Churchill Wild

My husband, sister, and I just returned from an Arctic Safari trip with Churchill Wild. It was an incredible experience! We spent four nights at Seal River Heritage Lodge and 3 nights at Tundra Camp. Both places were incredibly well run, with very comfortable accomodations and delicious food. The guides and staff were terrific and extremely knowledgeable, and the attention to detail regarding logistics (which were complicated with different groups and flights) was impeccable. We saw lots of polar bears and other wildlife including Arctic ground squirrels, migrating geese and cranes, and caribou. It was also very educational and I have a whole new understanding about life in the Arctic and the animals (including polar bears), plants, and people that live there. Churchill Wild's mission is to provide an 'on the ground' experience with wildlife while respecting the animals and minimizing their stress. It was truly amazing and we would love to do another trip with Churchill Wild in the future!!!

This was the trip of a lifetime! From the moment we arrived and were greeted by a bear family on the runway, to watching the Northern Lights, every day brought a new highlight. The lodge is beautiful and cozy with stunning views, comfortable rooms, and amazing food — family-style meals that felt like dining with friends. The guides were beyond impressive: knowledgeable, engaging, and experts at managing close wildlife encounters in a way that felt safe but thrilling. We saw polar bears up close, mother sand cubs, bears interacting by the river, and even belugas on the water during our tour of Churchill. The wildlife experiences were breathtaking, but what made the trip even more special was the community — sharing adventures and meals with wonderful people from all over the world. An unforgettable Arctic safari experience that I would recommend to anyone who loves wildlife, adventure, photography and warm hospitality. Check out my Instagram account for a trip highlight reel and more photos of the wildlife - @FirstClassCreativeCo

Going on the Birds, Bears & Belugas trip this August was nothing short of a magical experience. Seal River Heritage Lodge is in an extraordinary location: immersion into this ecosystem is truly a unique experience, for which I am extremely grateful. The staff at Churchill Wild and at the Lodge are gracious, welcoming, and extremely good at what they do. The Lodge is in fact its own ecosystem: it is a lovely community of people working together from guiding, to running the physical space, to preparing and serving the delicious food, to keeping the space clean. Most importantly, they prioritize the welfare of the animals and the land over human consumptive expectation. I look forward to my next trip with Churchill Wild!

it is an once in a life time experience, you get to watch the bear on food and it is mighty close abiut 100 meter away, lodge food and drink selection are amazing, staff are all very nice and knowledge, strong recommend to who are interested in bear watching and enjoy off frid vacation

Absolutely incredible life changing experience with Churchill Wild! I had the privilege of viewing polar bears and wolves and capturing incredible video and photographs of them with my camera. We got up-close encounters with majestic polar bears, but also had the pleasure of seeing wolves in their natural habitat. The staff at Churchill Wild is top-notch and treats you like family. The facilities are well-maintained and the food made fresh everyday is world class. What sets Churchill Wild apart is their commitment to sustainable travel and ethical wildlife viewing. They prioritize protecting the environment and ensuring the well-being of the animals before anything else. It's refreshing to see a company that provides incredible opportunities for encounters while never forgetting the importance of conservation. Our guides Adam and Tyler were breadths of knowledge about the animals and the landscape, they had great senses of humour, were personable, and made sure we were always safe in our approach and positioning around wild animals. If you're looking for a unique and unforgettable wildlife experience, I highly recommend Churchill Wild. From the moment you arrive, you'll be immersed in the beauty of the Arctic, surrounded by stunning landscapes and incredible wildlife. It's an experience that will stay with you forever.

My wife and I just returned from five nights at the Seal River Heritage Lodge. So this review is for a stay in early August. I will first say that we very would very much recommend this for anyone wanting an adventure, thus the five stars. We saw polar bears every day, both from the confines of the lodge and on the daily hikes we took in the area. We took boat trips on two days down to the mouth of the Seal River and saw dozens (maybe hundreds) of beluga whales that came right up to our three boats. We even saw the Northern Lights on two of the nights – an amazing first-time experience for us. There are eight guest rooms at the lodge and the experience is “upscale bed and breakfast.” There would be a maximum of 16 guests, so your group is guaranteed to be small and the experience is personal. You’ll get to know Ben and Nicole, who manage the lodge, as well as your guides. Ours were Terry, Jess and Luke, and they worked really hard to keep us safe, and to find bears, caribou and other plant and animal wildlife. They even set up and cleaned up our picnic lunches on our full-day trek and our mid-day boat ride. The lodge has a large, two-tiered living room with great views of the area. It’s a very comfortable common area which is good because the rooms are nice but spartan – a bed but no chair (at least in our room). The food was great. Chef Pauli served up a great breakfast (8am sharp), lunch (1pm-ish, depending on the morning hike) and dinner (7pm sharp). Beer, wine and soft drinks are provided…no hard liquor. No TVs but trust me, you’ll be ready to go to bed shortly after dinner. If you go, follow the packing list. Don’t bother bringing hiking boots…you’ll wear their rubber boots every day. Buy the insoles and a bug hat, for sure. The hikes are moderately strenuous, sometimes along a very rocky surface, so prepare for some physical exertion. Also, you will definitely pee outside – men and women. There’s a full-day hike and other long hikes – when you gotta go, you gotta go. On the full-day hike, Jess did set up a bucket-like facility for women behind a large rock. Also, be prepared for the 20-minute flight in a 9-seat, single engine plane between Churchill and the lodge. I’m not a huge fan of tiny planes but we had great weather and saw bears and whales from the plane; the pilot flies at just 500 feet, so it’s fun viewing. It’s more “adventure” than “vacation,” and you’ll be glad if you do it!

We are from a small community called Woodridge Manitoba so yes we are locals. We have multiple bears Deer wolves coyotes, foxes raccoon skunks in our backyard, but what we don’t have is white Arctic foxes polar bears and moose. When we landed at seal River, we were blessed with a polar bear almost right away. We had a great time with the guides,: the food was fabulous along with the accommodations.we spent 4 days at seal before going to Nanuk Then we flle to Nanuk Lodge and we got off the plane, walked to the compound and didn’t even make it past the gate and there was another polar bear Which we got to be able to see from a close distance The food and the accommodations were great at this lodge as well The guides really knew what they were doing As long as the management was on top of it all the time Six stars to both lodges 🤗

Thank you CW for a phenomenal, once-in-a-lifetime experience of the unique Hudson Bay wildlife and ecosystem. Thank you Dana for seamlessly organizing all of our pre-trip preparation. The correspondence was timely and the packing recommendations are on the nose—we had everything we needed in addition to the high-quality outer wear that CW provides. We had smooth transitions with Candice and Chelsea through Winnipeg and Churchill to reach Seal River Lodge. Thank you Celine for teaching us and touring us around Churchill. We learned a lot! We had wonderful flights with Jason, bears and belugas visible below. The lodge is remarkable—beautiful, comfortable, sustainable. No detail left out in order to operate in a remote location while minimizing our footprint on the fragile landscape. Thank you Ben and the hospitality team at Seal River. How surreal to dine on your gourmet food and view bears right outside on the breakwater. Our rooms were clean, warm, amply provisioned and we never lacked for a warm shower. Thank you Luke, Shana, and Johnny, our guides. Not only did they teach us about bears and belugas, but also about the multitude of resilient sub-arctic plants, visiting summer shorebirds, and regional archeology. We truly walked with bears with the goal of a stress-free viewing for the bears and us. I never thought I would have the privilege to see polar bears or belugas with my own eyes! Listening to the whales via hydrophone was also remarkable. Everyone works tremendously hard to curate a superb experience for us including evening teaching and aurora watch. CW prioritizes the safety and wellness of the animals and environment. We appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and hospitality, especially as you work through a packed summer season to host us. Thank you!