Welcome to Iceland, your gateway to Greenland! Flights from North America typically land in the morning from 6-10am. 

Take a taxi on your own just 15 minutes from the airport to the hotel in Keflavik, Iceland, Check in is in the afternoon. Leave your luggage at the hotel and go have brunch in town. 

Double occupancy room included at a 3-star hotel in Keflavik, Iceland TBA. Transportation to the hotel not included (10-15 min from airport by taxi for about $30 USD and can be shared). 

Explore Keflavik and area attractions on your own (eg. Blue Lagoon, museums)

Mandatory trip meeting TBA. 

Note: our partners suggest booking your flight to Iceland on Icelandair incase there are delays with your return flight from Greenland to Iceland. Your flight from Iceland to Greenland is also on Icelandair, and should you have delays, they can help coordinate changes to your travel from Iceland home. 

Breakfast at the hotel. Then enjoy a relaxing morning exploring Keflavik, Iceland and surrounding areas on your own (e.g Blue Lagoon or museums).

Meet at the hotel for group ground transfer to the airport approximately 2:00 pm. 

Flight departs 5:30 pm in a small aircraft (35 to 65 seats) for about 1h and 45 min. Landing in Kulusuk at about 5:15 pm local time. 

Kulusuk is situated on an island surrounded in three directions by other islands and mountain peaks. The name Kulusuk means Chest of a black Guillemot. It is home to about 250 people, many of them hunters and fishermen.  

After the baggage has been picked up by a local, we walk 15 minutes through the village to our hotel.  Welcome dinner and overnight at Hotel Kulusuk (3 nights)

(BD)

Morning Departure by boat for an 8 hours adventure on the water between islands and giant peaks towards Karale Fjord. We pass in front of Karale Glacier and Knud Rasmundsen Glaciers where we will have picnic lunch on the boat while we wait to observe the calving of the icebergs crashing into the ocean, and looking out for wildlife such as whales, seals, and seabirds.

On the way back we will visit the US second world war military base in the Ikateq area, also known as "Bluie East Two." The US military used this side to refuel planes that were being ferried across the North Atlantic to England. Today we can roam around through the ruins and admire the surealistic rusty vehicles. On the way back we stop for a short visit at the Sermiligaq Inuit village. Overnight and dinner at Hotel Kulusuk. (BLD)

Morning: we will go for a glacier hike and visit a breath-taking ice cave hidden in a remote glacier. The whole trip will take around 4-5 hours and starts with a beautiful boat ride to the glacier, and includes a picnic lunch.

After breakfast, we depart on a local hunters boat for 20 minutes over to Apusiaajik Island and to a glacier with the same name, just off of the island of Kulusuk.  

While we make our way over the ocean, we will have the chance to see beautiful fjords, mountain ranges and ice bergs and maybe even witness some of Greenland’s spectacular wildlife! If we are lucky, we might stumble across humpback whales, fin whales, seals or even orcas along the way.

Once our local boat driver drops us off, your guide will introduce you to your safety equipment. This includes helmets and crampons.

Your guide will then safely lead you on the glacier.
The view on the glacier is spectacular and during the easy 30-minute walk it takes to reach the ice cave you will have plenty of time to explore its amazing features like moulins and crevasses.

Once at the cave you will have more than enough time to lose yourself in this surreal world of blue and take in all of its incredible details.  On this once in a life-time experience, enjoy all the different and mesmerizing shapes and shades the glacier creates. 

After the cave we will make our way a bit further into the glacier to a viewpoint from which we are able to admire the calving front of the glacier. 

Another 30 minutes of walking will bring us back to our boat that will get us back to Kulusuk.  On the way back we will get another chance to look for more wildlife and take in the beautiful surroundings.

Afternoon: we take a walk in the village and its surroundings, get to know its story, and admire the landscape and the icebergs in the sea (2 hours walk). 

Overnight and dinner at Hotel Kulusuk (BLD)

We leave Kulusuk in the morning by boat. Beautiful sailing from Kulusuk to Tiniteqilaaq by the Ikaasatsivaq strait (1-1.5 hours). Tiniteqilaq is a tiny hunters village with less than 100 inhabitants, standing at the Sermilk fjord. The Sermilik Fjord has one of the most productive glacier systems in the world, moving over 30 meters per day and constantly calving icebergs. 

We take a walk in the village before continuing to the Johan Pedersen Ford at the foot of the Greenland Ice Cap, the second largest ice sheet in the world (the largest being the Antarctica Ice sheet). After admiring some of the glacier calving ice into the fjord we cross the Sermilk fjord again towards the camp Qattu, a small Greenlandic cabin camp in a tiny bay.  Protected from the mighty Piteraq (storms from the ice sheet), clean drinking water (note: absolutely fantastic water quality!), accessibility by boat in summer and dog sleds in winter, and last but not least the view and all the ice you can wish in reach. The location of the ice camp could not be better. We settle here for two nights and enjoy the luxury of a peaceful arctic landscape. It's possible to see whales from the property under the long days of midnight sun, and even arctic foxes. 

Dinner prepared by your guide with some help from the guests. (BLD)

In the morning, enjoy coffee while looking out into the vast wilderness. When it is still quiet in the camp, you might hear the blasts of gigantic humpback whales, which often migrate directly into the bay depending on the ice conditions.

After a tasty breakfast, we take a walk to the surrounding hills 3-4 hours, and enjoy being unplugged. Nothing will disturb our peace except an occasional crack in the Icebergs in the fjord. We will tell stories of explorers and the life of the locals as it used to be. If we are lucky we might spot an arctic fox or some snow buntings on land and a curious bearded or ringed seal swimming at a safe distance.  Overnight and dinner at camp.(BLD)

In the morning we say goodbye to our remote camp and travel by boat towards Tasilaq (1 ½ hours), the largest town of East Greenland with it‘s 2000 inhabitants. The way from Kulusuk or Tasiilaq to from camp is an eventful tour. There is always plenty of ice and icebergs to see. Whales usually always sighted. The most common species include humpback and fin whales. Minke whales are often shy because of hunting activities. There are also two types of dolphins, pilot whales, sperm whales, orcas and of course narwhals and bowhead whales, which are shy and very rare.

In Tasilaq, we settle in to Hotel Ammasalik before going out walking through the town and on along the Tasilaq fjord (4-5 hours) with a picnic lunch.

After walking for a while we turn inland and walk to a nearby lake before taking an alternative path back to Ammassalik.  Night and dinner in Hotel Ammasalik.  (BLD)

Greenland is the birthplace of the kayak, which was used for hunting and as a means of transportation! One cannot come to Greenland, and not go kayaking!

We start our morning by going kayaking 2 -3 hours, in the fjord of Ammasalik. We will explore around icebergs and keep our eyes peeled for wildlife. Then we have time for lunch and shower and in the afternoon we have a visit to the local museum and the local handcraft store where local artists make their renowned and beautiful handicraft.

In the late afternoon we will have a local person performing drum dancing (qilaut). That orginates from spiritual shamanistic practices to contact special spirits of the hunting and fishing and was also used to settle quarels and for genaral entertainment. Later, visit to a hunter and sled dog trainer that will tell us about his life as a hunter and the life of a sled dog. Overnight and dinner at Hotel Ammasalik.(BLD)

Just behind the town the climb of the 2,200 ft high Sailors Mountain starts. We follow a steep ridge until we get to the lower summit of the mountain and what a view! We continue to the higher summit to enjoy more of the view of mountains and glaciers and icebergs, before descending into a valley on the north side. We walk along a lake to the Flower Valley where we can see several arctic plants in bloom including the national flower Arctic River Beauty, Arctic Thyme, Arctic Bluebell, Arctic Dandelion, and many others. We will continue the small curved path along the river, until we will reach a small waterfall. Here we will stop for a while and enjoy the beautiful landscape and quietness, before heading back to Tasiilaq . 5-6 hours walk. Overnight at Hotel Ammasalik and farewell dinner. (BLD)

In the morning we get a boat transfer over to Kulusuk (1 hour).  Walk to a beautiful mountain like at the foot of the Kulusuk mountain. Hopefully we will se the Great Northern Diver on the lake and admire his skills. Return along small waterfalls and rapids coming from the lake. (BL)

Flight to Iceland. Overnight in Reykjavik.

Breakfast at the hotel. Enjoy the morning in Reykjavik on your own (Sky Lagoon, museums, walking tours). Private group departure from the hotel at 12:30 PM to the Keflavik Airport by 1:30 PM

Even the best laid plans might need a detour from the advertised course.

Given the expeditionary nature of our trip, on some occasions, adverse conditions, local resources (both people driven and supplies) and other factors outside of our control may require us wait a little longer than planned, or to deviate from our intended itinerary as practical considerations arise. Rest assured, it will be an adventure and there will be stories to tell!