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POLAR BEARS OF CHURCHILL WITH VIA RAIL

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This railway vacation package is designed for those who wish to visit Churchill to not only see the magnificent Lord of the Arctic, Manitoba's polar bears, but also to experience the history and culture of the region. Churchill, Manitoba is directly in the path of the annual migration of Polar Bears that takes place each fall, just prior to the freeze up of the Hudson Bay. You'll be able to view and photograph the bears from specially-designed Tundra Buggy® from which you will explore the tundra for two days. Some of the other highlights of this trip include a guided bus tour of the local and historical points of interest surrounding Churchill, a visit to the Eskimo Museum, a private slide presentation at the Parks Canada facility, and a dog-sledding demonstration and ride.

Vacation Highlights

Travel aboard VIA Rail's Hudson Bay from Winnipeg to Churchill with sleeping accommodation
Churchill area tour with a visit the Eskimo Museum
Polar Bear viewing by Tundra Buggy®
Dog sledding or Cultural Arts Program

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Fast Facts

Length
6 Nights / 7 Days

Overnights
1 Night Winnipeg
3 Nights Churchill
2 Nights VIA Rail

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Departures
Departs select dates between October 21 - November 7, 2008

2009 Departures Available.

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Price Per Person
From $4349 CDN
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Accommodation
Moderate (3 star hotels)

Meals
2 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 2 Dinners

Details: Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive Winnipeg
Today you will arrive on your own at the Winnipeg Airport. You will overnight in accommodations at an airport hotel. This evening you will meet with your guide & the rest of the group for a Group dinner.

Moderate: Overnight Winnipeg Airport Hotel (Hotel to be advised)

Day 2 - Arrive Churchill & Area Tour
Early morning departure from Winnipeg. Upon arrival in Churchill you will enjoy a guided bus tour of local and historical points of interest surrounding Churchill, including such attractions as Cape Merry, Port of Churchill and the Polar Bear Compound. (weather permitting) You will also visit the Eskimo Museum, which contains one of Canada's finest collections of Inuit cravings, kayaks and artifacts dating from per-Dorset, Dorset, Thule, and modern Inuit times. This evening enjoy a slide presentation by a local photographer.

Moderate: Overnight Churchill (Hotel to be advised)

Day 3 & 4 -Polar Bear Viewing
Today is spent touring by Tundra Buggy® to view Polar Bears. What is a Tundra Buggy? Picture in front of you this huge wheeled - I mean huge, like 5 feet high huge, wheeled vehicle. Sitting on top of the wheels is this huge, I mean huge, wide-bodied enclosure. The vehicle includes a propane heater, a toilet facility and, for all intent and purposes, comfortable seats, windows (that open) and a large observation deck. Alas, now you have a Tundra Buggy® that allows you to go out on the tundra, in relative comfort and safety to watch and photograph polar bears. Enjoy a farewell dinner with the group.

Moderate: Overnight Churchill (Hotel to be advised)

Day 5 & 6 - Dog Sledding & Cultural Program / VIA Rail – Churchill to Winnipeg
Today enjoy a half day dog sledding tour and a Cultural Arts Program. The dog sledding tour including a slide show of Arctic and Antarctic dog sled travel, presented by John Stetson who has traveled more than 60,000 miles with his dogs. Enjoy an exhilarating ride behind a strong team of huskies on a custom-made sled.
The Cultural Arts Program will visit the Parks Canada Interpretive Centre for a look back in time, with museum fur trade exhibits, and exciting wildlife dioramas. View a series of videos on the history, culture and wildlife of the area.

This evening transfer to the Via Rail station in Churchill for your evening departure aboard the Hudson Bay. This 1,700 km two-night journey from Winnipeg to Churchill features regional cuisine prepared fresh on board in the dining car, cozy accommodations with shower access in the Northern Spirit sleeper cars and stunning views of the prairies, lakes, forests and tundra en route to Hudson's Bay. Visitors come from around the world to experience the northern lights shimmering in the sky and, from mid-October to mid-November, safely observe polar bears in their natural habitat.

Moderate: Overnight onboard VIA Rail

Day 7 – Depart Winnipeg
This morning you will arrive at the Winnipeg VIA Rail Station in the Early morning. Transfer independently to the airport.

PACKAGE INCLUDES:

1 night accommodation & room tax in Winnipeg
3 nights accommodation & room tax in Churchill
2 nights accommodation onboard VIA Rail
One-way flight between Churchill and Winnipeg
1/2 day bus tour of the Churchill area
1/2 day Dog Sledding tour & presentation
Cultural Arts Program
4 meals onboard Via Rail
Farewell dinner in Churchill on Day 4
2 full day of Tundra Buggy® touring to view the bears including lunch and refreshments
Professional Guide
Attractions: Eskimo Museum
Personalized documentation package

** Ask agent for details on Pre & Post accommodation in Winnipeg

PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

Meals not listed as included
Gratuities
Transportation to Winnipeg
3.5% Provincial Sales tax (PST)
Trip Cancellation Insurance (Insurance can be purchased from your Vacation Specialist, ask for more details)

Testimonials

Hi, Chris: Mary and I enjoyed our two nights at the Delta Winnipeg, which was a very nice hotel at a very decent rate, and very convenient for our walking tours of the downtown. The Tundra Inn was quite adequate—clean and with a hot shower. It was basic, but certainly what one should expect in a place like Churchill. Dave Reid, the Frontiers North tour guide, was outstanding, and more than helpful in resolving a room problem, and also in rescheduling our return flight. Glenn Hopfner was our Tundra Buggy Driver/Guide, and he was also outstanding (he’s written a book on his experiences). We saw lots of bears during our two days on the Buggy, one, as they say, “up close and personal.” We also saw red fox (on the 1st day bus tour) arctic fox, arctic hare, ptarmigans, many waterfowl and some raptors. The scenery was beautiful, and we saw and learned lots about the area, in addition to the bears. The train ride was an interesting experience, and the food was excellent. The negative was that it was nowhere near the schedule. When you and I talked you indicated it was frequently an hour late, on rare occasions six hours late. Our arrival was. Coupled with boarding at 9:30 PM for an estimated 3 AM departure, this meant we were actually on the train just over 48 hours, arriving in Winnipeg 10PM two days later, 13.5 hours behind schedule. Fortunately we got wind of significant delays before we left Winnipeg, even though direct inquiry of VIA Rail was not at all forthcoming. We were able to change our return flight from Thursday to Friday. Dave Reid handled this for us and United was accommodating in not charging any fees (since we travelled on miles I wasn’t sure this could be done). According to the Bear Season newspaper, the rail line was shut down for 3 days in July, and by August 8 hour delays had become the “new normal.” Message is, don’t book your return flight for train arrival day in Winnipeg. Also, if you did the train up and flight return from Winnipeg, you would miss the first day’s events in Churchill, and many people on other tours did. While these were not nearly as rewarding as the Tundra Buggy, I don’t think train up/fly back would have been nearly as good—given the schedule. Fortunately we were able to book a room at the Quality Inn in Winnipeg for Thursday night, as the Delta and many others were full. As our flight (same as the Downing’s) didn’t depart until nearly 6 PM, we were able to spend the bulk of Friday at the Manitoba Museum, which was extremely worthwhile. We will have some expenses to submit to our insurer for the delay. Dave Reid indicated Frontiers North would send a letter (I suggested e-mail with a PDF attachment) confirming the arrival time in Winnipeg so we have this on the record. Perhaps you could also followup on this. As has been our experience elsewhere in Canada, we found the people universally friendly—whether air, rail, dining, hotel, or museum staff, or sometimes people on the street just trying to be helpful with directions. Thanks for your help with the booking. I hope you find this feedback useful. Regards,
- B. Howard

Dear Jennifer Thank you for your email. We had a truly marvelous time and all your planning was exemplary. Thank you so much as everything was very straightforward. And even though we are not that old, neither of us are very experienced travelers so it took all the worry out of everything, it all went like clockwork!!!! THANK YOU! We loved everywhere we stayed, with the exception of the Banff Springs. Whilst it looks spectacular, staff were cold and rude and everything was twice the price of the other hotels and we were not the only people complaining. Although being reserved Brits we didn’t actually complain at all. When we arrived our room was not ready and we had to wait three hours, and though this sounds ridiculous, in every other Fairmont Hotel, there were zillions of tea bags in every flavour imaginable. In the Springs, only 3, and all herbal. Each day I rang for Breakfast tea and milk and each day they turned up with ONE tea bag and then they charged us for the milk! Also if you don’t arrive in approved transport you are not even allowed to pull into the front of the hotel! In Vancouver we were treated like Royalty and everywhere else really. Fabulous! Churchill and Frontiers North were fabulous. That has to be the highlight because of the bears. We saw 24 bears and our guides were excellent, as were all the other tours that you booked for us. Sun Dog tours around Jasper and the Icefield were great. The only hiccough (not your fault by the way), the weather got very bad in Churchill and the train was predicted to be a day late, so Frontiers North flew us out to Winnipeg and paid for the hotel for that night. (They were excellent by the way). They have told us to send the train ticket to you and any receipts for the next two days for you to forward to them and they will reclaim it from VIA Rail. It didn’t spoil anything at all as we got more of a chance to look around Winnipeg and the hotel was more than adequate. The train did actually arrive at 10am the next morning, but in the evening before they did not think it would so we decided to take the flight out just in case we missed our train at Winnipeg. And we got to see some Ice Hockey which we both love and doesn’t happen around here. I will scan in the train ticket and send to you in the post. We loved Canada and Canadians and we are definitely going to try to come back again. Many, many thanks for everything. It truly was a wonderful trip, it’s impossible to put into words really, but I definitely had the best trip of my whole life. My husband also really loved it, but now accepts he’s just the photographers assistant! With kind regards
- S. Moody

Departs Winnipeg	Moderate Accommodation
	Single	Double
Oct 21	4,894	4,349
Oct 26 & Nov 7	5,044	4,499

POLAR BEARS OF CHURCHILL WITH VIA RAIL

Vacation Highlights

Fast Facts

Details: Itinerary

Details: Departures

Pricing

Extras

Testimonials

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