ITINERARY
CANADA – ALASKA MOTORHOME TOUR
Motorhome Tour 33 Days: May & August 2025 plus 7 Day Inside Passage Cruise
DAY 1: AUCKLAND – VANCOUVER – CALGARY – The Kiwi Travel Club Canada and Alaska motorhome and cruise adventure tour departs Calgary May 2024/25 We recomend travel on the Air New Zealand direct flight from Auckland to Vancouver and on to Calgary the same day. Transfers and one-night hotel accommodation at Calgary are included. Please note that on this tour flights costs (including the Calgary – Vancouver flight) are not included in the tour price.
DAY 2: CALGARY – MOTORHOME PICKUP – OVERNIGHT RV PARK – Today you will be transferred to the rental depot for motorhome pickup. The staff will provide a full show through and answer any questions. From the depot travel 120 kms to Lacombe and visit a supermarket for supplies. No need to over shop as most of the places we visit on tour have grocery stores or in the larger cities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks mega stores that sell just about everything. We overnight at a local RV Park located at Gull Lake . Most of the RV parks we use on tour have full-service sites with water, 30-amp power and a sewer connection. Some places we visit are in National Parks with basic services or are park over type properties (POPs) Your motorhome is fully self-contained with gas heating and hot water and will provide comfortable accommodation in these remote areas.
DAY: 3 & 4 LACOMBE – DAWSON CREEK – (Alaskan Highway Mile 0) We leave the big cities behind and start our Canada – Alaska adventure. The group is heading for Dawson Creek the start-point (Mile 0) of the Alaskan highway. Built mainly by USA forces in 1942, it is now a 2-lane 2,700 km sealed highway which provides for the most part good travelling. Parts of the highway are best described as challenging with slumps caused by permafrost requiring constant maintenance by road crews and extra attention by your driver and navigator. We have an overnight stop at Dawson Creek, the first of many small towns you visit on tour. Dawson Creek is a local service centre with grocery stores and gas stations.
DAY: 5 & 6 FORT NELSON – MUNCHO LAKE – At Fort Nelson you can enjoy a happy hour in the campground restaurant/bar. Muncho Lake is located on the Alaskan Highway. Our campground is right on the lakeshore and has full facilities. A group evening meal is planned at the adjacent lodge. This area has abundant wildlife including several bison herds. Just out of Muncho Lake is the Liard River Hotsprings a great place to stop on your way to Watson Lake.
DAY: 7 & 8 WATSON LAKE – We break our journey with a 2-night layover at Watson Lake. For something different make a visit to the Signpost Forest. It has over 65,000 signs from all over the world including New Zealand. Watch the documentary on the building of the Alaskan highway and book a seat to view the “Aurora borealis “at the Northern Lights Centre that incorporates panoramic video and surround sound systems of this amazing phenomena.
DAY 9, 10 & 11 TESLIN – DESTRUCTION BAY – TOK – We continue our journey along the Alaskan Highway with several overnight stops. First up is Teslin, here we stay at a full-service RV park overlooking the lake with an adjacent gas station with a small restaurant. Destruction Bay is located on Lake Kluane, it does have a full-service RV park that may or may not be open and past groups have been accommodated in the local hotel carpark which has a limited number of 15-amp hook-ups. The hotel restaurant frequently serves freshly caught trout or alternatively Kluane Fried Chicken (KFC?) Then it is on to Tok which is known as the sleigh dog capital of Alaska and our first stop in the USA.
DAY: 12 & 13 FAIRBANKS – Alaska’s 2nd largest city has a diverse range of shops and galleries selling native art, pottery, and jewelry. For many a visit to the North Pole and Santa’s village will be at the top of the list during our two-night stay. Included in your tour fee is a three-hour trip on the Riverboat Discovery. During the trip, we you will visit an Indian Village, Sled Dog Centre and watch a float plane take off followed by a miner’s lunch.
DAY 14: DENALI NATIONAL PARK – The group will stay at the park campground, a short drive from the National Park entrance. The park is located 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It extends to 6 million acres and travel in the park is restricted beyond the Savage River requiring use of the park transportation system. Several shuttle bus and tour options are available.
DAY: 15 & 16 ANCHORAGE – Anchorage is the largest city in the State of Alaska. The city has some 200 parks, and 120 miles of trails, moose and other wildlife sightings are quite common, bike rentals are available. The Alaskan Native Heritage Centre is well worth a visit and historical tours of the city are available.
DAY: 17 & 18 GLENALLEN/CHICKEN/TOP OF THE WORLD HIGHWAY – From Anchorage we travel through to Glenallen with stops for glacier viewing and on to Chicken before travelling over the Top of The World Highway before boarding the ferry across the river to Dawson City (No bridges in this part of the world) Chicken is a popular stop on the Taylor Highway. That may have something to do with it being one of the few places you can buy fuel on this road. Your camp hosts will lead an informative town tour. Later you can spend some time at the Chicken Creek Saloon the best bar in town, in fact the only bar in town.
DAY: 19 & 20 DAWSON CITY – The group has a two-night stay in this historic city formed out of the Klondike gold rush. It has been preserved right down to unpaved dirt roads and many original buildings. Past groups have really enjoyed a night out at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall which puts on nightly vaudeville shows including the “Can Can”
DAY: 21 & 22 WHITEHORSE – Is the capital of the Yukon Territories and serves as the centre for transportation and supplies for the Northwest. It has the big-name stores and several supermarkets. It is an ideal place to stock up on supplies for our journey as we continue into the wilderness areas.
DAY: 23 & 24, SWIFT RIVER – DEASE LAKE – From Whitehorse the group leaves the Alaskan highway behind and travels down the scenic highway through to Kitwanga BC. To describe this route as scenic is an understatement. In parts it is absolutely stunning with waterfalls, glaciers and lots of wildlife including bears and the now world famous “Jade City”.
DAY: 25 & 26 STEWART – You have two-nights at Stewart providing an opportunity to view among other things the Salmond Glacier. You can also cross the unmanned border back into the USA to visit the once thriving town of Hyder.
DAY: 27 & 28 SMITHERS – PRINCE GEORGE – The group overnights at Smithers and Prince George on the way through to several well-known Canadian National Parks. Both are full-service RV parks with great happy hour facilities.
DAY: 29 & 30 JASPER – ICEFIELDS PARKWAY – LAKE LOUISE – At Jasper you stay at a National Park campground home to a herd of elk. The following day travel the spectacular Icefields Parkway for awe-inspiring scenery. We break our journey for an optional Snow-Cat Excursion on the Athabasca Glacier and yes you do get to take a walk on the glacier. On the way through to Banff we overnight at Lake Louise, without question Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful places in North America.
DAY: 31 & 32 BANFF NATIONAL PARK – During your trip through to Banff take the opportunity to get off the main highway and travel the very scenic Bow Valley Parkway. At Banff take the local bus into town and travel up the gondola for some great views of the area. Banff is a purpose-built tourist town with lots of shops selling souvenirs and interesting bars and cafes and well worth a visit.
DAY 33: CALGARY – VANCOUVER – It’s a short 120 km drive from Banff to Calgary to return the motorhomes. That night the group will check in to a Calgary airport hotel ready to take a flight to Vancouver the following day to start the included 7-night Inside Passage cruise. (See separate page for cruise details)
