The trip was very long and boring. 14 hours of driving to spend 15 minutes at the Arctic Circle sign, and we haven't even seen the northern lights. Disappointing.
Our Tour Guide, Randy was very good. However, there were a couple of things I was very unhappy about regarding this trip. We were seated in the back of the van. It was difficult getting in and out at each stop. Also, we could see NOTHING!!!! I understand this is Alaska, in the Winter. However, if this company is going to provide tour services, they should find a way to keep windows defrosted. If we are paying that much money, we should be able to see out the windows. They were totally iced over on the inside our entire trip! We were given one ice scraper and paper towels for everyone in the van to use, but as soon as you scraped the inside of the window, it iced over again. The entire trip we could see absolutely nothing out the windows. Also, the Yukon River was a draw for us in selecting this tour. However, by the time you get there it is completely dark. We did stop at a trading post nearby, but unless you want to take a long hike in extremely cold temperatures, you can not see the river. This was a huge disappointment! Understandably you are not allowed to stop or walk on the bridge crossing the river and as our windows were iced over, we once again saw nothing. The sound system in the van was also terrible. With the van hitting the very bumpy road we couldn't hear Randy most of the time, even though he was holding the speaker against his mouth and talking loudly. Randy was very knowledgeable and helpful. He gave us lots of details at stops, was willing to remain at stops as long as anyone wanted and offered to take as many pictures as anyone wanted. Overall though, I was disappointed in this trip.
A very long trip. Nice to have done this once but I don't think I would do it again. The stop in the Artic Circle was short. It probably just took 5 minutes.
Our guide was very informative but could barely hear him at the back during the drive up and down. He drove safely though. Food and water were provided, and there were enough restroom stops.
The highlight of our trip is seeing the northern lights! Yay!