At least 90 days in advance of your departure to Coffee Creek, make the following reservations:

Your connections to Anchorage in time to make the AM departure flight to Nome on Alaska Airlines. Many flights arrive in the middle of the night or early morning, and so unless you want to wait many hours in the airport you may want to book a slightly earlier flight and get a room in Anchorage for the evening. This is of course up to you. Your return connection should be made with the knowledge that flights out of Nome are subject to delays for many more reasons than people in the Lower 48 may be accustomed to. Your return from Nome could be a few hours late, or in extreme cases a day or two late. At a minimum allow for at least four hours between your connections in Anchorage. This would be a good time to consider staying a day or two in Anchorage to see the local area, or arrange a fishing charter, etc.

Your reservations with Alaska Airlines. Call 1-800-252-7522 to book your reservation. Book online here. Your round trip ticket from Anchorage to Nome should be about $450 but of course this is subject to change.  Nome is an amazing town with an amazing history.  You should seriously consider arriving a day or two early so you have time to check it out.  And yes, there is fine gold on the beach.  Coffee Creek Mine is 70 miles outside of Nome, on a well maintained dirt road, so you will need to make sure you are in Nome at the rendezvous point, ready for pick up at the appointed time.  Figure about $150-$200 for a night in Nome including breakfast. 

Transportation to the mine will be by pickup truck.  The road is a significant artery for freight so it is usually in good shape, (but dusty).  You are likely to see musk ox and ptarmigan on the way.