South Greenland

"Iceland - Greenland"

Greenland and its surrounding waters are home to more than eight species of whales, two million seals, Walruses, Polar Bears, Reindeer, Musk Oxen, Arctic Hares, Arctic Wolves and a spectacular variety of seabirds. It is the largest island in the world, fo 90% covered by glaciers, and inhabited by less then 100.000 people with a fascinating history.
Polar Bears can be spotted on the ice or on land and you also see many walruses. Smeeren-burg and Danskoya are of great archaeological interest with remains of 17th century whaling activities and 19th century polar explorations.

The Itinerary

Below is the 11 days itinerary around the Greenland East coast. At the bottom of the page, in the "Other cruises" section, we also present shorter cruises around Greenland itineraries.(Click on the map to enlarge in a new window)

Day 1
Arrive in Keflavik Iceland's international airport, named for a pretty harbour town, where we embark the ship.

Day 2-3
At sea in the Denmark Strait en route to Greenland. At this time of the year we witness the northward migration of seabirds and whales. Closer to Greenland we sail along the edge of the East Greenland sea-ice, which is drifting around Kap Farvel (Cape Farewell) and then north along the west coast of Greenland.

Day 4
Today we spent the whole day in the sea-ice, working our way towards the fjords of South Greenland.

Day 5
We will try to get to Unartoq, where we take a bath in a hot spring surrounded by ice bergs. Later we sail to Alliutsepa (Sudproven), a lovely Greenlandic village, with a great series of stranded ice-bergs.

Day 6
At Hvalsey we visit the best preserved Viking church in Greenland. Records show that there were Norsemen living here for about 500 years. If time allows we may also visit Qaqartoq (Julianahab), where Arctic sculptors have created an open-air sculpture park. In the afternoon we sail to a beautiful glacier front north-east of Qassimiut.

Day 7
This morning in the Arsuk Fjord, we sail along the waterfall of Fox Fald, then use the Zodiacs to visit a large colony of Brunnich's Guillemots and Kittiwakes. In Ivittuut we walk along the remains of a Cryolite mine and around a small cemetery connected with it. Later we sail into Ikat Fjord famous for the curious underwater structures formed by mineral precipitation. In this area we see Musk Oxen, which were introduced into the area in the last century.

Day 8
We sail the whole day, and keep a lookout for Humpback Whales and Minke Whales We may make a short excursion into one of the many fjords near Pamiuut (Frederikshab) and walk up to the coastal plateau, where we have good chances to see Ptarmigans.

Day 9
Today we land at Nuuk (Godthab), the capital of Greenland which has a population of about 13,000. The trip ashore should include a visit to the museum which has a remarkable collection of Inuit mummies, dating from the 15th century, which were found near Umanaq, further to the north. The Cultural Centre of Nuuk, which each year has an exhibition of the work of a Greenlandic artist, is also worth visiting. The oldest exposed rocks on our planet are found near Nuuk. The waters to the west of the town are a good place to see Humpback Whales and Blue Whales. There is a colony of Puffins on Ravneoer, while at Nungarrussuit there are Brunnich's Guillemots and other auks on Simiuttat.

Day 10
We sail past Manitsoq and head east of Hamborgerland to reach the fantastic landscapes of the Sermilinguaq Fjord. Our zodiac excursions in this area will include landings close to large colonies of Brunnich's Guillemots and Kittiwakes. Later we call at Kangamiut, a picturesque Greenlandic settlement.

Day 11
In Evighedsfjorden we visit some large seabird colonies at Taaterat and sail along some glacier fronts. This is a splendid area for walking, the local valleys being hemmed in by picturesque mountains. In the evening we sail through the long and narrow Sondre Stromfjord, where we may be exposed to currents with a speed of about 10 knots.

Day 12
After arrival in Sondre Stromfjord, and before we board the plane to Copenhagen, we will have an excursion by bus to an area, where Musk Oxen were introduced some decades ago.

Note: Itineray subjected to change. Depending on weather conditions (specifically the ice conditions and direction of the wind on Day 1) we may decide to make this voyage in reverse, sailing first to Skjoldungen and departing from Nansen Fjord.

Prices

Other cruises to Greenland

For more information about our cruises, download our brochures with exact itineraries, additional information, dates and prices in EUR (Word format around 300/500 kb)
Greenland from Iceland or Spitsbergen

General Information

Rated: Easy

Included:
* Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary. * All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea; * All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac. * Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff. * Transfers and baggage handling between the hotels, airports and ship only for those passengers on the group flights in Spitsbergen and in Greenland. * All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme. * Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Not included:
Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights; pre- and post land arrangements; transfers to / from the vessel outside Spitsbergen and Greenland; passport and visa expenses; Government arrival and departure taxes; meals ashore; baggage, cancellation and personal insurance ( which is strongly recommended); excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges; and the customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard ( guidelines will be provided).

Special booking & cancellation conditions
A deposit of 15% of the expedition rate is required to confirm a reservation with final payment due 45 days prior to departure. In case the contracting party books more than 9 travel participants or more than 9 berths on a ship voyage in one reservation, the following payment conditions apply: 25 % deposit on the effecting of the travel contract, 35 % of the total price 4 months prior to departure, the remainder (40 %) of the total price 45 days prior to departure
All requests for cancellations must be received in writing. Cancellations received till 60 days (180 days for groups of 9 and more passengers) prior to departure are fully refunded except for the deposit.

Please note that all dates & rates are subject to change. All voyages will operate subject to a minimum of 30 participants (12 participants only for expeditions onboard the Noorderlicht)