I booked the 3 days, 2 nights Aurora Overnight tour at Northern Alaska Tour Company from December 17th to December 19th.
A good part of this trip is that the drivers were really nice and knowledgeable about the town. The driving to Cold Foot and back was pretty safe. The staff at Cold Foot were really nice and helpful as well.
But before you book the trip there are a few things you probably want to know beforehand. (1) if you are AT&T users, you will have no phone service. (2) the flight back is super likely to get cancelled at this time of the year. It happened twice when we were there. (3) If you take the bus back, you’ll probably be back in town some time after midnight. If your drop-off place is outside of the town, they will not take you there and you need to find a taxi and pay for it yourselves. Ours costed about 130 dollars single-way. (4) They DO NOT offer refunds and the email on their website is super non-responsive.
On December 19th, we were informed that the Air back to Fairbanks was cancelled and we had to take the bus back. We departed at 3:30 pmand had two stops along the way, and by the time we got back to town it was already 3am. When we were picking up our bags at the office, the driver told us that since our drop-off place is out of town (the place is called Northern Sky Lodge), he couldn’t take us to our next stop.
Our plan was to go to the rental car place at the airport, pick up our rental car and drive to the lodge ourselves. From what I’ve been told when I called Hertz earlier, the office was closed at 1 am and won’t reopen until 6:30 in the morning. So the driver dropped us off at the airport and left, we had to find a cab ourselves and drive to the place, the trip costed $130.
I called and emailed the company, but they gave me no answer of any kind yet.
Also, I would avoid the same day tour to the Arctic circle. NOT WORTH IT. 10 hours to the Arctic Circle for some pictures then 10 hours back. NO.
Одговор домаћина
Dec 2021
Beibei Di
Thank you for writing us with your request for a refund - I am the one you spoke with and as mentioned it would be received and reviewed. We don't like to make hasty responses so trying to give your request our full attention as it deserves.. We will also take this posting as part of the review process.
What you share is information we did share and we do continue to share with guests who book. The Tour Program is clear that if the flight transportation cannot take place we will provide ground transportation back to Fairbanks to get you back as soon and safely as possible to not delay the rest of your your holidays.
It is also true and shared that we cannot do shuttles outside of Fairbanks and after being on duty as long as the guide was you would not want him to do that as it would not be a safe option for you or others on the road. Many would have waited the 3 hours for the car agency to open.
Cell service - that is true, this is truly an unplugged Alaskan Adventure. Visitors should be aware that outside of any major city in Alaska cell phones are useless unfortunately due to distance between cell towers.
Weather can affect travel - not only getting to and from Alaska's Arctic but getting to Alaska. We highly encourage guests to always plan to be in Fairbanks the night prior to joining us on a tour and to plan to stay in Fairbanks the night they finish a tour from the Arctic.
We are happy you did enjoy your time in Coldfoot and with the guides to and from Fairbanks.
As mentioned we do have your request and will be getting back to you as mentioned once it is reviewed.
Thank you and Happy New Year.