Up Close & Personal with Beluga Whales

Your expedition begins in Winnipeg, Manitoba, gateway to the remote shores of Hudson Bay. Arrive at the historic Fort Garry Hotel, a Winnipeg landmark, before gathering with your fellow travelers this evening.  Over a welcome dinner, meet your Expedition Leader and the small group you'll share the week with. Ahead lies a charter flight to Churchill, close encounters with thousands of belugas and the rare opportunity to take part in Arctic wildlife research. 

Board a private charter flight to Churchill, a remote northern community where boreal forest meets Arctic tundra along the western shore of Hudson Bay. After landing, have lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Itsanitaq Museum, whose collection of Inuit carvings and artifacts offers a fascinating introduction to the region's Indigenous cultures and history. 

Continue to the Churchill Northern Studies Center, your home for the next four nights. This working Arctic field station brings together scientists, students and visitors investigating the North. Step onto its observation deck and take in the sweeping tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. 

Over dinner, share the dining room with others pursuing research in this remote setting. An evening orientation introduces the beluga study and the field techniques you'll use, preparing you for your first encounters with the whales. 

Each summer, some 3,000 belugas gather in the Churchill River estuary after spending winter in Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait. Drawn to the warmer, shallow coastal waters to molt, socialize and tend to their young, they transform the estuary into one of the Arctic's great wildlife spectacles. For three days, head out by Zodiac or research vessel, watching pale backs break the surface, mothers swim with calves and curious whales approach the boat. 

Turn these close encounters into scientific discovery. Photograph individual belugas, looking for scars and markings that help researchers recognize them. Document social behavior, measure water conditions and, when conditions allow, lower a hydrophone to hear the whistles, clicks and calls that earned belugas the nickname “canaries of the sea.” 

Back at the Churchill Northern Studies Center, examine photographs, identify whales and organize field observations. A distinctive marking can connect a whale spotted today with an earlier sighting, revealing clues about its movements and return visits to the estuary. 

Beyond the research boat, join short guided walks across the tundra and along the Hudson Bay coast, scanning for polar bears, Arctic foxes, caribou and migratory birds. If conditions and paddling proficiency permit, you may also kayak among belugas, watching their white backs surface at eye level. 

After breakfast at the research station, return to Churchill to meet a local dog musher. Learn about the dogs, their training and the traditions of northern travel. If conditions allow, climb aboard a dog cart for a ride through the boreal forest, feeling the energy of the team as the dogs set off along the trail. 

Then head to the airport for your private charter flight back to Winnipeg, with lunch served aboard. Return to the Fort Garry Hotel for a final evening together. 

At your farewell dinner, compare favorite whale encounters, share stories from the tundra and reflect on the photographs and observations you've added to the Churchill beluga research record. 

After breakfast, transfer to Winnipeg's airport for your journey home. Carry memories of white whales surfacing beside the Zodiac, their remarkable underwater conversations and the thrill of seeing Churchill's Arctic wildlife firsthand.