Wildlife guide
This wildlife travel guide is meant to be like a trailer for the new Attenborough series. Because we also have individual travel guides for more specific wildlife holidays, such as our safaris, bear watching and whale watching.
Best time for bear watching
It's not a fair weather activity, bear watching, so get your layers ready. In fact, think 'brrrr' rather than bear in most cases. It is, however, totally, brrrrilliant.![]()
The seasons dictate the best time for bear watching. With polar bears in Churchill your best bet is autumn, when they move from land to sea in search of seals. In Svalbard, however, summer months are best, as ice floes carry them along the coast. March is spectacular in Arctic Canada, when baby polar bears emerge from their dens, or catch Kodiak bears early autumn, as they gather to catch migratory salmon. Head to Finland for the summer’s 24 hours of sunlight. And for British Columbia’s grizzlies, see them emerging to feed on grasslands in spring, on riverside berry patches in summer, and on salmon in autumn.
Our Bear watching Holidays
Grizzly bear watching holidays in British Columbia
Spectacular viewing of British Columbia's grizzly bears
From
£4350
6 days
inc UK flights
Brown bear watching holiday in Bulgaria
Wonderful week of bear and wildlife watching in Bulgaria's Rodopi Mountains
From
£1999 to £2179
8 days
inc UK flights
Romania wildlife holiday, bear watching and tracking
Memorable trip in Romania focused on wild bears
From
£900 to £1400
5 days
ex flights
Polar bear & beluga whale watching tours, Canada
See beluga whales with summer polar bears
From
£11500
8 days
inc UK flights
Finland wildlife short break
Bear, wolverine and elk widlife short break in Finland
From
€780 to €800
5 days
ex flights
Bear watching, month by month
Our top Bear watching Holiday
Grizzly bear watching holidays in British Columbia
Spectacular viewing of British Columbia's grizzly bears
From
£4350
6 days
inc UK flights
Tailor made:
This 6 day tour departs on various dates from May through to October. Other durations and tours are also available, including combining it with a tailor-made tour of British Columbia, the Rockies and Alberta.
This 6 day tour departs on various dates from May through to October. Other durations and tours are also available, including combining it with a tailor-made tour of British Columbia, the Rockies and Alberta.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Bear watching or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
01273 823 700
Call us until 5pm
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Responsible Travel recommends
Tom Brown, Natural World Safaris:
“For Svalbard’s polar bears, the best time is July/August. This is because the pack ice, where the polar bears hunt, starts to break up in the summer. This creates ice floes which run down the eastern coast of the Svalbard archipelago. The more ice that breaks up, the more polar bears you can see, as this is the time when they hunt. Sitting by holes in the ice waiting for seals to pop their heads up. For grizzly bear watching, British Columbia is slightly later than Alaska, so July is a good time in Alaska, but August/September is better time for British Columbia”.
“For Svalbard’s polar bears, the best time is July/August. This is because the pack ice, where the polar bears hunt, starts to break up in the summer. This creates ice floes which run down the eastern coast of the Svalbard archipelago. The more ice that breaks up, the more polar bears you can see, as this is the time when they hunt. Sitting by holes in the ice waiting for seals to pop their heads up. For grizzly bear watching, British Columbia is slightly later than Alaska, so July is a good time in Alaska, but August/September is better time for British Columbia”.
Roy Atkins , naturalist and expert guide at our supplier Speyside Wildlife, which specialises in bear watching in Canada, Finland, Spain and Yellowstone National Park. “The best times to see bears are spring - when they are very hungry after winter and hunting for food, or autumn when they are eating voraciously to fatten up to in preparation for winter”.
More about Bear watching
If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. And this is what we are hoping this bear watching travel guide will do. Give you a few surprises.
As well as Canada for polar bears and the USA for grizzlies, you can see bears in Finland, Romania and even Greece. See our map for the necessities of where to see bears.
Read about the best bear watching activities: like hiking in Alaska’s national parks, seeing the Northern Lights in Finland or Canada, or whale watching on your day off.
Read on for details on which bear species you can see on wildlife holidays, what time of year you are most likely to see them, and how prolific they are in each place.
You really do want to be with expert guides when you go grizzly bear watching. They'll know how to keep you safe and give you the lowdown on the greatest of the brown bears.
Polar bear watching in Churchill is handled by experts in safety, weather and wildlife. These are once-in-a-lifetime experiences that usually run in autumn.
The Wild Taiga region of Finland is home to brown bears, plus a cast of other animals. Read on to find out what a bear watching holiday in Finland entails.
When you go down to the Greek woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. Discover why bear tracking holidays in Greece are the best way to see them.
If you don’t want to exit, pursued by a bear, then read our bear watching advice. As well as safety procedures, there are tips from our experts on where and when to go.
Local people have, in most cases, been both the stewards of bear habitats and bear hunting. Read our thoughts on responsible bear watching holidays.
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