Grab a front row seat and start your virtual vacation now. Explore Fairbanks is showcasing five brand new virtual experiences including an exhilarating dog sled ride through a snowy pristine forest, a float down the Chena River on that perfect Summer day and a panoramic mountain scene from nearby Murphy Dome. In addition, you can virtually experience the midnight sun, the Northern Lights and other extraordinary views of the Fairbanks region.
If armchair traveling is on your to do list, Explore Fairbanks’ immersive 360-degree stills and videos have the power to virtually transport you to Alaska’s Golden Heart and actively explore like never before. Additional virtual immersive assets include a visit to Eagle Summit where the sun never dips below the horizon on 21st June (Summer Solstice), a captivating aurora show, the iconic downtown Fairbanks antler arch and more. Sure, it might not be the same as being there, but it’s the next best thing while you wait to visit Fairbanks when the time is right. Click on the video below and drag your finger or mouse on the imagery to explore the scene.
Another one-of-a-kind way to delve into virtual-type reality is via the Midnight Sun Tracker. The onset of the Midnight Sun season was 22nd April when the Midnight Sun Tracker took centre stage on the Explore Fairbanks website. The Tracker calculates the number of daylight hours, including civil twilight, which people can experience in the sub-Arctic and Arctic areas of Fairbanks, Coldfoot and Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow). For 70 straight days during Midnight Sun season, Fairbanks experiences 24 hours of light. The Midnight Sun Tracker allows users to change the calendar and/or location and realize the radical shift in light throughout the year. Visit explorefairbanks.com to access the Midnight Sun Tracker, which is compatible with all devices including smartphones, tablets and desktops. In August, as the Midnight Sun season winds down, the focus turns to the Aurora Tracker which predicts northern lights viewing in six different locations.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Telegraph.
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8 Comments
This is probably as close as I’m going to get to the midnight sun this year. Thanks for the link.
Is there really a place called Urqia?vik? Barrow would have been simpler but I guess they are going back to the old indigenous names like India has done with Chennai and Mumbai.
That should have read Utqiaġvik but the system doesn’t appear to have liked the accent on the ‘g’. :-) Now corrected, thank you!
One of the few benefits of the global lockdown is the growth of virtual tourism. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the world from my armchair. Being realistic there are far more places in the world that I want to see than I have time and money to visit so I hope we will still be able to visit places virtually when we get back to normal.
Yeah, I think that’s the point of virtual tourism. And it’s a good thing that we’re able to have these options because it is tough to be able to travel everywhere, obviously. So the virtual tourism stuff is definitely a plus-side with everything else that’s been going on in the world.
70 days in a row of light is hard to imagine when you’re so used to day and night. The tracker app sounds interesting as do the other reality tours, very good idea. I’ve seen a few companies and places offering these kinds of virtual alternatives so people can still explore and discover something new. The video here is fantastic too, lovely seeing how the day changes and you get the eerily beautiful green of the northern lights. I’d love to go one day.
Yes, I’m all for armchair traveling these days anyway. I’ve limited myself to going out to essentials even if I find myself envying those brave enough to go out and do other things. I haven’t experienced anything close to having almost 24 hours of sunlight, just longer nights or days depending on the season. It would be spectacular to witness in person. Someday. That tracker is amazing since it even tracks the Northern Lights. By the way, that video and music are fantastic. I could watch something longer.
I’m currently trapped, somewhat, in Southeast Asia. It’s very close to the equator so it does get a little strange for me when it’s close to summer and the sun still sets every day around 6-7 PM. I’ll have to check this out. I think it’s so cool that there are so many of these virtual tours being introduced to the world. Seeing the Northern Lights like this is just mind-blowing.
If armchair traveling is on your to do list, Explore Fairbanks’ immersive 360-degree stills and videos have the power to virtually transport you to Alaska’s Golden Heart and actively explore like never before. Additional virtual immersive assets include a visit to Eagle Summit where the sun never dips below the horizon on 21st June (Summer Solstice), a captivating aurora show, the iconic downtown Fairbanks antler arch and more. Sure, it might not be the same as being there, but it’s the next best thing while you wait to visit Fairbanks when the time is right. Click on the video below and drag your finger or mouse on the imagery to explore the scene.
Another one-of-a-kind way to delve into virtual-type reality is via the Midnight Sun Tracker. The onset of the Midnight Sun season was 22nd April when the Midnight Sun Tracker took centre stage on the Explore Fairbanks website. The Tracker calculates the number of daylight hours, including civil twilight, which people can experience in the sub-Arctic and Arctic areas of Fairbanks, Coldfoot and Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow). For 70 straight days during Midnight Sun season, Fairbanks experiences 24 hours of light. The Midnight Sun Tracker allows users to change the calendar and/or location and realize the radical shift in light throughout the year. Visit explorefairbanks.com to access the Midnight Sun Tracker, which is compatible with all devices including smartphones, tablets and desktops. In August, as the Midnight Sun season winds down, the focus turns to the Aurora Tracker which predicts northern lights viewing in six different locations.
If armchair traveling is on your to do list, Explore Fairbanks’ immersive 360-degree stills and videos have the power to virtually transport you to Alaska’s Golden Heart and actively explore like never before. Additional virtual immersive assets include a visit to Eagle Summit where the sun never dips below the horizon on 21st June (Summer Solstice), a captivating aurora show, the iconic downtown Fairbanks antler arch and more. Sure, it might not be the same as being there, but it’s the next best thing while you wait to visit Fairbanks when the time is right. Click on the video below and drag your finger or mouse on the imagery to explore the scene.
This is probably as close as I’m going to get to the midnight sun this year. Thanks for the link.
Is there really a place called Urqia?vik? Barrow would have been simpler but I guess they are going back to the old indigenous names like India has done with Chennai and Mumbai.
That should have read Utqiaġvik but the system doesn’t appear to have liked the accent on the ‘g’. :-) Now corrected, thank you!
One of the few benefits of the global lockdown is the growth of virtual tourism. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the world from my armchair. Being realistic there are far more places in the world that I want to see than I have time and money to visit so I hope we will still be able to visit places virtually when we get back to normal.
Yeah, I think that’s the point of virtual tourism. And it’s a good thing that we’re able to have these options because it is tough to be able to travel everywhere, obviously. So the virtual tourism stuff is definitely a plus-side with everything else that’s been going on in the world.
70 days in a row of light is hard to imagine when you’re so used to day and night. The tracker app sounds interesting as do the other reality tours, very good idea. I’ve seen a few companies and places offering these kinds of virtual alternatives so people can still explore and discover something new. The video here is fantastic too, lovely seeing how the day changes and you get the eerily beautiful green of the northern lights. I’d love to go one day.
Yes, I’m all for armchair traveling these days anyway. I’ve limited myself to going out to essentials even if I find myself envying those brave enough to go out and do other things. I haven’t experienced anything close to having almost 24 hours of sunlight, just longer nights or days depending on the season. It would be spectacular to witness in person. Someday. That tracker is amazing since it even tracks the Northern Lights. By the way, that video and music are fantastic. I could watch something longer.
I’m currently trapped, somewhat, in Southeast Asia. It’s very close to the equator so it does get a little strange for me when it’s close to summer and the sun still sets every day around 6-7 PM. I’ll have to check this out. I think it’s so cool that there are so many of these virtual tours being introduced to the world. Seeing the Northern Lights like this is just mind-blowing.