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Churchill polar bear expedition: Canada

Register now and we will contact you with full tour details soon.

Register for 2024

October 2024 – 7 days

Register now at tours@newscientist.com and we will contact you later this year with full tour details.

Travel to Churchill, situated in northern Canada, to see the world’s greatest concentration of polar bears. Learn more about their evolutionary history and learn about the role ecotourism plays in the protection of polar bears and Arctic biodiversity.

Begin in Winnipeg, the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba, before heading north to Churchill, located on the shores of Hudson Bay. You will spend the week exploring the area in search of a variety of wildlife species, including the most well-known local resident, the polar bear. A unique part of this tour is the exploration of Churchill's tundra area using a Polar Rover vehicle, a tundra buggy aimed to have minimal impact on the wildlife’s natural surroundings. With huge windows and a see-through steel outdoor viewing deck, it allows closer access to the bears and other wildlife. 

You will be accompanied by experts who will take a deep dive into the life and natural history of the polar bear through a series of talks, walking seminars and fireside chats, covering the following topics:

  • The geology of the Canadian Arctic landscape
  • The role of epontic communities and the role sea ice plays in the Arctic
  • A deep dive into the life and natural history of Ursus maritimus – the polar bear
  • Adaptations of flora and fauna to arid, Arctic ecosystems
  • The evolutionary history of polar bears, including the many unique adaptations that distinguish them from their grizzly bear cousins
  • The role of protected areas and ecotourism in the protection of polar bears and Arctic biodiversity
  • Understanding landscape-level phenomena, including arctic mirages, “sun dogs” and the northern lights


DAY 1: WINNIPEG ARRIVAL

You will begin your adventure in Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. On arrival into Winnipeg airport, you will be met by your expedition leader and transferred to your hotel.

Depending on your arrival flight time, you may have time to explore Winnipeg, which is home to many cultural attractions and is known for its ethnic diversity. Alternatively, you can relax at your hotel.

This evening, meet with your expedition leader and the rest of the group for a welcome meeting, where the plan for this week will be discussed. You will then get kitted out for your adventure in your cold weather gear. Afterwards, head out for dinner.

DAY 2: FLY TO CHURCHILL

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Winnipeg airport to board your privately chartered flight to Churchill.

The town of Churchill is situated in northern Manitoba on the edge of Hudson Bay. Established in the early 18th century, Churchill grew into a prosperous trading post, but declined in the 19th century when it was bypassed by faster overland routes. Today, the community is made up of a mix of Inuit, Cree and non-Indigenous people. It has only recently found a new role as the "polar bear capital of the world". Each autumn, the area’s polar bears venture onto the newly frozen pack ice to hunt for seals. 

This evening, head out into the tundra for your first glimpse of polar bears aboard custom-built Polar Rovers vehicles. These are heated and wheelchair accessible, and they have reclining seats, easily opening windows and an outdoor, grated, see-through deck. They have also been fitted with comfortable washrooms that have flushing toilets.

After time exploring the tundra, you will return to your hotel for a fireside talk with your expedition leader introducing the area and the wildlife that call this part of the world home. You will also have the opportunity to learn more about local residents' relationships with the polar bears, and how they have learned to live in relative harmony through the town's polar bear holding facility, aka "polar bear jail".

DAYS 3 TO 4: POLAR BEAR VIEWING 

During both days, you will head out in the Polar Roamer vehicles during daylight hours to explore the tundra in search of polar bears.

Polar bears are known to congregate in this area each fall as they wait for Hudson Bay to freeze, signaLling the start of the winter seal-hunting season. Your expedition leader will know the best places to observe them without disturbing their natural environment. 

While you are out exploring the tundra from the Polar Roamers, your expedition leader will give talks from the vehicle that explain the bears’ behaviour and how they thrive in such a harsh environment.

In the evening, you will gather for dinner and presentations on wildlife and local cultures.

DAY 5: EXPLORING CHURCHILL AND EVENING ON TUNDRA

Today, you will follow the coastal road on a drive to Cape Merry. Keep an eye out for Arctic foxes and Arctic hares, which can be spotted enroute. Look closely for them, as their white winter coats offer excellent camouflage later in the season when the ground is covered with snow.

If the skies are clear, your nighttime tundra excursion might reveal one of nature’s most exhilarating experiences: a chance to view the northern lights away from town. Though never predictable, the auroral display typically starts as a pale glow in the northern sky.  The lights often begin to undulate in shimmering curtains of colour, most typically green, but occasionally red or violet. 

DAY 6: DOG SLEDDING AND FLY TO WINNIPEG

This morning, you will have the opportunity to enjoy an authentic dog sled ride, a highlight for many! Join a local musher and their team, spending time with the lively and affectionate dogs before taking turns riding behind them on an exhilarating trot through the boreal forest.

Enjoy a farewell lunch together before flying back to Winnipeg via your private charted flight. From here, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Winnipeg for your final talk. 

Enjoy a farewell dinner at your hotel in Winnipeg with the group and your expedition leader. 

DAY 7: WINNIPEG DEPARTURE

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home.

Register now and we will contact you with full tour details soon.

Register for 2024

Register now and we will contact you with full tour details soon.

Register for 2024

Highlights

  • Experience intimate polar bear encounters, spending five days exploring the Churchill area among the world’s greatest concentration of polar bears
  • Travel aboard the newest fleet of technologically advanced Polar Rovers, with huge windows and a see-through steel outdoor viewing deck, to get you closest to the bears
  • Enjoy an exclusive tundra excursion after dark that provides a unique perspective, including the chance, on a clear night, to view the northern lights away from town
  • Accompanied throughout by an insightful tour leader who will offer fascinating talks

Meet the expert

Your polar bear expedition leaders for this tour will have been guiding bear tours for more than 10 years each and will receive additional training and resources from WWF’s top scientists, ensuring a superlative, interpretive experience. Your expedition leader will meet you in Winnipeg and travel with the group the entire way, sharing their wealth of knowledge and insight at every turn. 

WHAT'S INCLUDED

  • Six nights' accommodation on twin share basis
  • Services of a professional expedition leader throughout
  • Polar Rover excursions
  • Dog sledding excursion
  • Evening wildlife and cultural presentations
  • All meals from dinner on day 1 through to breakfast on final day
  • Cold-weather gear, including a parka and boots, during your trip
  • Airport transfers on day 1 and final day
  • All activities and entrance fees
  • All taxes, permits and service fees
  • Internal air cost includes round-trip private charter flights from Winnipeg to Churchill
  • 24-hour support

WHAT ISN'T INCLUDED

  • Optional travel protection and medical evacuation insurance
  • Travel to and from the start and end point of your trip
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Optional activities, including a helicopter flight over the tundra
  • Single supplement

PACE AND PHYSICALITY

This tour requires very little walking. However, you must be able to walk up and down stairs. The Polar Rover vehicles are designed to travel over the tundra for polar bear observation and can sometimes offer a bumpy ride. You must be prepared for below-freezing temperatures and slippery surfaces (winter jackets and boots will be loaned for the duration of the tour).

POLAR BEAR VIEWING

An important note on polar bear viewing: some of the polar bear sightings are up close, while others are from afar. It is important to remember that while there is no better opportunity to see polar bears in the wild than this Churchill trip, the experience is weather-dependent. That means viewing polar bears and the distance at which you may see them is unpredictable and not guaranteed.

Accommodation

Fort Garry Hotel, Winnipeg

The Fort Garry Hotel is one of Canada's elegant railway hotels, built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1913, which have long been a symbol of this prairie city's importance as a transportation, commerce and culture hub. Located downtown, just one block from Union Station, this historic landmark is built in the French chateau style and is Winnipeg's finest hotel, retaining the air of gracious opulence from an earlier era. Relax in the lounge, enjoy a drink in the antique bar or indulge in a sumptuous treatment at Ten Spa, an authentic Turkish-style bath and spa located on the top floor of the hotel.

Churchill (exact hotel to be confirmed closer to departure)

In the sub-Arctic frontier outpost of Churchill, with a population of just under 1000, hotels are small and basic. All hotel options are clean, comfortable and conveniently located in the centre of town. Every room has an en suite bathroom with a shower.