Alaska Sail & Rail

Upon arrival in Seattle transfer to your hotel in the hotel’s courtesy shuttle.

This morning is at your leisure before making your way to the airport to join fellow travelers for your flight to Juneau.

Embark on the Wilderness Adventurer in Juneau, and set sail for the Tracy Arm Wilderness. A winding fjord, waterfalls, and glimpses of Rocky Mountain goats lead you through Tracy Arm to Sawyer Glaciers, where huge icebergs calve. Watch for bears, wolves, deer, Arctic terns and red-breasted mergansers, then move to Frederick Sound, alive with humpbacks spouting, fluking and breaching, and orcas and Steller’s sea lions. In Endicott Arm, ice-laden granite peaks, calving ice from the Dawes Glacier, and seals on bergy bits abound. If tides allow, explore narrow Ford’s Terror.

At Thomas Bay, trek through scenic rainforest or paddle the surreal blue meltwater of Patterson Glacier. Thomas Bay is known for glaciers, gold and quartz deposits, moose, brown bears, black bears, squirrels, wolves, birds, and rabbits. It is also known as "The Bay of Death," due to a massive landslide in 1750, and the "Devil's Country" since 1900 when several people claimed to have seen devil creatures in the area - learn of the area’s mythical, shape-shifting creatures called Kushtaka.

Enter a wonderland carved by mighty glaciers, ridged by moraines and decorated by muskegs (Arctic bogs rich in Arctic life). Watch for orcas in the Wrangell Narrows and the next day, visit Wrangell, home to the Tlingit and Haida people. Enjoy the town’s many totem poles and cultural presentations at historic Chief Shakes Tribal House. Once under the jurisdiction of the Russians, the British, and the Americans, as well as originally a Tlingit territory, Wrangell has the unique status of being the only Alaskan city to have been governed under four "flags". Today, it is home to native culture, wildlife and wonder.

Wake up surrounded by pristine Tongass National Forest and hike to El Capitan Cave, largest in Alaska. On Prince of Wales Island, keep watch for bears, deer and eagles. Offshore kayak and paddle board, sharing the sea with harbor seals, humpbacks and orcas. Next you may visit Kasaan, a traditional Haida village, and enjoy marine life and easy treks in Behm Canal.

Enter Misty Fjords National Monument, searching thousand-meter granite cliffs for seabirds, eagles and mountain goats. Kayak through Walker Cover or Rudyerd Bay, soaking in the 'Yosemite of the North'.

Arriving into Ketchikan, the “Salmon Capital of the World, transfer to the airport after breakfast for your flight back to Seattle. Relax and enjoy the remainder of the day in this stunning city.

This morning transfer to Seattle’s train station to board the exclusive Coast Starlight rail car ‘Silver Solarium’, a classic Budd-built stainless steel streamlined carriage from the 1940’s, completely rebuilt to modern standards.

Setting off on this spectacular 36-hour train journey, travel back in time along the railway that links the greatest cities of America’s West Coast. Passing through Portland, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Santa Barbara, enjoy the scenery of dramatic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range and Mount Shasta, lush forests, and fertile valleys.

The floor-to ceiling windows in the carriage’s observation lounge and bar is the perfect place to enjoy the long stretches of Pacific Ocean coastline and is where all meals are served. The Silver Solarium features private cabins with en suite.

Arrive in Los Angeles late this evening, where you are met on arrival and transferred to your hotel.

Over the next two days explore the ‘city of angels’. Enjoy a full day private city orientation tour to see some of the iconic sites of LA including Hollywood, the Farmer’s Markets, Downtown, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. On day 16 enjoy the city at your own pace, perhaps visiting the Getty Center, LACMA, or browse the boutiques of Beverly Hills.

Enjoy the full day in LA before being transferred to the airport for your return flight home.