I just got home from the full day Arctic Circle Adventure and had such a remarkable experience. I'm not much of a guided tour person as I've backpacked solo in many places around the world successfully, but I researched what it would take to do a similar trip on my own with a rented car, I decided to go with a group tour (so very glad I did, and for those of you thinking the same, don't even try it!!)
It was so easy to book, and the team was very responsive via email. I paid the deposit, completed a couple of forms and violĆ”, booked!
The van picked me up on a -30 degree day at the Hampton Inn Fairbanks shortly after 1 pm. The guide/driver, Randy was a true Alaska character with tons of survivalist experience and extensive knowledge of the entire state. He instantly put me at ease that I made the right decision with his skilled navigation of the rough terrain and impressive knowledge of all aspects of the passing landscapes.
The van itself was a climate controlled, reliable conversion-type vehicle with three rows. The tour I was on had seven people from all over the world. We were given a lunch sack with sub sandwich, water, candies and chips. I ate a nice lunch before embarking on the trip so I wasn't that hungry but I did eat half the sandwich in the van around dinnertime.
As civilization started to fade behind us, we set out on the Dalton Hwy heading into the wild. Randy pointed out features, history and facts about everything we passed the entire route. We first stopped at the last truck stop (use the washroom even if you don't have to, services are sparse on the highway!), Then the Dalton Highway welcome sign, then several vista points before we lost the light about 1.5 hours into the trip.
We stopped at the Yukon River Camp at nighttime for a very welcome break. It was -50 degrees when we arrived and we had the opportunity to stop inside the camp to use the washroom and shop for souvenirs. There's a snack bar that sold hot food, drinks and candy as well.
We continued north to the Arctic Circle sign where we got out for about 15 minutes for photos and to stare at the amazing starscape.. we could see every constellation and an arm of the milky way! It was extraordinarily cold so we didn't linger too long and headed back south from there for aurora borealis chasing.
Randy was so skilled at spotting the auroras and pulling over at the best places to view them (we pulled over to view them three different times). I wasn't able to capture any photos from my iPhone as the auroras were a little weaker but still an incredible sight!
We arrived back into Fairbanks around 3 am and Randy dropped us off at our hotels (try to get a late check-out if leaving the next day).
All in all the tour represented a fantastic experience and great value for the money. I wouldn't have been able to relax and see the scenery had I gone solo and would've likely been on edge the entire trip. The entire tour clocked out at close to 14 hours... It flew by for me but if you have any problems being in a van on a very bumpy road with few amenities (washrooms, restaurants, etc) or being with other people for over half a day, this might not be the tour for you. Otherwise I highly recommend it as you'll be hard pressed to find a similar experience.