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Click here to download our 32-page 'ALASKA 2008 ONLINE BROCHURE'
Spaces on several tours are still available.
Please call 1.888.868.4147 or 1.907.245.0795 for information or to make a reservation. |
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ALASKA--ADVENTURE WONDERLAND: Dreaming of Alaska and adventure? Have a week or two of vacation, and want to make the most of it? Are you eager not just to see but to actively experience, to learn about, and to have some real fun in Alaska? Ready to hike, sea kayak, whitewater raft, glacier trek, ice climb, canoe, view wildlife, eat like a king, and, in short, live large under the midnight sun?
Well then, you've come to the right place: Get Up and Go! Tours offers high quality yet affordable Alaska Multi-Sport / Hiking, Family and Custom tours that are truly, as our slogan says, 'Active, Informative, Fun!'
ACTIVE: Our professionally guided, small group tours do more than just show you Alaska: regardless of which trip and accommodation style you choose, fantastic day hikes and a variety of exciting adventure activities get you off the beaten track, up, and active in the amazing Alaskan wilds every single day of the tour!
INFORMATIVE: Along with the great outdoor activities, frequent wildlife viewing opportunities and beautiful scenery, daily background and natural history briefings enrich your Alaska experience by helping you to better understand and appreciate the very special nature of "The Great Land."
FUN! Our guides and clients are people like you: active, curious, friendly, fun loving, and hungry for new experiences. You'll be in good company with Get Up and Go! and are sure to make some new friends.
"I LOVED my Alaska vacation with Get Up and Go! It was everything I was hoping for and more. The guides were the best; Matthew and Dave were informative, fun, and flexible to the needs/wants of the group. Highlights? Hiking the Bonanza Ridge (in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park) and an impromptu flight around McKinley. The kayak day was awesome. All the activities (glacier trek, river rafting) were new experiences and fun. It was 10 days of saying 'It just doesn't get better than this.' Thanks for a great tour. I also appreciated the perfect weather you ordered for us."
--Bonnie Timm, Seattle, Washington
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TOUR TYPES: Because not all active outdoors lovers have the same vision of their ideal Alaska vacation, Get Up and Go! Tours offers different tour itineraries in Camping, 'Camp & Cabin,' and lodge-based formats.
Choose from our full slate of Alaska Multi-Sport / Hiking Tours and Alaska Family Tours (for families with children ages 10 and above): there's something for all types of active and adventurous people! Click on any of these links for details including tour descriptions, dates, and prices.
Single travelers (more than a third of our clients come by themselves), as well as couples, groups of friends, and families are all welcome on our tours. Or let us design a once in a lifetime Alaska Custom Adventure (guided or unguided) for your family, business, private group, or organization. But be warned, Alaska will cast its spell on you!
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GET ACTIVE AND EXPERIENCE THE REAL ALASKA ON A GET UP & GO! Multi-Sport / Hiking tour: Our affordable, 6 to 28-day Multi-Sport / Hiking tours cater to adventurous, outdoor-oriented people who understand that to truly experience a place you have to lace up your boots or grab a paddle and get out there!
ALASKA IS A HIKER'S PARADISE: Along with the spectacular scenery, all Get Up and Go! Multi-Sport / Hiking tours-whether Camping, 'Camp & Cabin,' or Lodge-based-are highlighted by fantastic daily hiking opportunities.
These beautiful hikes are of varying distances and difficulty levels, and, with TWO GUIDES (on Camping and Camp & Cabin-based tours with more than 7 clients), often feature more than one option. Long or short, challenging or casual: there's something for everyone of moderate fitness or better. And because our tours are fully supported and base camp oriented, you never have to carry more than a lightweight daypack.
ADVENTURE, ALASKAN STYLE: In addition to the great hiking, all Get Up and Go! tours feature included opportunities for you to try your hand at a variety of other more adventurous, uniquely Alaskan activities, including sea kayaking, glacier trekking, ice climbing, whitewater river rafting, canoeing, and even summer dog sled mushing (atop a helicopter-accessed glacier!).
Never tried some of these before? Don't worry, no previous experience is necessary; they're professionally guided, easier, and safer than it might seem, and a tremendous amount of fun. Taking a Get Up and Go! Alaska tour can be the opportunity you've been looking for to safely try some of these exciting adventure sports for yourself. And if you're an old hand, Alaska serves up world class settings for these activities that you won't find anywhere else.
Superb fishing, horseback riding, glacier and wildlife-viewing day cruises, and scenic "flightseeing" are also available on many of our tours.
"The highlight of my entire vacation was the 'hands on' experience with you and the group in Alaska. It was truly an adventure, and would have to be ranked right at the top of my favorite places and trips I've taken. I hope to travel with you again on one of your future tours. Thanks for a great time."
-Eddie Brower, Secaucus New Jersey
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"We would love to come back and do another (multi-sport) tour with you-in fact going back to Alaska is practically all we have talked about since we got back! –Mike Dixon & Stacy Pargett, Kentucky
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ALASKA'S AMAZING FLORA, BIRD AND WILDLIFE: In addition to getting you up and going in the Alaskan wilds, all Get Up and Go! tours are highlighted by regular wildlife-viewing opportunities. Depending on which tour you choose, you'll have excellent chances to view grizzly and black bears, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, beavers, sea otters, sea lions, orcas, spawning salmon, and many more species, all in their natural coastal or sub-arctic tundra, taiga, or boreal forest habitats. An amazing diversity of bird-life, including bald eagles, arctic terns, puffins, loons, trumpeter swans and innumerable other species, as well as a profusion of colorful wildflowers are also readily viewable.
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QUALITY LEADERSHIP: Recognizing that the guide is the single most important factor in the success or failure of any guided trip, we employ only the best. In addition to being knowledgeable about Alaskan human and natural history, our well-trained guides are friendly, multi-talented and conscientious: he or she will take a personal interest in you, and work hard to assure that your vacation is the relaxing, enjoyable, and memorable experience you expect!
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Your hard-working guides will organize and coordinate the daily schedule and activities, transport you, keep you informed, guide you on hikes and adventures, feed you (and quite well, if we do say so), handle all the details and any unexpected problems that might arise, and, in a nutshell, do what it takes to make sure that the trip is enjoyable and successful. You can relax knowing you'll be in good hands with Get Up and Go!
As mentioned, and unlike any of our competitors in our low-end price range, all Get Up and Go! Camping and 'Camp & Cabin'-based Multi-Sport / Hiking Tours with more than 7 clients feature TWO GUIDES. That means more personal attention, better service, a safer experience, and better value for your vacation dollar! You won't find a better Alaska trip for the money anywhere: we guarantee it.
"Hey boys, in writing this letter I could not help but remember my fearless, Alaskan guides, who (did it all) to assure us a great time! You are truly the ultimate campers! Thanks again for a wonderful vacation, you guys put together a great trip, which I for one intend on repeating. I will certainly recommend you guys to anyone! It was a lot of fun!" –Alejandro Bates, Palm Beach, Florida
RECIPE FOR SATISFACTION: A RELAXING PACE AND GREAT FOOD!
Significantly, our itineraries feature a majority of two and three-night stops, which mean more full, travel-free days for hiking and adventuring, less time spent packing and unpacking, and more time for relaxing and enjoying yourself and the great Alaskan outdoors.
On our Camping and 'Camp & Cabin'-based Tours, days are climaxed by exceptional, multi-course camp meals, featuring fresh seafood, meats, fruits, vegetables, and desserts.
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Wait till you see what our guides can do with a dutch oven on an open campfire! Most meals on camping-based tours, and all breakfasts and lunches on lodge-based tours are included. Dinners on lodge tours and the few non-included meals on other tours are taken at our lodges, restaurants, or on the ferry. Vegetarians and most special diets can also be accommodated.
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ADDITIONAL TOUR FEATURES: All of our tours feature well designed, moderately paced itineraries, small groups (minimum 6, average 8, maximum 10 or 12), scenic campgrounds and/or charming lodges, top quality equipment, and of course all the scenery, hiking, and 'multi-sport' adventure activities you can handle, as well as regular natural history briefings.
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MODES OF TRANSPORT: We travel overland, from campsite to campsite or lodge to lodge, in comfortable and roof rack-equipped 15-passenger vans.
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We take pride in sharing our knowledge, insight, and experience with our clients, as we feel that this accents our tours and distinguishes our company from our competitors. It's even part of our motto: "Get Up and Go! Tours: The 'Active, Informative, Fun!' way to experience the Real Alaska"
OUR PHILOSOPHY: At Get Up and Go! Tours, our mission is to help people actively experience and truly appreciate the Alaska they've dreamed of: a timeless, wild, and beautiful land as rich with possibilities of adventure and inspiration as it is with awesome landscapes and wildlife.
From the first nomadic ice age hunter (who unwittingly wandered across the Bering Land Bridge from Asia in pursuit of a herd of caribou), to the 19th century Klondike gold stampeder, to the modern day eco-tourist, the history of Alaska is a fascinating tale of exploration and discovery, of restless and adventurous humans at the far edges of the known world confronting wild nature in its grandest, most dramatic forms.
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In today's super-hectic modern world "the call of the wild" is at least as compelling as it's ever been. With this in mind, Get Up and Go! Tours strives to make contemporary Alaskan exploration available not only to the ultra-intrepid, rugged, and rich, but to anyone with a yearning for adventure and personal discovery (and yes, a week or two of vacation time).
SO COME ON-EXPERIENCE WILD ALASKA WITH GET UP AND GO! TOURS: Alaska truly is a magical land, rich in beauty, natural splendor, and uncommon opportunities for both adventure and escape. It's still-being-formed landscapes, vast wildernesses, abundant wildlife, and remote situation at the far edges of the too-hectic, modern world make it an idyllic, natural getaway destination. (Check out our Why Alaska? webpage for more about Alaska).
Our active, small-group mode of travel makes it easy for you to actively experience and get to know this larger-than-life adventure wonderland for yourself on one of our inexpensive and well-planned tours, with the friendly assistance of our knowledgeable, professional guides. So why not get the most from your Alaska vacation on a GET UP AND GO! tour: The 'Active, Informative, Fun!' way to experience the Real Alaska. Call or email us today!
PICK A TOUR: For details about our tours, check out our Alaska Tour Selector, Multi-Sport / Hiking Tours or Family Tours pages.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
"Now that I am home I can't help but wonder if I will ever recover from the trip of a lifetime… I had an absolute ball and my only reservation about doing it all again is my fear that it could never ever be as good as the first time!" Dudley Chignall, Essex, England
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Hello and welcome! I'm Geoffrey Downes, founder and owner/operator of Get Up & Go! Tours. On behalf of our guides and staff I want to thank you for your interest in our company and for taking the time to read through our Alaska 2008 Online Brochure. As an Alaska-based and local, owner-operated company, we're especially proud of our commitment to the highest standards of quality, value, personal attention and friendliness and of our dedication to orchestrating an exciting well-rounded, enjoyable and safe Alaskan experience you'll always remember.
Since 1991 I have been professionally guiding people of more than 50 nationalities throughout western North America, from southern Mexico to the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic, sharing with them my experience, knowledge, enthusiasm and strong respect for nature, the great outdoors and all things Alaskan. I enjoy it!
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Inspired by restlessness and a sense of adventure I gave up my teaching career and decided to resume guiding, coming to Alaska on an assignment in 1994. I was awestruck. The experience changed my life and I've been guiding and exploring here ever since, learning everything I can about the land and getting out as often as possible. With each passing year I have grown more enchanted by the uncanny wildness, beauty and spirit of Alaska and more enthusiastic about my experiences and life here. Alaska is a truly special place, a land rich with beauty, authenticity, adventure and its own larger-than-life mystique.
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Following several seasons of guiding for other outfits I officially established Get Up & Go! Tours in 2002, determined to provide the complete 'Active, Informative, Fun!' experience I knew people were actually looking for, and to do things right. Immediately successful beyond my wildest dreams, Get Up & Go! Tours is now entering its 7th full season, proud to have shared the wild Alaska we all love with more than 1,000 satisfied clients: active, adventurous and fun-loving people from the world over. A huge part of this success is due, of course, to our first rate guiding staff, most of whom have been with us for several years. Dave, Marci, Amanda, John, Suzie, Nick, and the rest of our staff look forward to sharing their own private Alaska with you!
Thank you again for your interest in Get Up & Go! Tours. I invite you to come up and discover Alaska for yourself this summer on one of our 'Active, Informative, Fun!' Multi-Sport, Hiking, Family or Custom/Private tours. If you're anything like me, a renewed respect and appreciation for the natural world will more than likely result (along with a lot of fun and great memories), borne of inspiring personal experiences and discovery. --Geoff
PS: Please feel free to print out any or all pages of this 'Alaska 2008 Online Brochure,' which will make it much easier to read and to consult later. And don't hesitate to email or give us a call, we're here to help! alaska@getupandgotours.com.
Call us toll-free: 1-888-868-4147 (from the US and Canada) or 1-907-245-0795 (from all other countries).
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"I have to thank you for making this amazing experience possible!!… I'm happy to spread the good word…anyone who wants to really experience Alaska has to check out Get Up and Go! Tours!!" --Rana Salzhauer, New Jersey
We were 100% satisfied... from the initial planning to taking care of the smallest details--should we want to take a trip again, you'd be the one to call." --Peter Cornelius , Santa Cruz, California
We spent 10 unforgettable days on the Alaska Explorer Camp & Cabin Hiking tour. The landscape was breathtaking and our guides were very good. Our highlights were the kayaking trip in Valdez to the glacier as well as the trip into Denali N.P. where we saw a lot of wildlife. The whole trip was awesome and we hope to go back one day. I heard from Barbara that she liked the Kenai Explorer tour she took after our trip very much, and that she saw a lot of wildlife like bears, whales, etc. So that would be a trip I could imagine doing next time. In the meantime, I'm glad I can recommend your tours as I know that people will have great guides and very well organised trips. Thank you!" Jackie Buechli and Rolf Binder, Switzerland
"Thank you for a splendid, adventurous week. Everything you promised came true and even more. Thanks for your kindness, knowledge, and giving us so many wonderful memories!"
--Sharyn, Joel, & David Budnetz, Forest Hills, New York
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"Thanks again, (it's) definitely on the top of my list of the best trips in my life. (My brother, sister, and I) really enjoyed all the hikes.... I miss listening to your talks, and definitely miss your cooking! I can only pray that I get to go back someday."
--Henny Muktijiwaya, Solo, Indonesia
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"I wanted to let you know that we had an absolutely wonderful trip..."
--Karen and Kevin Doyle, New York, honeymooners on the "Alaska Ranger"
"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 Wrangle St Elias......... We would definitely recommend Get Up and Go Tours to others. With best wishes, The Wilkie Family. England
"I'd just like to (tell you) what a blast I had on the tour. Everything was great! (Alaska) blew me away! Thanks again for a great trip." --Bob Gunza, Elmwood Park, New Jersey
"I had an excellent time: really a holiday to remember. All the walks were fabulous...Geoff did a very good job: everything was arranged for us, he knew loads about Alaska, and he made sure everyone was having a good time."
-- Liz Elton, Adelaide, Australia
"I enjoyed every minute! Thanks for your patience. Wonderful, wonderful, and most of it thanks to your expertise. It more than lived up to all our expectations." --Jenny Neal, Colchester, England
What a fantastic trip! I had such a fabulous time... After having experienced Alaska, this civilized society stuff is downright depressing. The best I can do is develop my photos, torture others with them, and save up my money for my next trip.... I'm definitely happy to give you a great reference!"
-- Evelyn Kofler, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
"Thank you Geoff for a very interesting Alaskan experience. Your knowledge of the area and natural history was greatly appreciated. PS: The food was great!"
-- Janet Penfold, Burres, England
"Simply excellent. Very well organized. An excellent way to see a lot in a little time. Thank you for everything."
-- Jon Stavast, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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