Round trip from Fairbanks to Arctic Circle and back took us 13 hours and about 400 miles. Going to Arctic took longer (around 7) as you take stops, are excited for the journey, take pictures and what not. The first stop is right outside Fairbanks where you can use the restroom (you’re in for a long ride)! Then we stopped at the pipeline, Dalton highway one mile marker and a couple of really beautiful scenic spots to take pictures. It was all icy roads, Frozen trees, it just looked surreal! The last stop before Arctic is the Yukon River stop which is about 5 hrs into the trip and that’s where they give you a sac lunch containing 2 sandwiches per your dietary preference (that you must select at the time of booking), a bag of chips, a snack bar and a bottle of water. That’s the final restroom stop as well. Reached Arctic Circle at about 9:30 pm. Took some pictures under the van headlights. Waited for 30 min for Aurora and left. We knew there wasn’t a good chance of seeing the lights that day but the driver, Jake, did his level best to make sure we stopped at multiple points on the way back where he could see even the faintest of the lights. We couldn’t get any good enough photos of the lights that day. Jake was funny, knowledgeable and happily took our pictures when asked. The three complaints that I have are:
1) The cigarette smell in the van that would last for some time every time the driver smoked.
2) There was no mic in the van so we couldn’t hear him beyond the first row of the 12 seater van.
3) Viator listing says free unlimited hot drinks but there were none that were provided.
Despite all of this, I would certainly recommend this tour. Arrived at our hotel at around 3:30 am and slept like a baby!