We fly with Air Greenland from Copenhagen to Nuuk. The flight is approximately 4½ hours and is followed by an eight-day adventure.

After you check in at Hotel Hans Egede Express, the guide will hold an information meeting. At the meeting, you’ll get information about experiences in Nuuk, dining, and excursion options, and you can confirm the excursions you’ve already booked from home. It is also possible to book excursions at the meeting.

After the meeting, it’s time to get to know Nuuk at your own pace and get ideas for what to do today and tomorrow.

Nuuk has only 19,500 inhabitants, but you’ll experience a vibrant “big city” as it is a government city with many cultural and educational institutions. Nuuk is growing constantly and is now about 10 kilometers from end to end. You’ll find concerts, theater, museums, and exhibitions. Sports are central to many, so you can go hiking, skiing, sailing, running, strength training, yoga, and even swimming. Since it’s winter, the ski lift is a favorite spot for the city’s citizens.

You can read more about Nuuk here.

If you’ve purchased the excursion package, it’s time for a sightseeing tour of Nuuk.

Sightseeing in Nuuk (part of the excursion package)

The city tour, a unique part of your excursion package, includes a visit to the Greenland National Museum. Here, you’ll have the privilege of seeing finds from all time periods and civilizations in Greenland. After about 30 minutes at the museum, we continue around the area called Kolonihavnen. This is where most of the original houses from the 17th and 18th centuries still stand. On the way we pass Hans Egede’s house, the sculpture of the Mother of the Sea and the controversial statue of Hans Egede at the Greenland Cathedral.

We then head to ‘Kalaaliaraq,’ the traditional market where locally caught fish, seals, and reindeer are sold.

Now, we head towards Greenland’s government buildings and then the Greenland’s Cultural Center Katuaq. Once we’ve seen Katuaq, we’ll visit a local family who will serve coffee and cake and tell us about life in the capital of Greenland.

We’ll then head back to the city center, where there are great shopping opportunities and many other exciting things to do.

Today is at your own pace, and the beautifully situated capital city offers many exciting experiences.

If you have purchased the excursion package, you can look forward to a boat trip to Qoornoq.

Boat trip to Qoornoq (part of the excursion package)

The Qoornoq tour is a 3-in-1 experience where we visit Qoornoq, sail through the huge Nuuk Fjord, and visit a waterfall. Qoornoq is also called Bear Island, but the risk of encountering a polar bear is minimal – the name comes from the fact that the island looks like a bear when viewed from above.

We sail out of Nuuk and well into Nuuk Fjord. Here, we come to the abandoned settlement of Qoornoq, which today serves as a cottage area for many of Nuuk’s citizens. We disembark and walk around the settlement, which includes an old fish factory with a small railway body attached.

We sail on and see the remains of old Norse ruins, after which we sail into one of the fjord system’s many other fjords to the iconic waterfall at the back of Sermitsiaq Mountain. The beautiful Sermitsiaq Mountain is one of Nuuk’s most recognizable landmarks.

Remember to bring your warm clothes, as it gets cold out on the water.

Today we head towards Ilulissat. It is a beautiful 45-minute flight, giving you a perfect chance to really enjoy the beautiful landscape, the desolate expanse, and the grandeur of the ice. 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 as the small aircraft lands, you can look forward to the next few days full of ice, early signs of spring, and sled dogs which have been retired until next winter – combined with cultural highlights from a very traditional, Greenlandic town.

We check in at the cozy Hotel Arctic before an information meeting, where you will hear more about the town and the many optional excursions. The first adventure in the excursion package is a guided tour of the town. For those of you not joining the sightseeing, there are numerous possibilities. We recommend that you take a walk around the town and the area and breathe in the fresh air and atmosphere.

Cultural Town Walk (optional)

The best way to start your stay in Ilulissat. Learn about the town’s history and see how life is lived north of the Polar Circle. Ilulissat was founded in 1741 and, today, it is the third-largest town in Greenland with more than 4,500 inhabitants.

Seeing and especially hearing some of the many thousands of sled dogs living here is unavoidable. Unless out on a trip, most of the dogs are kept outside town in large dog areas.

In the evening we invite you for dinner at the hotel (excluding drinks).

The Disko Bay is one of Greenland’s most popular tourist destinations. First and foremost because of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ilulissat Ice Fjord, but also because of its beauty, its many cultural attractions and the interaction between the traditional lifestyle and modern urban life.

If you bought the excursion package, it is time for an easy hike promising amazing views.

Hike to the deserted Sermermiut settlement (optional)

Beautiful icebergs provide the setting for the old settlement of Sermermiut 1.5 kilometers south of Ilulissat. For 4,000 years, different Inuit cultures lived in the settlement. Hear the story about the life of the Inuit people and their traditions before the Europeans came to Greenland. Depending on the time of the year you arrive, you may be able to see the ruins and touch the permafrost with your own hands.

Another day in Ilulissat filled with opportunities! You can visit one of the traditional handicraft workshops and look for souvenirs in sealskin, tusk and bone. If you have bought the excursion package, you can look forward to our most popular excursion tonight.

Sailing among the icebergs (optional)

Almost every visitor to Ilulissat chooses to go on this boat trip among the icebergs at least once. Every day, more than 40 million tons 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.

The icebergs are beautiful in every type of weather; in the sunshine, the contrasts are very clear, the blue shades stunning when it is cloudy, and the midnight sun casts a unique glow on the ice sculptures during the night. The boat trip on a bright night is an extraordinary experience. Remember to bring warm clothes, or you can rent a suit of sealskin.

Today you may want to walk in the footsteps of history and learn about the rich past at the museum that was Knud Rasmussen’s place of birth. Fishers and hunters at the open market can show you a variety of exciting Greenlandic food products – it does not get any fresher than this.

Once your eyes have feasted on the many views and impressions, it is time to enjoy lunch! At the restaurants in Ilulissat, you can try local specialties such as Greenlandic sushi, deep-fried “ammassats” (small fish), whale and seal, and the cafés offer freshly-baked cakes. All your senses will get a work-out on this trip!

There is also another option:

Helicopter tour (additional purchase)

The Icefjord and Kangia Glacier are the focus of this helicopter tour, flying you into the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can’t get this close to the huge glacier by boat or on foot – and you’ll see it all from above!

The helicopter takes off from Ilulissat Airport and flies as low as safety and laws allow, over mountains, lakes, rivers, and the Icefjord until we reach a mountain at the edge of the glacier. Here we have about half an hour to enjoy the view. Then we fly over the glacier front and follow the Icefjord for 70 kilometers on our way back.

If you bought the excursion package, you will visit a small settlement today.

Daytrip to Oqaatsut

This excursion departs from the port of Ilulissat, and about half an hour later, you arrive in Oqaatsut. There’s time for a settlement walk, and then you’ll be served a delicious lunch at Restaurant H8. Afterward, you’ll have time to wander around the village or the surrounding area on your own before returning home.

Enjoy the last view of the Ilulissat Ice Fjord from the plane on the way to Nuuk, where the Airbus will fly you to Copenhagen with arrival in the evening.