Northern Alaska Tour Company — Local services in Alaska

My best friend and I booked an Artic Circle Adventure through the Alaskan railroad and 3 days of the 6 day adventure were spent with the Northern Alaska Tour Company. We traveled from Fairbanks to as far north as just pass the Atigun Pass (maybe mile 255 of the Dalton). We had so many amazing guides and interactions with staff that I'm going to write a long review about how amazing they were. First is Avery. She was our guide from Fairbanks to the Artic Circle. She was such a bubbly, fun, and knowledgeable guide for our trip up to the Artic Circle. You could tell she was excited to teach us about the Dalton, Pipeline and life in the interior of Alaska. She was quick to answer our questions, tell us fun facts and stories. She was an incredible guide and enjoyed putting her personal touch on our tour. For example we did sledding at the Yukon River Camp and then she brought out a red Carpet and ukulele to sing us over the artic circle with style. There were a total of six of us who rode up to the Artic Circle with Avery and I know everyone will remember her and the special adventure she took us on. At the Artic Circle we met up with Claire. She was our guide that took us all the way to Coldfoot and did an Aurora tour with us on our last night a few days later. Claire was so sweet and a great conversationalist. She had great recommendations for food to eat at Coldfoot and a great resource to learn about life at the northern most truck stop in the world. Our Aurora night with her was fun and she went out of her way to make the tour special for us and we really appreciated the extra effort. Connor was our guide for our first night's aurora tour and the Arctic Safari. Connor was super knowledgeable about the aurora and how to set up our phone cameras to capture the show... Even though there was no show that night. But he stayed up with us next to the fire with snow falling on our head sharing stories and facts as we stared at the clouds. The next day was our Arctic Safari tour and the day we crossed the Continental Divide at Atigun Pass. We were also extremely lucky and saw a few hundred caribou as they were migrating near the Atigun Pass and also saw eight dall sheep! We had a very productive safari. Connor had lots of facts about the wildlife and area. He also brought hot water for tea, cider and hot chocolate as it was pretty cold for a couple of Tennessee girls. The morning before we flew out on the 3rd day we had the special honor of doing the first Mushing of the winter season with Dan (aka dubbed Dogsled Dan by us) and his beautiful Alaskan huskies. Watching Dan with his dogs and hearing him talk about his philosophy of mushing and caring for his dogs was awesome, you can tell he really cares about his dogs and has a passion for running and training them to the best they can be. We sat in the sled during the mushing as we saw a beautiful sunrise while the dogs ran the trail. The dogs were incredible and you could tell they were enjoying the run as much as we were. After the mushing was done, a few hours later it was time to fly out. Riley and Travis were our pilots and they did a great job answering our random questions and keeping us safe in the air. It was a quick 53 minute flight and right before we landed Denali popped out over the clouds to congratulate us on our Artic adventure. Overall this was an incredible trip with the Northern Alaska Tour Company. Everyone we interacted with from the main office to Yukon River Camp and to Coldfoot were fabulous, I'm sorry I can't remember everyone's names. We could also tell that safety was the priority and they were not going to compromise our wellbeing for a picture or to get somewhere faster on the road. They were extremely respectful of the Truckers on the Elliott and Dalton Highways, using the CB radio to communicate with the truckers and moving over for the working trucks. The next time we travel up to Alaska, the Northern Alaska Tour Company will be our only choice...

I took two tours with Northern Alaska Tour Company and really enjoyed them! My drive to Denali National Park was guided by Ken and he was awesome. The drive up and back as well as the stop in Nenana were beautiful and he was full of interesting stories and facts to tell us along the way. Despite the road in Denali only being open for 3 miles due to weather, Ken found a fun hike for us at Horseshoe Lake Trail. The scenery was stunning. I do wish we could've gone further into the park, but that is at no fault to our guide as the road was closed by the park.

I also did the fly/drive to Coldfoot. Our plane was hours late and didn't depart until a little after 3pm. I didn't get his name, but one of the Northern Alaska Tour employees entertained our group with interesting stories during our wait time which was super helpful in making the wait not seem so long. He was very friendly! The fly up to Coldfoot was gorgeous and it was a smooth flight. Unfortunately since our flight was late, we only got to go inside the cafe for a second to pick up our food. We had to eat on the road to catch up with the others. Our guide for this portion was Tim and he was great! The drive along the Dalton Highway to so beautiful. We got to get at several stops and take photos and just take in the scenery. We saw a lynx and Tim turned around to show us Caribou because one of the truckers had spotted them where we just were. While they were far away, it was still cool to see the Caibou! We ended up getting stuck waiting for a truck that had gone off the road the day before. Our unfortunate timing meant that we had to wait until they were done moving the truck which was probably an hour or so. The time passed quickly though so it wasn't a big deal.

Once we got to the Arctic Circle sign, we had to switch from a 15 passenger van to a bus with a different tour guide. From here, the tour declined a bit in my opinion. I understand needing to transport more passengers, which is why the bus was needed but it just felt like going from a very intimate, personal tour to the opposite. We couldn't see out of the window of the bus at all. It was dark so there wasn't much to see, but after driving back in the 15 passenger van the day before in the dark, I know that we would've been able to see more that what we could on the bus. The bus was also uncomfortably hot and everyone was burning up. The videos that they showed on our ride back felt like they were from a 7th grade science class and were made in the 70s! Updated and better quality videos would help a lot. I also thought that we would get to stop and see the Yukon River, but we only got to stop at the Yukon store to eat dinner. The drive to our Aurora viewing site felt like forever. Definitely sit at the front of the bus if you can because you will be able to see out the front window with the bright headlights. We couldn't see anything from the back so it was a boring drive. Since we were running behind schedule, we only got to be at the Aurora viewing site for less than an hour and we didn't see anything. Our guide did his best and looked along the way back, but it was anticlimactic. They can't control the weather, it was just felt like we got jipped a little since we were supposed to be there for 2-3 hours to look for the Aurora.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Northern Alaska Tour Company! I had a good time on both of my tours, but I really recommend the Denali drive tour. Just be open to plans changing and the weather not cooperating and you'll have...

We bought the 2-day Artic Circle Aurora Overnight tour from Fairbanks which included the drive on a comfortable coach up to Coldfoot, way above the artic circle, and a two night stay in a rustic trailer before flying back to Fairbanks on an 8-seater plane.

In hindsight, we would have stayed 3 nights to be better rested. We went to see the Northern lights on the 1st night after our 10-hour drive; we went to sleep around 4am and had to be ready by 10 am for the all-day safari tour. We were exhausted by the second night.

Staff

Excellent customer service from the front desk at Fairbanks, drivers, tour guides pilot, and restaurant and airport staff. Big kudos to everyone.

Food The food offered halfway up at Yukon River camp was pricey, adequate, but not enjoyable.

Food at Coldfoot camp was limited but a much better experience with bigger portions for the price. They cater to truckers, so good food and service.

Transportation The coach did not have enough space to place luggage, limited overhead space, no space under seats to place personal items, and a toilet that we could not use.

We were forced to rotate seats causing delays and hassle for everyone as we had to move our stuff (jackets, food, ppwer packs, camera gear, etc) from one seat to another every time we stopped. When we arrived at Coldfoot, we ended up seating towards the front, and our overhead luggage was in the back. A better option would be to either assign seats or let people sit where they want.

The restrictions in luggage are not only on weight ( 20lbs) but volume as it is hard to place bulky items in the wings of the plane or on the bus.

Accommodation: Rooms are super basic (converted trailers) with 2 single beds, a small bathroom with a shower. Well insulated and clean.

Toiletries are limited or not available. I'm glad I brought our shampoo and conditioner bars.

Rooms do not have climate controls. The temperature in the room on our first night was way too high, and we had to open the window. The second night was cold but manageable.

Activities You have to be prepared to pay for additional tours to keep yourself busy in the winter months; otherwise, there is not much to do there, but just wait for the Northern lights to show up.

We paid for the tour to Wiseman to view the Northern lights. We had a comfortable warm cabin to thaw out after staying outdoors for a few min. The temps reached -25°F (-32°C). However, we heard that the other group were not as fortunate as us because their cabin was cold as an ice block with no heat. 😑 Jack, the local host, was very friendly, had tripods for anyone that needed them, and helped with your phone settings so you could capture the Aurora Borealis.

We also paid for the Artic Mountain Safari tour to drive like 80mi north from Coldfoot to look for wildlife, which we did see and view the mesmerizing Alaska tundra. Worth the $$.

Recommendations: Bring your insulated water bottle. Free hot and cold water is available at the camp, and food stops; otherwise, you will be forced to pay for overpriced bottled water.

Bring thicker gloves and boots rated -40°F/C. Your hands and feet will freeze quickly in cold winter temps.

Wear a balaclava to protect the head, ears, and face. Our beanies were not enough.

We brought our ski goggles, and they were a blessing to protect our eyes...