Iceland to The Heart of Greenland

Your Arctic adventure will begin in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, where your expedition vessel will be waiting for you. You may wish to arrive a day or 2 early to spend some time exploring this charming and vibrant modern city which offers top restaurants, interesting museums and quirky narrow streets. Embarkation will begin in the afternoon and as you settle in to your cabin and explore your new surroundings we will set sail towards the Denmark Strait.

Leaving behind mythical Iceland we will spend 2 days at sea sailing across the Denmark Strait towards south Greenland. This fabled sea passage holds many stories and you may wish to attend some of the onboard lectures and presentations to gain an insight into the area’s history, including the passage of the Vikings and the famous WWII battle between the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine which took place in May 1941. We also recommend spending some time on deck looking for your first sightings of icefloes and watching the seabirds following in the ship’s wake.

Today we will make our first landing in Greenland as we go ashore at Qaqortoq, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful towns in Greenland. Here you can enjoy a stroll through South Greenland’s biggest town to see its array of colourful houses, visit a kaffemik to enjoy a coffee with the locals, take a guided tour or join one of the optional excursions including one which visits the only tannery in Greenland.

The following day we will explore by sea close to Paamiut in the stunning Kvanefjord region. Sailing deep into the fjord, your experienced captain and crew will choose the best course for the day and which landing sites to visit. We hope for some great opportunities for shore walks and community visits, and the kayakers may enjoy some excellent experiences here.

Today we will visit “the Venice of Greenland” as we arrive at Maniitsoq to enjoy an exploration along the rocky hills, natural canals and mountains that provide a stunning backdrop for the town. You may also wish to take a visit to the interesting museum that is found here which provides a fascinating insight to the town´s rich history and culture.

As we sail towards Sisimiut we recommend spending some time on deck in search of sightings of the numerous whale species and marine animals which frequent the waters here including humpback, fin, minke and porpoise, as well as large numbers of seals.

As we come ashore we will explore this colourful and modern settlement which has retained its ancient traditions and is home to a small museum which is well worth a visit. Here we can take a hike in the hills to enjoy the beautiful views or spend some time shopping for local handicrafts and meeting the residents of this unique and scenic town. A variety of optional excursions will be offered here.

Today is likely to be one of the highlights of your expedition as we visit the stunning area of the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that quite simple needs to be seen to be appreciated. This exceptionally scenic settlement is set against the most remarkable backdrop of enormous icebergs which have made their way down from the Jakobshavn Glacier and run aground at the mouth of the fjord just outside the town. There will be ample opportunities here for exploring the Icefjord including optional boat tours and helicopter flights offering exceptional aerial views of the wonders below. Alternatively you can also enjoy a short walk through the town which will lead you to a network of short trails that take you to the shores of the fjord. Or simply sit back and relax listening to the mystical sounds of the icebergs cracking and rumbling, echoing from one end of Ilulissat to the other.

Today’s destination will hold a special importance to your expedition crew as we visit a location near Saqqaq that was without an official name until 2013 and has since been named Camp Frieda after one of your crew’s former expedition leaders. Friederike Bronny spent a year here as a young geology student living in a tent and learning all there is to know about this special area. In 2013 the area was named in honour of her work here and we will visit this spot to share in some of the stories she will have passed on to your crew, discover the area’s landscape and Arctic flora and gain insights into the area’s unique geological features.

Day 10 will be spent mostly at sea as we sail south through the meandering Evighed Fjord surrounded by mountains of all shapes and sizes, some up to up to 2,000 m in height. This will be an excellent chance to sharpen your landscape photography skills as we sail by some spectacular scenery. Weather conditions will dictate today’s landing sites and activities.

Moving south again down the west coast we will reach the mouth of one of the largest and most spectacular fjord systems in the world to visit Nuuk, the oldest and largest town in Greenland. The capital of Greenland, Nuuk offers a unique mixture of old and new, with picturesque historic buildings and churches dotted amongst modern government and academic buildings. Nuuk is home to almost a third of Greenland’s population and there is plenty to do here including city tours, hikes, scenic flights and visits to the Greenland National Museum - home to the mummies from Qilakilsoq.

We conclude our exploration of southwest Greenland's mainland with a visit to the abandoned mining town of Ivittuut. This uninhabited settlement is a stronghold for musk oxen and was built on top of the so-called Norse Middle settlement. More than a thousand years ago, Vikings settled the area with about twenty farms. It is the smallest and least well known of the Norse settlements on Greenland, and no written records of its residents have been found. This is why archaeologists believe it was the last one established, and the first to be abandoned. We might meet some of the hunters who return to seek shelter in the old houses by the sea.

Our final experience of Greenland will be the spectacular Prince Christian Sound which separates mainland Greenland with Sangmissoq and the other islands of the Cape Farewell Archipelago. We plan to spend the day here sailing through the narrow channel so make sure to be on deck with your cameras ready for some spectacular scenery of steep mountains and glaciers calving icebergs straight into the ocean. If the channel is blocked with ice, we will instead sail around Nunap Isua (Cape Farewell).

Leaving the remarkable wonders of Greenland behind, we will set sail back into the Denmark Strait to return to Iceland. These last few days on board can be spent on deck seeking out observations of whales and seabirds, attending some of the final presentations and lectures or simply enjoying the comforts of your expedition ship.

Arrival back into Reykjavik in the early morning of day 16 will sadly signal the end of our Arctic cruise and after breakfast it will be time to disembark and bid farewell to your expedition team and new-found friends. Reykjavik provides multiple opportunities for extending your adventures so please feel free to enquire for details on post-cruise packages and excursions.