South Greenland & Newfoundland in Luxury

Embark Silver Explorer and set sail.

You may wish to arrive a day earlier to experience this unique city. Sprawling Reykjavík, the nation's nerve center and government seat, is home to half the island's population. On a bay overlooked by proud Mt. Esja (pronounced eh-shyuh), with its ever-changing hues, Reykjavík presents a colorful sight, its concrete houses painted in light colors and topped by vibrant red, blue, and green roofs.

Settle in on the Silver Explorer and enjoy expert presentations and lectures preparing you for the exciting expedition ahead. Spend time on deck looking for birds and marine mammals or just relax and enjoy your luxurious onboard surroundings and facilities.

Located on Greenland’s relatively rarely visited rugged east coast, Skoldungen Fjord has enchanting scenery with towering mountains tipped with snow, ice-scraped valley sides and sculptured icebergs in shades of white and blue. At the top of the fjord one can easily see the retreating state of the Thrym Glacier. The U-shaped fjord offers spectacular scenery and as an extra perk, it is not uncommon to see whales in the fjord. Weather permitting enjoy a Zodiac cruise to approach Thrym Glacier.

The Silver Explorer will cruise through the Prince Christian Sound (Prins Christian Sund), the waterway connecting the east and west coasts of Greenland. Spend several enthralled hours as we pass through one of Greenland’s most dramatic natural features, with steep mountains, waterfalls and glaciers.

Aapilattoq is a small settlement near the western end of Prins Christian Sund in southwestern Greenland. In the local Greenlandic language the name means, "sea anemone". This small village of 130 inhabitants, hidden behind a prominent rock, offers a good insight into the life of Greenlandic Inuit. A stroll through the village will reveal a small school and a church, along with the likely possibility of seeing a polar bear skin drying in the wind behind a local dwelling. People have lived off the land in the area around Aapilattoq since the 19th century.

Nanortalik lies in a scenic area surrounded by steep mountainsides and is Greenland’s tenth-largest and most southerly town with less than 1500 inhabitants. The town’s name means the “place of polar bears”, which refers to the polar bears that used to be seen floating offshore on summer’s ice floes. Nanortalik has an excellent open-air museum that gives a broad picture of the region from Inuit times to today. Part of the exhibition is a summer hunting camp, where Inuit in traditional clothing describe aspects of their ancestor’s customs and lifestyle.

Uunartoq is a small island in South Greenland a short distance east of what once was considered the largest settlement in Greenland. The island has hot springs that were renowned as far back as the days of the Norse for their healing effects. Three naturally heated streams have been channeled to flow into a knee-deep and stone-lined pool. While one unwinds by soaking in the steaming waters, one can watch icebergs that either clog the fjord to the north or come floating by.

Stroll through the picturesque harbour town of Qaqortoq, its colorful houses painted in bright primary shades. The modest Qaqortoq Museum houses a unique collection of contemporary artwork, and a superb collection of Inuit artifacts associated with hunting and fishing. The town is also famous for “Stone and Man,” an open-air sculpture gallery consisting of rock carvings and etchings.

Visit Hvalsey, which is Greenlandic for Whale Island, which according to the Icelandic Book of Settlements was established by Erik the Red’s uncle in the late 10th century. Go ashore and find the best-preserved ruins of a Norse church dating back to the 1300s.

Spend time on deck watching for seabirds and marine mammals; attend informative lectures or just read and relax in the luxurious settings of the Silver Explorer.

Nuuk, meaning “the cape”, was Greenland’s first town (1728). Started as a fort and later mission and trading post some 240 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, it is the current capital. Almost 30% of Greenland’s population lives in the town. Not only does Nuuk have great natural beauty in its vicinity, but there are Inuit ruins, Hans Egede’s home, the parliament, and the Church of our Saviour as well.

Our leisurely walk through the historic part of this picturesque harbor town allows us to take in Nuuk’s natural beauty, and also to see Inuit ruins, Hans Egede’s home, parliament, and the Church of our Saviour. View the famous Qilakitsoq mummies and traditional clothing and artifacts at the Greenlandic National Museum.

As we head towards Canada’s scenic coastline, spend some time out on deck keeping an eye out for seabirds, dolphin, seals and migrating humpback, fin or blue whales, or attend additional natural history presentations by our expert staff.

Iqaluit is the capital of Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut, which is Inuktitut for “our land”. The community is located at the head of Frobisher Bay, an inlet of the North Atlantic extending into southeastern Baffin Island. The Bay is so long that it was first taken to be the possible entrance of a Northwest Passage. In Iqaluit, the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum and the Nunavut Legislative Assembly Building both house incredible collections of Inuit artwork with interesting local prints for sale in the museum shop.

Named in honour of Sir John Franklin’s widow, the lonely and uninhabited Lady Franklin Island lies off of Baffin Island’s Hall Peninsula at the entrance to Cumberland Sound. The island is named for the wife of Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer who died trying to discover the Northwest Passage. The geology of the island is striking with vertical cliffs of Archean rocks, likely to be some of the oldest stone in Canada. The waters around Lady Franklin Island offer an abundance seabirds, ducks, seals, and walrus. With a bit of luck it is possible to see Atlantic Puffins here and perhaps even a polar bear.

Monumental Island in Davis Strait was named by Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall as a tribute to the memory of Sir John Franklin who died in his quest to find the Northwest Passage. The island is offshore of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of the territory of Nunavut. Around the shoreline scores of Black Guillemots dive and fish for little Arctic cods and capelins. Successful birds fly off with a minnow grasped tightly in their beaks. On a far larger scale, it is possible to find groups of walruses with their impressive tusks along the shores of the island. Cruise by Zodiac, if the weather permits, to look for walrus, polar bears, and Black Guillemots diving as they fish along the shoreline.

Cruising along the scenic Canadian coast keep an eye out on deck for sea birds and marine animals. Enjoy the sumptuous settings and amenities of your luxury vessel.

Visit another incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site. L’Anse aux Meadows is the first European settlement in North America. Discovered in 1960, the archaeological site is believed to be settled by either Vikings or the Norse around 1000 AD as evidence of pre-Columbian overseas contact.

Around the year 1000, Vikings from Greenland and Iceland founded the first European settlement in North America, near the northern tip of Newfoundland. They arrived in the New World 500 years before Columbus but stayed only a few years and were forgotten for centuries. Since the settlement's rediscovery in the last century, the archaeological site has brought tourism to the area. Viking themes abound but so do views, whales, icebergs, fun dining experiences, and outdoor activities. L'Anse Aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland is a remote community of just 40 people.

Twillingate is the self-proclaimed ‘Iceberg Capital of the World’, although icebergs will be a more likely occurrence in the winter months. The community is home to the “Prime Berth Museum”, which is best described as a commercial fishing heritage site highlighting the glory “salt fish days” before the cod fishery moratorium in the mid-1980s. Several historic buildings packed with artifacts are located near the shoreline, in addition to an impressive skeleton of a Sei whale and the two giant racks of its baleen on display.

Arrive in the morning and disembark.