Churchill Polar Bear Adventure: Tundra & Town

Day 1: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Arrive in Winnipeg and transfer to the historic Fort Garry Hotel. Built in 1913 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, this prestigious landmark has long been a symbol of genteel elegance in the heart of Manitoba's capital, which was once a fur-trading post and railway boomtown.

This evening, meet for a welcome dinner and orientation with your Expedition Leader.

Day 2: Winnipeg / Churchill / Tundra Lodge

Take a chartered flight to Churchill this morning, where you board a custom-designed Polar Rover vehicle for your transfer to the Tundra Lodge. As you drive out of town, watch for Arctic wildlife against the vast, wide-open landscape - you may even be able to get your very first polar bear shots en route!

Once you reach our tundra outpost, there'll be a presentation on polar bears by one of the Expedition Leaders, providing an enlightening introduction to your northern adventure. As dinner is served in the Tundra Lodge dining room, keep your camera at the ready, you may see polar bears wandering right outside the windows!

Day 3: Tundra Lodge, Polar Bear Viewing

The Tundra Lodge is strategically positioned at the beginning of each season in the best area for bear viewing. Inquisitive bears often approach the lodge, which features rows of windows and safe outdoor observation decks to accommodate your own curiosity.

As you watch the bears interact, you'll be delighted by their antics and rugged beauty. You may see protective mothers with cubs, young males play-fighting, and solitary individual patrolling the tundra as they wait for the ice on Hudson Bay to freeze.

The unique location of the Tundra Lodge, combined with excursions in the special all-terrain tundra vehicles called Polar Rovers, affords lodge guests the best possible wildlife encounters in the region. The small spit of land where the lodge is located often attracts the most bears in the entire area.

The guide and entire group may opt to take a full-day excursion together or split time between a half-day trip and viewing bears from the lodge. In addition to polar bears, you may also spot caribou, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, snowy owl and ptarmigan.

At the end of an exhilarating day, retire to your cosy accommodation for dinner and a naturalist presentation. In the light cast by the lodge across the frozen tundra, look for the illuminated eyes of animals that roam nearby after dark.

If you are fortunate to have a clear night and good luck, you may see the North's spectacular Aurora Borealis light show after darkness descends, Churchill has some of the world's most concentrated northern lights activity.

Day 4: Polar Bear Viewing / Churchill

Today, depart the Tundra Lodge after breakfast and head back out to the tundra for a final full day immersed in observing nature and wildlife. Traveling aboard our Polar Rover, we'll scout for polar bears and other Arctic species.

Our vehicles are the newest and best in Churchill, with huge windows, a slanted front windshield that allows us to look down on bears that may wander in front of the vehicle, and a steel-grate outdoor observation deck on the back. Bears sometimes wander directly below, and through the mesh we can safely view them just inches away!

Our heated vehicles are spacious and comfortable, and while they can accommodate 30-plus passengers, we keep numbers to 16 or fewer, so everyone has a window seat and there is plenty of room to spread out for photography.

Later this afternoon, we'll drive back to Churchill and check in to our hotel. We’ll have dinner at a restaurant in town, followed by an evening cultural presentation.

Day 5: Exploring Historic Churchill and surroundings

The remote subarctic hamlet of Churchill has a population of fewer than 900 and is accessible only by air or rail. We'll have a full day to explore its Indigenous heritage, frontier history and contemporary life on a comprehensive tour.

Located on the southwest coast of Hudson Bay, Churchill is the hub of a region that has been visited by humans for at least 4,000 years. Archaeological evidence supports the presence of semi-nomadic Pre-Dorset and Dorset cultures using the area as a seasonal hunting ground, sustained by caribou in summer and ringed seals in winter.

The Thule culture, which arrived around 1000AD, are the ancestors of today’s Inuit. Long before Europeans arrived, the Cree, Dene and Inuit had well-established trading networks in the area. Their descendants live on in modern-day Churchill, and we'll have special opportunities to meet and hear from elders who sustain their vital traditions.

Henry Hudson was the first European to explore the bay that bears his name, arriving by ship in 1610 in search of the Northwest Passage. Later, in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company was established, the oldest commercial corporation in the world. It established a fur trading post at the mouth of the Churchill River, which grew in importance when Fort Churchill was built on the site in 1717, with Fort Prince of Wales following in 1731.

In the 1920s, the latter became part of Parks Canada, recognizing its important status in the development of the region and putting resources toward its reconstruction in the 1930s, when the opening of the railroad allowed access to materials and heavy equipment to rebuild it. Today, the fort is a National Historic Site, which we'll pass during the tour.

Your adventure continues outside town as we drive the rugged roads over the tundra, scanning the windswept plain and boreal forest edge for Arctic wildlife. With luck, we may spot polar bears ambling along the rocky coastline or resting on the tidal flats, patiently waiting for the sea ice to form and hunting season to begin.

We also have good chances to see Arctic fox, Arctic hare, and a variety of birds, including snowy white ptarmigan.

Back in town, take time to walk around the few blocks that make up Churchill's compact core. Browse local shops selling handmade northern crafts, Indigenous artwork and distinctive souvenirs that embody the spirit and resilience of life on the edge of the Arctic. We then gather for dinner on our final night in Churchill.

Day 6: Dog-sledding Excursion / Winnipeg

This morning, learn about a distinctly northern pastime: dog sledding. You'll meet a local musher and hear all about this traditional means of Arctic transportation, interacting with the lively dog team as you learn about their care and training.

Then, take turns enjoying an exhilarating ride as the dogs whisk you down a trail through the boreal forest. Depending on flight schedules, there may also be time for an optional helicopter tour over the tundra, a great chance to spy polar bears from the air.

Enjoy a farewell lunch together in Churchill before your return flight to Winnipeg, followed by a reception and final night at the Fort Garry Hotel.

Day 7: Winnipeg / Depart

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flights home.