Scoresby Sund - Iceland, Aurora Borealis, Fly & Sail

You arrive by chartered plane from Keflavik and land at Constable Pynt, the airfield at the head of Hurry Inlet. This area is known for its remarkably rich geological history.

Enjoy the sights as you sail the glaciated Volquart Boons Coast. Here you may set out a Zodiac cruise along one of the shoreline glacier fronts, with your first activity near Månegletcher or Vikingebugt.

You visit Danmark Island, where you find the remains of an Inuit settlement abandoned around 200 years ago. The circular stone tent rings indicate the summer houses, while the winter houses can be seen closer to a small cape. The sites are well preserved, with easy identifiable entrances, bear-proof meat caches, and grave sites. During the afternoon, you sail along the east side of Milne Land amid a number of scattered icebergs.

Today marks a visit to the east entrance of one of the most impressive fjords in the world: Ø Fjord is almost 40 nautical miles long (74 km, 46 miles), with mountains on each side up to 2,000 meters high (6,562 feet), and icebergs that drift over depths of more than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). Your aim is to land at Jyttehavn and hike the tundra in mythic surroundings. Near Sydkap you can see colossal icebergs, some over 100 meters high (328 feet) and more than a kilometer long (.62 mile). Most of these bergs are grounded, as the fjord is only about 400 meters deep (1,312 feet). You may also view the remains of the Thule winter houses. As many as twenty people lived here, hunting Greenland whale and building houses out of their vertebrae.

Today’s stop is Ittoqqortoormiit, the largest settlement in Scoresbysund at about five hundred inhabitants. At the post office you can buy stamps for your postcards, or just stroll around to see the sled dogs and drying skins of seals and musk oxen.

Your next stop is Stewart Island, an important hunting location for the people of Scoresbysund. It is also a possible area to see narwhals – locals hunt them here – and more houses from the ancient Thule culture. Some tent rings here are possibly from even earlier Inuit cultures than the Thule.

Turner Sound and Rømer Fjord grant you the opportunity to sail far inland, as they have no glacier front at the head and are not clogged with ice. In this location, you have your best shot at spotting narwhals and polar bears.

If there is not too much cloud cover, today you can marvel at the magical lightshow of the aurora borealis.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. You arrive at Akureyri, transferring by chartered bus (six-hour drive) to Hotel Reykjavik Centrum, Adalstraeti 16, taking home memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.