SanDiego1K

Who has gone to Churchill to see polar bears? What agency did you use and were you satisfied? There is roughly a six week window of time to do this, October and the first half of November. The bears mass near Churchill waiting for the ice to freeze so they can then move onward (or so I have read). We want to see this next year. There are a number of agencies who offer the trip. I'm looking for the best option for a 6 or 7 day trip, small group, no hiking for hours on the tundra. I've had these companies suggested:

https://www.nathab.com/polar-bear-to...ar-expedition/ - limit groups to 16, one of two companies to have permits for full range of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area

https://www.churchillwild.com/polar-bear-safaris/polar-bear-safaris-overview/ have their own hotels in the viewing area

I'd love thoughts from someone who has done this. Who did you use? What was great? What wasn't?

MacMyDay

I'm actually going next August on their Artic Discovery safari at Nanuk Lodge. I was torn whether to go with Birds, Bears & Belugas at Seal River Lodge, as the lodge looks a lot nicer, but scheduling wise this just fitted better

KatW

Kagehitokiri

great thread! paging ABG

what is second company? wonder re private using churchill wild hotels

company linked by KatW is one of top DMCs/etc in canada IIRC

Jasper2009

Having done a fair amount of research on this topic for clients and having talked to all the major suppliers, here are my thoughts:

(1) Entrée Destinations is one of the top DMCs in Canada and would be my 1st recommendation for a tailor-made luxury tour if there are no budget concerns

(2) Natural Habitat Adventures, a partner of the National Geographic Society, offers some excellent 6-7 day tours with a strong emphasis on education, ecology etc. (while "nice", don't expect "luxury")
https://www.nathab.com/polar-bear-to...SAAEgIA9vD_BwE

(3) If you just want to tick that adventure off your bucket list without spending a week or longer up in Churchill, Classic Canadian Tours arranges several charter flights / day tours each year:
Classic Canadian Tours - Polar Bear Safari - Our Tours

Additionally, there are several lodges in the area that offer various half day / full day tours.

Larkin

SanDiego1K

Now is the time to book if you plan to go in 2019. Natural Habitat Adventures, the company we chose, only has tours for 6 weeks during October and November. Over half the dates for the Tundra Lodge were already booked out when I booked today. We will spend 3 nights in a mobile hotel that is positioned in September each year at the spot considered to be the best for sighting the polar bears. It is anything but luxurious, with a single bunk room per person and shared facilities. But it gives us the best opportunity for sightings. It's a year out and I'm already excited.

KatW

bhrubin

I won’t have to worry about air con when I eventually visit to see the polar bears, at least. This definitely is one of our intended trips in the coming few years.

SanDiego1K

We are back from seeing polar bears. We went the second week of the polar bear season. We were extremely fortunate and saw about 20 bears over 3 days on the tundra. We had amazing sightings, with bears hanging out by the kitchen of the tundra lodge, bears investigating our tundra buggy and then laying down along the road beside it, and bears wandering around near and far from our vehicle. We went with NatHab as linked above. Arrangements were impeccable with every possible bump removed. Sightings were amazing. Accommodations were not luxurious - but I don't think they can be. I'm unaware of any trip that would offer greater comfort than ours.

PRO

1. Hathab did a lot to make things smooth. They used the Fort Garry Hotel for the first night and last night of the trip. The hotel had the space to allow the company to easily offer services. They had a room with parkas and boots that you could check out for the trip. You were then able to return them at the Churchill Airport so that you didn't have to schlep them back to Winnipeg.
2. On the second day, we had a private flight to Churchill. We were picked up by bus at the Fort Garry Hotel and driven straight to the plane at the Winnipeg Airport. Literally. We stepped off the bus, walked roughly 2 steps, and walked up the stairs into the plane. There was no TSA check and we could take any liquids we wanted. The plane was comfortable, 2x2 seating, with seats for roughly 50 people.
3. At the Churchill Airport, we walked from the plane into the terminal where we boarded our bus outside. Our checked luggage had been taken at the Fort Garry Hotel. We saw it again at the Tundra Lodge.
4. We were driven straight to the launch site where we boarded our tundra buggy. This is a trip that you don't need to be in the least fit to take. We walked from a dock straight onto the buggy. It was a very smart design, as the buggy was very high off the ground but we never had to climb steps to get inside.
5. At the tundra lodge, the buggy backs up to the outdoor deck and is exactly the same level.
6. Staying on the tundra saved about 4 hours of drive each day. It takes roughly 2 hours to drive from Churchill to the launch site, then on to the tundra.
7. We had amazing polar bear sightings as stated above. I had been very stressed about spending so much money, going the second week of the season, and possibly seeing no bears. But we had peak sightings (albeit no cubs). I was shocked to learn that last year, there had been no sightings at all the last two weeks of the season. The ice formed and the bears left.
8. Nathab is one of two companies that has a permit to drive in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Lazy Bear Tours does not have a permit. Almost all our sightings were within this area.
9. Nathab has exclusive use of the Great White Bear Lodge, the more comfortable lodge on the tundra. The lodge owned by Frontiers North has two berths in a cubby with only a curtain across whereas we had one berth and a wall with a door. Also, the tundra buggy built by Great White Bear Lodge is better designed than the one by Frontiers North. For example, the front window is slanted in at the bottom so you can easily see bears immediately in front of the window. On the day drives, two vehicles are taken out so each person has two seats. Frontiers North fills every seat.
10. We had two expedition leaders, both of whom were amazing. One leads groups on boats in the Svalbard region during late summer. He has had over 2000 bear sightings and has written three books about polar bears. Both were extremely congenial, hustled to maximize our pleasure, and gave great talks about bears and the Hudson Bay.
11. The dogsled adventure the last day was a lot of fun. The fellow who owns the business has done 15 long distance runs including one from Churchill to Winnipeg in 2010. This was the first time that has been done since 1907.

CONS

1. Fort Garry Hotel rooms were so-so. We came a day early and stayed at the Hilton Suites near the airport. It was surprisingly comfortable. Then we moved to the Fort Garry and had a room that was half the size with no hot pot or coffee facilities.
2. It has been decades since I stayed somewhere that I had to use a toilet down the hall. We were each assigned an individual berth. Half are lower, half are upper. The bed is barely wider than one's body. The open space in the room is about the width of the bed. There are 30 beds, 4 showers, and 6 toilets. Showers can't be taken before 8am or after 9pm in order to allow folks access to the toilets in the shower rooms.
3. You walk outside across the viewing decks to get to the next car. Temps were at freezing when we were there so that was ok but temps are quickly dropping over the next few weeks. We walked from the bedroom car to the lounge car to the kitchen/dining car.

BOTTOM LINE

1. We had amazing sightings and are so glad we went. For me, it's one and done, but our niece who joined us would love to return.

There's a good blog that is up during bear season: https://churchillpolarbearreports.org/

What else is Churchill known for? We learned that beluga whales fill the harbor in the summer. You stay at a hotel in town to see them. However we were cautioned that mosquitoes and flies are vicious, creating almost blackout conditions at times. Also, they market northern light trips in January and February. The night we returned to Winnipeg, northern lights were seen in Churchill.

SanDiego1K

Lodge and buggy

Map of area and bio of expedition leaders

Flyingmama

Just returned from the NatHab Tundra Lodge expedition. NatHab did a terrific job - unfortunately there wasn't a polar bear in sight the whole time we were there. Sigh. Of course NatHab can't guarantee you'll see polar bears, and we understood that going in, but still, it was extremely disappointing.

SanDiego1K

I am so sorry. Leading up to this trip, I experienced a lot of stress fearing the same. It's an extremely expensive trip. There's no rebate if you don't see bears nor is there a discount on a future trip. We went the second week of the seven week season. I thought it was the early weeks that were are risk. I stalked iG the couple weeks in advance of our travels. People posted pictures from 2 to 3 years ago without saying when the picture was taken. I'd ask and learn they weren't indicative of this year. Finally some pictures began to be posted a few days before we traveled that were current. I was shocked on the trip to learn that no bears were seen the last two weeks of last year's season. And now you didn't see any this year.

For anyone reading this planning a future trip, it seems as though the safest time to go is in weeks 2, 3, 4 or 5.

Again, I am so so sorry, Flyingmama. How devastatingly disappointing.

Flyingmama

Thanks, San Diego1K. NatHab did try to make it up to us by offering all of us free helicopter tours on the last day to look for bears, but the weather turned bad and the copters couldn't fly. Apparently it just wasn't to be.

YVR Cockroach

I imagine behaviour is changing due to changing sea ice (or lack of) conditions. In the future, the closest one mat come to see such will be hybrids.