear Geoff, We had a wonderful and adventurous trip to Alaska! Thank you so much for assigning (guide) Amanda A. to us. Never could we have had a more fun, creative, and professional guide. We truly enjoyed her. She has the perfect personality for her job and she represents Get Up and Go! perfectly. She was informative… she just fit in with our crowd of ten beautifully. We appreciate her and are fully aware that Amanda enhanced our experience of Alaska.
“The itinerary was great-just our speed. You did a marvelous job setting things up for us. Thank you! The Alaskan Railroad was great too. We are so glad that we made arrangements thru Get Up and Go! Tours, as we know how doing otherwise could have made or broken our trip. So Geoff, we will recommend your company to other friends from Oregon and beyond. Friends are already asking! Thank you again! Give our best to Amanda. Sincerely, Kathy & Bill Block (John and Matt too).” –Kathy & Bill Block, Oregon

“Hi Geoff, I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful trip we had with Get Up and Go Tours! The trip was awesome, (your guide) Marci was the best, and everything worked out just as planned and hoped for (even better!). Our travelling companions were great, the kids all got along very well and it was an experience none of us will soon forget!
“Really, I just can’t say enough about how smoothly everything went, from the campsites to the equipment, to the food, to Marci’s activity suggestions and ability to make all the arrangements for us (sometimes on short notice!), to keeping her cool when trying to keep to some sort of a time schedule with 5 kids and 4 parents in tow! Thank you so much for everything. Please feel free to use me as a reference – I would love to share my enthusiasm with anyone wishing to learn more about this kind of travel in Alaska, particularly those travelling with children. It was just great! All the best,” –Brenda Rich, Atlanta, Georgia

“The trip was awesome and I am pretty sure we wouldn’t have changed anything for the things we did and the places we stayed. It was beyond our expectations. Our guide did a great job and he was a perfect match for our family. You did a phenomenal job in setting up the trip. It was the best vacation we have ever had since we started doing our family adventure vacations with our kids. I would highly recommend it to anybody and you are welcome to use as a reference.
“Alaska in itself is awesome and breathtaking. Everything from the sky, mountains, glaciers, and water is incredible. Probably the highlight was the glaciers in Seward. Particularly the glacier cruise we took. All the places we stayed and the people who you work with at the different activities were excellent. Thank you so much.” –Jim Barber and family, Indiana

“I would like to thank you and our tour guide Dave for a truly remarkable holiday. We had a tremendous time and have been very impressed by the efficiency and professional approach by your organisation. Dave looked after the two families extremely well. The 4 adults are now tempted to come back for a trip in Wrangell St Elias… We would definitely recommend Get Up And Go! Tours to others. With best wishes, The Wilkie Family.” –Dr. Veronica Wilkie & family, England