Churchill, Manitoba: Beluga Whales and the Summer Tundra

1. Day 1: Arrive in Winnipeg

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

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Winnipeg
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Winnipeg (YWG) and plan to land by about 3 pm. A driver meets you in arrivals for the twenty-minute drive to a central hotel near The Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet and where people have met to trade for thousands of years. 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. 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.

   Included

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

   Optional experiences

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

   Free time: Free until the 5:30 pm briefing

   Activity: If you land after the briefing, a driver still meets you and your guide briefs you at breakfast.

   

2. Day 2: Fly north to Churchill

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

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Churchill
   Day 2 details

   An early start for the flight north, about two and a half hours, sometimes with a stop in Thompson, over boreal forest, lakes and the first of the tundra, to Churchill on the west shore of Hudson Bay, a town of under a thousand people with no road to the rest of Canada. 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. There is free time before dinner, and your guide explains how to walk around town safely.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Stay in the van at Cape Merry, where the walk out to the battery is over uneven rock, and rest at the hotel before dinner.

   Free time: An hour or two free in the centre of town before dinner

   Activity: Plan for a hotel departure before 8 am for the flight; it is the only start before 8 am on the trip. Itsanitaq Museum is closed on Sundays and opens only at 1 pm on Mondays: on a Monday we visit after lunch, and if day 2 falls on a Sunday the museum moves to the free half of day 3 or day 5. We confirm opening hours for your dates.

   

3. Day 3: Belugas and Prince of Wales Fort

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

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Churchill
   Day 3 details

   Today is the reason for the trip. In July and August thousands of beluga whales come into the warmer, shallower water of the Churchill River estuary to feed, calve and moult. We board a licensed operator's boat near town and head out among them. Belugas are curious and often swim right up to the boat, mothers with grey calves alongside; with the engine off you can hear them whistle and click through the hull, and some boats carry a hydrophone so everyone can listen. The boat then crosses to Prince of Wales Fort, the star-shaped stone fort the Hudson's Bay Company built at the river mouth from 1731 and surrendered to a French force in 1782 without a shot. A Parks Canada guide walks us round the walls, and a bear guard keeps watch. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Stay on the boat at the fort if the landing or the walk over the rocks does not suit you.

   Free time: Half the day free in Churchill, morning or afternoon depending on the tide

   Activity: Times follow the tide and the wind. If wind stops the boat, it moves to the afternoon of day 5 (the shore walk swaps into the morning) or to the late afternoon of day 4, tide permitting. Dress warmly: it is cool on the water even in July.

   

4. Day 4: 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

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Churchill
   Day 4 details

   A slow day by van along the only road out of town, which runs east between Hudson Bay and the tundra, with your guide and a local naturalist who carries bear deterrents. In summer the tundra is green and wet, dotted with ponds, wildflowers and dwarf willow, and full of nesting birds. Polar bears that came ashore when the ice melted lie up along the coast, and the naturalist knows where to look; if we find one, we watch from the van at a safe distance. We stop at Bird Cove for the hull of the MV Ithaca, aground on the tidal flats since 1960, and at the edge of the boreal forest to see how the spruce thin out into open tundra. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Stay in the van at each stop; the views and any bears are seen from the windows.

   More active option: Short walks on the rock and tundra at the stops where the naturalist judges it safe.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free, unless a wind-cancelled boat outing moves here

   Activity: Summer bears are spread out and few; seeing one is a bonus, not a promise. Bring insect repellent and a head net for the stops.

5. Day 5: Zodiac or kayak with the belugas

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

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Churchill
   Day 5 details

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

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Take the zodiac: you stay seated, and the operator brings you close to the whales.

   More active option: Take the sea kayak, about 2 hours of gentle paddling in a stable boat in calm water.

   Free time: Free time before the farewell dinner

   Activity: Kayaking needs no experience, but you must be comfortable getting into a kayak from a dock or boat. Times follow the tide and wind; if wind stops the morning outing, it moves to the afternoon and the shore walk to the morning.

   

6. Day 6: Fly south and depart Winnipeg

   Churchill to Winnipeg by air, ending at Winnipeg airport

   • Drive about 12 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 6 details

   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. 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.

   Included

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

   Optional experiences

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

   Free time: Morning in Churchill if the flight is in the afternoon

   Activity: Book a flight home leaving Winnipeg after about 4 pm; we confirm the Churchill flight time when we confirm your dates.

Wildlife and weather: Belugas move into the Churchill River estuary from about late June and stay until about late August, so July and early August are the surest weeks. Polar bears are ashore in summer after the bay ice melts, but they are spread out and few come near the road; seeing one is a bonus. Wind can stop boat trips for a day, and boat times follow the tide.

• Winnipeg1 night
• Churchill4 nights