Planning your Arctic River Trip: flights & outfitters

THE BEST WAY

From LAX, Alaska Airlines offers direct service (stop, no change of planes) to Fairbanks, Alaska. Alaska, Delta and Northwest airlines offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $819. Several small companies provide flight service into the bush country, however most outfitters include that in the cost and logistics of their trips.

OUFITTERS

Equinox Wilderness Expeditions, 2440 E. Tudor Road, No. 1102, Anchorage; (604) 222-1219, www.equinoxexpeditions.com. Eleven-day trips on the Kongakut River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge cost $4,395 per person and includes transportation beyond Fairbanks.

Mountain Travel Sobek, 1266 66th St., Suite 4, Emeryville, Calif.; (510) 594-6000, www.mtsobek.com. Has trips to the Arctic on the Kongakut River (10 days, $3,050 per person, not including $1,575 for bush plane flight and airfare to and from Fairbanks).

Chilkat Guides, P.O. Box 170, Haines, Alaska; (888) 292-7789, www.chilkatguides.com. Has 11-day river trips on the Kongakut River that cost $4,495 per person, including internal flights from Fairbanks to and from the river.

TO LEARN MORE

Fairbanks Alaska Convention and Visitors Bureau, 550 1st Ave., (800) 327-5774, www.explorefairbanks.com.

Alaska Travel Industry Assn., Visitor Information Center, 2600 Cordova St., Suite 201, Anchorage, AK 99503; (800) 862-5275, www.travelalaska.com.