Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
I have dreamt about seeing polar bears in the wild my entire life. I finally looked into gong to Churchill to see the polar bears and didn't really want to see the bears from a tundra buggy. I started researching Churchill Wild and decided this is the way I want to see polar bears. And while it was expensive, it was worth every penny. This trip exceeded my expectations in so many ways. From kayaking with belugas to having Grey wolves approach us and observing pack dynamics (22 including 5 pups) and of course, the polar bears. We were fortunate to see polar bears and wolves everyday but had two special encounters. One with a mama and her two cubs. She felt comfortable with us around to even nurse. And one with a 1,500 pound male polar bear who had to be one of the most beautiful animals I've ever seen in my life. The lodge, food, guides and lodge staff were so amazing! You will not be disappointed booking a trip with Churchill Wild!
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Date of stay: August 2022
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:All rooms are great!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge is located in an uninhabited area twice the size of Switzerland. Therefore, wildlife is largely undisturbed by humans allowing for incredible upclose encounters of polar bears and wolves. We stayed at this lodge for almost three weeks in November. The lodge is just wonderful, very cozy with a fireplace and large windows overlooking the Hudson Bay coast. The guides have years of experience in this environment and made us feel safe even when walking with polar bears. Evenings were mostly spent with short talks about wildlife. But we also enjoyed just spending time talking to our fellow guests, that travelled here from all over the world. The lodge offers an incredible level of comfort for its extremely remote location. There is running hot water, showers, flush toilets, heating - everything to make the stay enjoyable. We especially want to mention the food, which is delicious. Already breakfast is a multi course experience. Lunch, appetizers and dinner are not falling short of that in any way! We can highly recommend this lodge and would like to thank the wonderful staff, that made our stay so very enjoyable. We have already booked our next trip!
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Date of stay: November 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have travelled the Arctic quite a bit, but have never been there in the middle of winter. Therefore, our trip to Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge in March really felt like an adventure. The lodge is extremely remote, the next human settlement is probably more than 100 miles away. Our flight took us from Winnipeg to Thompson to Gillam and to the lodge. We already knew some of the staff from a previous stay at another Churchill Wild lodge. We instantly felt like meeting longtime friends when we arrived at the lodge.
The location of the lodge is in a stretch of boreal forest along the coast of Hudson Bay. The lodge mainly consists of three buildings: one dining room/lounge and two guest wings which are linked by open decks. The buildings are extremely cozy and comfortable. You almost can‘t believe that you are basically in the middle of nowhere.
Some might wonder, why you would want to travel to this remote area in the middle of the arctic winter. If you are lucky, you might be able to encounter polar bear moms with their cubs on their journey from there denning areas to the sea ice. We went out with snowmobiles and wooden sleds (komatiks) to try to track down bears. At the same time, our hosts and guides were crossing the costal area in search of moms and cubs.
During our almost two weeks at the lodge, we didn‘t see any polar bears, or „PBs“ as we referred to them. You might think that we would be disappointed by this fact. But we had so many incredible wildlife encounters that all of our group of eight were completely happy, even without PBs. We walked with a pack of wild wolves, listened to their song a sunset, saw snowy owls, moose, foxes and more. The aurora borealis was spectacular and we even built our first igloo.
As always with Churchill Wild, the staff was extremely friendly and the food was incredible. While breakfast and dinner was always at the lodge, some of our lunches were out in the field around a campfire. The evenings were usually spent in front of the fire place, often with interesting presentations by our guides.
It was definitely the trip of our lifetime. We will definitely be returning to Nanuk.
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Date of stay: June 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Let me start by saying that I was a bit skeptical of the cost (family of 4) and whether my teenage boys (14 and 16) would even find it interesting.
I am very happy that I had no reason to be concerned and that the trip was well worth the price for all of us. The trip went off as advertised and we had some absolutely incredible once in a lifetime experiences. We did the Polar Discovery which focused on Belugas and Bears. With the whales it was not "IF" you saw them it was only a question of how many and how close. Sometimes they were right under the Zodiak & when kayaking they came and played with us. With the Bears we went out twice a day and saw bears every time - one bear came to check us out and gave us a show from only 20 meters away. My wife's favorite was the mother and cub who seemed to like to pose for pictures.
At the lodge there were black bears eating berries a couple of meters outside the window every day. One day wolves came wandering by to say hello. Of course, the best part of the lodge was the food. Absolutely incredible and even my picky eater was accommodated and had a great time. Speaking of food, the dinner in Churchill done by Helen was better than any 5-star restaurant.
It is a high end personal experience and we can name so many people that we spent time with including our guides Terry and Nolan (and Vern for a day), Chef's Jeanne and Rachel, as well as Jackie, Koral, Courtney and our Pilot Jason. Big thanks to everyone for a fantastic trip.
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Date of stay: August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My wife and I took a polar bear photo tour to the Nanuk lodge. Everything was first class. They clothed us in a way that allowed us to deal with the environment. The transportation was excellent and the actual facility was amazing. Out in the middle of the tundra was a lodge with all the comforts anyone could want. Great food - French chef. We don't drink but other guest seemed quite happy with the alcoholic beverages. Best of all the staff was able to not just make us comfortable inside, but more importantly put is in situations where we safely took fantastic pictures of Polar Bears from ground level. We had some tough weather but the staff made it work for us. We hope to go back again, and I just hate the cold but it's just too good an opportunity to pass up. Small groups, wonderful facilities, great food, what more could one ask. Oh yea, those Polar Bears.
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Date of stay: November 2019
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:I don't think that one room would be better than others. The viewing is really from the main...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Unique location out in the wilderness, ecxeptional guides and staff in general as well as once in a lifetime wildlife experiences - that's Nanuk Polarbear lodge and Churchill wild safaris.
We have been at the lodge in September for the Hudson Bay Odyssey safari of churchill wild. It was perfect from start to finish. The flight out to the lodge is already a great start and the first chance to view wildlife from the air. Over the following days we had several amazing encounters with polar bears, wolves, black bears and many more. Some days the wildlife would even walk right up to the lodge, providing great opportunities to watch and soak in the remoteness while enjoying the amazing food in the comfortable warm lodge next to the fire place. The crowning end of our trip was watching the northern lights move across the sky above the lodge.
We are usually not the kind if travellers that return to the same place but Nanuk will be an exception, we will definitely come back.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A great experience - from the sighting of beluga whales, caribou and polar bears on the flight from Churchill to the northern lights on the last night. My hesitation about walking with the Bears (having grown up in Churchill) was soon overcome as the guides demonstrated their calm manner and respect for the bears. We had yoga to start and end each day, various hikes through the flats of Hudson Bay, through the Boreal forest, wellness massages, birds, moose, black bear, the staff, the meals...all made for an exceptional trip!
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Date of stay: September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This whole trip offered by Churchill Wild was out of this world. The entire organization is flawless. After being flown into the remote lodge somewhere on the coast of Hudson Bay we settled into our spacious and very comfortable ensuite room before having a delicious lunch. This was served in the wonderfully welcoming and warm central area, which serves as dining room, lounge, meeting room and viewing area. Amazing views out across the Bay. The next few days were spent driving and walking our on the taiga/coastal wetlands in search of wildlife. We were fortunate to see several polar bears, including a mother and cub, all at some distance. Then there were the wolves! We had incredible close up encounters with several wolves on different days. The Northern Lights obliged by showing up two nights in a row. Birds everywhere. What's not to like! The food was great, the staff are excellent, the guides some of the best we've ever encountered. Wish we'd stayed longer. The overall experience is akin to an African Safari, but in completely different habitat.
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Date of stay: September 2022
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very disappointed considering the $$$$$. ‘Walk with Polar Bears’.?? We shouldn't have fallen for it; you are not allowed to leave the vehicle for safety anyways. Location while idyllic, is landlocked by a lodge landing airstrip, then some thin forests and then a 2-3 ft deep stream ( per the guides) on one of the two exit ways that could not be crossed by their vehicles (not tundra buggies) when in freeze/semi freeze conditions .. all these factors disadvantaged our prospects of sighting. Since bears stay near feeding grounds or dens, you have to get lucky with a stray. We had four days just driving over the same tracks in just one direction…a faint movement at the horizon edge with 20/40 vision and powerful field glasses (the outline of the back of a walking bear) counted as a bear sighting on two days! ‘Tracking’ was basically driving the same lanes every day hoping to find something..Lodge Staff double as driver/trackers…lots of binocular prospecting of the horizon to check off as a sighting. Without a tundra buggy with huge wheels, we could not wade through a bordering stream and hence could not go in one of the two directions at all over four days. We did grab ‘defeat from the jaws of victory’ on day 1 when a bear started making a bee line to us — before disturbance from vehicle movements at an inopportune times or just caution — spooked the bear who abruptly turned around and booked away from us…that was an expensive miss, given the scarcity factor. That was an encounter at 200-220 meter (best guess, and corroborated by one of the guides ). Another client on our trip did catch a wolf out of their lodge window on one of the four days. Otherwise, it was a lot of wolf paw tracks but no wolves either.
CW’s short duration tours at Nanuk are particularly risky for clients since any blizzard and icy conditions prevent you from crossing the stream given the location position and their vehicles. Plenty of stunning Visitor photos on the website, and hard to tell how much the passing of the years has affected the hit rate on viewing the bears…so look over the photos and dates carefully and be aware of the big risk…there is no recourse from CW if you strike out. Ironically, picture below is of a stray bear at the Town of Churchill Airport, after we ended the $$$$$ tour:( and landed back in Churchill! There is a moral here somewhere? The good reviews about the Lodge comforts, kitchen and the wonderful Staff were the high points in our experience, , but we will be planning a recovery Polar trip and doing a lot more research on location, tracking and field trip logistics and risks…mission singularly unaccomplished this time around and wont be returning. If this was billed as a Polar Ecotour with possibility for bear sighting, it would have been more true to our particular tour experience.
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Polar tours are hit and miss with no recourse; rosy promotions and come-ons need to discounted...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Churchill Wild, Owner at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge by Churchill Wild
Responded Dec 18, 2023
Hi there! Thank you writing about your experience, although it was not a good one. We are saddened to hear that you did not enjoy your trip. Please reach out to us by email as we would like to talk with you personally about your experience. Best Wishes, The Churchill Wild Team
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Wonderful location on the Hudson Bay, beautiful landscape, great, spacious and comfortable facilities at the lodge with excellent viewing from all areas. The care and dedication from all the staff was top grade and the food and drink supplied at every meal was amazing and so diverse. We were so well cared for and enjoyed every minute. The polar bear viewing was superb and close up, at one time with a bear on each side of us! The transport was fun and the weather was clear and sunny. We also saw black bears and wolves, numerous birds of all sizes and a colourful landscape. The holiday of a lifetime!
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Date of stay: September 2019
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:All bedrooms have the same excellent views, plus spacious lounge and dining area and outside...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Milngavie, United Kingdom546 contributions261 helpful votes
Don’t need to be particularly fit - walking on the flat ( in welly boots which they provide) for maybe up to half a mile each way to within 100metres of the bears if they look relaxed and happy with people approaching.
Hi! We see polar bears from July through November at the Churchill Wild polar bear lodges. It really depends on what type of weather you prefer and what you would like for a photographic backdrop. In August you have the long grasses and flowers, in September you have the fall colours and in October/November you have the snow and ice.
Early August seems to be the time that would suit you. I have just come back from there and this year seems to have been unusually hot so not as many pink flowers actually covering the fields but still plenty about. Saw amazing lights and after a day or two the weather cooled and the polar bears were more active. It is a wonderful place.
There are more places to choose from in the Churchill area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
nanuk polar bear hotel manitoba
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge
LOCATION
CanadaManitobaChurchill
NUMBER OF ROOMS
8
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