Best of Denali & Kenai Fjords Self-Drive

Depart London on a daytime flight to Anchorage where you'll collect your hire car for the short drive to your downtown hotel. The next day is free to explore Alaska's largest city. Framed by soaring peaks and a salmon-filled inlet, the Alaskan wilderness is never far away. But, before you head out to explore the state's national-park wonders, take time to enjoy some creature comforts with restaurants serving top-notch seafood and museums showcasing the states rich Inuit heritage among a host of inner-city highlights. If you do feel like venturing out, there are plenty of optional day trips, from wildlife cruises to flight safaris and even a glacier dog sledding experience reached by helicopter.

Collect your hire car and head south along the Seward Highway to Turnagain Arm, turning your eyes to the ocean to spot passing beluga whales, and to the surrounding hills where Dall sheep come to graze. Then, after a night at the wonderfully atmospheric Exit Glacier Lodge, you'll embark on a full-day cruise through the Kenai Fjords National Park. The Northwestern Fjord is a particular highlight, home to three tidewater glaciers, a number of alpine glaciers and an abundance of native wildlife; on a good day you might spot everything from moose, marmot and mountain goat to black bear, brown bear and beaver. 

Leaving Seward behind, today's journey brings you along the Sterling Highway, passing through a stunning landscape of volcanic peaks to your destination, Homer. Set beneath the soaring peaks of the Kenai Mountains, it's a truly remarkable location, best explored on rambling hikes and beachside bike rides. It's a region that's also known for its brown bears, and its possible to arrange guided trips out to the best viewing spots.

Stay: Land's End Resort (Standard)

Head on to Ninilchik, the oldest settlement on the Kenai Peninsula. Then, after lunch, you'll continue on to Coopers Landing for a tour of the Upper Kenai River, home to abundant salmon and rainbow trout. Your accommodation tonight is the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, a collection of cosy bungalows – all exposed timber and roaring fires – set above the treeline overlooking the river. It's an ideal base for everything from guided fishing trips to scenic float plane flights.

Continue north to Girdwood in the southwestern Chugach Mountains. This afternoon, you'll enjoy a thrilling helicopter flight to base camp, which is also the year-round training ground for the Iditarod sled dogs. On this giant snowfield, you'll see how the dogs are trained and learn about their endurance and inherent desire to run.

Talkeetna is perhaps the perfect representation of small-town Alaska. An early gold-rush community, it retains much of its history with clapboard houses, log cabins and a main street which is the only paved road in town. It's also the jumping off point for expeditions to Mount McKinley – Alaska's highest peak.

Stay: Susitna River Lodge (Superior) 

From Talkeetna you'll follow the Parks Highway north to Denali, leaving your car at the park entrance for a bus transfer to your lodge accommodation. Keep an eye out for bears, caribou, moose, sheep and wolves as you explore one of North America's greatest wilderness areas, with everything from gold-panning trips to day hikes, gentle nature walks and mountain bike rides through mountain-framed valleys.

Enjoy an early breakfast before the journey back through to the park entrance and your next wilderness lodge. Perched atop a rocky outcrop, it offers wonderful views back across the park, while for those that wish to explore further can look forward to a full spread of activities including heli-hikes, dog mushing and white-water rafting.

Stay: Denali Cabins. Denali Park Entrance (Standard)

From Denali, make your way back to Anchorage airport for your overnight flight back to the UK arriving on day 14.