Overview:
The nature in Greenland is simply exceptional – not least during winter – and it provides the setting for numerous experiences in the snow and below the northern lights. On this tour, which combines two of Greenland's most popular destinations, Ilulissat and Kangerlussuaq, you can experience northern lights, sled dogs, dogsleds, impressive icebergs and a vastness of snow-clad rocks.
You have the option of planning your visit to Greenland yourself or purchasing our excursion package, which includes the most exciting experiences for you to try. Among these is a ride on one of Greenland's most traditional means of transportation – the dogsled.
Holiday price is from £ 3,515 per person based on availability and two people sharing a double/twin room. Single supplement is £ 740.
2024 Departure Dates:
| Departure |
Return |
| 22 Jan |
31 Jan |
| 29 Jan |
07 Feb |
| 31 Jan |
09 Feb |
| 12 Feb |
21 Feb |
| 14 Feb |
23 Feb |
| 19 Feb |
28 Feb |
| 26 Feb |
06 Mar |
| 28 Feb |
08 Mar |
| 06 Mar |
15 Mar |
| 11 Mar |
20 Mar |
| 13 Mar |
22 Mar |
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Welcome to Copenhagen
Arrival in Copenhagen Airport and make your way to the airport hotel for your overnight stay.
Day 2: Flight from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq, briefing and sightseeing
We board Air Greenland's red plane in Copenhagen and head towards the airport in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The flight takes 4.5 hours and at the end of it awaits an eight-day winter adventure in Kangerlussuaq and Ilulissat in Greenland. A guide from our local partner "World of Greenland Arctic Circle" will greet you upon arrival and help you check in to Polar Lodge. Polar Lodge is located a few kilometres from the airport and offers casual accommodation with kitchen facilities, a recreation room and a souvenir shop.
When you have checked in and unpacked, the guide with gather you for a briefing. You will get information about the area, the town of Kangerlussuaq as well as places to eat and places to go. You can also have your pre-booked excursions confirmed or book excursions then and there.
After the briefing, sightseeing in Kangerlussuaq on your own.
OPTIONAL: Greenland Ice Sheet Point 660
Powerful four-wheel driven vehicles will take us through an incredibly beautiful landscape, through mountains, plains, and semi-desert valleys. Near the Ice Cap, we will drive through the fantastic moraine landscape.
At the end of the road, we walk to the Ice Cap and onto the vast ice sheet. We spend some time exploring this world of ice before returning to our vehicles. There are good chances of spotting reindeer, musk oxen and, depending on the season, many species of birds and flowers.
Day 3: Kangerlussuaq on your own
During winter, Kangerlussuaq is a pretty cold place and many pose for a selfie in front of the thermometer hanging in the departure hall of Kangerlussuaq Airport. It displays the outside temperature, which may crawl far below 0 degrees Celsius, but as they say: There is no such thing as bad weather as long as you are wearing the right clothes.
The Kangerlussuaq area offers plenty of things to do. As mentioned above, Kangerlussuaq has Greenland's longest network of roads, allowing you to take many long walks to enjoy the tranquillity.
If you have purchased an excursion package, today's itinerary features either a dogsledding and northern lights excursion or ice fishing. April is often too bright for northern lights, so if you arrive after March, you will go ice fishing instead. You will not miss out on the dogsledding, however. At this time of the year, we have just chosen to move it to Ilulissat in Northern Greenland where there is more snow in April.
OPTIONAL: Two-hour dogsled ride
Dogsledding is an integral part of winter in Greenland. At least north of the Arctic Circle, where Kangerlussuaq is located. Therefore, you will be trying out this ancient Inuit tradition. Not many means of transportation have existed for as long – except perhaps for dugout canoes and Shank's pony.
The basic principle of dogsledding is still the same as almost 1,000 years ago. The dogs are harnessed and hitched to a simple wooden sled. And away we go. The sled driver will take you across the thick ice on the fjord with his dogs to give you a taste of what a person from Northern Greenland would call the real Greenland.
OPTIONAL: Extended northern lights excursion
If you arrive January - March, you will spend some of the afternoon on a 1.5-hour lecture about northern lights and the starry sky, which is so beautiful and clear in Kangerlussuaq. After the lecture, you will learn how to best capture the northern lights using your camera.
When we have enjoyed our dinner, we will drive for about an hour on the road towards the Greenland Ice Sheet. Then we will stop, tilt our heads back and look for the northern lights with the Ice Cap as a picturesque backdrop. After almost three hours below the night sky, we will end the excursion with a strong cup of Greenlandic coffee. In connection with this excursion, you can rent a tripod for your camera for DKK 75 per day.
Day 4: Flight from Kangerlussuaq to Ilulissat
We now head towards Ilulissat. It is a beautiful 45-minute flight giving you a perfect chance of really enjoying the beautiful icy landscape, the desolate expanse and grandeur.
During the approach to Ilulissat, the town seemingly pops up in the middle of nowhere. The colored houses vie for attention among the snow-covered peaks and at the bump of the Dash aircraft landing, you can look forward to the next few days full of ice, winter, and dogsleds – combined with cultural highlights from a very traditional Greenlandic town.
We check in at the beautifully situated Hotel Arctic, and at the following information meeting, we get to hear more about the town and the many excursions available.
The first excursion in the Excursion Package is a guided tour of the town:
OPTIONAL: Guided tour of the town
Ilulissat was founded in 1741 and, today, it is the third largest town in Greenland with more than 4,500 inhabitants. The guide will tell you about the history of the town, and you will experience the town’s many exciting facets. Seeing and especially hearing some of the many thousands of sled dogs is unavoidable. Most of them live on the outskirts of the town in large dog spaces – unchained puppies play under supervision by their mother, while the rest of the pack cannot wait to take you on a sled trip.
We will visit the fishermen at the harbor and the hunters at their trading post “Brættet.” We will show you the church and the birthplace of the famous Polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.
Day 5: Exploaring Ilulissat on your own
Disco Bay is one of Greenland’s most popular tourist destinations. First and foremost because of the ice, but also because of its beauty, its many cultural attractions and the interaction between the traditional lifestyle and modern urban life. Racks with kayaks jostle for space with satellite dishes. If you purchased the Excursion Package you could look forward to a very nice boat trip:
OPTIONAL: Sailing among iceberg
Almost every visitor to Ilulissat chooses to go on this boat trip among the icebergs at least once. Every day, more than 40 million ton of ice flow out into the fjord. The floating icebergs are gigantic, sometimes measuring more than 100 meters wide and long – and with a height of more than 100 meters above the water surface as well. These giants gather at the end of the fjord, providing you with a great opportunity to sail among them. You should not miss out on this exceptional experience when visiting Ilulissat. Almost every visitor to Ilulissat chooses to go on this boat trip among the icebergs at least once. Every day, more than 40 million ton of ice flow out into the fjord. The floating icebergs are gigantic, sometimes measuring more than 100 meters wide and long – and with a height of up to 100 meters above the water surface as well. These giants gather at the end of the fjord, providing you with a great opportunity to sail among them. You should not miss out on this exceptional experience when visiting Ilulissat.
Day 6: Ilulissat on your own
The Disco Bay is one of Greenland's most popular tourist destinations. Mainly due to the ice but also because the place is home to a particular beauty, has numerous cultural sights – and because it is an excellent example of how Greenlanders welcome the new while upholding old traditions. As you would have learned at yesterday's briefing, there are plenty of things do on your own. Visit the sealskin workshop where artisans sew the most beautiful sealskin products and create arts and crafts items from bone, tooth and reindeer points.
OPTIONAL: Hiking to the former Inuit settlement Sermermiut
If you have purchased the excursion package, day 5 will take you on a hike to the abandoned Sermermiut settlement. Sermermiut has been populated for thousands of years due to its incredible location near the Icefjord. Although the surroundings are particularly beautiful, it was not the view that made the Inuit settle here millennium after millennium. Instead, they stayed due to the rich hunting grounds and the Icefjord, which still supplies food both for the locals and for export.
The remnants of the 4,000-year-old settlement make the destination of today's outing. The kitchen midden from centuries ago has proved a gold mine of knowledge for scientists, and some of that knowledge will be bestowed upon you today by our guides. The hike takes approx. two hours. You will be walking on a constructed wooden pathway, thus minimising the risk of sinking belly-deep into the snow.
Day 7: Ilulissat on your own
The day is at your own disposal and your options are once again plentiful. Many travellers love to go out into the nature and happily take the same walk to the Icefjord several times to see if the icebergs have changed position or shape. You will never tire of doing so.
OPTIONAL: Sailing on the Icefjord
If you have purchased this package, you are about to experience one of the tour's absolute highlights; the boat trip out into the estuary of the Icefjord where you will be sailing between the huge icebergs that are stranded here. For thousands of years, the ice at the estuary has created a large sand dune in which the colossal icebergs run aground. Sometimes, when the pressure of the ice becomes too high – or due to swells or melting – the giant icebergs can push free and continue on into the Disco Bay.
On today's excursion, we will get near these enormous icebergs, and because they have run aground, the boat's captain and the officer know their way around the frozen giants – always keeping a safe distance.
Day 8: Ilulissat on your own
This is your last full day in Ilulissat, so now is the time to get your to do list sorted and make sure that you can tick off as many points as possible. Pay a visit to 'the Board' where local fishermen and sealers sell their catches of the day, the cultural historical museum or the art museum.
As previously mentioned, Ilulissat has several great restaurants, and perhaps you can visit one more of them on your last night here.
This is your last full day in Ilulissat, so now is the time to get your to do list sorted and make sure that you can tick off as many points as possible. Pay a visit to 'the Board' where local fishermen and sealers sell their catches of the day, the cultural historical museum or the art museum.
As previously mentioned, Ilulissat has several great restaurants, and perhaps you can visit one more of them on your last night here.
Day 9: Flight from Ilulissat via Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen
Catch the last glimpse of the Icefjord as Air Greenland's Dash 8 take you from Ilulissat Airport to Kangerlussuaq. From there, you will continue to Copenhagen where you will be arriving in the evening.
Day 10: 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: £ 705 per person
Get all the most popular excursions with this package. All tours below are included. (We recommend that you book the package while booking your trip.)
Including:
- Northern Lights tour and photo course (2 hours)
- Excursion to the ice cap with bus, point 660 (5 hours)
- City walk in Ilulissat (2 hours)
- Hike to Sermermiut by Ilulissat Icefjord (2 hours)
- Sailing at Ilulissat Icefjord (2,5 hours)
- Dog sled trip in Kangerlussuaq, rental of warm clothes and boots, 3 persons per sled (2 hours)
Package Includes:
- Direct return flights from London or other UK airports on request to Copenhagen
- Direct return flights Copenhagen - Kangerlussuaq and Kangerlussuaq - Ilulissat with Air Greenland
- 1 piece of check-in luggage per traveler (up to 20 kg)
- 2 nights’ accommodation in Copenhagen airport hotel
- Food and beverages on the flights between Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq
- Airport transfers in Greenland
- 2 nights' accommodation at Polar Lodge 2* (shared facilities), Kangerlussuaq
- 5 nights' at Hotel Arctic 4* (private facilities), Ilulissat
- Breakfast daily
- Welcome dinner at Hotel Arctic
- Information meetings in both towns upon arrival with English-speaking local guide
- Towels and bedlinen throughout
- 24-hour emergency service
- ATOL protection
- All taxes
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