A&K launches 11 independent plans for Alaska

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Abercrombie & Kent International, based here and with an office in Anchorage, put together 11 independent tours for Alaska travelers this year, at prices beginning at $2,910 per person.

Each of the four- to six-night modules features an itinerary that can be used as an extension to an escorted trip, combined with another independent module for one complete trip or taken on its own.

The tours, new for 2000, complement A&K's small-group family and yacht-safari programs.

Clients can travel on their own, meet local escorts or have a guide throughout.

Each tour offers a different theme, from wildlife-viewing to flightseeing, and from Arctic expeditions to a reception at the home of an Iditarod musher.

The tours include accommodations; meals, transfers and flights that are part of the itinerary; sightseeing, and guides.

The following is a rundown: (Rates are per person, double.)

This five-night plan runs roundtrip from Fairbanks and travels to the Nanamiut Eskimo village of Anaktuvuk Pass, 100 miles above the Arctic Circle, then by floatplane to Iniakuk Lakes Wilderness Lodge for two days of land and water excursions.

The varying landscapes and ecosystems of Denali National Park give this five-night module its name. The tour, which begins and ends in Anchorage, affords two days at Denali West Lodge, then a day at Denali National Park.

From the west, they fly to the other side of Denali, to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. The return to Anchorage is by land.

This five-night itinerary visits the Copper River Delta along Prince William Sound and overnights first at the Reluctant Fisherman Inn in Cordova.

The group moves to remote Ultima Thule Lodge in the Wrangell-St. Elias mountains, where each guest has a log cabin from which to launch two days of wilderness and water activities.

Alaska's Crown Jewels begins and ends either in Anchorage or Juneau, with a post-tour stay either at the Regal Alaskan Hotel in Anchorage or the Baranof Hotel in Juneau.

A riverboat adventure on the Copper River in Cordova takes visitors to the Mile's and Child's Glacier.

A journey into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park follows.

This five-night tour originates in either Anchorage or Juneau and features four nights at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge.

This five-night tour includes a rafting or float-fishing trip on Kenai River and one night at the Westin Alyeska Prince Hotel in the resort village of Girdwood; a visit to a 1650 Tanaina Indian settlement, later a Russian enclave; an overnight at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge; a flight to Kantishna on the opposite side of Denali National Park, and two nights at either the Denali Backcountry Lodge or Kantishna Roadhouse.

The trip begins in Seward and ends in Fairbanks.

After two evenings in Fairbanks, one of which includes a reception at the home of adventurer Mary Shields, guests board the Alaska Railroad for three days in Denali National Park, then continue by rail to Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. The six-night tour ends with an overnight in Anchorage.

The four-night tour travels 300 miles from Anchorage to the King Salmon Lodge, near Katmai National Park, for fishing and bear-viewing.

A seaplane carries visitors to the Bering Sea coast, where they rendezvous either with an excursion vessel heading to Walrus Island or continue on a flight-safari in search of walrus. Overnight is at the Regal Alaskan Hotel.

The bears of Admiralty Island; Glacier Bay National Park, and the whales of Point Adolphus are highlights of this four-night trip out of Juneau.

Overnights are at the Westmark Baranof Hotel in Juneau and the Glacier Bay Country Inn.

The four-night tour begins with a flight from Anchorage to Kodiak Island, where guests embark on a flight-safari.

After a day of bear-viewing, which includes landings, the tour continues on to Raspberry Island for two days.

On the fourth day, the seaplane brings everyone back to Kodiak Island for a tour of the town's museums, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Wildlife Refuge Center.

This four-night tour features Katmai National Park and Preserve as well as Kodiak Island.

The seaplane that transports visitors to Katmai Wilderness Lodge flies over Kodiak, lands for wildlife observation and photo-taking, passes the straits of northern Kodiak and crosses the Shelikof Strait to the Aleutian Range.

Later, a seaplane takes passengers within view of volcanoes in Katmai before landing at Brooks Camp, which is known for its population of brown bears during salmon runs.

The four-night tour begins with a visit to Skagway, followed by a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad.

The itinerary crosses into the Yukon for three nights at Tincup Lake and ends in Whitehorse, where travelers can make connecting flights home.

Abercrombie & Kent
Phone: (800) 323-7308
Web: www.abercrombiekent.com