Gray Line of Alaska Offers Two Escorted Tours Highlighting Top Alaska Attractions in 2010 - 03/03/2010

Gray Line of Alaska Offers Two Escorted Tours
Highlighting Top Alaska Attractions in 2010


Seattle, March 3, 2010 – Gray Line of Alaska offers two escorted tours ideal for those who want to explore Alaska with the camaraderie of a group. Both the 2010 Escorted Alaska Explorer and Escorted Great Land Explorer are eight-day/seven-night tours that feature Alaska’s top wilderness and cultural attractions. Each is escorted by a Gray Line representative who facilitates the trip from beginning to end.

“Because of Alaska’s sheer size and number of tour options, some guests really like to have a tour director to ensure everything goes smoothly,” said Mark Mumm, director of sales and marketing. “They handle all the trip details and logistics and provide a wealth of information about the areas and attractions visited. Tour directors also get to know the guests on each tour and cultivate a lively camaraderie among them by hosting special group functions.”

Mumm noted Gray Line has been leading tours in Alaska for more than 60 years, ensuring its expertise to offer trips encompassing the best of Alaska. On both escorted tours guests travel by a combination of luxury glass-domed rail car, boat and deluxe motor coach and stay at first-class wilderness lodges in many locations.

The 2010 Escorted Alaska Explorer provides a convenient roundtrip tour from Anchorage, enabling guests to arrive and depart from the same destination. Guests travel on the glass-domed McKinley Explorer train from Anchorage to Talkeetna and Denali National Park, where they enjoy a two-night stay, the Cabin Nite Dinner Theater and the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

Heading back toward Anchorage by motor coach, guests take a cruise on Portage Lake aboard the mv Ptarmigan, coming within 300 yards of the Portage Glacier. That evening they stay at the renowned Alyeska Resort. Continuing to Seward, they experience a six-hour cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park to watch for whales, sea lions, puffins and other wildlife, plus see alpine and tidewater glaciers. They enjoy a night at the stunning wilderness lodge in Cooper Landing before returning to Anchorage for a city tour that includes the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The 2010 Escorted Great Land Explorer begins in Fairbanks and travels to Anchorage on an exciting one-way adventure. In Fairbanks, guests visit the historic Gold Dredge No. 8 and pan for gold at El Dorado Gold Camp, and then enjoy an authentic sternwheeler excursion on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Next they board the luxurious McKinley Explorer train to Denali National Park where they spend two nights and take the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

The escorted tour continues by rail through scenic wilderness to Talkeetna, then by luxury motor coach to Anchorage, stopping at Happy Trails Kennels. Here guests learn from an Iditarod Race champion about his dogs and experiences running the famed Iditarod from Anchorage to Nome. After an overnight in Anchorage, guests visit Seward to explore the spectacular Kenai Fjords on a wildlife and glacier cruise. They stay in Cooper Landing, then return to Anchorage, visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Alyeska Resort en route. They also enjoy an Anchorage City Tour and visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Both escorted tours include seven nights’ accommodations, airport and rail transfers, itinerary tours/attractions and some meals. Cost begins at $2,399 per person, double occupancy, for the Escorted Alaska Explorer tour with departures from June 10 to Aug. 5 and $2,445 for the Escorted Great Land Explorer with departures June 11 to Aug. 7. Optional activities such as flightseeing, jet boat rides, river tours and Mt. Alyeska tram excursions are also available.

In addition to these escorted tours, Gray Line specializes in creating custom land tours in Alaska and the Yukon. The company offers package tours, pre-and-post-tour options, sightseeing tours, fishing excursions, wilderness tours to the Arctic, adventure tours and flightseeing. Most are offered May through September.

For reservations, contact your travel agent, visit www.graylinealaska.com or call 1-800-544-2206.


About Gray Line of Alaska
A division of Holland America Line, Inc., Gray Line of Alaska has been the premier tour operator in Alaska for more than 60 years. For 2010, the company offers multiple-day package tours and a la carte touring options for independent travelers, as well as sightseeing tours in Fairbanks, Juneau, Skagway, Anchorage, Denali, Dawson City and Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon. Information: 800/544-2206; www.graylinealaska.com.