This 14-day private, driver-guided itinerary offers a rare and in-depth exploration of Greenland’s southern and western regions, designed for travelers who crave rich storytelling, natural grandeur, and the comfort of seamless logistics.
Begin in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, where colonial history and contemporary art collide in a city surrounded by wilderness. Venture by boat through immense fjords, hike panoramic ridges, and meet local elders and artisans who share Greenland’s evolving cultural narrative. Then, fly north to Ilulissat, gateway to the UNESCO-listed Icefjord, where floating ice cathedrals and traditional fishing villages reveal life on the Arctic edge. Conclude in Kangerlussuaq, where tundra trails, the mighty Ice Sheet, and glacial walls offer a dramatic finale.
Destinations on Your 14-Day Grand Greenland Tour
Day 1: Nuuk – Colonial Harbor Walk, Parliament, and National Museum
Day 2: Nuuk – Boat Trip to Kangeq & Contemporary Art Walk
Day 3: Nuuk – Hike to Quassussuaq & Storytelling with Local Elder
Day 4: Nuuk – Nuuk Fjord Boat Safari with Glaciers, Waterfalls & Wildlife
Day 5: Ilulissat – Historic Quarter Walk & Sunset at Sermermiut Icefjord
Day 6: Ilulissat – Iceberg Boat Tour & Visit to the Icefjord Centre
Day 7: Oqaatsut (Day Trip) – Fishing Village Visit & Lunch with Locals
Day 8: Ilulissat – Icefjord Edge Hike & Optional Glacier Helicopter Tour
Day 9: Ilulissat – Artisan Workshop & Greenlandic Cooking Experience
Day 10: Kangerlussuaq – Ice Cap Drive & WWII History Museum
Day 11: Kangerlussuaq – Walk on the Ice Sheet & Wildlife Safari
Day 12: Kangerlussuaq – Tundra Hike with Glacier Views & Arctic BBQ
Day 13: Kangerlussuaq – Visit to Russell Glacier & Climate Conversation
Day 14: Kangerlussuaq – Private Transfer to Airport & Departure
Day 1: Welcome to Nuuk
Begin your Greenland journey in the heart of its capital, where the blend of colonial history and Inuit heritage introduces you to the country’s rich cultural layers.
Stroll Through History: Private Walking Tour of Historic Nuuk
Your local guide welcomes you at your accommodation, and together, you step into the rhythm of Nuuk’s old and new.
Walk the narrow paths of the Colonial Harbor, where wooden buildings in vivid reds and yellows echo Danish influence.
Pause by Hans Egede’s statue and the serene Nuuk Cathedral, then trace the evolving story of Greenland through its Parliament Square and bold street murals. Every corner tells a tale—from early settlers to modern resilience.
Ancient Echoes: Visit to the Greenland National Museum
Inside the National Museum, time folds. With a private guide or curator, you encounter Inuit artifacts carved from bone and driftwood, Norse relics, and the hauntingly preserved Qilakitsoq mummies.
As you wander through exhibits tracing Greenland’s early Arctic adaptations and colonial transitions, your guide shares how this land has shaped—and been shaped by—its people.
Day 2: Coastal Landscapes & Indigenous Heritage
Today’s journey weaves together abandoned outposts, art, and Arctic imagination.
Silent Shores: Private Boat Trip to Kangeq Settlement
Your morning begins with a boat ride through icy channels toward Kangeq—once a lively fishing settlement, now a hauntingly beautiful ghost village.
Disembark to walk between weathered homes and mission church ruins as your guide brings the past to life with stories of traders, families, and Danish colonists.
The salty air carries whispers of a time when this was the edge of Greenland’s known world.
Expressions of Identity: Nuuk Art Walk with Local Artist or Curator
Back in the city, join a Greenlandic artist or museum curator for a cultural stroll.
Admire public installations, murals, and galleries where contemporary Greenlanders explore their identity, relationship with the land, and the impact of change.
Step inside a local studio to see how traditional materials—such as bone, sealskin, and soapstone—become contemporary sculptures and commentary. With each piece, a new perspective emerges.
Day 3: Nature & Storytelling
Immerse yourself in Greenland’s living landscapes and hear the stories passed through generations.
Tundra Above the Fjord: Guided Hike to Quassussuaq (Lille Malene)
Lace up your boots for a private hike into the hills just beyond Nuuk.
Your guide leads you across lichen-covered rock and tundra meadows, pointing out edible berries, ancient glacial scars, and the tracks of ptarmigan.
At the summit, sweeping views of Nuuk and the distant fjords open before you—silent, sacred, expansive. You’ll pause often, not from exertion but awe.
Legends at Home: Visit with a Local Elder
In the warmth of a private home or community hall, share tea with a Greenlandic elder who invites you into the oral tradition.
Listen as myths, migration stories, and personal reflections unfurl—tales of seal hunting, midwinter darkness, and the shifting tides of culture. These aren’t rehearsed performances but living memories passed forward in trust.
Day 4: Fjord Adventure & Cultural Flavor
Today is for raw nature and optional adventure, all framed by the rhythm of the sea.
Frozen Giants: Full-Day Nuuk Fjord Exploration by Private Boat
Depart early with your skipper and guide aboard a private boat into one of the world’s largest fjord systems.
The towering cliffs and glacier-fed waterfalls grow taller as Nuuk disappears behind you. Scan for humpback whales, seals sunning on rocks, or white-tailed eagles riding the wind. Stop for a picnic on a hidden shore—just you, the ice, and the horizon.
Wild Encounter: Fishing or Kayaking Session
Depending on your interest, weather, and energy, you may choose to cast a line with your guide, learn Arctic fishing techniques, or paddle a kayak along a quiet inlet. Either way, you’ll feel the rhythm of the land and sea in every breath and ripple.
Day 5: Flight to Ilulissat & Icefjord Welcome
Enter Greenland’s northern wonderland, where icebergs drift like cathedrals of time.
Northern Arrival: Orientation Tour of Ilulissat’s Historic Quarter
After a short flight, your new driver-guide welcomes you to Ilulissat.
Wander the colorful waterfront, visit the century-old Zion Church, and hear tales of Knud Rasmussen—the famed polar explorer born here. The air is crisp, and icebergs drift in the bay like ancient travelers.
Twilight at the Icefjord: Sunset Walk to Sermermiut Valley
As evening paints the sky in Arctic gold, your guide leads you along wooden boardwalks toward the edge of the Ilulissat Icefjord.
Walk through the haunting ruins of ancient Inuit settlements, past low stone rings and stories etched into the landscape.
Then the view opens—miles of calving glacier and floating ice, glowing in soft twilight hues—a perfect place to pause, reflect, and breathe in the stillness.
Day 6: Iceberg Immersion in Disko Bay
Your day begins with the surreal beauty of Disko Bay as your private boat and guide navigate between towering icebergs carved by centuries of glacial force.
Private Boat Tour Among Icebergs
Each floating sculpture, lit by shifting Arctic light, tells a silent story of climate, time, and movement.
Glide slowly through narrow channels; the only sound is the hum of the motor and the occasional crack and splash of calving ice in the distance. With binoculars in hand, watch for seals lounging on floes or the flash of seabirds overhead.
Ilulissat Icefjord Centre – Guided Visit
Returning to shore, step into one of Greenland’s most innovative cultural spaces.
At the Icefjord Centre, your expert guide leads you through interactive exhibits that explore the deep relationship between ice, Indigenous culture, and climate science.
Learn how the colossal Sermeq Kujalleq glacier shaped not just the landscape but also Greenlandic identity—and how the global community is learning from the Inuit people’s resilience and ecological insight.
Day 7: Day Trip to Oqaatsut
This morning, journey by private boat up the coast to Oqaatsut (also known as Rodebay), a picturesque fishing village with fewer than 50 residents.
Boat Transfer to the Fishing Village of Oqaatsut
Tucked between sea and stone, the colorful wooden homes and quiet shoreline seem frozen in time.
With your guide, walk the gravel paths to the tiny schoolhouse, rustic church, and weathered docks where fish still hang to dry in the Arctic breeze.
Lunch & Village Walk with a Local Host
Sit down for a hearty seafood lunch—perhaps halibut or musk ox stew—prepared by your village host and served with a side of storytelling.
Hear firsthand how the rhythms of fishing and family life have endured in this small, resilient community. Depending on the day’s energy, your host may lead you on a walk through berry fields or along a quiet shoreline path, sharing local traditions and lore about the landscape.
Day 8: Hiking & Helicopter Views
Today’s adventure unfolds on foot along the edge of the legendary Ilulissat Icefjord.
Guided Hike Along the Icefjord Edge
Depending on your interest and ability, your private guide will lead you along one of three scenic trails—each marked by colored posts and promising different perspectives on the ever-changing face of Greenlandic nature.
Whether you choose the gentle Yellow Trail or the more rugged Blue Route, you’ll encounter striking rock formations, Arctic wildflowers, and continuous views of calving icebergs drifting out to sea.
Helicopter Flight Over Sermeq Kujalleq
For those who want to take their awe to the skies, this afternoon offers a jaw-dropping optional excursion: a scenic helicopter flight over Sermeq Kujalleq, one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world.
From above, witness the staggering scale of the ice cap, with its labyrinth of crevasses and thunderous melt rivers winding toward the fjord.
Day 9: Creative Culture Day
Begin your cultural immersion with a visit to one of Ilulissat’s artisan studios.
Visit to Local Artisan Workshop
With your guide translating, meet master craftspeople who shape tupilaks from bone or soapstone, stitch intricate beadwork, or fashion traditional clothing from sealskin.
This is more than a demonstration—it’s a dialogue about heritage, symbolism, and pride in continuing Greenlandic craftsmanship.
Greenlandic Cooking Class or Tasting Menu Dinner
As the day winds down, indulge your senses in a Greenlandic culinary experience.
Either take part in a private cooking class—chopping, seasoning, and sautéing with a local chef who shares ancestral knowledge of foraging and preservation—or opt for a private tasting menu dinner featuring Arctic char, reindeer, seaweed, and berry-based desserts.
Day 10: Into the Heart of the Ice – Kangerlussuaq
Today, you fly inland to Kangerlussuaq, where Greenland’s ice cap lies closest to civilization.
Upon arrival, your new driver-guide greets you for an orientation drive, pausing at dramatic overlooks that reveal the stark transition from coastal cliffs to tundra plains and glacial foothills. Watch for musk oxen grazing in the distance and feel the dry inland air, so different from the coast.
Visit the Kangerlussuaq Museum
End the day at the local museum, where dusty propellers, WWII airbase maps, and Inuit survival tools sit side by side.
Your guide brings the exhibits to life, sharing how this remote settlement has played a pivotal role in everything from Allied war logistics to climate research. It’s a fitting introduction to Greenland’s inland frontier.
Day 11: Ice Cap Exploration
Today’s journey takes you deep into Greenland’s icy interior.
Private Guided Drive to Point 660 on the Ice Cap
Set out in a rugged 4×4 vehicle with your guide, bumping along glacier-carved moraines and gravel roads that stretch toward the edge of the vast Greenland Ice Sheet.
At Point 660, step out onto ancient ice—the second-largest ice mass in the world—where silence reigns and endless white stretches to the horizon. Feel the crunch beneath your boots, listen for the distant creak of shifting ice, and soak in the surreal enormity of this frozen expanse.
Wildlife Spotting Excursion with Naturalist Guide
In the afternoon, switch focus from ice to tundra as you join a wildlife-focused outing through the valleys and ridgelines surrounding Kangerlussuaq.
With a local naturalist at your side, scan the terrain for shaggy musk oxen grazing on hardy mosses, spot Arctic hares darting through lichen-covered boulders, and keep watch for caribou stepping through the brush.
This region is one of Greenland’s richest in land-based wildlife, providing rare sightings in an otherwise harsh and open landscape.
Day 12: Tundra Hike & Local Tastes
Begin the day on foot, trekking through ancient rockscapes and open tundra that have remained essentially unchanged since the last Ice Age.
Private Tundra Hike with Glacier Viewpoints
Your guide will point out dwarf birch, cotton grass, and medicinal herbs that have been used for generations while the path leads you to vistas overlooking glacial valleys and distant ice tongues.
This hike, tailored to your comfort level, reveals the quiet beauty of inland Greenland—resilient, open, and vast.
Greenlandic BBQ or Tasting Menu Dinner
Celebrate your Arctic adventure with an unforgettable farewell feast.
Depending on the weather and your preference, enjoy a cozy indoor tasting menu or an open-air BBQ featuring Greenlandic specialties, such as musk ox burgers, marinated Arctic char, reindeer sausages, and a foraged berry compote.
Whether under the midnight sun or a blanket of stars, this meal connects you to the tastes and traditions of the land.
Day 13: Final Arctic Discoveries
Your last full day begins with another off-road expedition, this time to the towering face of Russell Glacier.
Visit Russell Glacier by 4×4
This blue-tinged ice wall rises dramatically from the tundra, offering an up-close view of Greenland’s glacial architecture.
Stop along the way for panoramic photos, and—if the season allows—watch for small streams gushing from the glacier’s edge, carving fresh routes through the moraine.
Interactive Climate & Ice Session with Local Expert
In the afternoon, engage in a private discussion or workshop with a local scientist or guide focused on Greenland’s role in the global climate system.
Learn how the melting ice sheet impacts sea levels around the world, how traditional Inuit knowledge intersects with modern science, and what the future holds for this fragile region.
It’s a fitting capstone experience—tying together the physical, cultural, and planetary dimensions of your journey.
Day 14: Farewell to Greenland
After breakfast, your private guide delivers you to Kangerlussuaq Airport.
