Churchill, Manitoba: Beluga Whales and the Summer Tundra

Arrive in Winnipeg

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport to your hotel in central Winnipeg

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Winnipeg
• Environ 18 min de route

Après-midi

On a summer afternoon the riverwalk is busy with cyclists and families, and the market hall at The Forks is a good place for a coffee. At about 5:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group at the hotel for a briefing: how the boat days follow the tide, what to wear on the water, how Churchill's polar bear rules work even in summer, and what goes in your bag for the flight north.

Soir

Then we walk down to The Forks for a welcome dinner by the rivers. Summer evenings in Winnipeg are long and light, but the flight leaves early tomorrow, so most people turn in soon after dinner.

Compris

• Pick-up at Winnipeg airport (YWG)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner at The Forks, Winnipeg

Activités en option

• Canadian Museum for Human Rights or the Manitoba Museum on your own, if you land early (entry not included)

Fly north to Churchill

Winnipeg to Churchill by air, then around town and Cape Merry

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Churchill
• Environ 45 min de route

Après-midi

We land in the morning, drop bags at the hotel and have lunch in town. In the afternoon your guide takes the group around by van: the grain elevator of the port, the Inuksuk on the shore, the Polar Bear Holding Facility from outside, and Cape Merry, where the restored remains of an 18th-century battery look across the river mouth to Prince of Wales Fort. From the rocks you may already see white backs rolling in the river. We end indoors at the Itsanitaq Museum, with its Inuit carvings and tools, and the Parks Canada visitor centre in the railway station.

Soir

There is free time before dinner, and your guide explains how to walk around town safely.

Compris

• Flight from Winnipeg to Churchill
• Town and area tour with your guide: the port, the Inuksuk, the Polar Bear Holding Facility (from outside) and Cape Merry
• Itsanitaq Museum
• Parks Canada visitor centre
• Lunch and dinner in Churchill

Belugas and Prince of Wales Fort

Churchill by boat into the Churchill River estuary and across to Prince of Wales Fort, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Churchill
• Environ 15 min de route

Après-midi

The fort can only be reached near high tide, so the outing may run in the morning or the afternoon. Lunch is in town, and the rest of the day is free.

Compris

• Beluga boat in the Churchill River estuary with a licensed operator, about 3 hours
• Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site with a Parks Canada guide, by boat
• Lunch and dinner in Churchill

Activités en option

• Helicopter flight over the coast, the river and the tundra from a local operator, priced when you book

The coast road and the summer tundra

Churchill east along the coast road to Bird Cove and the edge of the tree line, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Churchill
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a packed lunch, eaten in the van or at a stop the naturalist judges safe, with the bay in view. We are back in town by mid-afternoon, and the late afternoon is free; it is also the spare slot if wind cancelled the day 3 boat.

Compris

• Coast road and tundra day by van with your guide and a local naturalist with bear deterrents
• The MV Ithaca wreck at Bird Cove
• Packed lunch on the coast road
• Dinner in Churchill

Zodiac or kayak with the belugas

Churchill into the river estuary by zodiac or sea kayak, then the Hudson Bay shore

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Churchill
• Environ 18 min de route

Matin

A second morning on the water, this time lower and closer. You choose when you book: a zodiac, a small inflatable boat that sits just above the water and goes where the whales are thickest, or a sea kayak with a licensed operator, paddling in the sheltered estuary while belugas surface around you. Kayakers get a safety briefing and the operator's safety gear first, and the guides stay close.

Après-midi

Both groups are out for about two to three hours and meet again for lunch in town. In the afternoon we walk part of the Hudson Bay shore near town with a bear guard: the smooth, striped Precambrian rock, tide pools, Arctic terns overhead, and on clear days a long view north over the bay.

Soir

This is the last full day, so the evening dinner is our farewell to Churchill, with the light still bright well after ten.

Compris

• Zodiac or sea kayak outing with the belugas in the Churchill River estuary with a licensed operator, about 2 to 3 hours
• Guided walk on the Hudson Bay shore with a bear guard, about 2 km
• Lunch and farewell dinner in Churchill

Activités en option

• Snorkelling with belugas in a drysuit, if a licensed operator runs it on your dates, priced when you book

Fly south and depart Winnipeg

Churchill to Winnipeg by air, ending at Winnipeg airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 12 min de route

Matin

A last breakfast in Churchill, and if the flight is late enough, a final walk in town or a look out over the river for belugas from Cape Merry with your guide. Then we drive the short way to Churchill airport and fly south together, about two and a half hours, sometimes with a stop in Thompson, back over the tundra and the forest, landing at Winnipeg airport (YWG), where the trip ends. Your guide sees you through arrivals and says goodbye there. If you would like to stay on, Winnipeg has more to give: The Forks and its market hall, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and the Manitoba Museum with its full-size replica of the Nonsuch, the ship whose 1668 voyage into Hudson Bay led to the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company, a neat end to a week on its old coast.

Soir

Flight times north and south are set by the air operator, so book a flight home leaving after about 4 pm, or add a night in Winnipeg.

Compris

• Flight from Churchill to Winnipeg
• Transfer to Churchill airport; the trip ends at Winnipeg airport (YWG)

Activités en option

• An extra night in Winnipeg, booked for you at cost