Guides

Guiding with Northern Alaska Tour Company is a high-energy position best suited to individuals who make social connections easily, who genuinely love interacting with others and who thrive in positions of responsibility.

All of our tours are ground-based, traveling into northern Alaska on the industrial road called the Dalton Highway. We use 15 passenger vans configured to carry up to 10 persons and 25 passenger coaches. We share the road with heavy trucks freighting material to Deadhorse on the Arctic Coast of Alaska, other tour operators and work crews, and, every once in a while, independent private vehicles. Guides share the story of Alaska's Arctic - the human history from early Native inhabitants to Russian fur traders to gold miners, homesteaders and the oil industry; as well as the natural history of permafrost, the boreal forest, and its wild creatures. They manage the day and guest expectations, help guests make connections to each other and to the environment, and generally ensure that each guest is as comfortable, engaged and enjoying themselves as possible.

Our guide training includes intensive Professional Vehicle Operator Training that will result in the obtaining of a class B commercial driver license and competency with CB radios and communication protocols for interacting with other Dalton Highway users. In addition, beginning guides receive instruction in tour design and in effective, professional guiding techniques. There is a three day field seminar early in the summer during which time is devoted to the basic knowledge one is expected to master, and guides will do a "ride-along" tour with a seasoned veteran before going out with their first group.

All Midnight Sun tour guides start out conducting our Arctic Circle Adventure. This long-time staple of NATC begins in Fairbanks, ground tours north along the Elliott Highway to the homestead at Joy and the Arctic Circle Trading Post, past the historic gold mining district of Livengood (now a ghost town) to the Dalton Highway. From the junction of the Dalton, the tour continues north to the Yukon River, Finger Mountain and finally the Arctic Circle. After that, it turns and comes back along the same road, stopping in different places on the way into Fairbanks. The total distance to the Circle and back is almost exactly 400 miles - a fairly slow and rough 400 miles.

Other Midnight Sun season tours include Fly/Drives Adventures in which guides bring one group from Fairbanks to Coldfoot, overnight, and then bring a different group back to Fairbanks the following day; and Arctic Ocean Adventures which are 5 day trips (for the guides) with overnights in Coldfoot northbound, Deadhorse (2), and Coldfoot again on the way south.

During the months when the Aurora Borealis is visible from Fairbanks and further north - our guides cover day tours to the Arctic Circle, down south to Denali National Park and Homestead Aurora tours on the Elliott Highway in the evening.   With the large growth in the Mandarin Speaking market for Alaska-based Aurora tours - we offer mandarin speaking tours as well during our winter months.   Our guides are not required to speak mandarin --- mandarin speaking guides often accompany these guests on their trip to the arctic circle and back.   

Many of our guides work year-round - but some of our guides still prefer to working in the summer or the winter only.   Once it is determined that the work is a great fit for someone, many of our guides stay with us for multiple seasons/years!   Aurora Season (winter) guides must be available to work during the peaks in our winter season --- which is around the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas "break", a couple weeks around the Chinese New Year and all of March.    Our tour departures slow down considerably during the months of April and May --- but we are absolutely a YEAR ROUND tour company!