Overview:
New Year’s Eve in Greenland is a unique experience. Not just because of the beautiful fireworks in the Polar night, but also because you get to celebrate the New Year twice: at 20.00 for Denmark (and other CET countries) and at midnight for Greenland! Greenland's nature is beautiful all year, especially in the wintertime. It is wonderful when it is covered by a blanket of snow and ice, creating a myriad of opportunities under the Northern Lights.
In this 7-day trip to Ilulissat, you will experience fireworks, hopefully the Northern Lights, sled dogs, huge icebergs, and snow-covered rocks. You will have the opportunity to either plan your own Greenland vacation or include our excursion itinerary where we have collected four must-try experiences for you. This involves, among other things, a fantastic boat trip to the huge icebergs at the mouth of Ilulissat lcefjord.
Holiday price is from £ 4,645 per person based on availability and 2 persons sharing a standard double/twin room throughout. Single supplement from £ 1,100.
Departure Dates:
| DEPARTURE |
RETURN |
| 26 Dec 2024 |
03 Jan 2025 |
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Welcome to Copenhagen
Arrival at Kastrup Airport and overnight stay at a 4* airport hotel.
Day 2: Copenhagen - Nuuk - Ilulissat, Information Meeting & Tour of the Town
We board Air Greenland’s red plane in Copenhagen and fly to Nuuk in Greenland. It is a trip of 4½ hours. Ahead of us are five exciting days around New Year’s in Ilulissat, but there is still one more flight to get there.
After a short stop-over in Nuuk to change planes, we continue towards Ilulissat. After crossing the amazing Ilulissat Icefjord, we land at Ilulissat Airport. You will be picked up by Hotel Arctic’s bus and taken to the cozy hotel by the waterfront in Ilulissat.
After check-in, the guide organizes an information meeting, telling you about the town, the area, and possible excursions. There may be changes to the order of the excursion. Daylight hours are limited, as is the availability of tours boats, so we may have to split the group into smaller parties on some days, and while some people go sailing, others will go dog sledding. The staff at World of Greenland are experts at logistics like this so that no one will be missing out.
Guided town walk
Ilulissat is Greenland’s third-largest town and is considered one of the four main towns, along with Nuuk, Qaqortoq, and Sisimiut. People have lived in the area surrounding Ilulissat for 4,500 years. Still, the town itself was established as a village in 1727, and, in 1741, the Icelandic merchant Jacob Severin established a trading post called Jacobshavn (Jacob’s Harbour). Later on, the town changed its name to Jakobshavn (now with a ‘k’). You will see many buildings that are linked to this time. For example, Knud Rasmussen, the world-famous polar explorer, grew up in Ilulissat in the building that now houses the historical museum. You can look forward to an exciting tour and get lots of information that you can use in the coming days.
You will have a tasty welcome dinner at the hotel’s very good restaurant (drinks not included).
We board Air Greenland’s red plane in Copenhagen and fly to Nuuk in Greenland. It is a trip of 4½ hours. Ahead of us are five exciting days around New Year’s in Ilulissat, but there is still one more flight to get there. After a short stop-over in Nuuk to change planes, we continue towards Ilulissat. After crossing the amazing Ilulissat Icefjord, we land at Ilulissat Airport. You will be picked up by Hotel Arctic’s bus and taken to the cozy hotel by the waterfront in Ilulissat.
After check-in, the guide organizes an information meeting, telling you about the town, the area, and possible excursions. There may be changes to the order of the excursion. Daylight hours are limited, as is the availability of tours boats, so we may have to split the group into smaller parties on some days, and while some people go sailing, others will go dog sledding. The staff at World of Greenland are experts at logistics like this so that no one will be missing out.
Guided town walk
Ilulissat is Greenland’s third-largest town and is considered one of the four main towns, along with Nuuk, Qaqortoq, and Sisimiut. People have lived in the area surrounding Ilulissat for 4,500 years. Still, the town itself was established as a village in 1727, and, in 1741, the Icelandic merchant Jacob Severin established a trading post called Jacobshavn (Jacob’s Harbour). Later on, the town changed its name to Jakobshavn (now with a ‘k’). You will see many buildings that are linked to this time. For example, Knud Rasmussen, the world-famous polar explorer, grew up in Ilulissat in the building that now houses the historical museum. You can look forward to an exciting tour and get lots of information that you can use in the coming days.
You will have a tasty welcome dinner at the hotel’s very good restaurant (drinks not included).
Day 3: Hiking and Dog Sledding (optional) and time on your own
There are many things to do in llulissat on your own – the guide will have told you about this at the information meeting yesterday. If you have purchased the excursion package, on days 2 and 3, you will either go on a hike to Sermermiut on one day and go out on a dog sled ride on the other.
Hiking to the former Inuit settlement of Sermermiut by the Ice Fjord (optional)
You will hike to the former settlement of Sermermiut, which has been inhabited for thousands of years because of its amazing location at the Ice Fjord. Although the view here is incredible, it was not the scenery that brought the Inuit here. There are excellent hunting opportunities in the area since the Ice Fjord provides food for fish and seals, which has created a basis for human settlements for millennia.
1 ½-hour dog sled ride (optional)
Today, you can look forward to a 1 ½-hour dog sled ride. The dog sled is one of the most famous Greenlandic icons and a thousand-year-old tradition for the Inuit. Not many vehicles have survived such a long period without changes in appearance and technology: a pack of happy dogs in harnesses tied to a simply constructed wooden sled. The experience cannot be explained – it must be tried.
This trip usually takes place in flat terrain on a plain near Ilulissat. Apart from the sled driver, you are two participants on each sled, so if you have booked the excursion on your own, you may share a sled with another person. However, all dogs are different, so if you are out with family and friends, we can not guarantee that you will be riding together on the entire trip as some dogs are fast, and others are not. This trip is recommended for those with neck or back problems or if you are immobile. Participants must be 12 years and older.
Day 4: Ilulissat on your own
There is still plenty of time to go out and experience on your own. You can also enjoy the fireplace next to the hotel lobby, relax in your room, or at the many other vantage points scattered around the hotel and the hotel grounds.
Day 5: Ilulissat on your own. Meet the Sled Dogs (optional)
As we wrote in the introduction to this trip, some of our former guests wished that the trip was a little longer so there was time for relaxation. So that’s what this day is for as tonight is New Year’s Eve!
However, you will visit with the sled dogs if you have bought the excursion package.
Meet the Sled Dogs (optional)
However, if you have bought the excursion package, you will get to meet some sled dogs today. You get to visit the sled dogs at their home, and you can see, feel, and especially hear them when they are fed.
The dog’s owner will also demonstrate how the sled, the straps, and the whip work, and he will tell us about the life of these amazing dogs.
Day 6: Boat trip (optional) and possible Snowmobile Trip (optional). New Year's Eve Gala Dinner.
Disko Bay is Greenland’s most sought-after tourist destination. This is especially due to Ilulissat Ice Fjord, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Sailing to the lce Fjord (part of the excursion package)
You start your year with what will probably become one of the highlights of your life, a sailing trip to the mouth of the lce Fjord. Here, you get to sail among the huge icebergs stranded here. The ice has created a sandbank throughout millennia, on which the huge icebergs now run aground. At some point, the ice melts less, there will be a swell or the ice is pushed forward by more ice from the fjord, and then the large icebergs can finally move further out into the deeper Disko Bay and from there to the Baffin Bay.
You could also consider going on a snowmobile excursion.
Snowmobile tour with 1 or 2 people on the snowmobile (optional excursion)
This tour takes you into the hinterland of Ilulissat to experience the Arctic winter landscape up close. First, you’ll drive up through a gorge on a narrow track that cuts through the mountains behind Ilulissat. You’ll get a fantastic view of Ilulissat and Disko Bay from the top. Then, you continue over frozen lakes and the rugged mountain landscape as a group. You’ll stop at the best viewpoints for photos and hot drinks. You can purchase the tour so that another person can accompany you on the snowmobile, or you can go solo on a snowmobile.
Gala dinner at Hotel Arctic
The New Year is now only a few hours away, and tonight you are going to a gala dinner at Hotel Arctic. The hotel offers a five-course dinner, where, as mentioned, there is a break at 9 pm because all of Greenland goes outside to celebrate the Danish New Year and sends up fireworks in honor of friends and family in Denmark. Then we go back to our tables and, at midnight, we will go out into the snow again and celebrate Greenland’s new year. Then we go in and get a glass of bubble water, and then you can judge for yourself how long you keep going.
Day 7: Ilulissat on your own and potential Northern Lights Safari
If you have bought the excursion package, you will look for the northern lights at night.
Northern Lights Safari (optional)
When the sky is clear on winter nights, you can see the most beautiful northern lights over Ilulissat. Aurora Borealis is, without a doubt, the night sky’s most spectacular phenomenon. We will drive away from the lights of the town and go to where there is total darkness, apart from the stars and northern lights. The guide will tell us all about the causes of the phenomenon. You will also get tips and tricks to make the best pictures of the colored lights as they cross the night sky.
Day 8: Flights from Ilulissat via Nuuk to Copenhagen
Today, we head back towards Denmark. With one of Air Greenland's Dash 8’s, you leave Ilulissat Airport for Nuuk and then fly on to Copenhagen, where you will arrive in the evening. Overnight at an airport hotel in Copenhagen.
Day 9: Farewell Denmark
Breakfast at your hotel and time to explore the Danish capital before your return flight back to the UK. We can also assist in extending your stay in Copenhagen with extra nights in downtown Copenhagen.
Optional Excursion Package: £ 540 per person
Our excursion packages consist of the most popular excursions. We recommend that you book the package when you book your trip. By booking later, a handling fee of EUR 30 will be added, and the package might be sold out.
- Hike to Sermermiut by Ilulissat Ice Fjord (2 hours)
- Sailing at Ilulissat Ice Fjord (2½ hours)
- Northern Lights tour in Ilulissat (1½ timer)
- Meet the Sled Dogs (1 hour)
- Dog sledding in Ilulissat, incl. warm clothes and boots, 2 persons per sled (1 ½ hours)
Optional: A Night in a Northern Lights Cabin
While in Greenland to celebrate the New Year, you can try an overnight stay at one of Hotel Arctic’s new cabins with a magnificent view of the fjord – and hopefully to twinkling northern lights dancing outside the panoramic windows. The cabins are located close to the hotel and have been developed for Arctic conditions. They are 20 furnished square meters and equipped with a shower, a toilet, wifi, easy iPad control of lighting, sound, and temperature, and water-circulated underfloor heating and interior wall heating.
NOTE: If you book a cabin while on your New Year’s trip, you won’t have to check out of your hotel room, so you will not have the hassle of packing and unpacking everything multiple times, and there’s no waiting time when you need to change rooms.
Price per night in a shared double cabin: £295 per person
Price per night in a single cabin: £590.
Optional: 3-hour Snowmobile Tour (2 people on snowmobile)
Season: February to April
In the winter, snowmobiling is a popular activity in Greenland. Snowmobiling is an exciting adventure with its strong engines and speed!
Please note:
- Two individuals share each snowmobile. If you bought the trip alone, you might have to share a snowmobile with another person.
- Minimum age: 18 years old (12 years if you are sitting behind someone who is over 18 years old)
- Health: If you have any serious backpain or shoulder problems, you will not be able to partake in this excursion. This is for your own safety.
Price: £ 245 per person
Optional: 3-hour Snowmobile Tour (1 person on Snowmobile)
Season: February to April
In the winter, snowmobiling is a popular activity in Greenland. Snowmobiling is an exciting adventure with its strong engines and speed!
- 1 person per snowmobile
- Snowmobile instructor
- Safety instructions
- Coffee and tea
Please note:
- One person on the snowmobile
- Minimum age: 18 years old
- Health: If you have any serious backpain or shoulder problems, you will not be able to partake in this excursion. This is for your own safety.
Price: £ 360 per person
Package Includes:
- Direct return flights from London or other UK airports to Copenhagen
- 20 kg of checked baggage and 8 kg of cabin baggage per traveller
- Return flights from Copenhagen to Ilulissat via Nuuk
- Food and beverages on board the Air Greenland flight Copenhagen - Nuuk return
- 2 nights accommodation in a Copenhagen airport hotel
- 6 nights at Hotel Arctic with private facilities
- Breakfast daily
- Welcome dinner in Ilulissat, excl. drinks
- Gala Dinner on New Year’s Eve at Hotel Arctic, excl. drinks except for a glass of champagne
- Information meetings
- English and Danish speaking Tour Leader
- Sightseeing in Ilulissat
- 24-hour emergency service
- ATOL Protection
- All taxes
Not included:
- Lunch and dinner other than mentioned above
- Excursions (we recommend you pre-book the Excursion Package)
- Insurance
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