Where to base yourself
Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. The road-trip option. Inuvik has several hotels and a campground; Tuktoyaktuk has a few guesthouses and a camping area by the sea.
Iqaluit. The capital has Nunavut’s best choice of hotels and restaurants, and outfitters for boat, snowmobile and dog-sled outings.
Baffin communities. Pond Inlet, Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq each have a small co-operative hotel and homestays, used by park visitors and floe-edge groups.
Churchill. Small hotels and lodges in town and wilderness lodges on the tundra; all booked far ahead for bear season.
Food & drink
Food in the north arrives by air or on the summer sealift, so groceries can cost several times southern prices and restaurant choice is small. Where you can, try ‘country food’ — Arctic char, caribou, musk ox, bannock and, in some places, whale skin (maktaaq) — offered at community feasts, a few restaurants and on guided trips. Many northern communities restrict or ban alcohol; check local rules before bringing any, and never bring it as a gift.
Money-saving and safety tips
- Expect costs well above those of Svalbard or Greenland for comparable trips. Packages that bundle flights, guiding and lodging are usually better value than piecing things together.
- Add two buffer days to any itinerary that relies on northern flights.
- Polar bears range along every coast, including near towns. Hire a local bear monitor or guide outside communities and follow their instructions.
- You are a guest on Inuit land. Ask before taking photographs, use the names communities use for themselves, and book locally owned services where possible.
- Buy art from the makers or co-operatives; genuine Inuit work carries the Igloo Tag. Check import rules for ivory, whalebone and sealskin.
- Take insect protection in July: mosquitoes and blackflies on the tundra are intense.
Sample plans
Ten-day drive to the Arctic Ocean
- Fly to Whitehorse; drive to Dawson City
- Two days up the Dempster, overnight at Eagle Plains
- Inuvik: church, greenhouse, river
- Day trip or overnight to Tuktoyaktuk and the pingos
- Return south, with spare days for weather and tyres
One week on Baffin Island
- Fly Ottawa–Iqaluit; two days in the capital
- Fly on to Pond Inlet or Pangnirtung
- Three to four days with an outfitter: floe edge in June, or park boat trip and hiking in summer
- Buffer day in Iqaluit
Four days in Churchill
- Fly from Winnipeg
- Two days on the tundra with the bears, or on the river with belugas in summer
- Town, museum and an aurora evening
- Fly or take the train south
Arctic Canada: where to stay
Rooms in the north are scarce and costly, and usually booked as part of a package. These hotels in Iqaluit, Inuvik and the Yellowknife gateway can be reserved independently; our Trip.com link opens Yellowknife, where most western itineraries overnight.
