Where is the best place to see polar bears? Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, is known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” and Svalbard, Norway. Where is the cheapest place to see polar bears? The most budget-friendly option is Churchill, Manitoba, and Kaktovik, Alaska. While a truly budget polar bear trip is difficult, going through a local guide, staying in small towns, and avoiding packaged expeditions can save money. Joining a tour group also brings down costs compared to private bookings. Best Places To See Polar Bears
National Polar Bear Day is celebrated every year in February. These beautiful bears deserve a day to themselves just to be celebrated. Less than 40,000 polar bears are left in the world, and your best chance at seeing one of them is to visit one of the following places. About the Polar Bear: Polar bears can weigh up to 1700 pounds, but the average tends to be 600 to 1200 pounds and 8 to 10 feet tall for the male Polar Bears. The females usually weigh between 400 and 700 pounds. Their fur is white or yellowish in tone and is water-repellant. A polar bear’s life span is around 25 years.
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Dubbed the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” Churchill has the largest convergence of polar bears in the fall when they wait for the sea ice to form. Tundra buggy tours make it easy to view them. One of the best places to see polar bears is Churchill, Canada. During October and November, polar bears come out in droves as they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over to cross it and look for food. They are pretty welcoming to tourists in Churchill, although getting close to a polar bear is never advisable, no matter how friendly he seems. There are a lot of safe indoor locations in Churchill where visitors can peek out of a window in hopes of seeing a polar bear outside. Late October and November is polar bear season in Churchill, Manitoba, the start of the long-awaited migration of these great white creatures.
Svalbard, Norway
Home to the northernmost polar bear population, viewing is excellent around Spitsbergen via snowmobile or boat tours. The bears can be seen hunting seals or swimming between ice floes. In the barren landscapes of Norway‘s Svalbard archipelago, crystalline glaciers and snow-capped mountaintops watch over a naturalist’s paradise filled with polar bears, walruses, musk oxen, and birds. Svalbard is pretty remote, but it’s an excellent destination to see polar bears; since there are a limited amount of people in the area, polar bears feel safer and roam more freely. Deep in this great Arctic wilderness, one sees only a vast expanse of white. There are no roads, trails, or signs except for the large paw prints of the polar bear. Arctic cruises are available from May through September.
In Dalsland, Sweden, in September, bears occasionally gather near this Swedish town after traveling south from Norway. Local guides offer land-based viewing day trips at competitive prices.
Greenland
Northern Greenland areas like Scoresbysund Fjord, Danmark Fjord, and Spike Herred have abundant seal populations that attract roaming polar bears year-round. Polar bears tend to be where it’s icy, and Greenland has plenty of it for these 1600-ton bears to play on. Since Greenland is so large, there’s no best spot to see them. Most people have a lot of luck spotting polar bears when they are on a cruise ship. Nuuk or Ilulissat, Greenland, is expensive overall; these two towns offer lower-cost polar bear viewing via boat trips or from shore compared to remote eastern Greenland. Go in September/October. The best time to try to see one is during April and May, when the bears are finished hibernating and are out looking for food.
Alaska
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska – In the far northern region of Alaska, polar bears can be seen on coastal plains and offshore barrier islands from late August into October. When most people think about bears in Alaska, they generally think about brown or black bears. This is because polar bears can be hard to spot among all the snow that Alaska typically sees. However, there are some polar bears there. The best way to spot them in Alaska is by plane or helicopter, but you must travel north before taking the flightseeing tour. The best time to go is late August and early September. Travel the world-famous Dalton Highway, a 414-mile road connecting Deadhorse to the Elliot Highway, which crosses the Arctic Circle. You may have seen this area featured on the show Ice Road Trucker. Kaktovik, Alaska, is a small Inupiat village on Barter Island with polar bear viewing day trips departing September through October for less than other Alaska destinations. Fly into Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay, then get a connector flight. While you are looking out for Polar Bears, it is also the time to witness the Northern Lights.
Hudson Bay, Canada
Churchill falls within the subpopulation of bears that migrate to Hudson Bay. Viewing tours operate near other towns like York Factory and Leaf River. York Factory and Leaf River, Manitoba, are towns along the Hudson Bay with more budget lodging and tour options than Churchill. Bears pass through during migration, so seeing them is hit or miss.
A polar bear trek is more than an amazing wildlife encounter – it is a chance to test yourself in one of nature’s harshest climes and experience one of its most beautiful environments.
Popular Polar Bear Trips:
Manitoba: Polar Bear Adventure by Tauck Tours
Travel with Tauck and BBC Earth in “Polar Bear Season”… when these tremendous white carnivores lumber across the plains toward Hudson Bay to prepare for winter. Get up close to astonishing Arctic life in Churchill: snowy owls, white foxes, a cavorting cub, Inuit sculpture, the beauty of a fire-killed log, and the power of a sled dog. The Earth Journeys experience features BBC Earth on-tour films and a specialist wildlife filming kit.
Polar Bears of Churchill by Alexander and Roberts
Step aboard the Coast Guard-certified Sam Hearne to see Polar Bears in their summer habitat on the western shores of Hudson Bay; we may encounter them swimming in these coastal waters and, conditions permitting, we might even go ashore to walk with these amazing animals
Arctic Cruise Adventure In Search of the Polar Bear with Abercrombie and Kent
Explore the Arctic on an all-encompassing expedition in search of the mighty polar bear. Travel alongside A&K’s unmatched Expedition Team and knowledgeable experts intimately familiar with the region, seeking out the sea bear in the Svalbard Islands and discovering the starkly beautiful lava fields and ice caves of Iceland’s Westfjords.
For the best chance to observe polar bears in their natural habitat, look for tour operators within these prime regions who know bear behaviors and sensitive viewing practices. Time visits for seasonal migrations when bear concentrations are highest.
