How to Get Face-to-Face With Polar Bears in the Wild

Julie Waggoner Sep 16, 2016

Do you dream of seeing polar bears in the wild? When you’re considering trip options, why settle for a tour where you’ll be peering at polar bears in the distance? You deserve an intimate encounter with the “King of the Arctic”!

Here are our top tips for how to choose a trip that will get you nose-to-nose with wild polar bears.

Close-up of a polar bear standing on its hind legs — *Now that’s getting face-to-face with a polar bear! Photo © Glen Delman*

Get Out Into Polar Bear Habitat

Of course, the best way to see polar bears up close is to go where the bears are! The hard part is that polar bears live on the tundra, and since they’re carnivores, you don’t actually want to get too close. Our custom-built Polar Rovers provide the ideal solution. Guests on all of our polar bear tours traverse the tundra in these warm, comfortable vehicles that offer plenty of windows, open-air viewing areas and even flush toilets. The Polar Rovers roll along on six-foot tundra tires that lift us safely above the bears, and have the added benefit of providing a more comfortable ride. The bears love the Polar Rovers, too, and often lift up their paws on the sides of the vehicles to check us out, providing close encounters and unbeatable photo opportunities for guests.

A polar bear standing on its hind legs near a Polar Rover — *A polar bear stands on its hind legs to investigate the guests in one of our Polar Rovers. Photo © Glen Delman*

Spend the Night on the Tundra

While we see a lot during daily excursions in the Polar Rovers, some guests want an even more intimate and immersive Arctic experience. If you want to be in position to see and photograph polar bears any time, day or night, then our Tundra Lodge is for you! This custom-built rolling hotel offers the only way for you to fully immerse yourself in prime polar bear habitat, 24 hours a day. Each season, we perfectly position our 32-room Tundra Lodge in the area of highest polar bear density to provide guests with a unique vantage point for observing the bears at all hours. The Tundra Lodge is designed to offer our guests a more personalized experience in the Arctic wilderness, without sacrificing creature comforts.

A mother polar bear and her cubs at sunset near Churchill — *A mother polar bear and her two cubs stand on the tundra at sunset. Photo © Mike Bruscia*

Go with the Best Guides in the Business

Finally, all of the neat gear we’ve designed to provide the most respectful, closest and safest interactions possible with wild polar bears wouldn’t mean much if we didn’t have the best guides and staff there interacting with guests. Our naturalist guides are truly experts, each with years of experience creating intimate encounters between travelers and polar bears. Traveling with small groups guarantees that our guests get personal attention from our guides, and our professional Polar Rover drivers free up the guides to focus on guests. Our polar bear Expedition Leaders work to provide the best possible experience to our guests, and their expertise ensures that everyone comes away with plenty of new knowledge, as well as great memories.

People pose with a polar bear on the tundra — *Nat Hab guests pose for a photo with a polar bear in the background. Photo © Alex Komarnitsky*

So when you take your dream trip up into the wilds of the Canadian tundra, we hope you’ll choose a company with the care and innovation to get you up close and personal with polar bears while respecting their habitat and wildness. If you’ve already gone to see polar bears in the wild, let us know about your favorite part of the experience in the comments!