I have always wanted to go to Churchill to see the white bears and need to know if any one has done this trip. What is the best way to get there from Texas and what is the best tour package to go on or should we try and do it by ourselves?

Churchill is actually in northern Manitoba, and can be reached by air from Winnipeg.

I presume that you mean polar bears and not the 'white' [kermode] black bears found along the British Columbia coast.

Try doing a search here and on Tripadvisor and you should get quite few suggestions.

thanks

Jerry

I believe most people view the Polar Bears on special tours from special vehicles. These animals are dangerous, and you definitely wouldn't want to approach them without protection. I've seen a lot of literature on various packages - google "polar bears churchill" and you'll get some ideas. I've also seen very high-end guided eco-tours led by biologists and experts. I'm sure there are lots of choices, and I think these would be better than doing it by yourselves.

Check out Frontiers North Adventures for their tundra buggy tours (http://www.tundrabuggy.com/). Some stay in Churchill and make day trips to the tundra to see the bears, others actually stay out on the tundra overnight.

The adventures that stay on the tundra fill up fast; I think only one departure this year still has space, but looks like there's still space on the ones that overnight in town. We're waiting for the 2008 dates/prices for their Legendary Cape Churchill adventure, and although we signed up in March of this year, we're on the waitlist.

We did the day trip on the Tundra Buggy some years go, and it was great. We drove from New York to Winnipeg, after flying from Australia, then took a flight to Churchill. There's no road in, you must fly or go by train. The flight we booked from Winnipeg was not available on the day, so we lost a day in Churchill,which was annoying.
If I were to do it again, I'd hang the expense and stay overnight on the Tundra Buggy, to be able to watch the bears for longer.
We did see people in reinforced private utes (pick-ups?) out on the tundra interacting with the bears. Don't think you could hire such a vehicle, but maybe with a private guide. Don't miss the narwhal horn, like a unicorn's, in the small museum.