ALASKA'S GREAT RACE - A HOSTED JOURNEY TO THE IDITAROD

March 1 - 8, 2027 / 8 Days, 7 Nights

ALASKA'S GREAT RACE - A HOSTED JOURNEY TO THE IDITAROD

You are invited into the heart of winter in America’s Last Frontier, where rugged landscapes, rich Native cultures, and one of the world’s most legendary sporting events come together in an unforgettable journey. From the sparkling ice sculptures of Fairbanks and a relaxing soak beneath the northern lights at Chena Hot Springs to an extraordinary ride aboard the Aurora Winter Train through Denali country, every day offers a new perspective on Alaska’s wild beauty. In Anchorage, we experience the excitement of the Fur Rendezvous and enjoy exclusive access to the Iditarod’s most memorable moments, including the Musher’s Banquet, visits to a working sled dog kennel, the Ceremonial Start, and the dramatic Official Restart in Willow. This carefully crafted adventure blends iconic Alaskan experiences with front-row access to the Last Great Race on Earth, creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the spirit, determination, and tradition that define Alaska.

Pricing:
Double Occupancy: $5475
Single Occupancy: $6475

Deposit: $500

Final Payment Due: December 1, 2026

Epic Alaskan Winter Journey

At a glance

ALASKA'S GREAT RACE - A HOSTED JOURNEY TO THE IDITAROD

Map

Day 1 - Welcome to Fairbanks

01-Mar-2027

Arrive in Fairbanks and Welcome Dinner

PDX

Portland International Airport

FAI

Fairbanks International Airport

Depart Portland to Fairbanks via connection at SEA.

SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Fairbanks

Check in at SpringHill Suites, Fairbanks after arrival.

Welcome dinner

Hosted group dinner in Fairbanks.

Alaska Adventure Begins

Our Alaska adventure begins in Fairbanks, the spirited city at the heart of Alaska's Interior. We fly north from Portland and arrive in the afternoon to find a city still deep in winter - temperatures brisk, skies wide, and the aurora borealis already a possibility on our first evening. After checking in to our hotel in the heart of downtown, we have time to settle in before gathering for a welcome dinner together. Over the meal, our tour director previews the extraordinary week ahead.

Day 2 - Ice, Fire & The Northern Lights

02-Mar-2027

Ice Sculptures, Chena Hot Springs, and Aurora

World Ice Art Championships

We begin at the World Ice Art Championships, where international master carvers transform enormous blocks of exceptionally clear Fairbanks ice into sculptures of breathtaking scale and precision. We wander among them at a relaxed pace — the cold air sharp and still, the art both monumental and delicate.

Explore Downtown Fairbanks & University of Alaska Museum of the North

The morning concludes with time to explore downtown Fairbanks independently, with the University of Alaska Museum of the North available for those drawn to Alaska Native culture and the science of the northern lights.

Chena Hot Springs Resort & Aurora Ice Museum Tour

In the early afternoon we depart for Chena Hot Springs Resort, sixty miles out the Chena River Road through a landscape of birch and spruce. We tour the Aurora Ice Museum — year-round ice carvings maintained inside a vault held at twenty-five degrees — before gathering for a hosted group dinner at the resort.

Group Dinner at Chena Hot Springs Resort

Hosted group dinner at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

Soak at Rock Lake & Aurora Viewing

As darkness falls, we make our way to the outdoor Rock Lake, where natural geothermal water flows at one hundred degrees. We soak beneath the Alaska winter sky as the aurora borealis begins to move overhead. The northern lights, when they come, are the kind of memory that stays.

SpringHill Suites, Fairbanks

Overnight: SpringHill Suites, Fairbanks, AK

Day 3 - The Aurora Winter Train South

03-Mar-2027

Scenic Train Journey from Fairbanks to Anchorage

Aurora Winter Train Journey

This morning we say farewell to Fairbanks and board one of the great train journeys in North America. The Aurora Winter Train departs the Fairbanks depot and heads south through the Alaskan wilderness. On clear mornings, the Alaska Range appears to the west in full winter white, Denali rising above everything else on the horizon. We settle into our seats and let Alaska unfold past the wide windows.

Denali Country and Hurricane Gulch

The train passes through Denali country and crosses the Hurricane Gulch trestle bridge — nearly three hundred feet above the creek below — before winding through the backcountry flagstop region where off-grid Alaskans wave down the train from remote cabins. We dine in the onboard café car at our leisure, a twelve-hour journey that is as much an experience as any destination on this tour.

Arrival in Anchorage and Hotel Transfer

We arrive in Anchorage in the evening and transfer to our hotel in the heart of the Mushing District on Fourth Avenue — steps from where the Iditarod will begin in two days. Tomorrow is the Musher's Banquet.

Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage

Overnight: Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage, AK

Day 4 - The Musher's Banquet

04-Mar-2027

Anchorage Heritage and Iditarod Musher's Banquet

Morning in Anchorage & Alaska Native Heritage Center

We ease into the morning with a relaxed start — breakfast at the hotel, and maybe a stroll down Fourth Avenue where Fur Rendezvous energy has already begun to fill the street, before a short ride to visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where the traditional dwellings and art collections of Alaska's five major cultural groups offer a window into the deep human history of this land.

Afternoon at Leisure in Anchorage

The afternoon is ours to explore Anchorage at our own pace — time to rest, browse, or simply absorb the building excitement of race week before the main event of the evening.

Iditarod Musher's Drawing Banquet*

At the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, the Iditarod Musher's Drawing Banquet brings together every competitor in this year's race for a public evening of dinner, storytelling, and the official bib draw. We arrive in time for the Musher Meet and Greet — an informal hour in which we mingle directly with the athletes, ask questions, collect signatures, and take photographs. Then we sit down to dinner as the mushers draw their starting positions for Saturday's Ceremonial Start. It is one of those evenings that reminds you why travel at this level is worth it.

*Banquet tickets are highly sought after and only available the December prior to the event

Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage

Overnight: Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage, AK

Day 5 - Fur Rendezvous and Race Eve

05-Mar-2027

Fur Rendezvous Festival and Sled Dog Kennel

Visit to Iditarod Sled Dog Kennel

This morning we drive north into the Matanuska-Susitna Valley — the heartland of Alaska's mushing community — for a visit to a working Iditarod sled dog kennel. We meet the dogs, hear stories from people who have lived this life firsthand, and take a winter sled ride through the birch trails behind the kennel. It is a morning that puts everything we have witnessed this week into vivid, four-legged context. We return to Anchorage in time for the afternoon's festivities.

Fur Rendezvous Festival

Anchorage's Fur Rendezvous festival — Fur Rondy to everyone who lives here — has been running since 1935, and it is as authentically Alaskan as anything we will encounter all week. The afternoon offers the World Championship Sprint Sled Dog Race on Fourth Avenue, the Native Arts Market, snow sculpture displays, and the kind of community celebration that simply does not exist anywhere else.

Fur Rendezvous Grand Parade

The Fur Rendezvous Grand Parade brings the festivities to their ceremonial peak along Fifth Avenue, and we watch from the street as the city celebrates. Tonight we dine on our own — Anchorage has no shortage of excellent options within walking distance. Tomorrow morning, the Iditarod begins.

Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage

Overnight: Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage, AK

Day 6 - The Ceremonial Start

06-Mar-2027

Witness the Iditarod Ceremonial Start in Anchorage

Iditarod Ceremonial Start on Fourth Avenue

There is no morning quite like this one anywhere in the world. By the time we position ourselves on Fourth Avenue at D Street, the street is already lined with thousands of people, and somewhere nearby over six hundred sled dogs are waiting, howling, straining in their harnesses. At ten o'clock the first team departs, and for the next several hours we watch every Iditarod competitor pass within feet of us, bound for Nome.

Explore Downtown Anchorage Post-Start

The afternoon belongs to us — downtown Anchorage buzzing with post-start energy. We can follow the race route through Anchorage's parks and greenbelts, browse the Iditarod Official Store, or simply find a warm spot and watch the city revel in its most celebrated tradition.

Dinner on Your Own in Anchorage

Tonight we dine on our own and prepare ourselves for tomorrow, when the race truly becomes real.

Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage

Overnight: Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage, AK

Day 7 - The Official Restart — Willow Lake

07-Mar-2027

Iditarod Official Restart at Willow Lake

Today the Iditarod truly begins. We drive north through the Matanuska-Susitna Valley to Willow Lake, arriving well before the two o'clock restart. The contrast with yesterday's Ceremonial Start could not be more complete. Where Fourth Avenue was festival, Willow Lake is focus. The mushers are not performing today — they are racing.

Walk the Staging Area and Watch the Start

Dogs are rested and booties are being applied. Sleds are loaded with the precision of people who understand that every ounce matters over a thousand miles. We walk the staging area, stand near the chutes, and watch it all happen up close. When the first team departs at two o'clock and disappears into the Alaska wilderness, heading for Rainy Pass and the long coast to Nome, the silence that follows says everything.

Return to Anchorage and Farewell Dinner

We return to Anchorage in the evening, the race tracker on our phones already telling the first miles of a story that will take ten days to finish. Tonight we dine together to celebrate and reflect on what we have witnessed.

Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage

Overnight: Historic Anchorage Hotel, Anchorage, AK

Day 8 - Farewell & Departure Home

08-Mar-2027

Relaxed Farewell and Departure from Alaska

Breakfast at the hotel

Breakfast at the hotel.

Hotel checkout — bags to lobby

Hotel checkout — bags to lobby.

Transfer to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Depart hotel and transfer to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) for your flight home.

ANC

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

PDX

Portland International Airport

Depart Anchorage on a direct ANC to PDX flight touching down in Portland late afternoon.

Loading Map…

Map

1. Portland International Airport (PDX)

7000 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97218, USA

2. Fairbanks International Airport (FAI)

6450 Airport Way, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA

3. Downtown Fairbanks

Downtown, Fairbanks, AK 99701, USA

4. World Ice Art Championships

3570 Phillips Field Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA

5. University of Alaska Museum of the North

1962 Yukon Dr, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA

6. Chena Hot Springs Resort

56.5 Chena Hot Springs Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99712, USA

7. Anchorage Depot (Alaska Railroad)

411 W 1st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA

8. Downtown Anchorage (Fourth Avenue & D Street)

4th Ave & D St, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA

9. Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center

600 W 7th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA

10. Alaska Native Heritage Center

8800 Heritage Center Dr, Anchorage, AK 99504, USA

11. Willow Lake (Iditarod Restart)

Willow Lake, Willow, AK 99688, USA

12. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)

5000 W International Airport Rd, Anchorage, AK 99502, USA