A guide to traveling to the base of the Arctic Circle to catch Polar bears!
For several years now, my dad has wanted to visit Churchill, Manitoba aka the Polar Bear Capital of the World to see – you guessed it, Polar Bears! Churchill is a small subarctic town of about 870 people in northern Manitoba on the west shore of Hudson Bay (see below).
Lying on the migration path of both polar bears and beluga whales, Churchill is fast becoming a popular destination for wildlife enthusiasts.
Getting to Churchill
Churchill is NOT easy to get to – let’s get that over with to begin with! The closest city is Winnipeg about 1000 km (620 miles) south of Churchill. There are actually no roads that lead to Churchill leaving the train and plane as your only options:
- Train: VIA Rail operates a route from Winnipeg to Churchill that takes about 45 hours, they have sleeper cabins and is a picturesque journey. Alternatively you can drive from Winnipeg to Thompson and take a train from there which is only about 11 hours
- Flight: Calm Air operates flights several times a week from either Winnipeg or Thompson
Best Time to Visit
The peak tourist season is between June and November but there are also winter activities to be had in Churchill! The summer time, June through August is when you have the best chance of spotting beluga whales with over 60,000 animals coming through the area. There is a small chance of seeing polar bears as they come and stay on land during the summer months when the ice on Hudson Bay melts.
Peak polar bear viewing is a narrow window in October and November – this is when the ice starts to form on Hudson Bay and polars begin to test out walking on the ice eager to hunt seals after a summer of starvation. Fun fact: the water near Churchill has lower salinity levels than other parts of Hudson Bay and so freezes faster – polar bears know this and congregate to the waters near Churchill because it means they can get out on Hudson Bay quicker than other areas and be able to hunt seals!
Winter time offers some of the best viewing of the aurora borealis; several of the tour operators that conduct polar bear tours in the Fall offer options for camping and viewing the Northern Lights in the winter.
Our Experience – A One Day Trip of a Lifetime!
Given the difficulty in getting to Churchill, and the fact that we were most interested in seeing the polar bears, my dad and I opted to do a tour through Gold Star Canadian Tours which, to my knowledge, is the only company to offer one day tours to Churchill Manitoba. The company offers a private charter flight from key cities in Canada – currently Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Hamilton and Montreal.
We left from Ottawa on a 6:30 am flight and were in Churchill by 9 am. The tour operators have a wildlife expert and two professional photographers as part of their tour and on our way there we had a great overview from the wildlife expert on the history of the region and how global warming is impacting migratory patterns of polar bears.
Once we got to the airport in Churchill, we transferred to buses that took us to our Tundra Buggy for the day – through a company called Frontier North Adventures. The buggy is fully heated with a bathroom which is good because you spend 7+ hours driving around Hudson Bay. There is a viewing deck where you can walk out to get a better look.
They offer lunch on the tundra buggy (with vegetarian options!) and after sunset you drive to downtown Churchill for an hour of “free time” before a banquet dinner in the town activity hall. I personally felt like we could have cut down on the time we had for dinner and cocktail hour and be able to leave earlier but overall I thought the company did an AMAZING job with organizing the whole day. We were on time for both departure and arrival, the service and experts on board were impeccable and would 100% recommend them!
Sample Itinerary
The itinerary may change but this was our rough day – a long day but everything was perfectly on time, the meals were all delicious with vegetarian options and we saw tons of polar bears, left as happy campers!
6:30am: Depart in our private chartered airliner; breakfast during the flight
9:30 am: Land in Churchill; transportation to the Tundra Buggy departure point; Lunch provided during the tour
5:00 pm: Tundra Buggy tour complete; Transportation into Churchill for souvenir shopping
7:00 pm: Expedition Banquet dinner
9:30 pm: Board private charter flight home
Final Tips for your trip to Churchill
- Book Early: I personally think the one day option with Gold Star Tours is the way to go because every single detail is planned for you. Having said that, it is a very popular tour so book early. It is expensive (2025 prices are $3000 CDN).
- Layers: While the Tundra Buggy is heated, you spend a lot of time going out to the viewing deck so remember to dress in LOTS of warm layers, wear winter boots as there will already be ice on the ground.
- Be Present: There are two professional photographers on the tour whose entire job is to document the day. They send you ALL the photos for free so while you may be tempted to keep clicking away, take a moment to enjoy the beauty and awe of these majestic animals!
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